Mediagazer: SoundCloud in discussions to raise about $150M at a valuation expected to top $1.2B (Evelyn M. Rusli/Wall Street Journal)

3:50 PM ET, December 9, 2014

Top News:

George Packer / New Yorker:

Amid a couple of dispiriting events, the changes at The New Republic best highlight the ongoing crisis in journalism — The Real Crisis of Journalism — Two dispiriting events in the world of magazine journalism coincided last week. The first is the collapse of Rolling Stone's story …

Discussion: New York Times, @megmccloskey, @bcappelbaum, @heminator, Fox News, @jayrosen_nyu, @carr2n, @jeffjarvis, @siobhandowling, @mathewi, @jbenton, @zseward, @scottros, @prettynous, ≠ Inequality Matters, @michikokakutani and @stuartxthomson

Emily Bell / Guardian:

Can Silicon Valley disrupt journalism if journalists hate being disrupted? — Facebook's Chris Hughes says he doesn't want to ‘listicalize’ the New Republic. Then why is Buzzfeed still winning the internet? — “It is frustrating to me personally that there was a perception we would listicalize the place.

Guy Vidra / The New Republic:

Guy Vidra writes open letter to TNR readers, says company will invest in tech and editorial — A Letter to Our Readers — Today I want to address the recent changes at The New Republic on our own pages. It is important to me to outline the vision for this critically important institution.

Discussion: Poynter, @mmoyr, Talking Points Memo, @hawthornelat, @theshrillest, @daniellarison and @daveweigel

Jason Abbruzzese / Mashable:
After mass resignations, TNR owner Chris Hughes talks about what went wrong and what's next

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Mondoweiss, The Daily Beast, NPR, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, The Federalist, @fmanjoo, @davidfolkenflik, @qhardy, @mattpotter, @davidsess, @gavina42, @niemanlab and Politico, Thanks:@jasonabbruzzese

Erin Griffith / Fortune:

HBO to outsource streaming technology behind standalone service launching in 2015 to MLB Advanced — Exclusive: HBO to outsource streaming technology in blow to ‘backstabbing’ CTO — The future of HBO Go is unclear. In a major strategic shift, HBO will license the technology underpinning …

Discussion: Business Insider, Engadget, @alexweprin, @pkafka, @eringriffith, @karlbode, @adamnash, The Verge and BGR

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

Economist Editor John Micklethwait becomes Bloomberg's Editor-in-Chief, Matt Winkler stepping down — Matt Winkler steps down as Bloomberg News EIC — Matthew Winkler will step down as editor-in-chief of Bloomberg News. Economist Editor John Micklethwait will be the news organization's new editor-in-chief.

Discussion: CNNMoney.com, FishbowlNY, @matthew_winkler, Variety, @jeffjarvis, @felixsalmon, @glichfield, @bobbymacreports, @felixsalmon, @dylanbyers, @raju, @kerushton, @iburrell, @abeaujon, @ryanchittum, @richardrubindc and @jeffjarvis

Evelyn M. Rusli / Wall Street Journal:

SoundCloud in discussions to raise about $150M at a valuation expected to top $1.2B — SoundCloud's Valuation Could Top $1.2 Billion With New Fundraising — SoundCloud, a popular music and audio-sharing service, is in discussions to raise about $150 million in new financing at a valuation …

Discussion: VentureBeat, @joshconstine and @evelynrusli

Mike Reynolds / Multichannel News:

Discovery Communications partners with Hulu, making content available to Hulu subscribers — Discovery Communications Inks Hulu Pact — Streaming Service Gains Access Across Programmer's Portfolio — Discovery Communications has made a significant foray into the streaming arena inking …

Discussion: Home Media Magazine, TVbytheNumbers, The Wrap, Reuters, Hollywood Reporter, Hollywood Reporter, FierceCable, The Inquisitr News, WorldScreen.com, Variety and Broadcasting & Cable

Clyde Haberman / New York Times:

Grappling With the ‘Culture of Free’ in Napster's Aftermath — Napster: Culture of Free Napster: Culture of Free — In 1999, a file-sharing program created in a Boston dorm room sent shock waves across the music industry and served notice that a major cultural shift was underway.

Mathew Ingram / Gigaom:

The New York Times open-sources its Hive crowdsourcing platform — A couple of months ago, the New York Times rolled out an interesting project called Madison, in which the newspaper asked readers to help the paper identify old print ads by going to a website and answering questions …

Discussion: Nieman Lab, nytlabs ← Research … and AdAge

Peter Kafka / Re/code:

YouTube app on Apple TV gets YouTube's full video library, predictive search, channel subscriptions, and ads — YouTube's Apple TV Gets a New Look, More Videos ... and Ads — YouTube has spent the last couple years overhauling the apps it provides for different devices, but it has steered clear of Apple TV.

Discussion: @johnpaczkowski, @laurengoode, MacRumors and App Advice

Jordan Chariton / The Wrap:

NBC News Hires CNN's Janelle Rodriguez as Senior Vice President of Editorial — NBC News has hired Janelle Rodriguez as its Senior Vice President of Editorial, NBC News President Deborah Turness announced Tuesday. — Also read: ‘Today’ Show Chaos: Insiders Debate Future of NBC News Execs Pat Fili-Krushel, Deborah Turness

Discussion: TVNewser, Broadcasting & Cable and Variety

Chris Roush / Talking Biz News:

Columbia Journalism Review ends The Audit — Columbia Journalism Review has decided to pull the plug on The Audit, the online section of the journalism magazine that critiqued the financial press and examined financial media models. — The magazine will still cover those topics, however.

Discussion: @ryanchittum, @jtozz and @jeffjarvis

Brooks Barnes / New York Times:

Hollywood Tracks Social Media Chatter to Target Hit Films — BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Hollywood has long relied on consumer surveys to answer a question about soon-to-arrive movies: To what degree have marketing materials made a film a must-see? — It used to be easy for studios to use that data …

Discussion: ParisLemon