Mediagazer: Expect A Gentler Valleywag In 2015 (Josh Constine/TechCrunch)

12:10 PM ET, December 17, 2014

Top News:

Joseph Lichterman / Nieman Lab:

How Philly's Billy Penn is building a local news audience from scratch — HILADELPHIA — Armed with a Kindle Fire tablet, Anna Orso stood just inside the front door of an Irish pub last Monday night welcoming guests to a happy hour in Center City, Philadelphia.

Discussion: @ceodonovan, @ylichterman and @samkirkla

John Battelle / John Battelle's Search Blog:

Long term success of a publication hinges on whether it's a must read, not pageviews and reach — What Media Must Do To Succeed — The post What Media Must Do To Succeed appeared first on John Battelle's Search Blog. — Wired Founder Louis Rossetto at work in the early days. — (image)

Discussion: @axelletess, @erickschonfeld and @rafat

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Dish Cuts Deal with Netflix to Bring Service to Set-Tops — Dish Network is the first major U.S. pay-TV provider to integrate Netflix into its set-top box — giving the No. 2 satcaster's customers direct access to the streaming video provider's service. — Netflix will be available …

Discussion: Gigaom, Home Media Magazine and Business Wire

Michael J. de la Merced / New York Times:

Email newsletter TheSkimm, aimed at young women, raises $6.25M led by RRE Ventures and Greycroft Partners — TheSkimm, an Email Newsletter, Draws Fans Like Oprah Winfrey - and Investors — Online news start-ups have garnered buzz, and millions of dollars, over the last few years.

Discussion: Nieman Lab, @mathewi, @alfredliveshere, @melbournecoal, @theskimm, @ylichterman, @myurow, @s_m_i and @herbscribner

Peter Kafka / Re/code:

Former Hulu CEO Jason Kilar opens Creator Preview for YouTube rival Vessel to lure stars; $2.99/month service includes ads, offers up to $50 CPM for creators — Former Hulu CEO Jason Kilar Pulls Back the Curtain on Vessel, His YouTube Rival — Six years ago Jason Kilar made a big splash in Web video when he launched Hulu.

Discussion: TechCrunch, New York Times, AdAge, Wall Street Journal, Hollywood Reporter, Bloomberg, Guardian, Variety, Gizmodo, The Next Web, Tubefilter and The Verge

Mike Shields / Wall Street Journal:

21st Century Fox to Acquire Ad Tech Firm TrueX for $200 Million — 21st Century Fox Inc. has agreed to acquire the online advertising technology company TrueX Media, people familiar with the matter said. — 21st Century Fox is paying a sum approaching $200 million for TrueX, said a person familiar with the deal.

Discussion: New York Times, Broadcasting & Cable, Business Wire, TechCrunch, Hollywood Reporter, Variety, @jackk, @rsarver, @arctictony, TVNewsCheck.com and VideoInk

Sam Biddle / Gawker:

Emails from Sony hack show how Sony PR people work with NYT reporters and editors — How Sony Gets Its Way With the New York Times — The unprecedented internal leak out of Sony has already showed us how cozy reporters can be with the industry they cover.

Discussion: Poynter, @alexia, @jasonrapp, @hblodget, @jcrispizzle, @kateaurthur, @variety_dscohen, @laurenlacapra, @marlownyc, @edmundlee and @peterapeel

Jeff John Roberts / Gigaom:

Broadcasters try to block Aereo asset sale, $90M tax transfer — The TV industry has already shut down Aereo at the Supreme Court and driven it into bankruptcy, but that's apparently not enough: now CBS, Fox, NBC and other big broadcasters are asking a judge to block any asset sale …

Catherine Shoard / Guardian:

NYC premiere of Sony's “The Interview” is canceled, Carmike theater chain pulls movie, stars Rogen and Franco scale back appearances — The Interview New York premiere cancelled in wake of hacker threats — Manhattan premiere pulled, along with media appearances by stars Seth Rogen and James Franco

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Variety, Variety, The Wrap, Deadline, New York Times, ABC News, The Wrap, Mediaite, Variety, Re/code, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Hollywood Reporter, Gothamist, Associated Press, @mcmoynihan, @thetweetofgod, @jswatz, @jbarro, The Verge, Hollywood Reporter, Vox, @binarybits and @fmanjoo

Kate Knibbs / Gizmodo:
Former Employees Are Suing Sony Pictures For Not Protecting Their Data

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter, TMZ.com, New York Magazine, TechCrunch, Los Angeles Times, Sky News, abc7.com, Reuters, New York Post, CNBC and Associated Press

Roy Greenslade / Guardian:

News Corp UK suffers £3.5m loss after £51m profit the year before — Bleak results for Rupert Murdoch's British newspapers and book publisher — Rupert Murdoch's British newspaper and publishing division suffered an operating loss of £3.5m in the year up to June 2014 compared to a £51m profit the year before.

Discussion: Tvnews4u and City A.M.

Erik Sass / MediaPost:

190 magazines launched in 2014, up from 185 in 2013, and closings rose to 99 from 56 in 2013 — 190 Magazines Launched in 2014 — The number of magazines launched over the last two years increased from 185 new titles in 2013 to 190 new titles in 2014, according to MediaFinder.com …

Discussion: Media & Entertainment

Stuart Dredge / Guardian:

Spotify CEO wants ‘to do a better job’ convincing musicians of its value — But Daniel Ek says his company remains unwilling to let Taylor Swift and her peers choose to keep their music off Spotify's free service — After a bruising year for streaming music service Spotify …

Discussion: Billboard, RAIN News and CNNMoney.com

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:

Expect A Gentler Valleywag In 2015 — “If I had my druthers, I'd write about AI, and supercomputers, and fusion energy. I don't really care about who's f**king whom,” new Valleywag editor Dan Lyons tells me, signaling a tone shift for the tech tabloid. “Even when I did the fake Steve stuff …