Top News:
Brent Lang / Variety:
Sony Cancels Theatrical Release for ‘The Interview’ on Christmas — With theater chains defecting en masse, Sony Pictures Entertainment has pulled the planned Christmas release of “The Interview.” — In announcing the decision to cancel the holiday debut, Sony hit back at the hackers …
Discussion:
New York Times, The Daily Beast, Fusion, Mediaite, Politico, Forbes, @roblowe, CNBC, Latest News & Headlines, The Wrap, Gizmodo, @rogerkimball, @nikcub, @petepachal, @brentalang, Gawker, AdAge, @dandrezner, @fleetstreetfox, @kashhill, @jackmirkinson, Splitsider, @jeffjarvis, @nickkristof, @felixsalmon, SSN Insider, The Week, The Next Web, The Verge, TechCrunch, FishbowlNY, Business Insider, U-T San Diego stories, Rolling Stone, Media & Entertainment and USA Today
RELATED:
Dave McNary / Variety:
Sony Has ‘No Further Release Plans’ for ‘The Interview’ — Sony Pictures Entertainment has walked out on “The Interview,” deciding against releasing the Seth Rogen-James Franco comedy in any form — including VOD or DVD. — “Sony Pictures has no further release plans for the film,” a spokesman said Wednesday.
Discussion:
TIME, New York Times, The Wrap, Forbes, Mashable, Gizmodo, The Desk, TechCrunch, Gawker, Engadget, Mediaite and Business Insider
Ted Johnson / Variety:
CNBC and CNN reporting US investigators have linked North Korea to Sony attack — North Korea Ordered the Sony Attack: Reports — Federal authorities have determined that hackers working on behalf of the North Korean government were behind the attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment, according to published reports.
Discussion:
CNBC, @marlenacnn, fox4kc.com, Hollywood Life and Mediaite
Bryan Bishop / The Verge:
With major US movie theater chains refusing to show Interview, Sony should release it online — Why Sony Pictures should release The Interview online — Not even North Korea can stop the internet — The dominoes fell swiftly Tuesday. The group behind the massive Sony hacks released another cache …
Discussion:
Hollywood Reporter, Wall Street Journal, The Wrap, BuzzFeed, @pamelabrowncnn, New York Times, Bloomberg View, Deadline, @rhoulette, @metromanto, @mattsmacintosh, The Dish, @dcshorts, @juliejacobson, @jrudis, /Film, @scalzi, @kyleorl, @harrymccracken, @girlparts, Asia Unbound, Guardian, Variety, The Week, The Daily Caller and Polygon
Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:
New York Times Reporters Told Not To Open Hacked Sony Emails, Some Of Which Involve The Times — NEW YORK — The massive Sony hack has left editors with a decision sure to be studied in media ethics classes for years to come: Should journalists report on materials stolen from a corporation by hackers?
Discussion:
Hollywood Reporter, Poynter, @matthewkeyslive, @freebarrett_, Washington Post, Sony Hack, Slate, US News, @mlcalderone, @dangillmor and Gawker
RELATED:
Alex Hern / Guardian:
Reddit bans SonyGOP subreddit and users for sharing leaked Sony documents, deletes posts after receiving DMCA takedown request — Reddit bans users for sharing hacked Sony documents — The social news site has acceded to a DMCA takedown request from Sony and removed a hub for sharing the company's hacked files
Discussion:
Business Insider, Pocket-lint, The Verge and Vox
Manjula Martin / Scratch Magazine:
The Toast's publisher Nick Pavich explains contract changes, apologizes for rude tweets — UPDATED: “I apologize.” The Toast's publisher on writers' terms — UPDATED: — I talked with Nick Pavich, publisher of The Toast and The Butter, over email this morning to clarify their rights terms for freelance writers.
Discussion:
Whatever, @alexanderchee, @manjulamartin, @nick_pavich, @sulagnamisra and @glennf
RELATED:
Mallory Ortberg / The Toast:
Following outcry from writers over copyright transfer, The Toast and The Butter amend their contracts — A Note About Contracts and Authors' Rights — Hello, lovelies! This is going to get a bit inside-baseball-y, so if you do not consider yourself A Writer or Someone With A Vested Interest …
Discussion:
@sedna_51, @mallelis, @mallelis, @mallelis, @thewayoftheid, @tithenai, @meanchelled, @mallelis, @scalzi, Writer Beware, @eilatan, @mallelis and @scalzi
Mat Honan / Wired:
Inside Circa, BuzzFeed, and First Look Media: the battle for attention from the news startups — Inside the Buzz-Fueled Media Startups Battling for Your Attention — It's like a parody, spending time in a well-funded startup's office, with exposed brick walls and Great Big Screens Showing User Numbers …
Discussion:
@digidave, @ashleykmayo, @antderosa, @joelchoffmann, @coreyhutchins, @moneyries, @sealln, @c_heller, @jimray, @om, @shanedingman, @lheron, @eamonleonard, @zeynep, @kevinroose and @digiphile
Hugh Langley / TechRadar:
Netflix exec says access and quality of wi-fi will improve within 5 years, end the need for offline downloads — Netflix: offline viewing is ‘never going to happen’ — Well damn … For some time now, services like BBC iPlayer and 4oD have offered the ability to download shows for offline viewing, yet Netflix hasn't
Discussion:
TechCrunch, The Mac Observer, Electronista, The Verge, Mashable, Business Insider, WebProNews, Pocket-lint, Engadget and BGR
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:
Billy Penn, @justinnxt, @stevebuttry, @ylichterman, @ceodonovan and @samkirkla
Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge:
BuzzFeed buys Hyper IQ, small app developer that has been working on its iOS app — BuzzFeed buys developer to focus on building native apps — BuzzFeed has big plans to build out its mobile app. The site has acquired the team behind Hyper IQ, a developer that's already been working on BuzzFeed's iOS app.
Discussion:
@mobilemediamemo