Mediagazer: New tax rules for digital goods take effect in Europe, affecting apps, ebooks, music downloads, more (James Vincent/The Verge)

11:00 PM ET, January 1, 2015

Top News:

Glenn Greenwald / The Intercept:

North Korea/Sony Story Shows How Eagerly U.S. Media Still Regurgitate Government Claims — The identity of the Sony hackers is still unknown. President Obama, in a December 19 press conference, announced: “We can confirm that North Korea engaged in this attack.”

Discussion: @josephmenn, @billmon1, @ggreenwald, @jayrosen_nyu, @wardhayeswilson, @tomricks1, @rungomez, @jayrosen_nyu, @garethporter, New York Post, Bloomberg, Gawker, New York Times and VatorNews

Jana Winter / The Intercept:

FBI bulletin says hackers who attacked Sony have threatened an unnamed news organization — Sony Hackers Threaten U.S. News Media Organization — The cyberterrorists who hacked Sony Pictures Entertainment's computer servers have threatened to attack an American news media organization …

New York Times:

Interviews with Sony employees show that the company was slow to realize the gravity and impact of hacking — Sony Cyberattack, First a Nuisance, Swiftly Grew Into a Firestorm — LOS ANGELES — It was three days before Thanksgiving, the beginning of a quiet week for Sony Pictures.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, The Verge, BGR, Mashable, Gawker, Digital Spy and Engadget

Tal Kopan / Politico:
FBI says report that Sony hack was perpetrated by a disgruntled Sony employee and piracy group hackers is “inaccurate”, based on “narrow view”

Discussion: Engadget, Re/code, Techdirt, Hit & Run, New York Times, Mashable, The PJ Tatler, PandoDaily and NK News

Patrick Kingsley / Guardian:

Peter Greste and Mohamed Fahmy apply for deportation from Egypt to Australia and Canada — Two of Al-Jazeera Three apply for deportation from Egypt — Peter Greste and Mohamed Fahmy formally ask chief prosecutor to send them to Australia and Canada after case sent for retrial

Discussion: The Desk

Patrick Kingsley / Guardian:

Egypt court orders retrial for Peter Greste and his Al Jazeera colleagues, denies bail — Egypt court orders retrial for Peter Greste and Al-Jazeera colleagues — Al-Jazeera Three, Greste Mohamed Fadel Fahmy and Baher Mohamed, are to be retried and bail has been denied

James Vincent / The Verge:

New tax rules for digital goods take effect in Europe, affecting apps, ebooks, music downloads, more — Apps, ebooks, and album downloads are about to get more expensive in Europe — New legislation is making internet companies fork out more tax, and consumers will likely pay the price

Discussion: New York Times, Telegraph, Daily Mail, @clikchic, @planbmag, The Bandcamp Blog, Billboard and The Next Web

Margaret Sullivan / New York Times:

17 Hopes and Dreams for The Times in the New Year — 1. Presidential campaign coverage that does not seem based on the idea that the presidency is dynastic, and must be handed down to a Clinton or a Bush. — 2. More skepticism from the get-go. For example, when government officials say …

Discussion: @vikasbajaj, @raju, @caraswill, @edmundlee, @michalskilaura, @rebeccagberg, @kvox, @sulliview and @jayrosen_nyu

Nicholas Carlson / Business Insider:

Sources: Yahoo execs have considered buying CNN or Scripps Networks and its 7 cable channels — Marissa Mayer Has Surprising Interest In Buying A Cable Channel, Yahoo Sources Say — Here is a perhaps crazy idea that sources tell us Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer and her top executives have considered …

Discussion: Variety and The Information

Anna Clark / Columbia Journalism Review:

Q&A with Philly.com's new director of digital audience development, Diana Lind, who came from local nonprofit magazine Next City — Diana Lind discusses what she's learned at Next City and what she hopes to bring to Philly.com — DETROIT, MI — How do you engage readers with local reporting?

Jonathan Band / Disruptive Competition Project:

MLK estate refused to license speeches, forcing filmmakers to paraphrase in Selma docudrama — Paraphrasing Selma — Among the most powerful moments of Selma, the new film about the march Martin Luther King, Jr. led in 1965 in support of voting rights for African Americans, are the speeches …

Discussion: New York Times, Gigaom, @joemullin and Washington Post

Joe Pompeo / Capital New York:

Bloomberg Business readies for Davos with Jan. 20 debut — January 20 is shaping up to be a big day for Bloomberg L.P. — That's the date that's been chosen to unveil the company's much-anticipated flagship media portal, Bloomberg Business, according to sources with knowledge of the plans …

Discussion: @joepompeo, @joepompeo and The Huffington Post

Brandon Weigel / Baltimore City Paper:

Fox 45 fires crew behind the bogus ‘kill a cop’ story — A screen grab from the Fox 45 story. — The reporter and the photographer responsible for misquoting Tyrone West's sister, Tawanda Jones, at a protest rally in Washington, D.C., reporting she and others chanted “kill a cop,” …

Discussion: Baltimore Sun, @city_paper, Raw Story, Mediaite and TVSpy