Top News:
Margaret Sullivan / New York Times:
NYT's executive editor Dean Baquet writes memo to staff, outlines goals for 2015, announces creation of audience development department — Dean Baquet's ‘Charting the Future’ Note to Times Staff — A turbulent year at The Times is over, and with that, the executive editor, Dean Baquet …
Bloomberg:
Sources: Verizon approached AOL about possible acquisition or joint venture to strengthen mobile-video offerings — Verizon Said to Approach AOL About Possible Takeover or Venture — Verizon Communications Inc. has approached AOL Inc. (AOL) about a potential acquisition or joint venture …
Discussion:
FishbowlNY, ThinkProgress, Wall Street Journal, @jledbetter, @howardlindzon, @sherman4949, @tactical_intel, @timkarr, @benmuessig, @rakeshlobster, @pkafka, VatorNews, @ggreeneva, @jyarow, Quartz, ReadWrite, @om, The Week, The Verge, Business Insider, The Wrap, Telegraph, @mattzeitlin, @peter_tl, @pkafka, @caseynewton, @rafat, USA Today and Consumerist
Capital New York:
NYT's Amy O'Leary, Innovation Report co-author, joining Upworthy as editorial director — New York Times' Amy O'Leary to join Upworthy as editorial director — New York Times deputy international editor Amy O'Leary is leaving for a new job as editorial director of the viral content site Upworthy.
Discussion:
Upworthy Insider, Politico, Poynter, @agolis, @emilybell, @heyfeifer, @daveweigel, @mlcalderone, @jeremymbarr and @jamesrbuk
Tom Watson / Forbes:
Instead of building a platform, First Look's Reported.ly launches a decentralized approach to breaking news, using Twitter, Facebook, others — Inside The Decentralized News Network: Reported.ly's New Model For Journalism — Anyone who followed the Arab Spring on Twitter …
Discussion:
@lavrusik, Medium and @matwilcox
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
CNBC To Opt Out of Nielsen Ratings for Daytime Programming - Report — Business-news network CNBC is planning to stop using Nielsen ratings as the basis for the sale of advertising on its daytime schedule to advertisers, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday morning …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Broadcasting & Cable, The Wrap, New York Times, Talking Biz News and Inside Cable News
Ev Williams / Medium:
Metrics based on a single number, like MAU, are a poor proxy for value for Internet companies — A mile wide, an inch deep — I was recently quoted as saying, “I don't give a s**t” if Instagram has more users than Twitter. If you read the article you'll note there's a big “if” before my not giving of said s**t.
Discussion:
@dansinker, @patrickklepek, @jdickerson, @clockwerks, @sacca, @stevenlevy, @josh_wills, @marksluckie, @agolis, @marginalutility, Business Insider, @destraynor, @fmanjoo, @betashop, @kate_day, @nixxin, @chafkin, @werner, @neilperkin, @nilofer, @mattcutts, @mikeisaac, @nxthompson, @peteshelly, @arctictony, @wblau, @lmirani, @rosskimbarovsky, @harrybr, @lpolgreen, @howardlindzon, @pkafka, @ptraughber, @jukayhsu, @cwhogg, @sippey, @jakeludington, @margarita, @om, @mm, @erickschonfeld, @startupljackson and @alex
Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:
Journalist Joshua Hersh Named BuzzFeed's Michael Hastings Reporting Fellow — NEW YORK — BuzzFeed News named journalist Joshua Hersh on Tuesday as the site's next Michael Hastings National Security Reporting Fellow, a one-year appointment given in honor of Hastings, an award-winning journalist killed in a car accident in 2013.
Discussion:
@joshuahersh, @joshuahersh, @williamsjon and @buzzfeedben
Charlotte Eyre / The Bookseller:
Kickstarter publishing projects raised $22m in 2014 — Publishing projects launched on crowd-sourcing website Kickstarter raised $21.8m (£15m) internationally in 2014, according to the company's end-of-year round-up. — Last year, 22,252 Kickstarter projects reached their funding goals thanks …
Discussion:
VG247, GalleyCat and The Next Web
PEN American Center:
Survey: concern about surveillance is nearly as high among writers in democracies as among those in non-democracies — Global Chilling: The Impact of Mass Surveillance on International Writers — Global Chilling: The Impact of Mass Surveillance on International Writers is a new report demonstrating …
Discussion:
@joelcpj, The Paris Review, PEN American Center, New York Times, The Intercept and The Hill
Jordan Chariton / The Wrap:
Fusion, Vox, Al Jazeera and The Verge Partner With Newscast App ‘Watchup’ (Exclusive) — Watchup, a free video news app that allows users to cobble together their own personalized newscasts from local, national and international sources, partnered with Fusion, The Verge …
Discussion:
TVNewser
Glenn Greenwald / The Intercept:
With Power of Social Media Growing, Police Now Monitoring and Criminalizing Online Speech — On March 6, 2012, six British soldiers were killed in Afghanistan by a roadside explosive device, and a national ritual of mourning and rage ensued. Prime Minister David Cameron called it a “desperately sad day for our country.”
Discussion:
@raycorrigan
Peter Sterne / Capital New York:
Fallout at Boston.com over retracted story leads to two staffers being escorted from newsroom — More fallout at Boston.com after retraction — Boston.com found gold one day in mid-December, but it's been burning a hole in their pocket ever since. — Capital has learned …
Discussion:
Poynter, @petersterne and @mlcalderone