Top News:


Testimony from former national security adviser Condoleezza Rice sheds light on how US government pressures journalists to withhold security stories — Condoleezza Rice Testifies on Urging The Times to Not Run Article — WASHINGTON — White House officials favor two primary tactics …
Discussion:
Politico, RT, @jasonleopold, @denniscearl, @fmanjoo, @joshgerstein, @jasonleopold, Courthouse News Service, @adamgoldmanwp and Associated Press


Vox's one-week experiment updating articles older than two months brought in 500K new readers for 88 stories; “refreshes” will continue — Refreshing the evergreen — One of things we're exploring at Vox.com is how to make better use of all the reporting, writing, and coding we've done before today.
Discussion:
@seanmcarroll, @channay and @cjr


Virginian-Pilot journalists: Corporate management pressure is stifling coverage — In the wake of an investigation, “we're walking around with duct tape over our keyboards” — Things are not as they should be these days at The Virginian-Pilot, the largest newspaper in Virginia.

Dish agrees on terms to bring back Fox news, business channels — Dish Network Corp said the Fox News and Fox Business channels will return soon to the satellite TV provider's lineup after both sides agreed on Thursday to the major terms of a multi-year deal.
Discussion:
Adweek, Gigaom, Deadline, @jonerlichman, Bloomberg, Variety, International Business Times, Hollywood Reporter and Multichannel News


Source: FCC to vote Feb. 26 on petitions from two cities asking to preempt state laws that limit municipal Internet service — The FCC will vote next month on whether to help cities build their own Internet — Telecom regulators will vote on petitions in February from two cities …
Discussion:
The Verge, The Hill and Multichannel News


Gawker Media merging Gizmodo and io9 teams into a tech super-hub — Gawker Media said Thursday it is combining its tech-focused blogs — Gizmodo, which tends to focus on hardware, and the more entertainment-oriented io9, as well as several smaller blogs like Paleofuture — into a single unit run by current io9 editor Annalee Newitz.
Discussion:
Gawker Politburo, @mathewi, @nicknotned and @digiphile


Inside the NY Times' audience development strategy — It was the fall of 2014, and Alexandra MacCallum was filling out her new audience development staff as The New York Times' newly appointed assistant managing editor for outreach. The timing couldn't have been more awkward …
Discussion:
@mathewi, @niemanlab and Gigaom


Iranian journalist's struggle shows that the free press is often muffled through pressure, intimidation, imprisonment, and exile — Waiting for Iran — In the aftermath of the horrific murders of Charlie Hebdo staff in Paris, one might think attacks on journalists tend to be dramatic …

Amazon executive hopes for era of peace with publishers — NEW YORK (AP) — The overseer of Amazon.com's Kindle e-book and publishing divisions is preaching peace. — With a monthslong standoff between Amazon and Hachette Book Group over e-book revenues settled and a multiyear agreement in place …
Discussion:
Gigaom
RELATED:

Apple: 1 million new iBooks customers each week since iOS 8 launch
Discussion:
GeekWire, Business Insider, AppleInsider, Publishers Lunch, VentureBeat and 9to5Mac


BBC has ‘greater responsibility’ than other broadcasters to recruit women in news and current affairs, report says — Broadcasters must do more to recruit women in news and current affairs since current initiatives to do so are failing, a House of Lords report has found.
Discussion:
Guardian, broadcastnow.co.uk, BBC and Telegraph


In latest staff upheaval, Boston.com fires associate editor after satirical post about Boehner death threat — Boston.com Is Still a Mess — The dust has barely settled on the Sichuan Garden fiasco as the site finds itself apologizing to the Speaker of the House.
Discussion:
Boston Herald, @vpaulalvarez, Associated Press, @dbernstein and WGBH News


Timeline Launches News App To Give You The Context Behind The Day's Headlines — One big complaint about current news coverage is that there's not enough context — an article or TV report might tell you what happened today, but it gives you no understanding about the history that led up to today's news.
Discussion:
@pierrebeugnot, @bhatnaturally, @saharhghazi, @harrymccracken, Fast Company, Business Insider and @ollywainwright


The New York Times is using its reader survey panel for journalism — For two decades, The New York Times has had a reader insight panel — a subset of its audience that it occasionally surveys to “better understand the reading habits, lifestyles and interests of Times readers.
Discussion:
Washington Post, @ylichterman and @niemanlab

News Media Coalition Announces Partnership to Test Small News Drones at FAA Test Site — A coalition of 10 news media companies is pleased to announce that it has partnered with Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) for the testing of small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) to gather news.
Discussion:
New York Times, Poynter, ap.org, @mattwaite, Politico, Up North Live, USA Today, @farhip and Rehak/Stuebing Mostly Media

CNN's Christiane Amanpour questions Zucker over Charlie Hebdo decision — CNN's Christiane Amanpour questioned network president Jeff Zucker in front of CNN's global staff on Wednesday over his decision not to air images of the Islamic prophet Mohammed, sources at the network told POLITICO.
Discussion:
Washington Post, @dylanbyers and New York Times