Mediagazer: Facebook directly querying 600 paid users about News Feed stories to improve ranking algorithms, may expand querying to general population (Steven Levy/Backchannel)

6:45 PM ET, January 31, 2015

Top News:

Video purportedly shows Islamic State beheading Japanese journalist Kenji Goto — Video: Islamic State group beheads Japanese journalist — 3 photos — CAIRO (AP) — An online video released Saturday night purported to show an Islamic State group militant behead Japanese journalist Kenji Goto …

Discussion: AFP, ABC News, CBS News, CNN, Gawker, Bloomberg Business, New York Magazine, Business Insider, BuzzFeed, @leighwsj, Associated Press, ta article page latest … and NBC News

Ezra Klein / Vox:

What Andrew Sullivan's exit says about the future of blogging — Andrew Sullivan is leaving blogging. — Crap. — Sullivan — alongside Josh Marshall — basically invented the political blogosphere. So his (temporary?) retirement is giving rise to many a “Blogging Is Dead” column.

Discussion: Gigaom, The Buttry Diary, Mother Jones, @ben_a_goldfarb, @lock, @tanehisicoates, @elakdawalla, @bill_gardner, @ezraklein, @chanders, @jayrosen_nyu, @felixsalmon, Daring Fireball, @scottros, @mathewi and The Week

Ernesto / TorrentFreak:

The Pirate Bay is now back online after December 9th raid by Swedish police — The Pirate Bay Is Back Online! — Early December The Pirate Bay was raided at the Nacka station, a nuclear-proof data center built into a mountain complex near Stockholm. — After being down for two weeks …

Discussion: BetaNews, VentureBeat, SlashGear, @mathewi, The Next Web, Gizmodo, Mashable, Business Insider and Engadget

Daniel Terdiman / VentureBeat:

Oculus Super Bowl party could be the future of social sports broadcasting — REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — When the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots kick off the NFL's championship game Sunday, friends, family, and coworkers will gather across the country and the world to watch.

Discussion: Forbes, Pocket-lint, Variety, AdExchanger and AltspaceVR Inc

Henry Blodget / Business Insider:

Yes, Bloomberg should buy the New York Times — and, yes, this would be great for the New York Times — Former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg is reportedly once again sniffing around and asking whether the New York Times might be for sale. — It almost certainly isn't for sale.

Discussion: @jeffjarvis

Steven Levy / Backchannel:

Facebook directly querying 600 paid users about News Feed stories to improve ranking algorithms, may expand querying to general population — Revealed: Facebook's Project to Find Out What People Really Want in Their News Feed — Every weekday beginning at around nine …

Discussion: The Daily Dot, @paulharwood, @chris_said, @jayrosen_nyu and The Next Web

Natalie Jarvey / Hollywood Reporter:

Snapchat's first original web series debuts Saturday in Discover, with episodes available for 24 hours — Snapchat's first web series debuts tomorrow in Discover, with episodes available for 24 hours

Discussion: TVNewser, The Next Web, Gizmodo, Mashable, The Verge, Mediaite, USA Today, Pocket-lint, Hollywood Reporter, Los Angeles Times, Tubefilter, SlashGear, Business Insider and FishbowlNY

Peter Kafka / Re/code:

Viki Video Site Founder Leaves CEO Spot, Stays at Rakuten — Razmig Hovaghimian, who founded Web video site Viki and sold it to Rakuten, the Japanese e-commerce giant, is leaving his CEO post. — Hovaghimian, who recently moved from Viki's Singapore base to San Francisco …

Discussion: Tech in Asia

Mathew Ingram / Gigaom:

BuzzFeed gets serious with editorial standards and ethics guide — As it has grown from being a media laboratory in which Jonah Peretti experimented with viral content into a full-fledged media entity worth close to a billion dollars, BuzzFeed has had to amend some of its previous practices …

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Poynter, @craignewmark, @mikeisaac, @ryanbeckwith, @evanrodgers, @darlin, @ptrmsk, @s_m_i, @jeffjarvis, @dansinker, @pareene, @jcstearns, @shani_o, @djbentley, @mathewi, @mathewi, @mradamtaylor, Gawker, @shani_o and @chrisjlund

Tony Maglio / The Wrap:

Viacom Layoffs Likely Coming This Quarter — Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman hinted at looming layoffs at his company during a Thursday morning investors call. On Friday, the company president's comments were confirmed to TheWrap as a warning for job-cutting in the near-to-intermediate future.

Discussion: Broadcasting & Cable

Kurt Wagner / Re/code:

Vine Rolls Out Children's Version of Six-Second Video App — Vine is thinking of the children. — The Twitter-owned video company on Friday rolled out Vine Kids, a lightweight kid-centric version of its popular video app. — The app, which doesn't require users to sign up or follow anyone …

Discussion: Vine blog, Mashable and The Next Web

Alyson Shontell / Business Insider:

How Elite Daily sold for $40-50 million to Daily Mail — Daily Mail just acquired the media startup Elite Daily for $40 million to $50 million, according to multiple sources familiar with the deal. — But when Daily Mail's US CEO Jon Steinberg was first told to meet with Elite Daily in June, he blew it off.

Discussion: @infatuation, @dennishegstad, @joshelman, @rafat, @lock, @bevebedwards and @robanthonyc

Charlie Lankston For / Daily Mail:
Daily Mail online publisher DMG Media acquires millennial-focused website Elite Daily

Discussion: Elite Daily, Gawker, TechCrunch, Author Earnings, @tomgara, Wall Street Journal, @pkafka, @marksweney, @profjeffjarvis, @pkafka, @pkafka, New York Times, FishbowlNY, bizjournals, The Drum, Reuters, Business Insider, @maura, @michaelroston, @perlberg, @broderick, @rafat, @henrymance and @neetzan

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:

AOL To Lay Off About 150 People, Mostly In Sales; Folding Joystiq, TUAW Into Engadget — Some more details are emerging around AOL's reorganization plans. Sources tell us that the company will lay off around 150 people, with the majority in sales. As part of it, AOL is also consolidating some websites.

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More News:

Hadas Gold / Politico:
Reporters were chaperoned everywhere in one Philadelphia hotel during US House Democrats' retreat

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, @bdayspring, @elisefoley, Mediaite and @ron_fournier

Ina Fried / Re/code:
FCC AWS-3 spectrum auction bidding breakdown: AT&T: $18.2B, Dish Network: $13.3B, Verizon: $10.4B, T-Mobile: $1.8B

Nathan Olivarez-Giles / Wall Street Journal:
Google Now adding cards from third-party apps including media like The Economist, Guardian, and Shazam

Discussion: Inside Search, Engadget, Android Police and Gizmodo

Peter Kafka / Re/code:
ESPN to sell live, on-demand access to the Cricket World Cup on web for $100, mobile apps coming on Feb. 11

Discussion: CNNMoney, Engadget and Consumerist

Earlier Picks:

Joe Pompeo / Capital New York:
Daily News to shutter borough bureaus

Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
Justice Department's IG report disputes Attkisson's computer-intrusion allegations

Discussion: RH Reality Check, Associated Press, Daily Signal, Mediaite and The Hill

Adam Schreck / Associated Press:
Amnesty: Saudis postpone blogger's flogging for 3rd week

Discussion: Newser, Guardian, International Business Times, CBC News, The Independent, Canadian Press, DW.DE, DW.DE, International Business Times, DW.DE, BBC, Washington Post, Amnesty International and Globe and Mail

Justin Ellis / Nieman Lab:
The Internet Archive to boost its collections using $600,000 Knight News Challenge grant

Discussion: Idea Lab, VentureBeat, Next City, CivSource, miamiherald, bizjournals and @niemanlab

From Techmeme:

Daniel Wiessner / Reuters:
Google scraps a 2019 policy requiring US suppliers and staffing firms to pay their employees $15 an hour and provide health insurance and other benefits

Gaby Del Valle / The Verge:
The US Senate reauthorizes FISA's Section 702; some communication service providers had threatened to stop cooperating with the US government in case of a lapse

Kate Rogers / CNBC:
A look at Los Angeles' Homelessness Prevention pilot program, which uses AI to identify those at risk of becoming homeless, offering aid to keep them housed

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