Top News:
Karin Laub / Associated Press:
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 …
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AFP, Reuters, Guardian, The Huffington Post, The Atlantic Online, BBC, Wall Street Journal, CBS News, NPR, @abc, Al Jazeera English, Al Jazeera America, RT, RTÉ, CNN, The Daily Beast, Washington Times, Gawker, Bloomberg Business, @leighwsj, TVNZ, Business Insider, Mashable, NBC News, BuzzFeed, New York Magazine, Committee to Protect … and The Week
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, Mother Jones, The Buttry Diary, @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:
VentureBeat, BetaNews, SlashGear, @mathewi, The Next Web, Gizmodo, Mashable, Engadget and Business Insider
Carmel DeAmicis / Gigaom:
Newsweek designer defends his controversial tech sexism cover — The relaunched version of Newsweek is no stranger to controversy. Almost a year ago, it brought the ire of the internet upon it with its launch story on Bitcoin creator Satashi Nakamoto, to the point where the company …
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:
@jonsteinberg, @marionmaneker, @jyarow, @mathewi and @jeffjarvis
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
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, @jayrosen_nyu, @paulharwood, @chris_said 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
Hadas Gold / Politico:
Reporters were chaperoned everywhere in one Philadelphia hotel during US House Democrats' retreat — At retreat, Dem staffers escort reporters to restroom — Reporters covering the House Democrats' retreat in Philadelphia this week are having a much different experience than when they're on their home turf on Capitol Hill.
Discussion:
Washington Free Beacon, @bdayspring, @elisefoley, Mediaite and @ron_fournier
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
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Charlie Lankston For / Daily Mail:
Daily Mail online publisher DMG Media acquires millennial-focused website Elite Daily
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, Business Insider, The Drum, Reuters, @maura, @perlberg, @michaelroston, @broderick, @rafat, @henrymance and @neetzan