Mediagazer: My Post Cyberpunk Indentured Servitude (Barrett Brown/The Daily Beast)

11:40 AM ET, February 2, 2015

Top News:

BBC:

Peter Greste: Al-Jazeera journalist freed by Egypt — Jailed al-Jazeera journalist Peter Greste is being deported from Egypt, the state news agency and police say. The Australian ex-BBC correspondent was arrested in December 2013 and imprisoned last June on charges including spreading false news.

@skynewsbreak:

Freed al Jazeera journalist Peter #Greste says his release is a “step forward” and hopes his colleagues will be released

Mark Colvin / Guardian: In the end, Peter Greste became an irritant for the Egyptian government

Reuters:
Al Jazeera journalist Mohamed Fahmy expected to be released from Egypt jail soon - security official

Discussion: @nickkristof and @pen_int

Martin Beck / Marketing Land:

Hashtags featured in 50% of Super Bowl ads; 4 Facebook mentions, 3 Twitter, 1 Snapchat — Super Bowl Commercials With Hashtags Slipped To 50% In 2015 — Facebook is the most mentioned social network with four; Snapchat makes its debut. — Fifty percent of 2015 Super Bowl ads carried hashtags …

Discussion: Multichannel News, SocialTimes, NetNewsCheck Latest, /Film, Wall Street Journal, Mashable, @dannysullivan, @learmonth and The Next Web

Emily Steel / New York Times:
Super Bowl features 15 first-time advertisers, the most since 2000, as ad sales slow

Discussion: CNNMoney, Al Jazeera, Variety and mUmBRELLA

Ravi Somaiya / New York Times:

After Turmoil, The New Republic Re-emerges on Newsstands — The New Republic is a small magazine that set off a big commotion. — Late last year the magazine's owner, Chris Hughes, decided to replace Franklin Foer, a former top editor whom Mr. Hughes had lured back to run the magazine in 2012.

Discussion: FishbowlNY, @heerjeet, @jayrosen_nyu and @gabrielsnyder

Carol Morello / Washington Post:

Hard-line judge reportedly assigned case of Post reporter Jason Rezaian, jailed in Iran — An Iranian judge known as the “hanging judge” for his harsh sentencing practices has been named to hear the case of a Washington Post reporter who has been imprisoned in Tehran for more than half a year, a human rights group said Saturday.

Discussion: New York Times, Associated Press, International Campaign … and @anniegowen

Carol Morello / Washington Post:
Family of Post reporter held in Iran issues statement

Discussion: @lrozen, @erin_pelton and @jeffreygoldberg

Emily Bell / Guardian:

As it becomes harder to censor journalists, intimidation and violence increase — Journalists back in the firing line as digital media struggles to protect its own — As it has become harder to censor individual journalists and independent teams, the intimidation, violence and imprisonment has increased

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

Univision Joins Lineup of Dish's Sling TV — Spanish-language broadcaster Univision Communications has struck a deal with Dish Network's over-the-top Sling video distribution service. Sling's rights will include both live and video-on-demand content. — The terms of the agreement include …

Harry McCracken / Fast Company:

AOL officially plans to shut down TUAW and Joystiq, both among the earliest tech blogs — FAREWELL TO TUAW—AND TO A WHOLE ERA OF TECH BLOGGING — I was hoping that the ugly rumors were false. But TUAW—The Unofficial Apple Weblog, which has long been one of the most dependable sources of Apple news …

Discussion: TUAW, @oricohen, @fastcompany, @harrymccracken and Electronista

Barrett Brown / The Daily Beast:

My Post Cyberpunk Indentured Servitude — Journalist Barrett Brown looks back in anger at the government's trumped up charges against him as he starts a 63 month prison sentence. — Not long ago I was a mild-mannered freelance journalist, activist, and satirist, contributing to outlets like the Guardian and Vanity Fair.

Lucia Moses / Digiday:

How Salon tamed the trolls and saved its online comments — Online comments sections are a double-edged sword for publishers. For those trying to increase loyalty and engagement with readers, comments should be an essential part of an audience strategy. But all too often, they becomes a haven for trolls and spam.

Discussion: @hugeinc, @rowankaiser and @antderosa

Peter Kafka / Re/code:

Louis CK's latest digital-only comedy special outsells his first with little buzz or promotion — Louis CK's New Straight-to-Fan Special Has No Buzz - and It's Doing Better Than His First One — Three years ago, Louis CK filmed his own stand-up comedy special, then sold it on his own Web site.

Discussion: @pmarca and @fmanjoo

Brian Merchant / Motherboard:

Creator of music blog Hipster Runoff tells how he scaled, burned out, then sold out for $21K — The Last Relevant Blogger — Before he was voted Hipster of the Decade, before he was coining musical subgenres and helping the New York Times understand “alt” culture, Carles …