Top News:


Freedom of information declined in 2/3 of the 180 countries surveyed for World Press Freedom Index — World Press Freedom Index 2015: decline on all fronts — The Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index ranks the performance of 180 countries according to a range of criteria …
Discussion:
Gigaom, Poynter, UPI, Vocativ, South China Morning Post, Ecumenical News, Business Insider, Associated Press, PC World, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, The Local, wort.lu, Shanghaiist, Voice of America, Agence France-Presse, DW.DE, The Local, @pankajpachauri, Hurriyet Daily News, See it First, Mumbrella Asia, The Moscow Times, The Intercept, @rdewan, EUobserver, @meritwager, @postbaron, The Times of Israel, www.eng.24.kg and American Press Institute


Behind NBC's decision to suspend TV anchor Brian Williams, after an internal probe into his tales of facing danger in Iraq and New Orleans — Brian Williams Scandal Prompts Frantic Efforts at NBC to Curb Rising Damage — Hours before Brian Williams took the anchor's chair for the nightly newscast …
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, CNNMoney, TVNewser, @nytimesbusiness, Salon, Inside Cable News, Bloomberg Business, The Buttry Diary and PoliticusUSA
RELATED:

Within NBC, an intense debate over whether to fire Brian Williams — (Stephanie Klein-Davis/Roanoke Times via AP) — Senior NBC officials seriously considered firing anchor Brian Williams because he lied to his viewers about riding in a military helicopter hit by a rocket-propelled grenade during …
Discussion:
NPR, Fox News, Gothamist, @tvnewslab, Hot Air, @peterfhart, @allahpundit and @brianstelter

Lester Holt seen as heir apparent to Brian Williams at ‘Nightly News’
Discussion:
CNNMoney, MadameNoire, The Maynard Institute …, Washington Post, Mashable, The Daily Beast and USA Today


Longtime “60 Minutes” correspondent Bob Simon, 73, dies in car crash in New York City — CBS News correspondent Bob Simon, 1941-2015 — NEW YORK — Bob Simon, the longtime “60 Minutes” correspondent and legendary CBS News foreign reporter died suddenly tonight in a car accident in New York City.
Discussion:
New York Post, NY Daily News, CNNMoney, TVNewser, FishbowlDC, TVNewser, @scottpelley, Variety, CBS New York, New York Times, CBS San Francisco, bizjournals, Poynter, @mariakiro7, @howardfineman, Talking Points Memo, SPJ News, Mediaite, @xeni, Gothamist, New York Magazine, UPROXX, Gawker, LA Observed, Politico, @jaketapper, abc7chicago.com, Hollywood Reporter, @jenearlyspeakin, Fox News, The Wrap, Business Insider, The Huffington Post, @carr2n, The Newspaper Guild, The Week and Broadcasting & Cable


Major news organizations to reveal new freelancer safety guidelines … A coalition of prominent news outlets and journalism advocacy groups Thursday will release a set of guidelines at Columbia Journalism School for the protection of freelancers. — The recommendations …
Discussion:
dartcenter.org, @poynter and @niemanreports, Thanks:@benmullin

Time Inc. 2014 revenue $3.28B, down 2% from previous year, digital ad revenue up 6% for the year — In its first year on its own, Time Inc. hits some turbulence — Fiscal year 2014 was a difficult one for Time Inc., America's largest magazine publisher, which spun off last June …
Discussion:
Guardian, AdAge, WWD, Folio, Media Wire Daily, Reuters, Reuters, Bloomberg Business, Wall Street Journal and Talking New Media


Rdio and AEG team up to tailor your tunes based on what concerts you go to — Mobile executive? VB is hosting our 5th annual Mobile Summit on February 23-24 at the scenic Cavallo Point Resort in Sausalito, CA. See if you qualify here. — Music-streaming platform Rdio has revealed …
Discussion:
The Next Web, Business Wire, Billboard and RAIN News
RELATED:

Amazon launches its ebook subscription service ‘Kindle Unlimited’ in Canada and Mexico
Discussion:
Amazon.com, ITBusiness.ca, The Next Web and Canadianreviewer.com


How The New York Times Works — This is how the Gray Lady gets made in 2015 — Ernie Booth, the operations manager of the main printing plant of The New York Times, is walking the floor. The plant is a 515,000-square-foot building in Queens, on the Van Wyck Expressway, half a mile from LaGuardia Airport.
Discussion:
@msquinn, @nickconfessore, @mlcalderone, @grantwiggins, @monkbent, @antderosa, @viasimonromero, American Press Institute, JIMROMENESKO.COM and FishbowlNY


Le Monde owner's criticism of HSBC leak coverage lays bare fragility of press freedom — AJ Liebling's famous aphorism - “Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one” - cannot be said often enough. — I imagine there are journalists in Paris saying something like this today.
Discussion:
@nils_gilman, @dangillmor, @georgemonbiot and Guardian


Chinese Authorities Snuff out Last Online Remnants of the New York Times — The paper's last social media account vanished from Sina Weibo this week. — Likes — On Monday the Chinese authorities played one of the last cards in their war against the New York Times in Chinese cyberspace.
Discussion:
@andrewjacobsnyt, @niemanlab and China Digital Times


Publisher departures, technical glitches, and lack of signups led to the failure of Piano Media's countrywide Slovenian paywall — How a countrywide paywall faltered — Publishers on the hunt for digital media are increasingly turning to paywalls or metered-access systems.
Discussion:
American Press Institute


Al Jazeera trial: Egypt court frees journalists on bail — A court in Egypt has ordered the release on bail of two Al Jazeera journalists, at the start of their retrial on the charge of spreading false news to help a terrorist group. — Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed were imprisoned …
Discussion:
Al Jazeera America, Guardian, Reuters, New York Times, Al Jazeera English, @bahrooz, Associated Press, NEWS.com.au, Associated Press, Daily Mail, BBC, Mirror.co.uk, Reuters, CBC News, Toronto Star, See it First, Firstpost, CP24, CityNews, @petergreste, Haaretz, Globe and Mail, Mashable, Wall Street Journal, TIME, Telegraph, Voice of America, ABC, Deadline, Foreign Policy, ITV, Gulf News and Sky News


How One Stupid Tweet Ruined Justine Sacco's Life — Credit: Photo illustration by Andrew B. Myers. Prop stylist: Sonia Rentsch. — As she made the long journey from New York to South Africa, to visit family during the holidays in 2013, Justine Sacco, 30 years old and the senior director …
Discussion:
@fostersarah, @joegermuska, @digiphile, @poniewozik, @moorehn, @tomscocca, @gregobr and @tomscocca


Facebook to show live relevance scores for ads based on expected feedback from target audience, to let advertisers tweak ads for higher relevance, lower cost — It's a 10: Facebook Starts Telling Brands How Relevant Their Ads Are — Highly Relevant Ads May Cost Less for Advertisers
Discussion:
mUmBRELLA