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Dean Baquet: NYT will retire 'system of pitching stories for the print Page 1′ — This memo just went out to staffers from New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet:
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The Huffington Post, The Awl and @chillmage
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The new New York Times Magazine launches Sunday with 220 pages, up 33 pages over previous year; eBay bought all digital ad inventory — The new New York Times Magazine — At the end of 2013, six months before her executive editorship of The New York Times came to a screeching halt …
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New York Times, Poynter, WWD, AdAge, @chrisboutet, @mathewi, @jackshafer, investors.nytco.com, @langealexandra, Co.Design, Washington Post, New York Magazine, @joepompeo, @mtaeckens, @joepompeo, @courtneyreimer, @fordm, @raju and @rafat

Politico's Rachel Van Dongen leaves for The Washington Post — Politico deputy managing editor Rachel Van Dongen is leaving for The Washington Post, where she'll “lead a new initiative for the National desk,” The Washington Post announced Thursday. — Van Dongen left the Post to join Politico …
Discussion:
Washington Post and @poynter


YouTube prohibits sponsored overlays to keep creators from cutting Google out of ad revenues — YouTube makes a move against brand-sponsored videos — YouTube is putting down the clamps on video creators who work directly with brands, nudging them instead to rely on Google's sales team for deals.
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@tbskyen, Beyond Devices, @brandonminiman, Tubefilter and The Overspill


Pandora testing a message service that lets artists send audio messages to fans — Pandora to Let Music Artists Like Lenny Kravitz Send Audio Messages to Fans — Even Pandora wants in on the messaging boom. — The music streaming service is launching a pilot test this week …
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Business Insider, Marketing Land, SlashGear and The Next Web


Exclusive: ABC News Launches on Xbox One — First U.S. news app on the gaming platform — ABC News has launched on the Xbox One, becoming the first U.S. news app to take residence on the gaming console. — The launch is tied to ABC's coverage of the 87th Academy Awards that will air live on Sunday night.


Secret Media Makes Ad Blockers Useless To Display Those Sweet, Sweet Pre-Roll Video Ads — Chances are that you installed an ad blocking software to skip YouTube's pre-roll video ads. But now, many media companies suffer from these ad blockers and have no choice but to switch to a freemium model …
Discussion:
Digiday


Out on Bail, Al Jazeera Journalist Mohammed Fahmy Speaks from Cairo — In December 2013, Al Jazeera English Bureau Chief Mohammed Fahmy was arrested in Cairo, alongside colleagues Peter Greste and Baher Mohamed, on charges of supporting the banned Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood.
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@mazmhussain, Telegraph, @rowaida_abdel, @rdevro and @the_intercept


More Telegraph writers voice concern — Daily Telegraph journalists have said they felt discouraged from writing uncomfortable stories about a range of advertisers and commercial partners. — These included the governments of Russia and China, a film distributor and RBS, BBC Newsnight has learned.
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Guardian, @borzou, @arishapiro, @antderosa, Press Gazette and BuzzFeed


Celebrations in Burundi after radio journalist Bob Rugurika is released from jail ahead of elections — Thousands rally after Burundi journalist released — 2 hrs ago — Bujumbura (Burundi) (AFP) - Thousands marched through Burundi's capital Thursday in one of the largest demonstrations …
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Reuters, Guardian, hrw.org/rss/news and South China Morning Post


Jury banned from watching BBC Royal family doc during trial of Sun journalists — An Old Bailey jury was told today that watching a BBC documentary about the Royal family and the media could lead to them being sent to prison. — Mr Justice Saunders, who is presiding over the trial …


DirecTV Q4 misses estimates with $778M earnings, 149K new subscribers — DirecTV Reports Lower Fourth-Quarter Profit, Improved U.S. Subscriber Growth — DirecTV on Thursday reported lower fourth-quarter earnings, but exceeded Wall Street expectations, and said it added more U.S. subscribers …
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Variety, The Wrap, Reuters, Associated Press, Zacks Investment Research, 24/7 Wall St. and Wall Street Journal