Top News:
The Awl:
The Awl's “Concessionist” takes on the myopism of a writer with severe BuzzFeed envy — I Hate Myself Because I Don't Work For BuzzFeed — The Concessionist gives advice each weekend about the sordid choices of real life. Trouble? Write today. — Hi Concessionist,
Discussion:
@romenesko, @gabydunn, @choire, @annaholmes, @libbycwatson, @moorehn, @samfbiddle, @freddiedeboer, @moorehn, @max_read, @pkafka, @pkafka and @thestalwart
Toronto Star:
Toronto Star eliminating its paid digital subscriptions on April 1, making all content free — Note to Readers: Star to end paid digital subscriptions on April 1 — We are announcing the cancellation of Digital Access, our paid digital subscription program for readers of our website, thestar.com, effective April 1, 2015.
Discussion:
@mathewi and @ivortossell
Ilya Marritz / WNYC News:
Deal with New York State allows Time Inc. to cut 917 jobs by 2017 and still retain subsidies — Taxpayer Subsidy Allows Time Inc. To Slash Jobs — Time Inc., the publisher of Time, Sports Illustrated, People, and many other magazines, is planning a move from Midtown to downtown Manhattan, with the help of public subsidies.
Discussion:
@thesnydes, @jimschachter and Mediaite
Jackie Spinner / Columbia Journalism Review:
Guardian's reporting on CIA-style “black site” for detentions by Chicago police gets scant follow-up from local media — The Guardian's Homan Square story was huge on the internet—but not in Chicago media — CHICAGO, IL — On Election Day just over a week ago …
Discussion:
Beachwood Reporter and @cjr
Ed Sherman / Poynter:
ESPN's 12K word Alex Rodriquez profile doesn't quote the athlete once; writer says it would detract from what he wanted to accomplish with the story — Why there's not a single Alex Rodriguez quote in ESPN's 12,000-word profile — J. R. Moehringer spent more than 100 hours with Alex Rodriguez.
Edward Wong / New York Times:
Major Chinese internet firms including Youku and Tencent delete links to pollution documentary “Under the Dome” — China Blocks Web Access to Documentary on Nation's Air Pollution — BEIJING — “Under the Dome,” a searing documentary about China's catastrophic air pollution …
Discussion:
Asia Unbound, Tech in Asia, Common Dreams, Guardian, NPR and Quartz
Chadwick Matlin / FiveThirtyEight:
Draftback allows playback of the writing process to offer insights and teach writing skills — Watch Me Write This Article — If you could watch a replay of James Somers building a program that lets us see our own writing played back to us, you'd need to start seven years ago.
Discussion:
@scottros, @ksablan, @austinkleon, @kenbaumann and The Awl
Chris Leo Palermino / Digital Trends:
New report finds 119M people listen to online radio weekly and 45% of them use Pandora — Who's the king of online radio? New report crowns the winner — Online streaming music has been abuzz for years now, but how many people are actually listening? What's the most popular service?
Sean Augustine-Obi / Capital New York:
Brooklyn-based digital magazine Bklynr folds after two years — After 44 issues, the Brooklyn digital magazine Bklynr announced on Thursday that the publication was shutting down. — In an email to staff and contributors, founding editors Thomas Rhiel and Raphael Pope-Sussman announced …
Discussion:
FishbowlNY
New York Times:
Study finds at least 46K Twitter accounts linked to ISIS; from September to December Twitter suspended 1K accounts — ISIS Is Adept on Twitter, Study Finds — The Islamic State, the violent extremist group that espouses a return to a seventh-century caliphate, has been astonishingly successful …
RELATED:
Hiba Zayadin / Mediashift:
Fighting Words: Inside the Social Media War Against ISIS
Janko Roettgers / Gigaom:
Pandora to release day pass for ad-free listening — Credit: Shutterstock / Evgeny Korshenkov — Credit: Shutterstock / Evgeny Korshenkov — Pandora is looking to add a paid day pass to its service later this year, company executives revealed during Pandora's investor day Thursday.
Pedro Servin / Associated Press:
Paraguayan Journalist Shot to Death Along Brazil Border — A Paraguayan radio journalist has been shot to death in a Brazilian city bordering a crime-ridden area that is a hotbed for drugs and arms smuggling, officials said on Friday. — Gerardo Servian worked for a local radio station near the city of Pedro Juan Caballero.
Discussion:
Committee to Protect …
Peter Kafka / Re/code:
Apple negotiates with music labels for streaming licenses that would forego free tier, allow high-profile artists to distribute with Apple first — Apple, Music Labels Push Against Free Music on Spotify, YouTube — Right now it's easy to stream any song you want, whenever you want, legally, without paying a penny.
Discussion:
@pkafka, @om, MacRumors, @mikeisaac, Digital Trends, Consumerist, MacRumors, Gigaom, Billboard, SlashGear, Fast Company, AppleInsider, @jonrussell, hypebot, @richantoniello and 9to5Mac