Top News:
Ted Bridis / Associated Press:
In 2014 US censored or denied access to 39% of FOIA requests, with unanswered requests up 55% — US sets new record for denying, censoring government files — 1 photo — WASHINGTON (AP) — For the second consecutive year, the Obama administration more often than ever censored government files …
Discussion:
Mediaite, @tbridis, @trevortimm, @dangillmor, @attackerman, The Verge, Guardian, @onekade, Hit & Run, @aliwatkins, @gtconboy, @propublica, @ap, The Week and sunshineweek.rcfp.org
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Josh Hicks / Washington Post:
A Sunshine Week surprise: White House exempts executive office from records requests — The White House on Tuesday removed a longstanding government-transparency rule that the George W. Bush administration first opposed, exempting President Obama's Office of Administration from records requests.
Discussion:
Poynter, Bloomberg Business, Guardian, The Rural Blog, USA Today and Gawker Politburo
Jeremy Barr / Capital New York:
New York Times adding 20 online opinion writers — The New York Times is bringing on 20 new online-focused writers as contributors for its op-ed and Sunday Review sections, editorial page editor Andrew Rosenthal and op-ed/Sunday Review editor Trish Hall announced in a Wednesday afternoon memo.
Discussion:
Politico, Gawker, @mollyworthen, @meganstielstra, @logandobson and @jbouie
Derek Thompson / The Atlantic Online:
Most millenials are ‘accidental news junkies’, learning about current affairs by spending a lot of time on social media, but not purposefully seeking news — Journalism in the Age of the Accidental News Junkie — Young Americans care about the news, honestly they do …
Discussion:
INMA and @heyheyesj
Roger Yu / USA Today:
USA Today offering buyouts to about 15%, or 90 of 600 staffers, who are 55+ and have been with the company for 15+ years — USA TODAY offers buyouts to veteran staffers — USA TODAY announced Wednesday that it will offer buyout packages to veteran employees to trim staffing …
Discussion:
Poynter, The Wrap and JIMROMENESKO.COM
Mark Sweney / Guardian:
Guardian, FT, CNN, Reuters, and Economist launch new programmatic advertising alliance Pangaea to take on Facebook and Google — Guardian, FT, CNN and Reuters in ad deal to take on Facebook and Google — Pangaea Alliance initiative will give brands access to more than 110 million online readers using programmatic advertising system
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, Guardian, Mashable, Capital New York, Digiday, Wall Street Journal, @ylichterman, The Drum, PerformanceIN, Mediatel, Financial Times, Beet.TV, Business Insider, The Drum, mUmBRELLA and @heathat
Joseph Lichterman / Nieman Lab:
How The Irish Times developed its new (very relaxed) metered paywall — DUBLIN — On February 23, The Irish Times erected a metered paywall on its website, making it the first major daily Irish newspaper to do so. … In the United States, newspaper paywalls are familiar [pick one: annoyances, understandable business choices] by now.
Discussion:
@lindseymwagner and @rositaboland
Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
One Mother Jones staffer arrested on trespassing charges near private Louisiana prison; second staffer quits job at the prison, sheriff calls him “operative” — Sheriff: Mother Jones had undercover ‘operative’ in Louisiana prison — Mother Jones magazine has some issues surrounding a Louisiana prison.
Discussion:
Winn Parish Enterprise, CNNMoney, Politico, Mediaite, @brianstelter and @tomkludt
Kristen Hare / Poynter:
Mitra Kalita leaves Quartz to join Los Angeles Times as managing editor for editorial strategy — S. Mitra Kalita heads to the L.A. Times to ‘develop and refine new styles of journalism’ — S. Mitra Kalita, executive editor-at-large at Quartz, will join the Los Angeles Times as managing editor …
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, The New York Observer, WWD, LA Observed, @palewire and @raju
Farhad Manjoo / New York Times:
Gigaom's challenges: poor leadership, spending beyond means, inattention to longterm problems — Digital Media Darlings Unfazed by the Fall of the News Site Gigaom — In the week and a half since the technology news site Gigaom stopped publishing, it has been held up as a cautionary tale for media in a go-go era.
Discussion:
@rafat, @fmanjoo, The Trichordist, @dangillmor, Boing Boing, @ravisomaiya, @mathewi and @jayrosen_nyu
Jeremy Barr / Capital New York:
Viral content upstart Playbuzz raises $16 million funding round — Viral content publisher Playbuzz, having mastered the Internet—to the tune of 80 million monthly unique visitors—is taking on New York City and the rest of the world. — The company, founded in 2012 by Shaul Olmert …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Reuters, bizjournals, ITProPortal, The Drum, Marketing Land, Guardian and Business Insider
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg Business:
Music Streaming's Gains Fail to Counter Falling Album Purchases — (Bloomberg) — The U.S. music industry shrank 0.5 percent in 2014 as growth in streaming services like Spotify Ltd. failed to counter declining consumer spending on albums and songs. — Revenue from streaming subscriptions …
Discussion:
@aram, Associated Press and Financial Times
Kyle Russell / TechCrunch:
Ustream opening up its internal SDK and API to developers, enabling anyone to build Meerkat-like apps, by invitation only for now — Ustream's New Live-Broadcasting SDK Lets You Build Your Own Meerkat — Call it a sign of the times: hot on the heels of Meerkat's sudden boom …
Margaret Sullivan / New York Times:
Public editor on push notifications as spoilers, when to honor embargoes, and disclosure of reporters on TV — Spoilers, Embargoes, Disclosures and ‘Jinx’ — For some of those enthralled with HBO's documentary series “The Jinx,” the Sunday night news alert from The Times was the very definition of a spoiler.
Discussion:
Slate, Curbed NY and The Huffington Post
Natasha Lennard / Fusion:
The NYPD's subtle changes to Wikipedia entries make black victims seem more threatening — NYPD officers editing the Wikipedia pages of black men killed by police conjures a dystopian picture. From within the brutalist edifice of Manhattan's 1 Police Plaza, cops logged in to the online encyclopedia …
Ben Sisario / New York Times:
Nine broadcasters petition FCC to change disclosure rules for paid programming from spoken on air, to written online — Radio Broadcasters Seek Changes in Disclosure Rules for Paid Programming — A group of radio broadcasters has asked for changes to federal rules about how stations …
Discussion:
@paulgla, @gsterling, @tvnewslab, Future of Music Coalition and AdAge
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