Top News:
Julia Turner / Slate:
In defense of the unfashionable “hot take”: not all opinion journalism is glib and vapid — In Defense of the Take — The most striking thing about this week's BuzzFeed flap—in which the site was criticized for deleting two published stories, about a Dove ad and the game Monopoly …
Discussion:
Jezebel, The Drum, @jo_tovey, TechCrunch and The Huffington Post
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Kevin Rawlinson / Guardian:
BuzzFeed Editor In Chief Ben Smith apologizes for deleting two posts, now reinstated, and denies that deletions were due to advertising pressure — BuzzFeed denies deleting critical articles to appease advertisers — Editor-in-chief Ben Smith apologises to staff for 'acting without respect …
Discussion:
New York Times, Capital New York, @pareene, @tcarmody, @pareene, @rbilton, @anneclairecnn, @pkafka, @mathewi, @poniewozik, AdAge, Slate and Poynter
Guido Fawkes:
BuzzFeed also altered its robots.txt file to hide deleted Monopoly article from Google and the Wayback Machine
BuzzFeed also altered its robots.txt file to hide deleted Monopoly article from Google and the Wayback Machine
Discussion:
mathewingram.com/work, @gaberivera, @mediaguido, @jayrosen_nyu, @kennyevil, @ryanlcooper and @guidofawkes
Michelle Castillo / Adweek:
BuzzFeed editor Ben Smith says Dove post removed to avoid “Hot Takes”; earlier post on Monopoly, a Buzzfeed partner, likely removed for same reason
BuzzFeed editor Ben Smith says Dove post removed to avoid “Hot Takes”; earlier post on Monopoly, a Buzzfeed partner, likely removed for same reason
Discussion:
@buzzfeedben, Gawker, Mashable, The Atlantic Online, @rafat, @amonck, @antderosa, @profjeffjarvis, @palafo, @mims, @digiphile, @sdkstl, @palafo, @digiphile, @digiphile, @palafo, @antderosa, @digiphile, @palafo, @digiphile, Slate, The Wrap, Politico, CNNMoney, Guido Fawkes, @blippoblappo, The Concourse, Racked and @thestalwart
Benjamin Mullin / Poynter:
How publishers are using Facebook interest targeting to reach niche audiences — In today's unbundled media landscape, where news organizations slice and dice their audiences with newsletters, apps, social media accounts and verticals, Facebook has given publishers another tool to segment their followers: interest targeting.
Reuters:
Reuters Baghdad bureau chief leaves Iraq after threats on Facebook, denouncement on TV station owned by Iran-backed armed group — Reuters Iraq bureau chief threatened, denounced over story — (Reuters) - The Baghdad bureau chief for Reuters has left Iraq after he was threatened on Facebook …
Discussion:
@tomgara, International Business Times and @aloraibi
Joshua Brustein / Bloomberg Business:
HBO Now streaming service faces first major stress test with Sunday's Game of Thrones premiere — The Streaming Throne: Can HBO Win at Netflix's Game? — HBO's online-video operation has failed before—and now winter is coming — The launch of HBO's long-awaited Internet television service …
Vindu Goel / New York Times:
Yahoo leadership reorganization: Simon Khalaf promoted to SVP to oversee Tumblr and home page, David Karp no longer reports to Mayer, Adam Cahan runs video — Marissa Mayer Shuffles Yahoo Leadership Team — Marissa Mayer, Yahoo's chief executive, announced a major reorganization …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Mercury News, Wall Street Journal, Business Insider and Re/code
Gillian Wong / Wall Street Journal:
China Threatens Sina Corp. Over Insufficient Censorship — BEIJING—China's top Internet regulator threatened to shut down the news services of one of China's most popular social media and online news companies if it doesn't fix problems with inadequate censorship and the spreading of false information.
Discussion:
The Economic Times, Reuters and Agence France-Presse
Wall Street Journal:
Spotify nearing deal to raise $400M in round valuing the music-streaming service at $8.4B — Spotify Nears Deal to Raise $400 Million at $8.4 Billion Valuation — Goldman Sachs and Abu Dhabi's Sovereign Wealth Fund Have Invested — Spotify AB has headed back to the funding well for a seventh time …
Discussion:
New York Times and Business Insider
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David Lieberman / Deadline:
Comcast's Brian Roberts Made $32.9M In 2014, +5.1%, But Steve Burke Beat Him — It isn't often that the No. 2 guy makes more than the boss, but it happened at Comcast in 2014 according to the company proxy, just filed at the SEC. CEO Brian Robers made $32.96 million, up 5.1% …
Discussion:
Multichannel News, Hollywood Reporter, Broadcasting & Cable, Variety and Los Angeles Times
Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:
As 2016 election nears, tensions between Bloomberg's New York and Washington political staffs become more apparent — Bloomberg Searches For ‘Seamless’ 2016 Coverage Amid New York-D.C. Tension — NEW YORK — On Oct. 10, political journalist John Heilemann wrote his first piece for Bloomberg Politics …
Discussion:
@jayrosen_nyu, @joepompeo, @abeaujon and Talking Biz News
Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica:
Reject Comcast/Time Warner Cable merger, California official says — As state commission prepares to vote on merger, one of five members says no. — One of the five California officials who will vote on Comcast's proposed acquisition of Time Warner Cable says the merger should be rejected.
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times and Multichannel News
Cynthia Littleton / Variety:
Disney/ABC TV Group Digital Chief Albert Cheng to Exit — Albert Cheng is stepping down from his post as Disney/ABC Television Group's top digital exec. — Cheng, exec VP and chief product officer of digital media for Disney/ABC TV Group, has been the architect of Disney/ABC's digital initiatives for more than a decade.
Discussion:
Re/code