Mediagazer: Most of You Watched ‘Game of Thrones’ on HBO's Old Streaming Service, Not the New One (Peter Kafka/Re/code)

10:15 AM ET, April 15, 2015

Top News:

Capital to become POLITICO New York as parent company sets expansion plans — Capital will be rebranded and relaunched as POLITICO New York as part of an expansion at its Beltway-based parent company, which is gearing up to roll out new satellite publications across the U.S. and Europe.

Discussion: New York Times, Politico, @mlcalderone and @stefanjbecket

Joe Pompeo / Capital New York:

Politico Europe hires Alex Spence for media, as slew of hires, bureaus is announced — POLITICO Europe has hired Alex Spence as its European media correspondent, a sign that readers of the soon-to-launch venture can expect aggressive coverage of the continent's industry sagas.

Discussion: Guardian, @djpolitico, @joepompeo, @annelaumen and @ryanheathwriter

Joe Pompeo / Capital New York:

NYT Now relaunching as free app on May 11 — The New York Times will relaunch NYT Now as a free app on May 11 in a bid to attract younger readers who get their news on mobile devices. — Additionally, the Times' core mobile app will relaunch April 24 in conjunction with the debut of the Apple Watch …

Discussion: FishbowlNY, Bloomberg Business, Bloomberg Business, @jasonabbruzzese and @the_fjp

Dylan Byers / Politico:

Analytics firm StatSocial ranks, categorizes Twitter's most influential political journalists; Ezra Klein, Nate Silver, Mike Allen, and Ben Smith lead list — Twitter's most influential political journalists — Ezra Klein, Nate Silver, Mike Allen and Ben Smith are the most influential …

Discussion: @raju, @weskrantz, bookforum.com, @chrisgeidner, @elongreen, @dliebelson, @b_fung, @petersterne, @rameshponnuru, @walshfreedom, @ewerickson, @monikabauerlein, @olivianuzzi, @freddoso, @profjeffjarvis, @hadas_gold and @jayrosen_nyu

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:

A decision on Brian Williams's future at NBC could be coming soon — Andrew Lack, the former and current head of NBC News, started his old job anew last week staring at a monumental dilemma: What to do about Brian Williams? — The anchorman who was the face of NBC News and its signature …

Discussion: Associated Press, Mediaite, @tvnewser, @jayrosen_nyu and Poynter

Tom Kludt / CNNMoney:
Tom Brokaw addresses Brian Williams controversy: ‘really, really serious’

Discussion: TVNewser, TVNewser, Talking Points Memo, Politico, Mediaite and The Huffington Post

Jim Romenesko:

Newspaper reporter is 'the worst job of 2015′ — #200 out of 200 jobs/CareerCast graphic — Newspaper reporter lands on the bottom of CareerCast's Jobs Rated list for 2015. Last year, it was #199 out of 200 occupations. Today's press release says:

Discussion: CareerCast.com, NetNewsCheck Latest, FishbowlNY, FishbowlDC, Poynter, @andresmh, @tomgara, @howardfineman, @dancow, @trenni, New York Times, @zachinflight, Eater, @andrewflowers, @katie_gaston, @scottleadingham, @mattbarrows and Business Insider

Ryan Thornburg / Idea Lab:

Open N.C.'s Data Dashboard Brings Public Records to Reporters — Reporters in North Carolina are starting to use a new tool developed at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill that will help them speed up their everyday reporting and find stories that are hidden in the mass …

Jasper Jackson / Guardian:

Liberal Democrats set out plans to protect journalists in manifesto — British ‘First Amendment’ law, right to challenge Ripa and protecting freedom of expression in wake of Charlie Hebdo attacks among key measures — The Liberal Democrats are promising a slew of measures to protect journalists …

Discussion: Press Gazette

Jorge Luis Sierra / IJ Net:

Journalists in danger zones face harsh choice: death or self-censorship — Enrique Juarez Torres, editorial director of El Mañana de Matamoros, a newspaper based in Matamoros, a border city controlled by the Gulf Cartel, knows very well what a “zone of silence” means.

Discussion: @ijnet

Benjamin Mullin / Poynter:

David Skok named managing editor for digital at The Boston Globe — Boston Globe digital advisor David Skok has been named managing editor for digital at the publication, Globe editor Brian McGrory told staffers in a memo Tuesday. — Skok's new title comes with the responsibility …

Discussion: Medium and Media Nation

Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter:

Universal Music Agrees to Pay $11.5 Million to Settle Digital Royalties Class Action — A settlement submitted to a judge for approval would also give UMG artists a higher royalty rate going forward. — Universal Music has agreed to pay up to $11.5 million and bump up royalties going forward …

Discussion: PR Newswire

Peter Kafka / Re/code:

Most of You Watched ‘Game of Thrones’ on HBO's Old Streaming Service, Not the New One — HBO Now had its first major test on Sunday night, and it seemed to do just fine. The streaming service served up “Game of Thrones” and the rest of the pay TV channel's shows without any major outages.

Discussion: @pkafka and @zseward

Tom McGhie / Telegraph:

Global revenue from music downloads and streaming hits $6.85B, passing CDs and vinyl at $6.82B — Digital music revenues overtake physical sales for the first time — A strong growth in streaming services boosted digital sales despite dwindling downloads, according to the latest IFPI Digital Music Report