Top News:
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Internal memo from AOL CEO Tim Armstrong on Verizon takeover — In Big Media Push, Verizon Buys AOL For $4.4B [Memo From AOL CEO Tim Armstrong] — So this just happened. AOL, owner of TechCrunch, is getting acquired: U.S. carrier Verizon said in a statement that it is buying the company for $4.4 billion, or $50 per share.
Discussion:
PRNewser, Quartz, Adweek, TVNewser, Home Media Magazine, CNBC, Media Wire Daily, Variety, Wall Street Journal, Telegraph, The Awl, TIME, The Verge, Media & Entertainment, @pkafka, FishbowlNY, AppleInsider, Fusion, Business Insider, @mathewi, @ingridlunden, @digiphile, @tkawaja, @anildash, @lukedecock, @felixsalmon, @palafo, @benthompson, Forbes, @jeffjarvis, @simonkhalaf, @anthonyha, @mikebutcher, @tvnewslab, FierceOnlineVideo News, VentureBeat, @antderosa, @jeffjarvis, @mims, @davidramli, @bmkatz, The Next Web and Reuters
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Kara Swisher / Re/code:
Sources: AOL in talks to spin off HuffPost, primarily with Axel Springer, at a valuation over $1B — AOL Has Been in Talks to Spin Off HuffPost as Part of Verizon Acquisition Deal — According to numerous sources, while it has been negotiating its deal to sell to Verizon …
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Adweek, Mediaite, Business Insider, @lheron, Gizmodo, FishbowlNY, Refinery29, @edgecliffe, The Week, ThinkProgress, @fishbowlny, @pkafka, @emilybell, @joepompeo, @neil_irwin, @melissaleecnbc, @digiphile, @rmantri and @thestalwart
Verizon:
Verizon to acquire AOL at $50 per share at an estimated total value of $4.4B, Tim Armstrong to continue leading AOL operations — Verizon to Acquire AOL — Deal Creates Unique and Scaled Digital Media Platforms for Consumers, Advertisers and Partners — NEW YORK - Taking another significant step …
Discussion:
Re/code, Wall Street Journal, Adweek, Bloomberg Business, New York Times, Wired, Business Insider, Guardian, The Verge, Vox, CNBC NOW, Mashable, LostRemote, Forbes, @karaswisher, PandoDaily, Bloomberg View, Techdirt, Variety, GeekWire, The Huffington Post, AdExchanger, ZDNet, Associated Press, TIME, @nichcarlson, VideoNuze Analysis, @woodyleonhard, @robpegoraro, Fusion, The Next Web, @alansmurray, @cnbcnow, Hollywood Reporter, @fmanjoo, Gothamist, @jeffjarvis, @froomkin, @alansmurray, VentureBeat, @buzzfeednews, @emilybell, @ezraklein, @bbcrorycj, CNET, www.wnyc.org and Electronista
Alex Kantrowitz / AdAge:
Ad-Tech, not Content, Is King in the Verizon-AOL Deal — Takeaways From This Morning's Announcement — The deal of the year may be upon us. — Today, Verizon announced it has reached an agreement to buy AOL for $4.4 billion. The move, expected to be completed this summer …
Discussion:
The Atlantic, The Verge, @jyarow, TheStreet.com, @fmanjoo, @eringriffith and Adweek
Dennis K. Berman / Wall Street Journal:
Verizon's AOL acquisition suggests its telecom carrier empire is crumbling more than it shows the power of the physical network — Verizon-AOL: A War of All Against All — Surprising deal suggests a crumbling empire more than it shows the power of the network
Discussion:
Quartz, Digiday, @samsteinhp, Los Angeles Times and Business Insider
Brent Lang / Variety:
AOL Shares Surge 18% After Verizon Deal
Discussion:
Forbes, Broadcasting & Cable and VatorNews
Justin Ellis / Nieman Lab:
Knight Foundation invests $1 million in creator-driven podcast collective Radiotopia — A little over a year ago, a group of public radio-minded podcast producers banded together with an idea: to combine their powers to grow a shared audience and develop a better business model for fledgling audio entrepreneurs.
Discussion:
@garethstack, @chanders, @justinnxt, @heychrisbarr, Poynter, @andybowers, @niemanlab, @stan_alcorn, @mlieber and @jmooallem
T. Rees Shapiro / Washington Post:
University of Virginia associate dean Nicole Eramo files defamation suit against Rolling Stone, seeks $7.5M in damages over retracted rape story — U-Va. dean sues Rolling Stone for ‘false’ portrayal in retracted rape story — WUVA online, a student-run media outlet, interviewed Nicole Eramo …
Marisa Guthrie / Hollywood Reporter:
ESPN President John Skipper on Bill Simmons: “It Was Business” — The chatter at ESPN's upfront presentation Tuesday morning centered on Bill Simmons, conspicuously absent since ESPN president John Skipper abruptly announced Friday that he would not renew Simmons' contract.
Discussion:
Poynter, New York Times, Mediaite, Business Insider, @lahlahlindsey and @erikmal
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Alex Weprin / Capital New York:
ESPN president John Skipper says network will continue to support Grantland after Simmons' departure “at the same level both financially and staff-wise” — ESPN president: Simmons split was about ‘business,’ not money — ESPN's decision not to renew the contract of Bill Simmons …
Discussion:
Broadcasting & Cable
BBC:
Secular blogger Ananta Bijoy Das hacked to death in Bangladesh, in third such attack this year — Bangladesh blogger Ananta Bijoy Das hacked to death — A secular blogger in Bangladesh has been hacked to death in north-eastern Bangladesh in the third such deadly attack since the start of the year, police say.
Lloyd Grove / The Daily Beast:
In first public comments on Brian Williams. NBC News Chief Andy Lack promises resolution “soon” — NBC News Chief Andy Lack: 'We're Playing Hurt' Over Brian Williams — In his first public comments about the saga, NBC News chief Andy Lack acknowledged the damage done to the network by the Brian Williams scandal.
Discussion:
TVNewser, The Wrap, @tvnewslab and @thelloydgrove
Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
New questions about bin Laden's death and burial highlight lack of attribution in earlier Vanity Fair reporting — Why didn't Vanity Fair tell readers it hadn't seen bin Laden burial photos? — Investigative reporter Seymour Hersh has shaken Washington with a massive piece, titled …
Discussion:
FishbowlDC, Politico, Slate, bookforum.com, Wall Street Journal, The Week, Business Insider, @cashut, @dlboardman, @erikwemple and The Huffington Post
RELATED:
Jason Abbruzzese / Mashable:
New report by veteran journalist Seymour Hersh on Osama Bin Laden's death prompts doubt, conflicting reports, and a partial NBC confirmation
Discussion:
NBC News, The Intercept, London Review of Books, Vox, New York Magazine, Politico, New York Times, Politico, Corey Pein, CNN, Salon, The Spy Who BIlled Me, @ronrosenbaum1, @sarahw, @mlcalderone, @declanwalsh, Washington Post, Slate, The Huffington Post, Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine and Poynter
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