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:
Quartz, The Huffington Post, TVNewser, Adweek, Home Media Magazine, PRNewser, Media Wire Daily, CNBC, The Awl, Telegraph, FishbowlNY, Broadcasting & Cable, TIME, Forbes, VatorNews, VentureBeat, Fusion, @simonkhalaf, @bmkatz, @pkafka, AppleInsider, Business Insider, @jeffjarvis, @mathewi, @ingridlunden, @digiphile, @tkawaja, @anthonyha, @anildash, @mikebutcher, The Next Web, @tvnewslab, FierceOnlineVideo News, @benthompson, @antderosa, @lukedecock, @jeffjarvis, @mims, @felixsalmon, @palafo, @davidramli, The Verge, @benthompson and Reuters
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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, Bloomberg Business, New York Times, Wired, Business Insider, The Verge, Quartz, Guardian, Vox, CNBC NOW, LostRemote, Mashable, Forbes, The Huffington Post, GeekWire, Variety, TIME, VideoNuze Analysis, ZDNet, AdExchanger, @ezraklein, Associated Press, VentureBeat, CNET, Wall Street Journal, Hollywood Reporter, Business Insider, @nichcarlson, @fmanjoo, Gothamist, @woodyleonhard, @robpegoraro, @jeffjarvis, @froomkin, Fusion, The Next Web, @alansmurray, @alansmurray, @cnbcnow, @buzzfeednews, @emilybell, @bbcrorycj, www.wnyc.org and Electronista
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:
FishbowlNY, Business Insider, @edgecliffe, The Week, ThinkProgress, @fishbowlny, @pkafka, @rmantri, @thestalwart, @neil_irwin, @digiphile and @joepompeo
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, TheStreet.com, @fmanjoo, @eringriffith and The Verge
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:
Gizmodo, Digiday, Business Insider and GeekWire
Brent Lang / Variety:
AOL Shares Surge 18% After Verizon Deal
Discussion:
Forbes, Media & Entertainment and Adweek
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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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:
@justinnxt, @andybowers, @jmooallem, Poynter, @chanders, @niemanlab, @stan_alcorn, @mlieber and @heychrisbarr
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, @thelloydgrove and @tvnewslab
Brian Flood / Adweek:
ESPN to announce deal with Cablevision that lets advertisers access multiscreen audience data — ESPN and Cablevision Are Set to Announce a Game-Changing Data Deal — ESPN will announce a first-of-its-kind data deal with a cable TV provider at its upfront presentation tomorrow.
Discussion:
Light Reading and FierceCable
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:
Politico, Slate, CNN, Business Insider, bookforum.com, Wall Street Journal, The Week, @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, London Review of Books, The Intercept, New York Magazine, Vox, Politico, New York Times, Politico, Corey Pein, CNN, Salon, The Spy Who BIlled Me, @ronrosenbaum1, Washington Post, @sarahw, @mlcalderone, @declanwalsh, Slate, The Huffington Post, Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine and Poynter
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