Top News:
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:
Quartz, The Wrap, PRNewser, The Huffington Post, Adweek, Mediaite, Business Insider, Washington Post, AdExchanger, Variety, @johncolucci, TIME, The Verge, @fishbowlny, @pkafka, @emilybell, Gizmodo, @joepompeo, @edgecliffe, Refinery29, @neil_irwin, @melissaleecnbc, ThinkProgress, @digiphile, @lheron, @rmantri, The Week, @thestalwart and FishbowlNY
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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, Forbes, Reuters, Adweek, Home Media Magazine, TVNewser, CNBC, @readdanwrite, Top Digital Journal News, Media Wire Daily, @alex, Business Insider, Variety, @pkafka, Wall Street Journal, TIME, @ingridlunden, @tkawaja, Fusion, Telegraph, @palafo, @benthompson, AppleInsider, @jeffjarvis, @simonkhalaf, Poynter, FierceOnlineVideo News, @antderosa, @jeffjarvis, VentureBeat, @bmkatz, Broadcasting & Cable, @digiphile, @mathewi, The Awl, @lukedecock, FishbowlNY, @tvnewslab, @davidramli, @mims, @anildash, @felixsalmon, @anthonyha, @mikebutcher and The Next Web
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:
Wall Street Journal, Adweek, Bloomberg Business, Re/code, Wired, New York Times, Business Insider, The Verge, Guardian, Vox, VideoNuze Analysis, Mashable, CNBC NOW, Variety, AdExchanger, @karaswisher, PandoDaily, The Huffington Post, @nichcarlson, Associated Press, Techdirt, Fusion, @alansmurray, @cnbcnow, Hollywood Reporter, @fmanjoo, GeekWire, Gothamist, ZDNet, @froomkin, @alansmurray, Forbes, @emilybell, Bloomberg View, @ezraklein, CNET, TIME, LostRemote, @buzzfeednews, @woodyleonhard, @robpegoraro, www.wnyc.org, The Next Web, @jeffjarvis, @bbcrorycj, Reuters 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 Verge, The Atlantic, @jyarow, TheStreet.com, @eringriffith, @fmanjoo, @mhbergen, Forbes 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:
Gizmodo, Digiday, Business Insider, @samsteinhp and Los Angeles Times
Brent Lang / Variety:
AOL Shares Surge 18% After Verizon Deal
Discussion:
Forbes, VentureBeat 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:
The Awl, @coreyford, @garethstack, @chanders, @justinnxt, @heychrisbarr, Poynter, @andybowers, @niemanlab, @stan_alcorn, @mlieber and @jmooallem
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, UPROXX, Mediaite, Business Insider, @erikmal and @lahlahlindsey
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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 …
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
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Nic Christensen / mUmBRELLA:
Wall Street Journal's head of global media sales, Trevor Fellows, downplays revenue potential of branded content, citing its difficulty to produce at scale — Wall Street Journal sales boss: Branded content will never be a dominant revenue source — Fellows speaking at the INMA World Congress
Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Authorities Near End of AT&T-DirecTV Review, Unlikely to Block Deal — Regulators could still impose conditions on the deal, but don't appear to have serious concerns — The Justice Department and Federal Communications Commission have nearly wrapped up their reviews …
Discussion:
Reuters
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.
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, Bloomberg Business, Politico, Slate, bookforum.com, The Week, Business Insider, Wall Street Journal, @cashut, @dlboardman and @erikwemple
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, Vox, New York Magazine, Politico, New York Times, London Review of Books, Politico, Techdirt, Corey Pein, Salon, CNN, The Spy Who BIlled Me, @sarahw, @mlcalderone, @ronrosenbaum1, @declanwalsh, Washington Post, The Huffington Post, Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine and Poynter
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