Mediagazer: Sources: Al Jazeera America's Ehab Al Shihabi is gone despite saying last week he would remain as COO (Tom Kludt/CNNMoney)

1:10 PM ET, May 15, 2015

Top News:

For some publishers, delegating the sale of Instant Articles ads to Facebook could make sense — With Facebook's Instant Articles, Publishers May Find 70 Cents Is Better Than a Dollar — Publishers are still digesting the details of Facebook's new “Instant Articles” initiative …

Discussion: New York Times, Poynter, @jackmarshall, @perlberg and TechCrunch

Corey Hutchins / Columbia Journalism Review:

Facebook publishing for local news outlets could arrive ‘in the coming months’ — When Facebook on Wednesday unveiled its new Instant Articles feature that allows news organizations to publish directly to the social media platform—and, in the process, set off an avalanche of commentary …

Discussion: Street Fight, E&, Forbes, @shaunarempel, American Press Institute, New York Times, Gawker and Reynolds Center

Mathew Ingram / Fortune:

Instant Articles' friendly terms for news outlets create tougher competition for Twitter, as well as Pinterest and Snapchat — You know who also stands to lose from Facebook's media deals? Twitter — Wednesday was a fairly big deal in media-land: Facebook finally launched what it's calling its …

Discussion: @sunilksaini01, @vivian and Fortune

Liam Corcoran / The Whip:
Facebook's Instant Articles' likes, comments, and shares in 24 hours: NYT on an athlete: 7.5K, BuzzFeed on improving your day: 6.6K, NatGeo on bees: 24K

Discussion: Adweek, @hunterschwarz, @martinbeck, @newswhip and @lmoses

Lloyd Grove / The Daily Beast:

A Weak Apology Won't End George Stephanopoulos' Clinton Problem — George Stephanopoulos cloaked his undisclosed Clinton Foundation donations in charity. That half-hearted apology isn't going to suffice if he wants to keep his anchor chair. — You see, Good Morning America host George Stephanopoulos …

Discussion: Mediaite, USA Today, @instapundit and Hot Air

Jack Shafer / Politico:
Stephanopoulos has destroyed his journalism-cred and forgotten the political savvy he learned in Clinton's inner circle

Discussion: NewsLab, The Huffington Post, Reynolds Center, Washington Free Beacon, CNNMoney, @brianstelter, BREITBART.COM, Mashable, Washington Post, Hot Air, Mediaite, @scottbix, @fmanjoo, @veryjackie, Bloomberg Business, Accuracy in Media and USA Today

Dylan Byers / Politico:
Stephanopoulos says he won't moderate ABC's GOP debate but won't recuse himself from presidential campaign coverage

The Huffington Post:
George Stephanopoulos' 2016 Role Suddenly Less Certain Amid Criticism Over Clinton Foundation Donations

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, Talking Points Memo, American Press Institute, Hot Air, Poynter, The Hill, Fox News and The Huffington Post

Tom Kludt / CNNMoney:

Sources: Al Jazeera America's Ehab Al Shihabi is gone despite saying last week he would remain as COO — News executive who refused to leave is gone — The ousted boss of Al Jazeera America who declared last week that he would remain at the company as chief operating officer has not been seen …

Discussion: TVNewser, Politico, The Wrap and Poynter

Bloomberg Business:

Netflix in talks with Jack Ma-backed Chinese media company Wasu, others, as it tries to enter the country's $5.9B online video market — Netflix Said in Talks to Enter China With Jack Ma-Backed Wasu — Netflix Inc. is in talks with a Chinese media company backed by Jack Ma …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Los Angeles Times, Deadline, @lucas_shaw, Bloomberg View, Softpedia News, International Business Times, Hollywood Reporter, The Drum, Variety, VatorNews, Advanced Television, The Drum and Techcircle.in

Variety:

Sources: New York Times is considering Jonathan Mahler, David Folkenflik, and Sarah Ellison to replace David Carr as media columnist — New York Times Ramps Up Search for David Carr's Replacement (EXCLUSIVE) — Senior Film and Media Reporter @BrentALang

Discussion: FishbowlNY, @sfiegerman, @hadas_gold, @agolis, @jyarow and Talking Biz News

Emma Bazilian / Adweek:

Lonely Planet Will Launch Its First U.S. Magazine as Interest in International Travel Grows — This fall, travel guide publisher Lonely Planet will become the latest entrant in the travel magazine space with the U.S. launch of Lonely Planet Magazine. Edited by Lauren Finney …

Discussion: Publishers Weekly and Talking New Media

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Amazon's Twitch Now Streaming on Roku — For Free — Amazon's Twitch live videogame-casting service is now available for free on Roku platforms. — Twitch, starting Thursday, is available on Roku media players in the U.S., Canada, U.K., and Ireland, as well as on Roku TV models in the U.S. and Canada.

Discussion: PC Magazine, PC Magazine, Multichannel News, The Next Web, Engadget and SlashGear

Lisa O'Carroll / Guardian:

Andy Coulson pleads not guilty to perjury in Scotland court — Trial of David Cameron's former communications chief opens in Edinburgh high court over charges related to Tommy Sheridan case — David Cameron's former media chief Andy Coulson has gone on trial in Scotland for alleged perjury.

Discussion: International Business Times, Daily Express, Independent.ie, The Republic, BBC, dailyrecord and Home on News

Michael Rondon / Folio:

TheStreet Experiments With A Freemium Model For Its $50-Million Subscription Service — Wary of a fickle ad market, many publishers have been trying to lean more heavily on subscribers for revenue in recent years. TheStreet has done the same, though its market—Wall Street—and its products …

Ben Mook / Current:

As podcast revenues climb, NPR board questions effect on radio sales — As NPR's income from podcast advertising grows, the network aims to hold the ad spots to standards that are fairly similar to those governing its broadcast underwriting language, according to a sales executive.

Discussion: The Awl and Current