Mediagazer: Newspaper companies will continue to struggle with digital innovation without better cashflow (Ken Doctor/Nieman Lab)

9:50 AM ET, May 16, 2015

Top News:

Clinton Foundation donors include dozens of media figures and outlets: James Murdoch, Newsmax, NBC Universal, News Corp, Carlos Slim, Thomson Reuters, and more — Clinton Foundation donors include dozens of media organizations, individuals — NBC Universal, News Corporation …

Discussion: @dylanbyers, @dylanbyers, @dylanbyers, @trevortimm and Showbiz411

Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:
Before Stephanopoulos recused himself from campaign debate, Republicans had already told ABC they didn't want him as moderator

Discussion: The Huffington Post and Mediaite

Lloyd Grove / The Daily Beast:
A Weak Apology Won't End George Stephanopoulos' Clinton Problem

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Richard Deitsch / SI.com:

Bill Simmons will not appear again on ESPN platforms, including Grantland — ESPN president John Skipper addresses Bill Simmons' departure … There will be no farewell columns, podcasts or television appearances for Bill Simmons on ESPN. — SI has learned that ESPN and Simmons have worked …

Discussion: New York Times, Mediaite, Variety, UPROXX, Poynter, The Big Lead, Business Insider and The Week

Michael Sebastian / AdAge:

Four of the first five US publishers to use Facebook's Instant Articles plan to sell their own ads and keep all of the revenue — Publishers Willing to Give Facebook Their Articles, but Not Their Ad Sales — Branded Content Could Find a Home in Instant Articles — 2015 Programming Roundup

Jack Marshall / Wall Street Journal:
For some publishers, delegating the sale of Instant Articles ads to Facebook could make sense

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

Jared Malsin / Columbia Journalism Review:

Coverage of Yemen remains sparse as journalists can't get in and poor infrastructure means information can't get out — Why almost no one's covering the war in Yemen — CAIRO — More than 1,200 people have died since Saudi Arabia and its allies launched a military operation in Yemen in March …

Ken Doctor / Nieman Lab:

Newspaper companies will continue to struggle with digital innovation without better cashflow — Newsonomics: Razor-thin profits are cutting into newspapers' chances at innovation — Editor's note: We've revised this post, in the Valuations section, to reflect today's news that Digital First Media has …

Discussion: Capital New York, NetNewsCheck Latest and American Press Institute

Kathryn Bachman / Katy on the Hill:

AT&T and DirecTV extend merger termination date — With just three days to go, AT&T and DirecTV extended the May 18 termination date of their merger agreement “for a short period of time to facilitate obtaining final regulatory approval required to close the merger.”

Keith J. Kelly / New York Post:

Daily News bidding down to its final three suitors — The auction for the troubled Daily News is going down to the wire, with only three bidders remaining. — The deadline is May 18, although sources say it's a soft finish line that may be extended if two bidders are close or need a little …

Discussion: FishbowlNY

Robert Cookson / Financial Times:

Sources: Several European mobile operators plan option to block ads on their networks this year, consider blocking Google ads by default to force concessions — Mobile operators plan to block online advertising — Several mobile operators plan to block advertising on their networks …

Discussion: Business Insider, The Next Web, BBC, Ars Technica, ReadWrite, 9to5Google, The Verge, Marketing Land and BGR

Matthew Kassel / The New York Observer:

17 People Who Should Write the New York Times Media Column — It's impossible to replace David Carr, the New York Times media columnist who died in February. But according to a recent report in Variety, the paper is on the lookout for a new writer and has whittled its search …

Discussion: E&, @tomgara, @adrianchen, @mccollumashley, @hadas_gold, @ceodonovan, @mathewi, @romenesko, FishbowlNY, @sfiegerman and Variety

Jacob Silverman / The Baffler:

Twitter's new features have all favored advertisers and made it more unsuitable for genuine user interaction — Tweet If You Love the Sweet Sound of Advertising — Almost all of Twitter's recent changes have favored advertisers. / Adobe — According to Wall Street, we haven't been clicking and tweeting nearly enough.

Discussion: @thebafflermag

Politico:

Obama administration urges TV networks to stop using outdated and inaccurate video footage of Islamic State — Stop using ISIL footage, Obama administration asks networks — U.S. bombing campaign has militants on the run, U.S. officials say. — Frustrated that coverage of the war …

Scott Roxborough / Hollywood Reporter:

At Cannes, Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos rebuffs claims that the company could undercut European film market — Netflix's Ted Sarandos Heckled at Cannes: “You Will Destroy the Film Ecosystem in Europe” — Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos came under fire …

Discussion: Bloomberg Business, The Verge, Variety and Deadline