Mediagazer: Microsoft rebrands Xbox Music as Groove, Xbox Video as Movies & TV (Emil Protalinski/VentureBeat)

4:40 PM ET, July 6, 2015

Top News:

AJ Daulerio to relaunch Ratter as tabloid site with focus on commentaries and essays, aims to build new Gawker — A.J. Daulerio readies Ratter 2.0 — When he was launching the digital media enterprise Ratter last year, former Gawker editor A.J. Daulerio envisioned a network of local tabloid blogs …

Discussion: FishbowlNY and @felixsalmon

Edmund Lee / Re/code:

Hulk Hogan Sex Trial Against Gawker to Hear New Court Date in October — Participants in Hulk Hogan's $100 million invasion of privacy lawsuit against Gawker Media will discuss a new trial date on Oct. 20, according to the Florida circuit court overseeing the trial. That means it's very likely it won't start till next year.

Discussion: Guardian and Poynter

Ellen Pao / Redddit:

Ellen Pao apologizes again, announces new role of Moderator Advocate to be moderators' contact with Reddit, pledges improvements to mod tools — We apologize — We screwed up. Not just on July 2, but also over the past several years. We haven't communicated well …

Discussion: Digital Life : NPR, CNNMoney, Mediaite, VentureBeat, TechCrunch, CNET, Washington Post, New York Times, TIME, Washington Post, Business Insider, Engadget, The Verge and NPR

William Turvill / Press Gazette:

After 80 per cent circulation drop in ten years, NME print edition to go free — NME is to be made into a free weekly magazine from 18 September, publisher Time Inc. has announced. — According to ABC, the music magazine - which current costs £2.60 - recorded an average weekly circulation of 15,384 in the second half of 2014.

Adam Sherwin / The Independent:
Relaunched NME will downgrade music coverage, focusing on fashion, politics, film, fashion, television, politics, gaming, and technology

Discussion: Guardian, NME, Music Week, Mediatel, @mark_samuels and @adamsherwin10

Severin Carrell / Guardian:

Scottish investigative site The Ferret to launch Indiegogo campaign for £3.8K for first investigation, plans to generate revenue via subs, crowdfunding — Crowd-funded investigative journalism site the Ferret to launch in Scotland — Site needs 2,000 backers to begin tacklingdecline …

Discussion: Street Fight, @patronsaintofca, @edibreakingnews, @irvinewelsh and allmediascotland

Lucia Moses / Digiday:

The rapid rise of Vox Media's Melissa Bell: An explainer — It's hack week at Vox Media, and Melissa Bell is in her element. The meetup, which is taking place in downtown Philadelphia, has drawn more than 90 employees, all hoping to come up with the next innovation for the company …

Discussion: E&, @lizzieohreally, @bankoff, @karaswisher, @laurengoode, @megangarber and @lpolgreen

Justin Ellis / Nieman Lab:

How research (and PowerPoints) became the backbone of National Journal's membership program — In fall 2011, Atlantic Media chairman David Bradley wrote an memo about his career, leading right up to when he bought National Journal and The Atlantic Monthly. It was a roadmap wrapped around …

Discussion: @mathewi, @jayrosen_nyu and @clarajeffery

Lloyd Grove / The Daily Beast:

Inside the dispute between Lowell Bergman and Frontline that led to his documentary about gambling in Macau being shelved — Why Did ‘Frontline’ Kill Lowell Bergman's Gambling Documentary? — Recriminations and accusations are flying after the PBS series shelved veteran reporter Lowell …

Discussion: @kimmasters, @bilgeebiri, @g_knapp, @corbinhiar and @ralstonreports, Thanks:@justinjm1

Gerry Smith / Bloomberg Business:

U.S. Women's World Cup Finale on Fox Sets Soccer Ratings Record — The Women's World Cup final between the U.S. and Japan drew a record U.S. audience for a soccer game carried by a single network, according to preliminary Nielsen ratings released by Fox. — An estimated 15.2 percent …

Discussion: NPR, Variety, Forbes, Reuters, The Big Lead, The Wrap, NESN.com, Deadline and Wall Street Journal

Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat:

Microsoft rebrands Xbox Music as Groove, Xbox Video as Movies & TV — Microsoft just announced a big change for its entertainment apps and services. In short, Xbox Music is being rebranded as Groove and Xbox Video is being rebranded as Movies & TV. Both apps will be available in a new Windows 10 preview available later this week.

Discussion: Windows Blog, Variety, The Next Web, ZDNet, Pocket-lint, The Verge and Re/code

Guardian:

Lebedevs have ploughed £111m into Independent, Standard and TV station — Russian moguls invested £18m more last year as London Live struggled to pull in audiences, latest figures reveal — Evgeny and Alexander Lebedev have pumped more than £111m into the Independent …

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:

Hillary Clinton To Finally Give National Media Interviews — NEW YORK — Hillary Clinton will soon start giving interviews to the national media, nearly three months into her presidential campaign and amid growing tensions with the press. — Clinton communications director Jennifer Palmieri told Fox News …

Discussion: Fox News, Vox, Poynter, ABC News, The Week and The Daily Caller

Variety:

BBC to Cover License Costs for Elderly, Charge for Streaming Service — The BBC will soon begin covering the costs of the annual TV license for U.K. residents 75 and older. The Beeb will also gain the right to begin charging for use of its popular iPlayer streaming service.