Top News:
Jane Martinson / Guardian:
Director General Tony Hall outlines new plans for “open” BBC, including local news partnerships — BBC will offer staff and content to help local newspapers — Director general plans for an ‘open’ BBC reporting on public services and removed from expansionism
Discussion:
Guardian, Bloomberg Business, mUmBRELLA, @uniwave, @mslaura_brown, @ewansc, @jayrosen_nyu and Observer
RELATED:
Mark Sweney / Guardian:
BBC backs replacing licence fee with universal levy — Corporation says it would make more revenue from a German-style charge that applies to all households rather than just those that watch live TV — The BBC is backing a new system of funding that would see all households pay a levy …
Discussion:
@screwlabour
BBC:
Outlining plans for BBC, Tony Hall compares it to Google, wants to help people understand world's information — BBC pledges to become ‘open platform’ for creativity — The BBC has pledged to work more closely with the UK's arts and science institutions to “make Britain the greatest cultural force in the world”.
Discussion:
Broadcast, Engadget, Sky News, Guardian, Channel 4 News, Journalism.co.uk, The Drum, ITV, allmediascotland, BT.com, London Evening Standard and Telegraph
Katie Collins / Wired UK:
BBC to expand World Service influence in North Korea and Russia — The BBC's World Service is respected as a source of reliable, unbiased journalism in countries around the world, but the corporation is now hoping to expand its influence in countries where freedom of speech and of the press is often stifled.
Discussion:
Hollywood Reporter, The Independent and Reuters
Roy Greenslade / Guardian:
Newspaper publishers could use BBC investment in local news as an excuse to make cuts — The real reason for the BBC's regional newspaper ‘reporting pool’... he BBC's plan to create a pool of up to 100 “public service reporters” is very revealing indeed about the beleaguered state …
Discussion:
@craig_lewis77, @jayrosen_nyu and @jonhew
Mark Walton / Ars Technica UK:
BBC to open up iPlayer to third parties, double down on high-quality dramas — Concedes that it will “close or reduce some services” as TV licence fee tightens. — The BBC is fighting back against the government's aggressive TV licence fee budget by promising to open up several of its services …
Discussion:
The Independent, Wired.co.uk and Pocket-lint
Reuters:
Dutch journalist says she has been arrested in Turkey, but government official says she was detained for her safety in a zone where there was fighting — Turkey says Dutch journalist detained ‘for her own safety’ — A Dutch journalist who in January was acquitted by a Turkish court …
Discussion:
@fgeerdink and European Federation …
RELATED:
Gerald Lynch / Gizmodo:
Netflix says offline viewing would add too much complexity to the service, will not be popular despite many users asking for it — The Real Reason Netflix Won't Offer Offline Downloads — Offline downloads are perhaps the most often requested, “holy grail” feature of TV and movie streaming services …
Discussion:
CINEMABLEND and Neowin
Valeriya Safronova / New York Times:
Quarterly print magazine Street Dreams features street photography from Instagram — Street Dreams Magazine Flips the Script, Bringing Instagram to Print — If the measure of a successful party is the sidewalk overflow, then Street Dreams magazine had arrived.
Madalina Ciobanu / Journalism.co.uk:
Hong Kong investigative news agency FactWire will launch after raising $387K via crowdfunding — Hong Kong investigative news agency to launch after successful crowdfunding — The platform raised more than £370,000 and plans to investigate public affairs issues, publishing in English and Chinese
Alex Kantrowitz / BuzzFeed:
Pagefair's estimate that publishers will lose $21.8B due to ad blocking ignores law of supply and demand, so is likely overstated — Widely Cited Ad Blocking Study Finding $21.8 Billion Loss Is Incorrect — Supply and demand were purposefully overlooked, leading to larger number.
Discussion:
@trevortimm, @trevortimm, @jbenton, VentureBeat, @whatthebit and Business Insider
Lisa O'Carroll / Guardian:
Rebekah Brooks sends email memo to News UK staff on first day in Chief Executive role, says it is a privilege to be back — Rebekah Brooks says it ‘is a privilege’ to be back at News UK — Chief executive of Rupert Murdoch's UK publishing business acknowledges Sun colleagues …
Journalism in the Americas:
Journalism played a central role in the fall and arrest of the president of Guatemala — The resignation of the president of Guatemala, Otto Pérez Molina, and his subsequent detention for alleged involvement in a corruption network, is not just a victory for democracy …
Discussion:
New York Times