Top News:
Brian Stelter / CNNMoney:
Rupert Murdoch tweets that Tribune Publishing is about to be sold, with Los Angeles Times going to Eli Broad — Murdoch tweets that LA Times about to be bought — Newspaper owner and noted Twitter user Rupert Murdoch is hearing that the Los Angeles Times newspaper is about to change hands.
Discussion:
@rupertmurdoch, Politico, Mashable, USA Today, Fortune, @dainabethcita, Los Angeles Business …, Orange County Register, LA Observed, The Wrap, Reuters, Variety, FishbowlNY and The Drum
Mathew Ingram / Fortune:
Analyst: ESPN's loss of 7M subscribers since 2013 means about $650M less in affiliate revenue and an estimated $250M less in ad revenue — When Will ESPN's Subscriber Numbers Finally Hit Bottom? — One of the strongest parts of Walt Disney Corp.—in addition to its powerful hold …
Glyn Moody / Ars Technica UK:
It is now illegal to make private copies of copyrighted media files in the UK after withdrawal of country's 2014 private copying exception regulations — Thanks to the music industry, it is illegal to make private copies of music—again — From now on, it's not just in Penzance that there are pirates.
Discussion:
The Next Web, Gizmodo UK, App Advice, Geeky Gadgets, Yahoo! News, Lifehacker UK, International Business Times and 9to5Mac
Lucia Moses / Digiday:
Twitter removes share counts in sharing buttons, but publishers say data was important internally and as a signal to readers — Frustrated publishers to Twitter: Give us our share counts back — It seems like Twitter and other social platforms are always making changes to their platforms …
Discussion:
@newswhip, the Econsultancy blog, The Whip and Marketing Land
Tim Peterson / Ad Age:
Mashable Shop Is a Native Ad That's Also an Online Store — Visa Will Sponsor Shop to Promote Visa Checkout — BtoB marketing requires cutting-edge sophistication to reach clients in real time. — Digital publishers are looking for all kinds of alternatives to the traditional banner ad.
Discussion:
mUmBRELLA
Amanda Hess / Slate:
What it was like to be a Sony Pictures employee last year when hackers attacked — Inside the Sony Hack — What it was like to be a rank-and-file Sony employee as the unprecedented cyberattack tore the company apart. — Every morning, like so many of her colleagues …
Discussion:
@fascinated, @adayjchen and @lbennett
Jeremy Borden / Columbia Journalism Review:
How a little-known, Uber-driving freelancer brought the lawsuit that forced Chicago to release a police shooting video — It was the moment Brandon Smith and legions of media had been waiting for: the city of Chicago's release of a damning video that showed a white police officer shooting …
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, @cjr, @thabitianyabwil, Poynter, Hot Air, ThinkProgress, @raydowns, Robert Feder, abc7chicago.com, The Chicago Ambassador, Chicago Tribune, The Huffington Post, New York Times, Chicago Sun Times, Washington Post, Re/code, Guardian, @muckrakery, @annaleighclark, @muckrakery, Slate, Rolling Stone, VICE, The Stranger … and Chicago Reporter
Didi Tang / Associated Press:
China sentences activist Yang Maodong, known as Guo Feixiong, to six years in prison after his 2013 protests against censorship — Chinese activist sentenced to 6 years in jail — 1 photo — BEIJING (AP) — A court in southern China sentenced a leading activist who organized rallies …
Li Yuan / Wall Street Journal:
If Alibaba buys the South China Morning Post, the Hong Kong-based paper would be under Chinese rule, possibly limiting its press freedom and coverage ability — Alibaba Newspaper Deal Would Test Political Sensitivities — Acquisition would put Hong Kong's South China Morning Post under mainland control
Chris Buckley / New York Times:
China cuts journalist Gao Yu's sentence from seven to five years, allows her to serve sentence outside prison because of serious illness — China to Release Journalist Gao Yu From Prison Over Illness — BEIJING — Gao Yu, a well-known Chinese journalist serving a prison sentence on charges …
Mark Sweney / Guardian:
UK publisher Future cuts losses to £2.3M, will split operations into media and magazine divisions — Publisher Future slashes losses and raises £3.3m to invest in digital — Company, which has shed 460 staff over two years in bid to reverse losses of £35m, to split operations into media and magazine divisions
Discussion:
broadly.vice.com and Interactive Investor
Suzan Fraser / Associated Press:
Turkey's Cumhuriyet newspaper editor-in-chief Can Dundar and reporter Erdem Gul jailed pending trial over their reports of government arms smuggling to Syria — 2 Turkish journalists jailed over Syria smuggling reports — 4 photos — ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — In new blow to media freedoms in Turkey …