Mediagazer: If Alibaba's Jack Ma is serious about improving perceptions of China, he should give The South China Morning Post the freedom to report on good and bad aspects (Adam Minter/Bloomberg View)

4:10 AM ET, December 17, 2015

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Dan Primack / Fortune:

Sources: casino operator Sheldon Adelson is mystery buyer of The Las Vegas Review-Journal — Yes, Sheldon Adelson Bought The Las Vegas Review-Journal — For nearly a week, the media and political worlds have been wondering who paid $140 million to purchase Nevada's largest daily newspaper, The Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Las Vegas Review-Journal:

Sources: Adelson's son-in-law Patrick Dumont arranged $140M purchase of Las Vegas Review-Journal on Adelson's behalf — Adelson son-in-law orchestrated family's purchase of Las Vegas Review-Journal — The son-in-law of billionaire casino owner Sheldon Adelson arranged the $140 million purchase …

Discussion: @ralstonreports, The Huffington Post, @stephgrimes, @ralstonreports, @betsbarnes, @mollyesque, @nickriccardi, @tripgabriel, @edmundlee, @nealtmorton, @refriedbrean, @ravisomaiya, @tripgabriel, @carolscling and @jpodhoretz

Brian Stelter / CNNMoney:

Adelson responded Tuesday to speculation he bought LVRJ with a not-quite-definitive “I have no personal interest” — Sheldon Adelson responds to speculation he bought Las Vegas paper — “I have no personal interest” in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson …

Discussion: Las Vegas Review-Journal, @ralstonreports, @ndhapple, @keachhagey, @weeddude, Columbia Journalism Review, @ralstonreports, @danprimack, Mediaite, @davidfolkenflik, Poynter, @davidfolkenflik and New York Times

Joe Mullin / Ars Technica:

Pandora to pay royalty of 17 cents per 100 songs, up from 14 cents, after copyright board decision, with rates rising with inflation through 2020 — Copyright tribunal slaps Pandora with 20 percent rate increase — A little-known panel of judges determines what Internet radio must pay.

Discussion: The Wrap, Los Angeles Times, Re/code, Washington Post, RAIN News, New York Times, Variety, Tennessean.com and Tech Trader Daily

Hayes Brown / BuzzFeed:

Brazil imposes 48-hour block on WhatsApp for failing to cooperate in criminal investigation; rival app Telegram says it gained 1.5M+ users there in a day — Brazil Just Blocked WhatsApp Despite Almost Everyone In Brazil Using It — A court has blocked the app that 93% of Brazil's internet users depend …

Discussion: Gizmodo, @telegram, VatorNews, The Next Web, CNET, Re/code, Jan Koum, @hayesbrown, Reuters, @jakelaperruque, VentureBeat, TechCrunch and The Verge

Erik Wemple / Washington Post:

FBI Director James Comey calls media reports that San Bernardino shooters posted publicly on social media about jihad a “garble” — The FBI just blasted reporting on the San Bernardino killings — A whoa moment here: FBI Director James B. Comey today told the media …

Discussion: Slate, @erikwemple, @marciahofmann, @erikwemple, Guardian, Mother Jones, The Verge, @jayrosen_nyu, @jayrosen_nyu, @getnickwright, @reporterfaith, @tchop_stl, @dangillmor and BuzzFeed

Michael Reckhow / Facebook Media:

Instant Articles Launches to Everyone on Android, with More Than 350 Publications Globally — We're excited to announce that everyone who uses the Facebook for Android app can now read thousands of Instant Articles every day in News Feed from publishers worldwide.

Discussion: Fortune, SlashGear, Mashable, SocialTimes, The Verge, Engadget, MobileSyrup.com, The Next Web, BuzzFeed and StreetInsider.com

Laura Hazard Owen / Nieman Lab:

Atavist cuts half its staff and searches for a sustainable path as funding dries up — The past couple of years have not been kind to publishing-related startups. Byliner publicly fell apart before being acquired. Social reading platform Readmill was acquired by Dropbox and shut down.

Discussion: FishbowlNY, @justinnxt, @marklotto, @sarahw, @laurahazardowen and @rafat

Lance Whitney / CNET:

Spotify adds curated party playlists and a “mood tuner”, available now for Android and iOS — Spotify can play DJ at your next party — A new feature called Spotify Party plays a lineup of professionally picked tunes and lets you choose your music based on the mood you're hoping to set.

Discussion: Phandroid, news.spotify.com, Wired, Engadget, VentureBeat, The Verge and TechCrunch

Harry Tucker / Business Insider Australia:

Australian court blocks Voltage Pictures' efforts to access details of people it says illegally downloaded Dallas Buyers Club — Court throws out Dallas Buyers Club piracy case — A scene from the Oscar-winning film Dallas Buyers Club Photo Credit: Anne Marie Fox / Focus Features

Discussion: iTnews, CNET, Plagiarism Today, Crikey, Wall Street Journal, Gizmodo Australia, Lifehacker Australia, NEWS.com.au, TorrentFreak and Guardian

Adam Minter / Bloomberg View:

If Alibaba's Jack Ma is serious about improving perceptions of China, he should give The South China Morning Post the freedom to report on good and bad aspects — Propaganda Won't Pay for Alibaba — Late Friday night, Alibaba's Jack Ma joined Amazon's Jeff Bezos as the latest tech billionaire …

Discussion: @haidilun, @adamcathcart, @adamminter, Financial Times, Foreign Policy, China Digital Times, @camfreck, @aaronback and @jeremy_maxie

Lori Hinnant / Associated Press:

Charlie Hebdo to give the $4M in donations it has received to victims of January attack — Charlie Hebdo giving all $4 million in donations to victims — 1 photo — PARIS (AP) — Charlie Hebdo, the satirical newspaper whose staff was decimated by Islamic extremist gunmen and then beset …

Discussion: Washington Post

Mark Sweney / Guardian:

Evgeny Lebedev sounds out interest in cut-price national the i — Market rumours suggest News UK and Trinity Mirror could be potential buyers of the successful title launched in 2010 — The publisher of the i is understood to have sounded out media groups about a potential sale …

Henry Mance / Financial Times:
Daily Mirror looks at launching cheaper tabloid newspaper

Discussion: Press Gazette

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