Mediagazer: The New York Times collaborates with This American Life on a special investigative report (Nicholas Quah/Nieman Lab)

4:05 PM ET, February 12, 2016

Top News:

William Turvill / Press Gazette:

ESI Media confirms Independent on Sunday to cease printing and Independent to go digital-only in late March; Johnston Press buys i for £24M — Independent newspapers closed, but will continue online, after i sale to Johnston Press — The Independent and Independent on Sunday newspapers are to close, it has been confirmed.

Discussion: Guardian, The Independent, Mashable, Telegraph, The New York Observer, Guardian, One Man & His Blog, Hollywood Reporter, Reuters, Guardian, @tedjeory, The Hindu, DW.COM, @pennyred, Guardian, Financial Times, Business Insider, New York Magazine, Guardian, New York Times, @joelmgunter, @johngapper, The Drum, @andrewholmes82, @mattkmoore, @emdunks, Press Gazette, Fortune, Featured Articles, Press Gazette, campaignlive.co.uk, Complete Music Update, World News Publishing Focus …, Wall Street Journal, @binkybaxter1, @johngapper, Bookseller News, WWD, CNNMoney, Guardian, Coffee House, Coffee House, Forbes, Reuters, Bloomberg Business, PRWeek, UK - The Huffington Post, Her.ie, TheJournal.ie, Channel 4 News, Daily Express, @marksweney, The Next Web, @marksweney, Editor & Publisher, BuzzFeed, National Union of Journalists, Associated Press, Politico, @rhiannonlucyc, More About Advertising, RT, Metro.co.uk, Digital Spy, Mediatel, USA Today, campaignlive.co.uk, The Irish Times, Sky News, RTÉ, WTOP, New Statesman, Financial Times, @adamsherwin10, @pressgazette, RAPPLER, @shearmanm, @youngvulgarian, Life Style Extra, News, Prolific North, Gizmodo UK, London Evening Standard, Talking New Media, Business Insider Australia, International Business Times, Dailystar.co.uk, City A.M., International Business Times, Daily Mail, UK - The Huffington Post, @joelmgunter, @henrymance, BBC, The Drum, @ajreid, Telegraph, @ajreid, @rorygallivan, @rossalynwarren, @elizabday, Guido Fawkes, HoldTheFrontPage, The Drum, Prolific North, International Business Times, Guardian, Press Gazette, campaignlive.co.uk, Reuters, Press Gazette and Rehak/Stuebing Mostly Media

Mark Sweney / Guardian:

i to expand into Northern Ireland, launch a new website, and hire more than 30 staff — Johnston Press to expand i newspaper into Northern Ireland — Hiring spree by regional publisher for newly acquired national title expected to pick up staff from Independent and Independent on Sunday

Discussion: Guardian and Guardian

Hollywood Reporter:

Sources: Apple is backing Vital Signs, a six-episode scripted television series starring Dr. Dre, likely to be distributed via Apple Music — Dr. Dre Filming Apple's First Scripted Television Series (Exclusive) — ‘Vital Signs,’ the technology giant's inaugural original …

Re/code:

Sources: as early as May, Snapchat will let you subscribe to Discover publishers, ensuring their content always appears on your Stories page — Snapchat Wants to Let Users Subscribe to Their Favorite ‘Discover’ Publishers — Snapchat is working on new plans to boost traffic to the publishers that use its “Discover” platform.

Discussion: Business Insider, @sarahcuda and @pkafka

Nick Corasaniti / New York Times:

Snapchat uses a team of about six journalists to add context to live stories of the presidential campaign — Snapchat Bets Big on Quick-Fire Approach to Campaign Coverage — BEDFORD, N.H. — Standing toward the back of the room at a Jeb Bush campaign rally here last week, Peter Hamby …

Discussion: @smithbm12 and @macloo

Nicholas Quah / Nieman Lab:

The New York Times collaborates with This American Life on a special investigative report — Last August, a college student named Alan Pean was Tasered and shot in the chest by two security guards shortly after seeking treatment for a psychotic episode at a Houston hospital.

Discussion: New York Times and This American Life Updates

Stuart Dredge / Music Ally:

SoundCloud files financial results showing $44.27M loss in 2014 with revenue of $19.7M; board forecasts it will need more capital investment in 2016 — SoundCloud financial results show €39.1m loss in 2014 — SoundCloud's revenues rose 54% to €17.4m in 2014 …

Stuart Dredge / Music Ally:

YouTube buys BandPage to boost direct-to-fan features — “We are very excited to announce that BandPage is joining YouTube, a move which dramatically accelerates our shared goal of helping musicians everywhere thrive,” announced BandPage in a blog post. — “BandPage is dedicated …

Discussion: The BandPage Blog, VentureBeat, RAIN News, TechCrunch, Tubefilter, 9to5Google, Engadget, @bandpage, The Verge, The Next Web, Variety, Music Business Worldwide and Concurrent Media

Patrick Frater / Variety:

China's Baidu Receives $2.8 Billion Offer for Online Video Giant iQIYI — Baidu, China's leading search engine operator, says that it has received a non-binding offer to buy iQIYI, a majority-owned subsidiary which is one of the Middle Kingdom's leading streaming video platforms.

Discussion: Forbes, New York Times, Tubefilter and Hollywood Reporter

Paul Farrell / Guardian:

Guardian Australia reporter Paul Farrell's police record contains more than 200 heavily redacted pages documenting federal police investigation of his sources — The AFP and me: how one of my asylum stories sparked a 200-page police investigation — When Guardian Australia reporter Paul Farrell put …

Discussion: Guardian, @sandihlogan, @moorehn, Australia Network News, @kathviner and Crikey

Joseph Lichterman / Nieman Lab:

How news organizations like National Geographic, Mashable, New York Times, and Vox are experimenting with vertical video for mobile phones — Vertical video is becoming more popular, but there's no consensus on the best way to make it — Hiking through the hills above Otta, Norway …

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:

How the presidential campaign looks through the eyes of a foreign journalist — WEST DES MOINES — Marco Rubio is talking about the decline of the American military. Mattias Kolb can hardly believe what he's hearing. — Standing at the back of a packed and overheated sports bar, Kolb …