Mediagazer: Chartbeat study of 700 sites and Google, Facebook, and Twitter referrals: when big news breaks, people head for a few brand-name media outlets for updates (Sonya Song/MediaShift)

4:30 AM ET, March 5, 2016

Top News:

Kurt Wagner / Re/code:

Meerkat Is Ditching the Livestream — And Chasing a Video Social Network Instead — Two weeks ago, Meerkat CEO Ben Rubin sent an email to his company's 48 investors laying bare an observation that he'd made peace with months earlier: Meerkat, the livestreaming app that played the role …

Discussion: Mashable, Medium, Business Insider, Pocketnow, Ubergizmo, SlashGear, Fone Arena, VentureBeat, The Next Web, Engadget, @pkafka and New York News

Kurt Wagner / Re/code:

Twitter Editorial Director Karen Wickre Is Leaving the Company — Twitter's editorial director, Karen Wickre, is leaving the company after more than four years. — Wickre made the announcement in a Medium post Friday. She ran Twitter's editorial teams, which includes overseeing …

Discussion: @kvox, Karen Wickre, @magicandrew, @zamosta and SiliconBeat

Janko Roettgers / Variety:

Sources: Samsung has reduced jobs at Milk Music, likely to shut down service soon — Samsung Likely to Shutter Milk Music Service; Considering Tidal Deal (Exclusive) — Samsung is getting close to making a major announcement in the music space, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the plans.

Discussion: Patently Apple, The Next Web, Pocketnow, Ubergizmo and AppleInsider

Janko Roettgers / Variety:

Samsung says it has no plans to buy Tidal — Samsung Says It Won't Buy Tidal (EXCLUSIVE) — Samsung has no plans to acquire Jay Z's Tidal music service, the company told Variety Friday. — “The rumor of Samsung acquiring Tidal is not true,” said Samsung spokesperson, breaking the company's silence on the matter.

Discussion: AndroidHeadlines.com and The Wrap

Gawker:

Voicemails that appear to be from Trump phone show friendship with MSNBC's Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski, and Tamron Hall — Voicemails Appear to Reveal Donald Trump's Cozy Relationship With the Liberal Media — Early Thursday morning, Gawker received an anonymous email with an attachment …

Discussion: @jamiefolk45, Mediaite, @dollarocracy, @mlcalderone, @gawker, @ywxwy, @poynter, Poynter, @johnjcook, @poniewozik, @asankin, @ericgeller, @jktrotter, @mhbergen and @alexweprin

Alex Weprin / Politico:

SEC filing: New Media Investment Group agreed to keep buyer of Las Vegas Review Journal secret indefinitely — Las Vegas newspaper sellers agreed to keep buyers a secret ‘indefinitely’ — Gatehouse/New Media Investment Group agreed to keep the new owner of the Las Vegas Review Journal secret …

Discussion: @jayrosen_nyu and @davidfolkenflik

BBC:

Turkish police raid offices of anti-Erdogan daily paper, Zaman, after court ruling placed it under state control — Turkey police raid critical Zaman newspaper in Istanbul — Turkish police have raided the offices of the opposition Zaman newspaper, hours after a court ruling placed it under state control.

Agence France-Presse:
Istanbul court orders anti-Erdogan daily Zaman into administration amid alarm over freedom of expression

Alastair Sharp / Reuters:

Toronto Star to invest C$10M into Star Touch tablet edition in 2016, expects it to break even in 2017, posts Q4 loss of C$233M with revenue down 8% to C$213.7M — Toronto Star publisher ups bets on tablet app, online forums — Torstar Corp (TSb.TO) will pour more money into the tablet version …

Discussion: Globe and Mail, @jembradshaw, @joeycoleman, Toronto Star, The Huffington Post, Financial Post and MobileSyrup.com

Sonya Song / MediaShift:

Chartbeat study of 700 sites and Google, Facebook, and Twitter referrals: when big news breaks, people head for a few brand-name media outlets for updates — Chartbeat Study: How News Consumption Gets Less Diverse Around Major Events — As part of our Metrics that Matter special series …

Discussion: @jimmacmillan

Owen Thomas:

Owen Thomas, former editor-in-chief of ReadWrite and Daily Dot, named business editor of San Francisco Chronicle — Chron Job — So I have some news. — I'm starting Monday as the business editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, directing the 151-year-old newspaper's business and technology coverage.

Discussion: @kvox, San Francisco Chronicle, @thekenyeung, @jenkinxia, Talking Biz News and @owenthomas

Paul Sawers / VentureBeat:

Google will extend right-to-be-forgotten to all Search domains for searches from EU country where request was filed beginning next week — Google confirms it will extend E.U. right-to-be-forgotten to all Google Search domains from next week — Google has confirmed previous reports …

Discussion: Google Europe Blog, The Verge, The Hill, SlashGear, Digital Trends, BetaNews and 9to5Google

Catalina Albeanu / Journalism.co.uk:

La Presse+ app generates more than 75% of La Presse's advertising revenue, is accessed by 250K unique devices per weekday, average 40 minutes in the app — For La Presse, the tablet is the future as it leaves print behind — Publisher Guy Crevier says newspapers should change their model before they find themselves in a crisis

Discussion: @niemanlab and @mathewi

Jeremy Barr / Ad Age:

Business Insider generated €9.4M revenue with a net loss of €1.1M in Q4, revenue increased 41% in 2015 — Axel Springer Report Gives Peek at Business Insider Finances — Net Loss of €1.1 million From Oct. 30 Through Dec. 31 — Consulting Services Add Creative And Digital Agency Expertise

Discussion: @deanstarkman, @n8brown, Fortune, @edmundlee, @henrymance and @pkafka