Top News:
Adam Goldman / Washington Post:
Syria releases American freelance photographer Kevin Patrick Dawes — The Syrian regime has freed an American freelance photographer who was abducted after traveling to the country in 2012, according to two U.S. officials. — Kevin Patrick Dawes, 33, from San Diego, was released following …
Mike Shields / Wall Street Journal:
Facebook to Allow Media Companies, Marketers to Post Sponsored Content — Publishers can now get verified to post branded articles and videos that are paid for by advertisers — For the past few years, as advertisers spent more money on sponsored content across the Web …
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Pete Cashmore / LinkedIn Pulse:
Mashable announces layoffs, departures of Chief Content Officer Jim Roberts and Chief Revenue Officer Seth Rogin as site increases emphasis on video — Today I Sent This Note to The Mashable Team — Last week we announced a funding round to put Mashable on — more platforms, including television.
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StreamDaily, The Drum, New York Business Journal, CNNMoney, Boston Herald, Talking New Media, mUmBRELLA, @bilgeebiri, @christopherjm, @dylanbyers, @nickconfessore, @nadjao, @hadas_gold, @erikwemple, @moorehn, @nycjim, The New York Observer, @sarahcuda, @jbenton, @teroterotero, @weed_mouse, @daleblasingame, @profjeffjarvis, @bradplumer, @eliasisquith, International Business Times, Mediaite, The Drum, Adweek, @mattbuchanan, @whimsley, @jbenton, @amandawills, @thdigitalreader, @edcauchi, @shaneferro, @thestalwart, @samcmlaird, @dabeard, @moneyries, Poynter, @sdkstl, @sdkstl, FishbowlNY, @gaberivera, Hollywood Reporter, @hadas_gold, @pkafka, @pkafka, @kbsmoke and @jackmirkinson
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Hadas Gold / Politico:
About 30 Mashable staffers were laid off, including the whole politics desk, most of the global news desk, and around half of editorial video team — Politics, news and editorial video slashed in Mashable restructuring — Mashable's restructuring on Thursday hit its news desk …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, Tubefilter, TechCrunch, Digital Trends, Fortune, Re/code, Yahoo, Gawker, @feardept, New York Times, @nadjao, @margarita, @cheeky_geeky, @cenkuygur, @byrontau, @hadas_gold, @alexweprin, @lexalexander and @bgrueskin
Bob Christie / Associated Press:
Arizona lawmakers impose last-minute background check rules for reporters on the House floor following media investigation into lawmakers' spending — Arizona rule restricts reporters who reject background check — PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona House of Representatives has imposed …
Newspaper Association of America:
Publishers of 1,200+ newspapers send cease and desist letter to makers of Brave browser, claiming its plan to block and replace ads is illegal — Digital publishers put Brave software on notice that substituting publishers' ads is illegal — Arlington, Va. - Today, 17 member companies …
Discussion:
NAA, Adweek, TechSpot, Financial Times, CNET, ZDNet, diginomica, Poynter, Business Insider, Editor & Publisher, The Drum, The Next Web, SlashGear, The Country Caller, AdNews, InfoWorld, News & Tech, Boston Business Journal, bangkokpost.com, Wall Street Journal, VentureBeat, MediaPost and AdExchanger
The New York Times Company:
New York Times Executive Editor Dean Baquet responds to story about Gay Talese, calling story flawed and Times staffer Nikole Hannah-Jones treated unfairly — Dean Baquet Responds To “Gay Talese Goes Through the Twitter Wringer” — NYT executive editor Dean Baquet responds to “Gay Talese Goes Through the Twitter Wringer”:
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Cablevision Launches Hulu as Cable TV Channel — Cablevision Systems is now delivering Hulu to cable TV customers through their set-top boxes — the first time the Internet-video service is available directly through a pay-TV platform. — The New York-area cable operator has integrated Hulu …
James B. Stewart / New York Times:
Inside Disney's boardroom politics during the run-up to presumed successor to CEO Robert Iger, Thomas Stagg's abrupt departure — Behind the Scenes at Disney as It Purged a Favorite Son — Thomas O. Staggs, then the chief financial officer of the Walt Disney Company …
Discussion:
Motley Fool, @greta, @ocdisney and The Wrap
Josh Horwitz / Quartz:
China blocks The Economist's website over satirical cover depicting President Xi in Mao-era propaganda style — The Economist's website is now censored in China—and all it took was one satirical cover — A bold denouncement of Xi Jinping will typically get censored very quickly in China.
Discussion:
New York Times and China Digital Times
Emily Steel / New York Times:
Framework of Settlement Is Said to Be Reached in Sumner Redstone Competency Case — The framework of a settlement has been reached in the salacious legal battle over the mental competency of the ailing media mogul Sumner M. Redstone, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions.
Caterina Visco / Global Editors Network:
Interview with Mic Chief Strategy Officer Cory Haik on the publication's strategy to reach millennials — Inside Mic's strategy to reach millennials — New Chief Strategy Officer Cory Haik talks engagement, videos and more — Relevancy and engagement are at the core of what Cory Haik does …
Thanks:@geninnovate
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