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 …
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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 …
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 …
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.
Discussion:
StreamDaily, The Drum, New York Business Journal, Boston Herald, Talking New Media, CNNMoney, mUmBRELLA, @bilgeebiri, @christopherjm, @dylanbyers, @nickconfessore, @moorehn, @nadjao, @hadas_gold, @erikwemple, @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
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 …
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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 …
Reuters:
RadarOnline and National Enquirer refuse to turn over material sought in search warrant in Charlie Sheen case — Publications refuse to hand over audio in Charlie Sheen case — Celebrity website RadarOnline.com and the National Enquirer on Thursday refused to hand over material sought …
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:
SiliconBeat, @aaronspod, 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.