Top News:
Jack Marshall / Wall Street Journal:
AOL acquires VR company Ryot, 25 staffers to form new unit under The Huffington Post, work with TechCrunch, Engadget, clients of AOL's branded content division — Verizon's AOL Buys Virtual Reality Video Specialist RYOT — The company will form a new unit under AOL's Huffington Post division
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Business Wire, VentureBeat, TechCrunch, Fortune, Editor & Publisher, FishbowlNY, VatorNews, The Wrap, ZDNet, CNET, Reuters, Variety and IR.net
Dylan Byers / CNNMoney:
New York Daily News fires an editor for removing attribution from columns by writer Shaun King, who was accused of plagiarism — Daily News fires editor after Shaun King accused of plagiarism — The New York Daily News has fired one of its editors for removing attribution from columns …
Discussion:
The Intercept, The Daily Beast, New York Daily News, BuzzFeed, @hunterw, @hunterw, Slate, Breitbart, New York Post, New York Times, FishbowlNY, Gawker, iMediaEthics, Mediaite, The Wrap, @ohthemaryd, Poynter, @dylanbyers, Mediaite, @dylanbyers, @justinjm1, @justinjm1, @dylanbyers, Death and Taxes, @shaunking, Politico, @noahshachtman, @mcmoynihan, @petersterne, @petersterne, @pauldebenedetto, @richarddeitsch, @shaunking, @tomkludt, @joeprich, @zpower and @parspec
Lara O'Reilly / Business Insider:
Google claims YouTube ads generate better return on investment than TV in 77% of cases after analysis of 56 campaigns across eight countries — Google attacks TV, saying YouTube ads generate a better return on investment most of the time — Google is once again directly targeting TV advertising budgets …
Discussion:
Guardian, The Next Web, Yahoo, Business Insider, The Huffington Post, BGR, Tech News Today and The Drum
Reporters Without Borders:
World Press Freedom Index: Europe has freest media, North Africa/Middle East has least free; Finland ranked 1st, Tunisia and Ukraine rose most, Poland fell most — 2016 World Press Freedom Index - leaders paranoid about journalists — Organisation — RSF_en
Discussion:
CNNMoney, FishbowlDC, Washington Post, The Hill, ABC, The Moscow Times, dna, The Independent, TNP, Asian Correspondent, Hong Kong Free Press, Public Radio of Armenia, Uatoday.tv, RAPPLER, Ghana Business News, The Local, The Online Citizen, Malaysiakini, The Local, Press Gazette, SWI swissinfo.ch and The Local
Benjamin Mullin / Poynter:
Accelerated Mobile Pages launches on Google News — Google on Wednesday announced that it's integrating Google News with Accelerated Mobile Pages, the burgeoning web standard that aims to make the mobile web faster. — Accelerated Mobile Pages, or AMP, launched on Google Search earlier …
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, Google News Blog, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, Ad Age and Marketing Land
Tara Conlan / Guardian:
BBC News creates controller role for mobile and online as overhaul begins — James Harding reveals plans to organise news, mobile and online under new controller as part of reshaping of division in face of around £80m cuts by 2022 — BBC News is creating a controller of mobile …
Discussion:
The Drum and Mobile Industry Review
Tony Semerad / Salt Lake Tribune:
Paul Huntsman, brother of ex-Utah governor and presidential candidate Jon Huntsman Jr., is buying The Salt Lake Tribune from Digital First Media — Huntsman family buying The Salt Lake Tribune, hopes to ensure ‘independent voice for future generations’ — The Salt Lake Tribune is being purchased by the Huntsman family.
Discussion:
Politico, Salt Lake Tribune, Salt Lake Tribune, Deseret News, @ralstonreports, @gdebenedetti, Salt Lake Magazine and Poynter
Jasper Jackson / Guardian:
Bloomberg launches Middle East edition of website and will open Dubai studio to begin broadcasting in May — Bloomberg to launch Middle East edition — Move - which will include opening a studio in Dubai - is part of expansion that has included sites for Europe and Asia in past year
Discussion:
Politico, Gulf News, FishbowlNY, Editor & Publisher and Broadband TV News
Curt Anderson / Associated Press:
Family of journalist Steven Sotloff sues Syria in US court claiming government supported ISIS militants who carried out beheading — Family of journalist slain by Islamic State sues Syria — MIAMI (AP) — The family of slain journalist Steven Sotloff is suing Syria in U.S. court …
Discussion:
Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Daily Mail, Newsweek, Sky News, i24news, UPI and The Irish Times
Jack Shafer / Politico:
BuzzFeed's fun, shallow content like exploding watermelon videos isn't destroying journalism, just mirroring the light stories that newspapers have always used — Why BuzzFeed's Exploding Watermelon Won't Destroy Journalism — Just look at the New York Times' long history of cat coverage.
Discussion:
@annehelen and FishbowlDC
New York Times:
Top editor at Hong Kong's Chinese-language Ming Pao newspaper fired after front-page Panama Papers story, raising press freedom fears — Timing of Editor's Firing Has Hong Kong Worried About Press Freedom — HONG KONG — A top editor at one of Hong Kong's most prestigious newspapers …
Discussion:
The Standard, Nikkei, Hong Kong Free Press, The Straits Times, Marketing Interactive and Hong Kong Free Press
Matthew Panzarino / TechCrunch:
TechCrunch adds staffers covering hardware, security and privacy, and more, plus other staffers in product — Please welcome Brian Heater, Kate Conger and more to TechCrunch — We aren't done yet. We've got some more new faces for you here at TechCrunch, and they're good ones.
Senior Data Journalist, NY — 
Manager - Publishing Editorial, Manila — 
Oil Reporter, Singapore — 
Newsperson - State Govt. & Politics, CA — 
Business Reporter, SC — 
State Government Reporter, WA — 
Climate Crisis Columnist — 
Multimedia Journalist, CA — 
Community Engagement Mgr., DC — 
Senior California Politics Reporter, CA — 
Staff Writer - Business, NY — 
Team Editor - Opinion, ON — 
Assistant Correspondent, DC — 
Climate & Weather Reporter, MN — 
Senior Tech Editor, Remote US — 
Lead Business Reporter, TN — 
Managing Editor, WA — 
Private Credit Reporter, NY — 
Trending News Reporter, TX — 
City Correspondent, London — 
Legislative Reporter, CA — 
Reporter, PA — 
Visual Editor, Remote — 
Staff Writer, MI — 
Senior Political Reporter, DC — 
California Playbook Writer, CA — 
National Investigative Reporter, NY — 
Business & Gaming Reporter, NV — 
Coastal Climate Reporter, SC — 
Environment & Energy Reporter, CT — 
Coordinating Editor, OR — 
Editor, Remote US — 
Business Reporter, WA — 
Editor-in-Chief, AZ — 
