Top News:
Richard Sandomir / New York Times:
Baseball analyst Curt Schilling fired from ESPN one day after posting offensive commentary on Facebook — Curt Schilling Is Fired by ESPN — Curt Schilling, a former All-Star pitcher and one of the highest-profile baseball analysts on ESPN, was fired from the network Wednesday …
Discussion:
ESPN MediaZone, 38 Pitches, Outsports, Mediaite, The Wrap, CNNMoney, Deadline, The Big Lead, ThinkProgress, Washington Post, Washington Post, Hollywood Reporter, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Broadcasting & Cable, TheBlaze.com, SBNation.com, @manuclearbomb, @wilcomethat, Deadspin, @michellemalkin, @meredithshiner, Bleacher Report, Yahoo Sports, Outsports, Outsports, Indianapolis Star, Variety, CBS New York, CBS Sacramento, WTKR-TV, Talking Points Memo, Fortune and The Daily Caller
Jack Marshall / Wall Street Journal:
AOL acquires VR company RYOT; 25 staffers to form unit under The Huffington Post, working 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, Fortune, IR.net, ZDNet, VatorNews, TechCrunch, Editor & Publisher, CNET, IR.net, Reuters, The Wrap, FishbowlNY and Variety
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, BGR, Business Insider, Tech News Today, The Huffington Post and The Drum
David Lieberman / Deadline:
Comcast announces Xfinity TV Partner Program, allowing subscribers to watch without its set-top box, starting with Samsung Smart TVs, Roku boxes later this year — Comcast Introduces Plan To Let TV Subs Watch Without Its Set-Top Box — Comcast is relaxing its grip on the set-top box …
Discussion:
Comcast, Wall Street Journal, Broadcasting & Cable, The Next Web, @shiraovide, Engadget, Multichannel News, Business Wire and @briandietz
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, Android Police, Ad Age, 9to5Google, VentureBeat and Marketing Land
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, Washington Post, NPR, FishbowlDC, Hong Kong Free Press, TNP, dna, The Hill, Asian Correspondent, The Independent, The Moscow Times, ABC, 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
Rick Edmonds / Poynter:
American Press Institute study examining ethics of giving to nonprofit news organizations finds 6 of 10 funders gave grants for specific stories — An ethical quandary for nonprofit journalism — are funders calling the shots? — The American Press Institute — and an axis …
Discussion:
American Press Institute, @ampress, @poynter and Current
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, @kdoctor, Salt Lake Tribune, @ralstonreports, Salt Lake Magazine, Deseret News, Salt Lake Tribune, Poynter and @gdebenedetti
Dale Kasler / Sacramento Bee:
McClatchy reports Q1 revenue of $238M, down 7.5% year over year, with ad revenue down 9.9% year over year largely due to print decline — McClatchy Co. reports smaller first-quarter loss — Bee owner continues to struggle with revenue decline — The McClatchy Co. reported a narrower …
Discussion:
Talking New Media
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, Editor & Publisher, Gulf News, FishbowlNY and Broadband TV News
Georg Szalai / Hollywood Reporter:
Dish loses 23K pay-TV subscribers in Q1, beats estimates with $389M in net income on $3.79B in revenue — Dish Loses 23,000 Pay TV Subs in First Quarter, Earnings Exceed Estimates — EMAIL ME — The satellite TV company, which is led by Charlie Ergen and has been in a carriage showdown with Viacom …
Discussion:
The Wrap, The Wrap, Ad Age, Reuters, Los Angeles Times, Deadline, FierceCable, Variety, dish.client.shareholder.com and FierceCable
Megan Levy / Sydney Morning Herald:
Reporter Tara Brown and 60 Minutes TV crew released in Lebanon, returning to Australia — 60 Minutes crew freed in Lebanon: Tara Brown says it's ‘great to be going home’ — 60 Minutes: mother and TV crew freed — Channel Nine says mother Sally Faulkner and the 60 Minutes crew …
Discussion:
New York Times, NEWS.com.au, Sydney Morning Herald, Associated Press and 9news.com.au