Top News:
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 Daily Beast, New York Daily News, BuzzFeed, New York Times, Poynter, FishbowlNY, Breitbart, Slate, New York Post, @dylanbyers, Mediaite, @justinjm1, Politico, Gawker, iMediaEthics, Mediaite, The Wrap, @shaunking, @ohthemaryd, @dylanbyers, @justinjm1, @noahshachtman, @dylanbyers, Death and Taxes, @petersterne, @mcmoynihan, @petersterne, @pauldebenedetto, @shaunking, @richarddeitsch, @tomkludt, @joeprich, @zpower and @parspec
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:
VentureBeat, Business Wire, The Huffington Post, Fortune, FishbowlNY, The Wrap, ZDNet, VatorNews, CNET, Reuters, IR.net 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, Tech News Today, The Drum, The Huffington Post, Business Insider, Yahoo and BGR
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
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
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
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
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:
Daily Mail, Sky News, UPI, i24news, Newsweek and The Irish Times
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Uproxx and BroBible owner Woven Digital buys HitFix, which publishes entertainment news, reviews, and video — Woven Digital Acquires HitFix (Exclusive) … Youth-skewing media company Woven Digital has bought HitFix, a fan-focused publisher of entertainment news, reviews and video.
Discussion:
FishbowlNY, Hollywood Reporter, @christhilk, @hitfix and @ceilidhann
Jessica Davies / Digiday:
French daily newspaper Le Figaro extends its ad blocker ban, after 20% of users switch them off after one week trial; 20% of monthly traffic had been affected — How Le Figaro got 20 percent of its ad blocking readers to whitelist the site — French daily newspaper Le Figaro will extend …
Discussion:
AdExchanger
Kara Swisher / Re/code:
Yahoo bidders include Verizon, TPG, and Bain Capital paired with Vista Equity Partners, which involves multiple former Yahoo execs including Ross Levinsohn — Yahoo bidders are few and far between, but include Verizon, TPG and a gang of exes — As Yahoo prepares to release what is widely expected …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Reuters, Fortune, AdExchanger, NetNewsCheck Latest, VentureBeat, Business Insider, ZDNet, Mashable, TechCrunch, Re/code, Bloomberg and @danprimack
RELATED:
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.
Rosie Gray / BuzzFeed:
Trump campaign paid Breitbart News national security editor Sebastian Gorka $8K for policy consulting in 2015, according to Federal Election Commission filing — Trump Campaign Paid A Breitbart Editor For Consulting Work — Donald Trump's campaign paid the site's national security editor …