Top News:
David Carr / New York Times:
When ‘60 Minutes’ Checks Its Journalistic Skepticism at the Door — Last week, a study commissioned by the president concluded that the National Security Agency had reached too far into the private lives of Americans. The study, which came after a series of journalistic revelations exposing …
Discussion:
Capital New York, TVNewser, @zpower, @dandrezner, @greenhousenyt, @tmcgev, @buzzfeedben, @mattblaze, @jayrosen_nyu, @jimdwyernyt, @gregorydjohnsen, @laura_nelson, @add, @jeffjarvis, @carr2n, @brianstelter, @mattapuzzo, @spencerante, @mikiebarb, @jswatz, @davidfolkenflik, @ericboehlert, @abrams and Hit & Run
Margaret Sullivan / New York Times:
Why the New York Times witheld the Robert Levinson story for six years — A Missing Spy and the Right to Know — NEW YORK TIMES readers expect, reasonably enough, that their newspaper will publish what it digs up in the way of news, especially news about the clandestine activities of the federal government.
Discussion:
@petersterne, @dancow, @moorehn, @abumuqawama and @mlcalderone
Felix Salmon / Nieman Journalism Lab:
The veracity of viral — 2014 is going to be the year of a big debate about what news is — and especially about whether and how news organizations can ethically report on activity in the virtual world. — The first time I saw this debate take place in public was in October …
Discussion:
@abrams, @rakeshlobster and @jeffjarvis
Ravi Somaiya / New York Times:
Plan for Tribune Spinoff Raises Concerns for Future of Newspaper Operations — A plan by the Tribune Company to separate eight newspapers, including The Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Tribune, from its more profitable digital and television businesses could threaten their survival …
Discussion:
@carr2n and @ravisomaiya
Derrick Harris / Gigaom:
Visualizing Google's million-row copyright claim dataset — Google released its latest transparency report on Thursday, and while much coverage of those reports rightfully focuses on governmental actions — requests for user data and requests to remove content — Google is also providing a trove of copyright data.
Discussion:
@derrickharris
Josh Halliday / Guardian:
BBC Trust chief accused of ‘obstruction and secrecy’ — Lord Patten criticised by MPs for blocking publication of documents relating to corporation's failed £100m IT project — MPs have accused the BBC Trust chairman, Lord Patten, of “obstruction and secrecy” for stopping …
Claire Atkinson / New York Post:
DC staff irked as NBC News eyes cuts — NBC News boss Deborah Turness is spending the last few days of the year eyeing cuts — moves that could include axing some senior on-air talent, The Post has learned. Turness, brought on in August to shake up the moribund news division — where …
Discussion:
Mediaite, @mlcalderone, @jonahnro and Inside Cable News
Robinson Meyer / The Atlantic Online:
Glenn Greenwald's New Media Company Is a Bespoke Firm — And we may be about to see a lot more like it. — In October, American media received a gift: The birth of a new, major publication that wouldn't be predicated on listicles or emotional headlines. Pierre Omidyar, the founder of eBay …
Discussion:
@zimbalist, PandoDaily and Media Nation
Digiday:
Michael Wolff on Digital Media in 2014: ‘Pretty Damn Bleak’ — Author, essayist and media iconoclast Michael Wolff does not suffer foolishness quietly. In recent columns for the Guardian, he outlined how Forbes manipulated the New York Times to help create an illusion of success and described the long decline of “60 Minutes.”
Discussion:
@ericscherer and @mike_orcutt, Thanks:@bmorrissey
Reuters:
Syrian photographer killed in Aleppo — (Reuters) - A Syrian photographer who took pictures for Reuters on a freelance basis has been killed while covering fighting in Aleppo, activists said. — Molhem Barakat died on Friday as he took photographs of a battle over a hospital between rebels …
Henry Blodget / Nieman Journalism Lab:
Appreciating the digital difference — The emerging field of digital journalism has been subjected to intense scrutiny over the past decade. This scrutiny has often focused on the ways in which digital is different than print and broadcast journalism — with the differences usually portrayed as shortcomings.
Discussion:
@zimbalist, @hblodget and Kirk LaPointe's …
Jenna Wortham / Nieman Journalism Lab:
The future of news is... Sasha Fierce — In 2014, the future of journalism is Beyoncé. — Stay with me for a minute. — The pop star announced the arrival of her next, highly anticipated album with a video on Instagram at midnight on a school night.
Discussion:
@zimbalist, NYT Bits and ArtsBeat
Audience Editor, Seoul — 
Sr. Editor - Asia Editing Hub, Mumbai — 
Newsletter Editor, VA — 
Supreme Court Reporter, DC — 
Environment & Health Editor, CA — 
Senior Editor - Politics, GA — 
Breaking News Editor, Hong Kong — 
US Industrials & Transportation Correspondent — 
Executive Editor/VP, TX — 
Technology Reporter, NJ — 
Asst. Managing Ed. - Digital, NY — 
Host - All Things Considered, MN — 
Sr. Editor - Emerging News, OH — 
Business Reporter, WA — 
State House/Politics Editor, OH — 
Baton Rouge Business Reporter, LA — 
Senior Writer - AI, Remote US — 
Assistant Editor, CA — 
Ann Arbor Reporter, MI — 
Deputy Copy Ed., MA — 
Data Reporter/Researcher, NY — 
Senior Social Media Ed., Remote US — 
Sports Reporter - Oshkosh, WI — 
News Reporter, FL — 
Investigative Reporter, NC — 
Freelance Journalists, CO — 
Senior Reporter, Tokyo — 
Environment & Resources Reporter, IN — 
Audience Editor, CA — 
Managing Editor, OH — 
Music Editor, FL — 
Real Estate Editor, MA — 
News Editor, NY — 
