Mediagazer: Stop Beating Up on Nate Silver! (Danny Vinik/The New Republic)

12:30 PM ET, March 31, 2014

Top News:

Ben Dooley / Mother Jones:

Who's Behind Newsweek? — TWO DAYS AFTER BARACK OBAMA won reelection, I met a young Chinese woman, whom I will call Anne, in the basement café at the San Francisco Public Library. Anne worked part time and gave a large portion of her earnings to a group she called “the Community,” …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, @hunterw, @billwasik, Mother Jones, @monikabauerlein, @aburnspolitico, @tedolsen, The Raw Story, @clarajeffery, @benjamindooley, @nickbaumann and @jbenton

Sydney Ember / New York Times:

Former MSNBC anchor Carlos Watson's media startup Ozy receives investment from Axel Springer — Start-Up Ozy Media Adds Axel Springer as a Backer — Like many news start-ups, Ozy Media is trying to be heard. And investors, at least, are listening. — Though it has yet to attract …

Discussion: @peterlattman, @lsemediapolicy, @nicktheandersen and @carr2n

Elizabeth Jensen / New York Times:

‘This American Life’ Considers Self-Distribution on Radio — The announcement two weeks ago that “This American Life” will part ways on July 1 from its distributor, Public Radio International, has set off a scramble among rivals for rights to the program, one of the most popular on public radio.

Discussion: @fagstein, @janeholley48, @lachlanfharris and @nprmonkeysee

Jordan Zakarin / The Wrap:

Why Net Neutrality Matters So Much to Indie Filmmakers — Consumer groups and tech advocates have been voicing concern about the growing threats to net neutrality, but Hollywood — especially independent filmmakers and distributors — have plenty of reason to worry about the walls and toll booths …

Discussion: Softpedia News and @jmmandel

Suzanne Vranica / Wall Street Journal:

YouTube seeks more TV ad dollars, offering audience guarantees and placement on top shows — YouTube to Offer Advertisers Some Guarantees — YouTube Also Will Reserve Space for Advertisers That Commit to Buying in Top Shows — Google Inc. is ramping up its assault on traditional television's advertising business.

Discussion: VentureBeat

Jay Caspian Kang / New Yorker:

The Campaign to “Cancel” Colbert — On Thursday night, the official Twitter account for “The Colbert Report” committed the comedic sin of delivering a punchline without its setup. The offending tweet, “I am willing to show #Asian community I care by introducing the Ching-Chong Ding-Dong Foundation …

Discussion: @timothypmurphy, @atossaaraxia, @salesses, @swerdlick, @zentronix and @jeffchu

Rick Edmonds / Poynter:

Advance defends bonuses for reporters who post frequently and join comment chains — Advance's quota and bonus system at The Oregonian came in for heavy criticism last week, prompting a rejoinder from the typically close-mouthed private company. — In a note to senior executives shared with Poynter …

Discussion: @poynter

Alex Weprin / Capital New York:

HLN developing late night talk show — HLN is the latest cable channel looking to break into the increasingly crowded late night talk/variety show game. — The channel, which is in the middle of a rebranding, has shot a pilot for a talk show called “Weekly Mashup,” hosted by KIIS D.J. Chuey Martinez …

Discussion: TVNewser and @alexweprin

Richard Deitsch / Sports Illustrated:

Dealing with racist abuse is a regular part of the job, say sports journalists — Race, the N-word, discrimination: Panel on role of race in sports media — Last November, I paneled a group of a six highly accomplished and respected female sports journalists for an SI.com email roundtable …

Discussion: @stackmack, @awfulannouncing, @mikefreemannfl, @jozdalt, @chaseruttig, @richarddeitsch, @sinow, @koblin, @keithlaw, @jemelehill and @richellecarey

Danny Vinik / The New Republic:

Stop Beating Up on Nate Silver! — Nate Silver has taken a lot of abuse since the relaunch of FiveThirtyEight. He's been criticized professionally and personally. Data journalism, as a field, has taken a beating. Many of these critiques are right and Silver has done nothing to help his cause …

Discussion: Fox News, @daveweigel, @joshuafoust, @mlcalderone, @dannyvinik and @poniewozik

Darrell Etherington / TechCrunch:

Rdio Adds Chromecast Support For TV Music Streaming — Streaming music service Rdio has added support for Google's Chromecast media accessory, the company announced today. What that means is that you'll be able to send your Rdio music from your iPhone, iPad, Android phone …

Discussion: Rdio Blog, VentureBeat, Gigaom, IntoMobile, Digital Journal, VentureBreak and The Next Web

Patrick Kingsley / Guardian:

Three al-Jazeera journalists denied bail in Egyptian court once more — The trio are accused of aiding terrorists and include a former BBC journalist, Peter Greste, and a Canadian ex-CNN journalist — Three al-Jazeera journalists who have been jailed in Egypt were again denied bail on Monday …

Discussion: @patrickkingsley