Mediagazer: Hunger-Striking Al Jazeera Reporter Set Free (Danielle Wiener-Bronner/The Wire)

6:55 PM ET, June 17, 2014

Top News:

Margaret Sullivan / New York Times:

AnonyWatch: When Unnamed Sources Are Flat Wrong — In a blistering column this week, the Reuters media critic Jack Shafer takes The Times to task for using a particular kind of anonymous source — the kind who turn out to be wrong. — In two recent cases, he writes, The Times was left “at the corner of Mortified and Peeved.”

Discussion: @jayrosen_nyu and @froomkin

Jack Shafer:

Anonymous sourcing, often used in NYT and Washington Post, exposes reporters to error, shame — The source may be anonymous, but the shame is all yours — Twice over the past two weeks, New York Times reporters got taken for long rides by anonymous sources who ultimately dropped them off at the corner of Mortified and Peeved.

Discussion: @indraniny, @acoyne, @jayrosen_nyu, @brookekroeger, @moorehn, @sulliview, @jessicalustig, @the_intercept, @afraser_nuim, @antderosa, @davidfolkenflik and @bretisrael

Chilling Effects Clearinghouse:

Twitter Restores Access to Pakistani Notices — Abstract: Today, June 17th, Twitter has restored access to the tweets and Twitter accounts that it blocked in Pakistan on May 18th, using its Country Withheld Content tool. — Pakistani authorities had requested the removal of the material …

Mathew Ingram / Gigaom:

Twitter struggles to remain the free-speech wing of the free-speech party as it suspends terrorist accounts — Twitter hasn't been having a very good time of it lately: turmoil in the company's executive ranks — including the recent departure of the chief operating officer and the head …

Discussion: @farhanmemon

Yinka Adegoke / Billboard:

YouTube Confirms Subscription Service Imminent, Warns of Takedowns — YouTube has confirmed it is close to launching its music subscription service, even as it in the process of pulling down some of the biggest indie label acts in a dispute over payments. — Acts like Adele …

Discussion: Businessweek

Todd Spangler / Variety:
YouTube to Block Music Videos from Labels That Don't Sign On for Subscription Service

Discussion: Guardian, Financial Times, Gawker, AdAge, Gigaom, TechCrunch, hypebot, Business Insider, The Verge, @yinkawrites and @scroobiuspipyo

Jennifer Saba / Reuters:

NY Times top 3 paid generously given its results, size: analysis shows — (Reuters) - While the New York Times Co has shrunk by more than half in the past eight years, the compensation of the top three executives at the company has held steady. Measured against some key metrics …

Discussion: Poynter, @mccarthyryanj and @edmundlee

Edirin Oputu / Columbia Journalism Review: Jill Abramson and Arthur Sulzberger Jr. have tense reunion at Pulitzer lunch

Brian Fung / Washington Post:

Democrats unveil legislation forcing the FCC to ban Internet fast lanes — Democratic lawmakers will unveil a piece of bicameral legislation Tuesday that would force the Federal Communications Commission to ban fast lanes on the Internet. — The proposal, put forward by Senate Judiciary …

Discussion: MediaPost, Techdirt, VentureBeat, Mashable, Variety, @amtrekker, Consumerist, NPR, BGR, The Daily Caller, Business Insider, @fightfortheftr, The Verge, @darth, TechCrunch and Gigaom

Danielle Wiener-Bronner / The Wire:

Hunger-Striking Al Jazeera Reporter Set Free — An Al Jazeera reporter who was captured in Egypt and has been on a hunger strike for more than 100 days has finally been set free, according to the Associated Press: … Egypt's prosecutor general said yesterday he had ordered the release …

Discussion: Latest News & Headlines, Voice of America, Gawker and Press Gazette

Jason Fagone / Matter:

Profile of Jason Leopold, the “FOIA Terrorist” — The Secret to Getting Top-Secret Secrets — How a journalist with a dark past learned to pry info from the government—and redeemed himself in the process — Illustrations by Kristian Hammerstad Photographs by Chris McPherson

Discussion: @alexacorse, @falgunisheth, @chrisburkeshay, @mlcalderone, @freedomofpress, @_rshapiro, @trevortimm, @dgambacorta, @longform, @deftlyinane, @dankmtl, @gregorydjohnsen, @jfagone, @alexbkane, @matthjourno and @odd_hack

Joel Rosenblatt / Bloomberg:

Apple Settles E-Books Pricing Case With States, Consumers — Apple Inc. (AAPL) reached a settlement with U.S. states and consumers seeking damages over the company's fixing of electronic book prices, avoiding a trial in which it faced as much as $840 million in claims.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Businessweek, Mashable, ReadWrite, VatorNews, TechCrunch, BGR, MacRumors, Electronista, Cult of Mac, CNET, AppleInsider, Softpedia News, Publishers Lunch, 9to5Mac, The Verge, VentureBeat, App Advice, @tcarmody and @sarahw

Janko Roettgers / Gigaom:

TiVo co-founders bring their QPlay video app to Chromecast, sideline own hardware — Maybe building a dedicated video streaming box that doesn't even have a Netflix app wasn't such a good idea, after all: QPlay, the video startup founded by TiVo co-founders Mike Ramsay and Jim Barton …

Discussion: Multichannel News and TechCrunch

Nick Summers / The Next Web:

Oyster brings its ‘Netflix for ebooks’ subscription service to Android, Kindle Fire and Nook HD — Oyster, often referred to as “the Netflix of ebooks,” is now available for Android devices, Kindle Fire tablets and the Nook HD. It joins the company's existing iOS app …

Discussion: Oyster HQ Blog, Gigaom, TechCrunch, Mashable, CNET and The Verge

Todd Spangler / Variety:

World Cup Sets New Internet-Video Streaming Record — The 2014 FIFA World Cup is still in its opening round, but the soccer tourney has already broken the previous global record for online-video streaming and set new digital high-water marks for ESPN. — Monday's Germany-Portugal match drove …

Discussion: Broadcasting & Cable and Associated Press