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BBC launches Taster, a new website to test early concepts and experiments — BBC Launches Taster to Incubate Content, Technology Ideas — The BBC on Monday unveiled BBC Taster, a new web site that it described as “a space to develop its latest ideas for digital content and emerging technology.”
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Journalism.co.uk, Guardian, Digital Spy, BBC, The Drum, Gizmodo UK, Prolific North, Engadget, Pocket-lint and The Next Web
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Lena Dunham, creator of HBO drama Girls, partners with BBC to test new material on Taster — Girls creator in BBC digital experiment — The writer of HBO drama Girls, Lena Dunham, is among names attached to BBC Taster, an experimental new platform for digital content and emerging technology.

Why It's Risky Business for Publishers to Build Their Own CMS — The following piece is a guest post. Read more about MediaShift guest posts here. — 2014 was a crazy year for news technology. A new wave of publishers running custom software gained traction, while established news …
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@pmaiorana

Sling TV, Dish's $20 Web TV Service, Rolls Out Today. Here's What It's Like. — This is the first week in history that Americans can get subscription TV, over the Web, without having to sign up for cable. I don't think it's the end of traditional pay TV, but I do think it's a very big deal.
Discussion:
Gigaom, TechCrunch and The Next Web

In response to rise of programmatic advertising, AOL drastically restructures ad sales staff — As Ad Business Shifts to Machines, AOL Restructures Its Sales Staff in a Major Reorg — According to numerous sources, AOL is now initiating long-planned changes to drastically reorganize …
Discussion:
@mdudas, @waltmossberg and @jayrosen_nyu
Lisa Campbell / The Bookseller:
blinkbox Books to close after Waterstones talks fail — Tesco will close its e-books service blinkbox Books at the end of February after talks with Waterstones to buy the platform broke down. — All 60 core staff who work on the blinkbox Books platform are now expected to enter …
Discussion:
blinkbox News, Gigaom, TechCrunch, Engadget and The Next Web

WikiLeaks demands answers after three staffers notified Google handed their emails to US government in 2012 — WikiLeaks demands answers after Google hands staff emails to US government — Search giant gave FBI emails and digital data belonging to three staffers
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Guardian, Gigaom, Gizmodo UK, WikiLeaks, @emilybell, @evacide, Gizmodo, The Inquisitr News, Raw Story and Sydney Morning Herald

Hank Green defends his and other YouTube stars' interviews with Obama after media mockery — Holy S**t, I Interviewed the President — Bethany Mota, Glozell Green, and I got an opportunity that a lot of people don't think we deserved. — Bethany ended our interview by asking for a selfie with Obama.

11 of 14 projects in Sundance Film Festival's experimental showcase use virtual reality — How virtual reality ate the Sundance Film Festival — The future of independent film may not be film at all — The most buzzworthy feature of 2015's Sundance Film Festival isn't a film at all …
Discussion:
TechCrunch, @verge, · Beats of Bits, @kickstarter, Engadget and /Film

Since his return, Michael Bloomberg has been deeply involved in company strategy and plans — Michael Bloomberg Shakes Up Newsroom Side of His Company — Things have changed at Bloomberg since its founder, Michael R. Bloomberg, returned to the office. — Some of the changes are small.
Margaret Sullivan / New York Times:
Why the NYT gave more attention to the murders at Charlie Hebdo than Boko Haram's massacre in Baga, Nigeria — When Calculus of Loss Doesn't Add Up — IF you start from the premise that every human life is of equal importance, then the judgments of news organizations will often be confounding.
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@andrewmwenda, @deggans, @ffrf, @elitereporter, @hofrench, @sisonkemsimang, @ambikakandasamy, @nickfoxnyt, @reformedbroker, @brianstelter, @sulliview, @moorehn, @moorehn and @dangillmor

Catch-up technology lets shows build audience and buzz slowly, which is leading to more second seasons of unproven shows — The Rise of TV's Second Season — Changing viewing habits are leading to more second seasons for unproven shows

Barrett Brown's sentence shows the increasing dangers of security journalism, and why reporters should step back until laws are fixed — We Should All Step Back from Security Journalism — I'll Go First — I started studying the computer underground back when I worked in tech, as an early web developer, in the mid 1990s.
Discussion:
@martin_v, @kegill, @stevewerby, @douglaslucas, @douglaslucas, @rsingel, @adambanksdotcom, @eldang, @sammikes, @biellacoleman, @eldang, @emilybell, @lalaurenista and Boing Boing
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Tom Risen / US News:
Barrett Brown's Prison Time Raises Cybersecurity, Journalism Concerns
Barrett Brown's Prison Time Raises Cybersecurity, Journalism Concerns
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Fact-Based, In-Depth News and Slate