Stories for May. 24, 2013
News Corp spin-off will include stock buyback fund, poison pill
photo: Getty Images / Mario Tama
News Corp will officially split into two companies on June 28th. The corporation announced new details about the split, including provisions to prevent hostile takeovers. Read more »
Behold: How Amazon wins the sales tax wars even when it loses
photo: Flickr / William Christiansen
Amazon has maneuvered to avoid collecting state sales taxes, but that’s only part of the story: This week’s Fortune cover article reveals that even when things don’t go the retailer’s way, it’s been able to turn them to its advantage. Read more at GigaOM »
Stories for May. 23, 2013
Adios, Dora: Netflix is starting to take Viacom shows offline
Dora, Diego, Spongebob, Blue’s Clues and a number of other kids TV shows were taken offline by Netflix this week as the company’s deal with Viacom is expiring. Read more »
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Apple ebook antitrust trial set for 9-12 days in early June
photo: Rubberball / Corbis
Apple and the federal government met on Thursday for a final hearing before their trial, which is set to begin on June 3, and features several high profile witnesses. Read more »
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Why scoops and objectivity matter less and less — because context is everything
photo: Shutterstock / noporn
Journalism has been evolving away from just a repetition of facts or events and towards context and analysis, research shows — but this evolution has also created tension for media companies because it conflicts with the principle of objectivity. Read more »
Twitter unveils new multi-screen deals with “Twitter Amplify”
Twitter is rapidly expanding its “multi-screen” ad offerings through a range of new partnerships with sports, news and other media companies. Read more at GigaOM »
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Amazon: victim or aggressor? Issue will frame Apple ebook trial
photo: Getty Images / Spencer Platt
Apple and the federal government are about to go to trial over an alleged conspiracy to fix ebook prices — but recent court filings show that Amazon will play a large role in determining the outcome. Read more »
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Six book publishing lessons from Open Road Media’s first three years
When Open Road Media launched in 2009, the idea of an all-digital publisher was still fairly new. Nearly four years later, it’s encountering more competition as publishers of all sizes hone their digital strategies. Here’s what it’s doing to try to stay ahead. Read more »
Amazon pushes forward with Kindle Fire HD’s international expansion
photo: Amazon
Amazon is making its Kindle Fire HD tablets broadly available internationally, with preorders shipping in June. The tablets were already available in Europe and Japan. Read more »
Stories for May. 22, 2013
The NYT illustrates how not to take a compliment — send a cease-and-desist notice instead
photo: Flickr user Hans Gerwitz
The New York Times’ legal response to a startup whose software allows publishers to replicate the look of the NYT’s Snow Fall feature goes so far above and beyond a simple cease-and-desist it becomes ridiculous. Read more »
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Twitter does the two-step, gets serious on security with new authentication feature
photo: alexmillos/Shutterstock.com
Twitter has finally joined other leading tech companies in offering two factor authentication. The move comes after high profile hacking incidents at the AP and other news outlets. Read more at GigaOM »
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Netflix may roll out 16 original shows, stand-up comedy specials next year
Netflix continues its competition with HBO by going into the stand-up comedy space. Altogether, the company may launch up to 16 original shows next year. Read more »
Instructions on how to transform a comment troll into a human being
photo: Flickr / Jeremy King
Comment trolls are often used as an example of why blog comments are a waste of time, but a recent series by the Climate Desk showed how they can quickly be turned into human beings. Read more »
Zite adds 7 new publishing partners; updates iOS app with Google Reader-inspired features
photo: Albert Chau
Personalized social reader Zite is updating its iOS app with more Google Reader-inspired features, and also added seven new publishers to its publisher program. Read more »
Soo Meta, the Storify for online video storytelling, launches to the public
Soo Meta redefines video storytelling by turning Storify-like content curation into great-looking video slideshows. The platform even allows producers to add polls and quizzes to their videos. Read more »
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Twitter tool lets brands sign up customers inside a tweet
photo: GigaOM
Twitter’s latest ad product provides a call to action right inside a tweet — showing the company is finally creating marketing tools closer to the “bottom of the funnel.” Read more at GigaOM »
Penguin agrees to $75 million class action settlement in ebook pricing lawsuit
photo: Shutterstock / zimmytws
Penguin has agreed to pay $75 million to settle the ebook pricing lawsuit with consumers and states. Meanwhile, Apple and the Department of Justice are set to go to trial on June 3. Read more »
Amazon’s new Kindle Worlds gives authors a way to sell fan fiction without legal hassles
Amazon Publishing is launching Kindle Worlds, a publishing platform that lets authors sell fan fiction based on properties like Gossip Girl. Amazon Publishing retains the rights to the works and will set the prices. Read more »
Top jobs of the week in digital media
photo: Shutterstock / Tom Mc Nemar
Looking for a job in digital media? Each week we highlight some of the most interesting positions posted to paidContent’s job board. Check out the latest gigs at media companies across the country. Read more »
Stories for May. 21, 2013
pC LIVE Podcast: How to monetize digital content: Advertising or paywall?
photo: Albert Chau
From paidContent LIVE 2013, a re-broadcast of our panel featuring MLB Advanced Media, News Corp., Atlantic Media and ProPublica discussing digital monetization strategies. Read more »
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Yahoo swears it isn’t going to screw up Tumblr — but how realistic is that promise?
photo: Flickr user Stephen Brace
Fans of Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer say she shouldn’t be blamed for the company’s history of failed acquisitions — but there are plenty of other reasons to be skeptical about Yahoo’s $1.1-billion Tumblr deal. Read more at GigaOM »
From Cronkite to Couric: Internet Archive gets $1 million to expand TV news collection
photo: ollyy
The Internet Archive recently launched an ambitious project to collect and index all broadcasts since the start of television. This week it got a major boost. Read more »
Brow.si wants to make mobile websites behave like native apps
The platform could give publishers a new tool in their quest to monetize online content. Not only does it let mobile websites issue push notifications, but it also introduces new real estate for ads. Read more »
Six finalists in the book discovery Publishing Hackathon; winner to be announced at BEA
The six finalists of the Publishing Hackathon held over the weekend in New York focus on discovering books in new ways — whether it’s by browsing book jackets or getting recommendations based on your web browser history. Read more »
Knewton teams up with Macmillan to bring adaptive learning beyond K-12 and higher ed
photo: Thinkstock
Knewton, a New York-based adaptive learning startup, has partnered with education publisher Macmillan. Read more at GigaOM »
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Why racist, nasty comments are better than none at all
photo: ArTono
Many publishers treat obnoxious comments as a problem to be solved — Above the Law takes the opposite approach, and embraces readers as they are. Read more »
Stories for May. 20, 2013
Flickr gets revamp — with 1 TB of photo storage free — and Yahoo gets new NYC office
More news from Yahoo on Monday: The company is revamping photo-sharing service Flickr and is also opening a New York City office. Tumblr’s employees, however, will remain at their current office. Read more at GigaOM »
Buying Tumblr might make Yahoo cool — but buying Pinterest might have made more sense
There are plenty of reasons why the announced Yahoo Tumblr deal makes sense for those companies. But Marissa Mayer might have seen a much greater payoff from acquiring Pinterest instead. Here’s why. Read more at GigaOM »
Pay TV is hurting, and even skeptics now admit cord cutting could be at fault
photo: Jason Rosenberg
Pay TV providers in the US lost subscribers for the first time ever over the 12 months ending in March. Especially alarming is the slowing growth of lower-priced offers. Read more »
Marissa Mayer: Some Tumblr users “may never come to Yahoo,” and that’s OK
photo: Albert Chau, Getty Images
In an investor call Monday morning, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer said Yahoo and Tumblr’s audiences really don’t overlap. She said that’s fine: Yahoo users will be exposed to more Tumblr content, and Tumblr gets a new ad strategy and possible Flickr integration while remaining a separate site. Read more at GigaOM »
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New York Times CEO calls digital pay model “most successful” decision in years
photo: AP Images
In a speech to Columbia business school graduates, the CEO of the New York Times described the company’s role in media disruption. Read more »
Yahoo officially acquires Tumblr for $1.1 billion, promises “not to screw it up”
photo: Albert Chau
Yahoo has officially acquired Tumblr for $1.1 billion, the companies announced Monday morning. Tumblr will be operated as a separate business, with David Karp remaining CEO. Read more at GigaOM »
Stories for May. 19, 2013
Report: Yahoo’s board agrees to pay $1.1 billion for Tumblr
photo: Albert Chau
Yahoo’s board has agreed to pay $1.1 billion for Tumblr, according to reports. Read more at GigaOM »
Distort puts a new twist on slow-mo, and on Revision3′s production
The upcoming Rev3 series Distort offers not only rich, compelling footage shot at high frame rates, but the on-camera presence of former Rev3 employees, who’ve struck an unusual deal for distribution. Read more »
Stories for May. 18, 2013
How to make Twitter the ultimate news ticker
Recent events, tragic and triumphant, emphasize the social web’s role as a central source for disseminating breaking news. But getting the facts right continues to be a challenge, and a solution requires cooperation and technical innovation. Read more »
Why Yahoo acquiring Tumblr for $1 billion makes a certain horrible kind of sense
Fans of the social-blogging network might not like the idea much, but a $1-billion acquisition of Tumblr would arguably solve a number of problems for Yahoo — and do the same for Tumblr CEO David Karp. Read more at GigaOM »
Stories for May. 17, 2013
Report: Yahoo eager to close $1.1 billion cash deal for Tumblr by Sunday evening
photo: Albert Chau
Tumblr might become part of Yahoo as early as Sunday night, according to a report that suggests Yahoo’s board of directors is set to consider a $1.1 billion offer for the startup. Read more at GigaOM »
Crowdfunding a crack scandal — did Gawker go too far?
photo: Chris Howey
Gawker has just taken checkbook journalism to a whole new level — asking the public to help buy a video tape that is likely to bring down the mayor of a major city. Read more »
Binge-watching forces “One Life to Live,” “All My Children” to cut back on new episodes
When soap operas “One Life to Live” and “All My Children” moved online, it wasn’t clear how fans would watch them. It turns out that most viewers are binge-watching — so the soaps’ production company is cutting back on the number of new episodes each week. Read more »
Parakweet uses natural language processing to find value in your tweets
photo: GigaOM
Looking for a book suggestion? Culling information from your Twitter feed and turning that into accurate recommendations is harder than it looks, but Parakweet is looking to use natural language procesing to do just that. Read more at GigaOM »
