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By Justin Peligri, CNN

updated 12:15 PM EDT, Tue October 28, 2014

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

(CNN) -- Gun control supporting candidates facing tight races for governor in Connecticut and Maryland are the beneficiaries of a last-minute ad buy from former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Bloomberg's group, Independence USA PAC, is supporting pro-gun control candidates like Democratic Gov. Dan Malloy in Connecticut and Democratic Lieutenant Governor Anthony Brown in Maryland, both of whom are locked in tight races to lead their states.

Gun control is a "simmering issue" in these states, said Bloomberg spokesman Stu Loeser. Historically, the PAC has donated to both Democrats and Republicans supporting "common sense" gun control in an attempt to stave off the gun lobby and tie pro-gun candidates to the National Rifle Association.

In Connecticut, the group hopes that support for gun control will emerge as a salient theme for voters in the wake of the state's Sandy Hook massacre in December 2012, where 20 young children and 6 adults were shot and killed at an elementary school. The newest ads there target Malloy's opponent, Republican challenger Tom Foley.

"The NRA praises Tom Foley, calling him pro-gun," a voice in a new Connecticut ad says. "No wonder. The NRA opposes comprehensive background checks. And Foley promised he'd sign a bill to weaken them, undermining our gun safety laws."

The Foley campaign did not immediately return CNN's request to respond to Bloomberg's efforts.

This is the second ad buy in Connecticut in the past week: Television watchers also might have noticed another gun control ad which launched Friday from the group. Loeser said these ad buys represent an attempt to make sure gun control stays on the agenda in these states.

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Bloomberg PAC highlights gun control in Connecticut, Maryland

Facebook is changing (has changed?) the way people read news. The ten-year-old social network now has a fifth of the world about 1.3 billion people logging on at least monthly and drives up to 20 percent of traffic to news sites. Facebook decides what stories get prominent placement, and by extension, what news organizations get traffic. We try to explicitly view ourselves as not editors, said Greg Marra, a 26-year-old Facebook engineer in charge of writing the code that determines what gets shared in a users News Feed.(The New York Times)

But most news stories just dont look that great on mobile, which is how many people use Facebook and end up opening links to outside content. One possible fix would be for publishers to simply send pages to Facebook that would live inside the social networks mobile app and be hosted by its servers; that way, they would load quickly with ads that Facebook sells. The revenue would be shared, writes David Carr. But of course, that is a worrisome outcome for publishers. Media companies would essentially be serfs in a kingdom that Facebook owns. (The New York Times)

Scandal in Canada: Shortly after Jian Ghomeshi was fired from his position as the host of CBCs current affairs showQ, the popular Canadian broadcaster posted a note on Facebook, explaining that he was dismissed because a vengeful ex-girlfriend was threatening to expose and misrepresent details of his adventurous bedroom behavior and preferences. (The Globe and Mail)

Whisper CEO suspended staff, including editor in chief Neetzan Zimmerman, afterThe Guardians investigations into just how anonymous the anonymous secret-sharing app really is prompted calls for a senate inquiry. (The Guardian)

T, theTimesluxury magazine, turned 10 and is the prettiest girl at the party. (Capital)

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Media Mix: Facebooks Control Over the News

Originally published October 27, 2014 at 9:25 AM | Page modified October 27, 2014 at 9:25 PM

Amazon.com has added a second Fire TV streaming device to its lineup, announcing a $39 streaming-media stick Monday that will compete with Google Chromecast and Roku Streaming Stick.

Users plug the new Fire TV Stick into the HDMI port on an HDTV to stream content from Netflix, Hulu Plus, Prime Instant Video, WatchESPN, Twitch, YouTube, Pandora, Spotify and other services.

Google Chromecast costs $35 and Roku Streaming Stick costs $50.

Amazons stick comes seven months after the Seattle company introduced Amazon Fire TV, a streaming-media box. Amazon hopes the smaller, cheaper device about the size of a pack of gum will entice customers who dont want to spend $99 on the Fire TV box.

The stick features a dual-core processor, 1 GB of RAM, 8 GB of storage, and dual-band and dual-antenna Wi-Fi.

It comes with a remote control, and users can also use their phones as a remote with a free mobile app that includes voice search.

The company was quick to tout the sticks specs compared with rival devices.

Fire TV Stick has 50 percent more processing power and two times the memory of Chromecast; it has six times the processing power, two times the memory and 32 times the storage of Roku Streaming Stick, the company said. This results in faster and more fluid navigation, plus more storage for apps and games.

Users will also be able to fling movies and TV shows from their Fire tablet or Fire phone to the Fire TV Stick.

Read more from the original source:
Amazon unveils plug-in TV streaming stick, challenging Google, Roku

The Islamic State militants captured eight journalists and media workers working for a local television in the militants-seized city of Mosul, capital of the countrys northern province of Nineveh, a provincial security source said on Sunday.

Five media workers were captured by the IS militants early in the day, while three others were captured on Friday, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Four reporters and cameramen, two technicians and an administrator are all working for local news Sama Mosul satellite channel, the source said.

The IS militants stormed their homes in different districts of Mosul, some 400 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, and captured them, the source added.

After the IS took control of Mosul in June, Iraqs second largest city, many reporters have left the city for fear of reprisals.

On Oct. 11, IS militants kidnapped and executed Raad al-Azzawi, a cameraman for local news Sama Salahudin satellite channel, and three of his relatives in Iraqs central province of Salahudin for alleged collaboration with Iraqi security forces.

The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders group said the U.S. war with Iraq was the most lethal for journalists since World War II, and the statistics of the Iraqi Union of Journalists showed that more than 300 of its members and media workers were killed since the start of the U.S.-led war in March, 2003.

Iraqs security situation began to drastically deteriorate on June 10, when bloody clashes broke out between the Iraqi security forces and the IS, an al-Qaida break-away group, who took control of the countrys northern city of Mosul and later seized swathes of territories after Iraqi security forces abandoned their posts in Nineveh and other predominantly Sunni provinces.

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IS captures eight media workers in Iraqs Mosul

These maverick companies clearly lay out what is acceptable company-related content to be publicly shared and what is off limits. KPMG has developed YouTube videos, and many top employers are now offering social media classes that help employees understand appropriate messages for each medium, with additional training on how to control private and public interfaces.

"How to" practices are just as important as making clear the repercussions of inappropriate company-related social media behavior. Clearly explain to employees the legal consequences of their actions if they use technology to either view or distribute objectionable, illicit or offensive material on work devices or company accounts.

Read MoreCracking the code on billion-dollar success

If you are looking for an example of a company that has done this well, check out IBM's blogging guidelines released to its employees. The manifesto is well put together: It clearly states the goals of IBM-related blogging, such as key messages to share, while also making the guidelines crystal clear. Cisco has taken a similar approach, publishing its social media guidelines on its website for all employees to access and read so there is no question about what is okay to share.

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How to build a brand with social media