Media embracing digital TV with strings attached

By Jennifer Saba and Lisa Richwine NEW YORK/LAS VEGAS (Reuters) – Media companies that are starting to allow their programs onto Internet-delivered TV and mobile devices are putting limits on digital rights as a safety hatch if problems arise with the new distribution systems, executives say.

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Starboard reiterates Yahoo should combine with AOL

(Reuters) – Activist-investor Starboard Value LP has reiterated that Yahoo Inc should consider a merger with AOL Inc and cut costs to improve profits, spurred by media reports that Yahoo is exploring other large-scale acquisitions. Starboard, in September, urged Yahoo to consider merging with AOL on the grounds that a deal could create up to $1 billion in “synergies” by reducing overlaps in online display advertising and other overhead costs

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Starboard reiterates Yahoo should combine with AOL

(Reuters) – Activist-investor Starboard Value LP has reiterated that Yahoo Inc should consider a merger with AOL Inc and cut costs to improve profits, spurred by media reports that Yahoo is exploring other large-scale acquisitions. Starboard, in September, urged Yahoo to consider merging with AOL on the grounds that a deal could create up to $1 billion in “synergies” by reducing overlaps in online display advertising and other overhead costs. The activist-investor holds stake in both companies

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China dating app helps gay men banish the blues – and AIDS

BEIJING (Reuters) – Hua Ruobin started using Blued two years ago to meet other gay men in China, setting up weekend dinners or dates in karaoke bars. The gay dating app has been a godsend for Hua, allowing the university student in the southern city of Guangzhou to privately contact Chinese men seeking same-sex companionship. Homosexuality is not illegal in China, but remains a taboo subject in the world's most populous country

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California girl, 15, arrested over social media threats to school

By Marty Graham (Reuters) – A 15-year-old California girl has been arrested on accusations of using Instagram to anonymously threaten her San Diego-area high school, which was closed for two days this week as a result, police said on Wednesday. Carlsbad High School, about 20 miles north of San Diego, closed mid-morning on Monday and sent students home after learning of the anonymous threat, Carlsbad School District spokesman Rick Grove said.

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FBI says Sony hackers ‘got sloppy,’ posted from North Korea addresses

By Emily Flitter and Mark Hosenball NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – FBI Director James Comey said on Wednesday that hackers behind the cyberattack on Sony Pictures Entertainment provided key clues to their identity by sometimes posting material from IP addresses used exclusively by the North Korean government. The hackers, who called themselves “Guardians of Peace,” sometimes “got sloppy” and failed to use proxy servers that would hide their identity, Comey said at the International Conference on Cyber Security in New York.

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