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Journalist Maziar Bahari, whose memoir "And Then They Came for Me" about his 118 days of imprisonment and torture in Iran has been made into the film "Rosewater," says that the frustration over the inability to control social media and the internet has driven authoritarian regimes deeper into their comfort zones of imprisoning, torturing, and murdering the messengers.

"These are analogue regimes resorting to all their old methods of suppression of information," says Mr. Bahari in a phone interview. "They are used to controlling people through imprisonment, murder, shutting down newspapers and radio stations. They can't handle what the Internet is doing in the way of generating social movements and facilitating communication."

He added, "Social media is a phenomenon that even Mark Zuckerberg himself has no idea how to control."

"So imagine being one of these authoritarian regimes," Bahari added. "They don't like to rock the boat. That's what social media is all about and it makes them very angry."

Journalists, as suppliers of internet and social media fodder are what could be referred to as Analogue Enemy Number One.

Bahari, a native of Iran, returned to the country in 2009 to cover the presidential election and the subsequent protests challenging the results that kept President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in power, according to his memoir.

After shooting news video of the protests, he was arrested.

"Rosewater," named after the scent worn by Bahari's tormentor, is written and directed by "Daily Show" host Jon Stewart.

The film offers disturbing revelations of how Iranian officials chose to "weaponize" Bahari's appearance on the show, which has a large following online and on social media platforms.

The journalist participated in a comedy sketch wherein he met with a "spy" actually Daily Show correspondent Jason Jones in sunglasses in Iran. During his imprisonment, Bahari's jailers tortured him and repeatedly made reference to the show as the premise for accusing him of espionage, Bahari explained.

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'Rosewater' journalist says social media is making tyrants more dangerous

All-new FIAT 500X presented to the UK media in Turin and at the Balocco Providing Ground

Available in two distinctive flavours an elegant urban version in Pop, Pop Star and Lounge specifications and a rugged off-road version in Cross and Cross plus specifications

A broad range of engine and transmission option are available, including a class-leading nine-speed automatic transmission

Advanced safety equipment includes Brake Control collision mitigation system which functions up to 120mph

Technological highlights include 6.5-inch Uconnect system with 3D navigation and Uconnect Live smartphone integration

SLOUGH, UK -- November 14, 2014: Following on from its world dbut at the Paris Motor Show, the FIAT 500X is presented to the UK media for the first time at the international launch in Turin and Balocco on November 13 and 14, 2014.

The all-new 500X is a crossover not only in terms of vehicle segments, but also in terms of its potential customers. With two distinct flavours on offer, there is a 500X to suit every need and taste: One is designed to appeal to those with a fun-loving, spirited, metropolitan outlook available in Pop, Pop Star and Lounge trim levels, and another, more rugged version has been designed with stylish, active adventures in mind available in Cross and Cross Plus specifications. A choice of 12 different body colours and eight different designs for the 16-, 17- and 18-inch alloy wheels, will help every owner personalise the look of their FIAT 500X even further.

Designed in the Centro Stile FIAT, the new 500X not only has clear links to its siblings in the current 500 family but also the iconic 1957 original, most notably its large, circular headlamps (albeit with a sportier, more aggressive shape than the 500 or 500L), its unmistakable nose brightwork and distinctive clamshell bonnet. Compact on the outside, measuring 4.25m in length (the FIAT 500X Cross/Cross Plus is 2cm longer), 1.80m in width and 1.60m in height (1.61 with roof bars, 1.62 with 4WD) with a slippery drag co-efficient of 0.34 CX, the FIAT 500X is also spacious, flexible and inviting on the inside, with extensive use of high-grade materials, top-quality finishes and practical storage compartments, including a spacious 350-litre luggage compartment which can be extended to accommodate all manner of loads using the Fold&Tumble rear seats and the fold-flat front passenger seat. A removable load platform which is reversible and height adjustable is also available.

The new front seats offer a high degree of comfort and adjustability with wraparound bolstering and perfectly aligned arm rests in the centre console and door trims to aid relaxed cruising. With a H point of 669mm (distance from the ground to the drivers hip) the FIAT 500X offers excellent visibility while also ensuring the passengers feel safely enclosed and connected with the vehicle. Drivers of all-wheel drive versions sit 697mm from the ground, mainly due to the revised suspension settings and different wheels and tyres. A choice of seven fabric, leather and colour configurations is available, depending on the model and exterior colour, and amongst the premium options offered in the 500X, a full-length Sky Dome glass sunroof is available to bathe the cabin in natural light.

For the driver, theres a new instrument binnacle divided into three, circular, individually cowled displays, with the large, central display featuring a reconfigurable 3.5-inch TFT display, flanked by speedometer and rev-counter in the other displays. A new steering wheel offers improved grip and comfort as well as new audio and vehicle system controls and while the dashboard panel retains the retro look of the 500, new switchgear and 5.0-inch or 6.5 touchscreen Uconnect systems set the 500X apart as an all-new model.

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FIAT 500X Launched to UK Media

Had the Republicans been slightly less successful in the midterms, legions of expense-account reporters would now be in New Orleans, chronicling Mary Landrieus effort to save her seat.

With Democratic control of the Senate at stake, there would be an avalanche of stories about how the underdog from one of Louisianas most storied political families was fighting for her life in next months runoff.

Instead, shes got this: Mary Landrieu: Dead Woman Walking?

Thats not a right-wing attack. Its a headline on the liberal site Talking Points Memo.

The media narrative is that the senator is toast, and that may well be true. Landrieu edged Republican congressman Bill Cassidy in the primary, 42 to 41 percent, but another 14 percent went to another GOP candidate, Rob Maness. So it doesnt take a rocket scientist to gauge that Cassidy should pick up most of Maness votes in the Dec. 6 runoff.

Whats more, the Democratic Party has yanked its financial support from Landrieu. Politics is a cold business.

But media coverage matters. Some of Landrieu's supporters may stay home if shes deemed to be a goner. Indeed, NBC reporter Kasie Hunt came out and asked her, "Are you a lost cause?"

In an effort to salvage her candidacy, Landrieu, from an oil-rich state, has successfully pushed for a lame-duck Senate vote on the Keystone pipeline. But House Republicans have countered by having Cassidy sponsor the bill that would be sent to the White House--a vote could come today--and Landrieu says she doesnt care if her name is off the legislation as long as the pipeline is approved.

What this is really about is separating herself from the president, since a major theme of Cassidys campaignindeed, of many GOP campaigns--is that Landrieu voted in lockstep with Obama.

Heres the aforementioned TPM story:

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Even the liberal media say Mary Landrieu is toast

Bertelsmann Chairman and CEO Thomas Rabe

Bertelsmann posted its third-quarter financials Thursday, boasting its highest revenue figure in seven years with sales topping $14.7 billion (11.8 billion) after an 18-month shopping spree that has seen the German media giant acquire music label BMG, merge its books division Random House with Penguin and complete a takeover of publishing group Gruner + Jahr.

Sales were up 4.3 percent year-over-year and operating profits (EBITDA) hit $1.92 billion (1.54 billion), up slightly from the same period last year. Group net profit, however, was down sharply, at $355 million (285 million), down 53 percent from $835 million (623 million) this time in 2013, driven by weaker results at TV arm RTL Group and merger integration costs.

Read more Media Group Bertelsmann Says Hungarian Government Out to Destroy Its Business

Bertelsmann is in the midst of a seismic strategic shift, masterminded by chairman and CEO Thomas Rabe, that wants to see the company move away from its traditional, and slow-growth, base in old media in Europe.

The company has been pouring money into digital companies, recently buying a majority stake in Denver-based SpotXchange, a leader in digital video advertising, for $144 million plus possible additional payments; and paying $107 million for a controlling stake in YouTube multichannel network StyleHaul. Both companies are now controlled by RTL.

Bertelsmann is also looking to leverage its old media business in new ways.

Random House has a film division, Random House Studio, which recently renewed its partnership with Focus Features through 2016, and Penguin Random House has signed a first-look deal with Focus parent company Universal, the studio behind the adaptations of the publishers' best-sellers Unbroken and Fifty Shades of Grey.

Bertelsmann has also been active in the less-sexy e-learning market, acquiring U.S. online education provider Relias Learning.

Overall, we have exceeded our expectations, said Rabe in a statement. Bertelsmann is growing, is very profitable, and is making good progress in the implementation of its strategy...We will resolutely continue on our course to ensure that Bertelsmann becomes a faster growing, more digital and more international company long-term.

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Bertelsmann Shopping Spree Boosts Revenue, Profit Drops

Illustration by: John Holcroft

This story first appeared in the Nov. 21 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.

The mogul-built media conglomerates Time Warner, CBS, Walt Disney, Viacom and 21st Century Fox were inherited in the new millennium by a cast of baby moguls, employees rather than entrepreneurs and creators. Now these leaders are nearing traditional retirement age, and in a situation usually alarming to shareholders, none of them has an evident heir. At this seemingly most-existential moment, with an uncertain and perilous future just over the horizon, no media company has put in place the person who will manage it there. Instead, each top executive has become more singular and entrenched.

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Time Warner's Jeff Bewkes, 62, having fought off Rupert Murdoch's bid for his company, is more public than at any previous time in his career and personally has committed to advancing his share price. Leslie Moonves, 65, has achieved near-mogul standing, almost as synonymous with CBS as its founder, William Paley, once was. In October, Disney's board extended 63-year-old Robert Iger's retirement date a third time. Philippe Dauman, 60, is as close to replacing Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone who sounded near death Nov. 5 during a CBS earnings call as an executive ever has been. Chase Carey, 60, with the division of the Murdoch holdings into newspapers and entertainment, has become at the latter company ever-more autonomous and crucial.

This is, notably even transformationally the first business generation in which being in one's 60s doesn't necessarily suggest retirement. In fact, each of the media chiefs looks almost preternaturally on top of his game. The builders of the great media companies were forced by age, the reach of their ambitions and attendant controversies to turn over operational control to a strictly managerial generation. These execs were supposed to create more rational, less personality-dominated businesses. Instead, in the process of building more deliberate media empires, each company has become a striking reflection of its operator's logic.

See more 'Pulp Fiction,' 'Thelma & Louise' Stars Reunite

Bewkes, rising at Time Warner after CEO Jerry Levin's hubris-addled fall and caretaker Richard Parsons' interregnum, sold off the many nonharmonious parts of the company and doubled its share price. Moonves, in addition to launching the CSI and NCIS franchises, single-handedly established broadcast's huge retransmission fees after taking control of CBS in its 2006 spinoff from Viacom. Iger bought Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm (and has been lucky to preside over ESPN's rocketing growth) and is the quiet yin to his Disney predecessor Michael Eisner's Sturm und Drang yang. Carey, while in name the COO who reports to 83-year-old Fox CEO Murdoch, has managed a sports and cable leviathan and, as well, his proprietor and his difficult family. (Carey reportedly was the strongest voice in splitting the Murdoch holdings.) Dauman, too, taking over Viacom after Redstone's temper-tantrum ouster of Tom Freston, has demonstrated singular ability to manage his 91-year-old patron; with his other hand, he has turned Viacom into the leading millennial marketing company.

Most importantly contradicting the influential thesis of investment banker Jonathan Knee in his book The Curse of the Mogul that the long-term prices of media conglomerates inevitably lag the market each man has seen during his tenure a market-beating rise.

It also is very clear that none of them wants to go. Why would they? Not only is running a media company like being prince of a rich nation-state a lifestyle as well as personal-wealth bonanza, with each of the major media CEOs ranking among the most well-paid U.S. executives but also there is a sense that television, the essence of their businesses, is poised for an ultimate golden age.

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Michael Wolff on Big Media: Where Are All the CEO Heir Apparents?