1. The government shutdown is terrible for transparency (Matt Berman & Patrick Reis / National Journal)
2. How Twitter’s ad business went from zero to $500 million in less than four years (Peter Kafka / AllThingsD)
3. Circa wants to be a mobile wire service for breaking news – one that learns from what you know (Mathew Ingram / GigaOm)
4. Why are e-books subscription startups so hot? (Stephanie Meyers / Inc)
5. With print advertising in decline, German newspapers look toward digital business models (Ken Doctor / Nieman Lab)
6. Amazon readies set-top box for the holidays (Greg Bensinger / Wall Street Journal)