Mediagazer: After awarding $1.5M in libel verdict against Raleigh News & Observer, jury adds $7.5M in punitive damages for forensic firearms story; paper will appeal (John Murawski/Raleigh News & Observer)

5:55 AM ET, October 21, 2016

Top News:

Dylan Byers / CNNMoney:

Chris Wallace, the first Fox News host to moderate a presidential debate, praised by peers and political pundits — Chris Wallace delivered a sterling performance as moderator of the final presidential debate on Wednesday night, maintaining order and focusing on substantive issues that matter to American voters.

Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
Profile of Steve Scully, C-SPAN Washington Journal host, who spent 35-40 hours researching, preparing questions, rehearsing as 2016's back up debate moderator

Discussion: @katies, @erikwemple, @erikwemple, @pdad and @benmullin

Bloomberg:

Sources: senior executives at AT&T and Time Warner have discussed various business strategies in recent weeks, including a possible merger — Senior executives at AT&T Inc. and Time Warner Inc. have met in recent weeks to discuss various business strategies including a possible merger, according to people familiar with the matter.

Discussion: Business Insider, AppleInsider, @ballmatthew, Vanity Fair, Variety, CNBC, 9to5Mac, Forbes, The Wrap, Broadcasting & Cable, Tech Trader Daily, USA Today, Deadline, Fortune and Wall Street Journal

BuzzFeed:

Analysis of 1K+ posts from 6 partisan Facebook Pages shows that least-accurate are shared widely; 38% of right-wing, 19% of left-wing posts are false/misleading — A BuzzFeed News analysis found that three big right-wing Facebook pages published false or misleading information 38% …

Discussion: @craigsilverman, @jwherrman, @bluechoochoo, @buzzfeedben, Daring Fireball, New York Times, @brendannyhan, @mathewi, @sophiabush, @mims, @jayrosen_nyu, @craigsilverman, @craigsilverman, @mantzarlis and @cfiesler

Charlie Warzel / BuzzFeed:

Trump's Facebook Live broadcast during the final debate, which featured pundits and with pro-Trump ads, attracted 200K concurrent viewers — “If you're tired of biased, mainstream media reporting (otherwise known as Crooked Hillary's super PAC), tune into my Facebook Live broadcast."

Peter Kafka / Recode:

Sources: Comcast's NBCUniversal finalizing deal for a second $200M investment in BuzzFeed, at a valuation of $1.7B — More money for Jonah Peretti and his video ambitions. — A year after making a major investment in BuzzFeed, NBCUniversal is doing it again.

Discussion: Business Insider, VatorNews, Fast Company, Hollywood Reporter, @eringriffith, @pkafka, @sarahcuda, @mikeisaac, Variety and The Wrap

TechCrunch:

Facebook announces that Instant Articles can now include immersive 360 videos and photos; USA Today and Bild are first to showcase the feature — Oct 20, 2016, 2:09 pmOct 20, 2016, 3:51 pm — Facebook's Instant Articles — the format that displays publishers' content in a faster-loading …

Discussion: Facebook Media, Recode, USA Today, VentureBeat, SocialTimes and The Next Web

Benjamin Mullin / Poynter:

UNC study finds 33%+ of US papers have changed ownership since 2004, local news is beholden to investors, and a trend toward corporate consolidation — Joseph Pulitzer, William Randolph Hearst and E. W. Scripps are out. Digital First Media, GateHouse and Civitas are in.

Discussion: @poynter, @apradhan1968, @uncmjschool and @benmullin

John Murawski / Raleigh News & Observer:

After awarding $1.5M in libel verdict against Raleigh News & Observer, jury adds $7.5M in punitive damages for forensic firearms story; paper will appeal — A day after awarding a $1.5 million libel verdict against The News & Observer and reporter Mandy Locke, a Wake County jury came …

Discussion: @katherineblunt, @coreyhutchins and @melroselaw

Joseph Lichterman / Nieman Lab:

NYT releases Facebook Messenger bot to cover the rest of the election, combining automatic updates with dispatches from political reporter Nicholas Confessore — The New York Times on Wednesday released a Facebook Messenger bot to cover the last 19 days of the U.S. presidential election.

Discussion: FishbowlNY, VentureBeat and TechCrunch

USA Today:

USA Today Network launches VRtually There, a weekly, branded virtual reality news program, available via app and YouTube — USA TODAY NETWORK today announced the release of its weekly virtual reality news show, ‘VRtually There’ - the first-ever branded news experience exclusively in partnership …

Discussion: FishbowlNY, AdExchanger, Fortune, @rafat and Business Wire

Wall Street Journal:

GroupM estimates global spending on newspaper print ads to decline 8.7% to $52.6B in 2016, the biggest drop since the recession; publishers forced to weigh cuts — With global newspaper print advertising on pace for worst decline since recession, publishers cut costs and restructure

Discussion: @wsj, @mattdpearce, @asharma, Scott Brodbeck, @clarajeffery, @wsj, @justin_b_smith, @mmqwalker, @myurow, @margheritamvs, @dabeard, @jimzarroli, @maloneyfiles, @rwhelanwsj and @perlberg

David Uberti / Columbia Journalism Review:

CNN's pro-Trump contributors introduce false information into the network's programs, clouding the outlet's own reporting — The consensus headline from the third and final presidential debate was Republican candidate Donald Trump's refusal to commit to accepting the 2016 election results.

Discussion: @dylanbyers, @daviduberti, @mattlurrie, @coopnytimes, @ericgeller, @carlbialik, @bmaz, @jayrosen_nyu, Media Matters for America, Media Matters for America and Washington Post

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Sonya Sorich / Sacramento Business Journal:
McClatchy Q2 revenue falls to $242.2M, down from $262.4M in same quarter of 2015; ad revenue down 11% year over year, print ad revenue down 16.6%

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Olivia Snaije / Publishing Perspectives:
Can Dundar, exiled former editor-in-chief of the Turkish daily Cumhuriyet, working to create new media outlet with colleagues to reach Turkish audience

Max Willens / Digiday:
Barron's new digital offshoot Barron's Next hopes to interest millennials in ecomonics and investing with quick analysis, video, and a custom built stock index

Discussion: @lmoses, Forbes, @almarlatour, @marketwatch, @digiday and @digiday

Jessica Goodfellow / The Drum:
Bauer Xcel Media relaunches FHM online after magazine ended publication last year, positions it between the “too clickbait” LadBible, and “too niche” GQ

Discussion: @goodflo and PR Newswire

Ricardo Bilton / Nieman Lab:
New Orleans-based local news site, The Lens, which launched a speakers bureau in 2014, says it earned $10K in speaker fees during 2015

Shan Wang / Nieman Lab:
NPR announces expansion of internal incubator Story Lab, adding resources and planning an online system for internal and external idea pitches

Discussion: @nprtraining, @tothevictor, @shansquared, @isalara, FishbowlDC and NPR Training

Earlier Picks:

Harry McCracken / Fast Company:
David Bunnell, founder of PC Magazine, PC World, and Macworld, and a social activist, died Tuesday in Berkeley, CA, at age 69

Discussion: @alysonbehr, @erichippeau and Backchannel

Ken Fang / Awful Announcing:
Sports Illustrated launches The Crossover, a site focused on the NBA, with lead editor Matt Dollinger

Discussion: SI.com and FishbowlNY

USA Today:
Internal memo: WSJ owner Dow Jones plans restructuring after ad slump, including “rationalizing” print, making paper “more concise and digestible” soon

Discussion: @raju

New York Times:
How the Cubs-Dodgers National League playoff ignited a feud between between the Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Tribune, which are owned by the same company

Discussion: Curbed LA - All

Shan Wang / Nieman Lab:
Q&A with MinnPost founder Joel Kramer on its future as he and co-founder Laurie Kramer step down, CEO Andrew Wallmeyer and editor Andrew Utz take over

Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Google reaches deal with CBS to carry network on Unplugged web TV service on YouTube, to debut early 2017; talks ongoing with 21st Century Fox, Disney

Discussion: AppleInsider, Fortune, East Bay Times, VideoNuze Analysis, USA Today, xda-developers, Reynolds Center, C21Media, Fast Company, CNBC, Light Reading, Radio & Television … and MacRumors

From Techmeme:

Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority:
Source: Google has canceled the development of a second-generation Pixel Tablet, planned for release in 2025, due to concerns that it wouldn't sell very well

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is testing a more conversational version of Siri, dubbed “LLM Siri”, with plans to release it in spring 2026 as part of iOS 19 and macOS 16

The Information:
Sources: OpenAI considered making a browser, discussed deals to power AI features on Samsung devices and search on sites and apps from Condé Nast and others

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