Top News:
Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
As media faces more criticism and fake news causes real trouble, it's tempting to tune out, but this moment requires keen awareness and critical thinking — In another strange time in American history, the counterculture guru Timothy Leary urged people to “turn on, tune in, drop out.”
Discussion:
Shorenstein Center, @craignewman, Media Nation, TODAY.com, @austinramzy, @joanwalsh, @jswatz, @edyong209, @reporterporter, @sulliview, Vox, Washington Post, TwitLonger, Fortune, Mother Jones and Mashable
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Peter Kafka / Recode:
Public Policy Polling surveyed 1000+ registered voters this week, found nearly 50% of Trump voters believe Pizzagate theory is true or could be true — Especially if they're Trump voters. — Here's a question I never thought I'd ask: Do you think Hillary Clinton is connected to a child sex ring …
Discussion:
Public Policy Polling, Business Insider, Slate, Mashable, The Guardian and The Daily Caller
Lloyd Grove / The Daily Beast:
Two sites named on blacklist of news sites peddling Russian propaganda featured by WaPo demand retraction; one, Naked Capitalism, may sue the newspaper — The Washington Post—whose coverage of Watergate four decades ago angered the powers that be, toppled a president, and defined courageous journalism …
Bloomberg:
21st Century Fox has agreed to buy Sky for $13.51 per share in cash valuing the broadcaster at $14.1B; Sky's share price jumps more than 26% — 21st Century Fox Inc. reached a preliminary deal to acquire full control of Sky Plc, valuing the pay-TV provider at 18.5 billion pounds ($23.2 billion) …
Discussion:
corporate.sky.com, @pkafka, The Wrap, USA Today, BBC, Sky News, The Guardian, @djack_journo, Engadget, StreetInsider.com, @cnbc, @business, @pkafka, @pkafka, @mediaguido, @mathewi, @lucas_shaw, @jake_kanter, @tomgara and @pkafka
Tatiana Siegel / Hollywood Reporter:
Sources: Annapurna Pictures is developing a film about the Roger Ailes scandal which will focus on Megyn Kelly and other victims — Megan Ellison's Annapurna Pictures has scooped up a pitch from Charles Randolph about the former Fox News chairman. — First, there was a miniseries …
Discussion:
Mediaite, Deadline, TVWeek.com, Rolling Stone, AOL, @lachlan, @tatianasiegel27, @thrmattbelloni, @bryanllenas and Western Journalism
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Sarah Ellison / Vanity Fair:
Despite an offer of more than $20M to stay on at Fox News, sources say Megyn Kelly is still fielding bids from ABC, NBC, and CNN — Despite an offer of more than $20 million from Fox, Kelly appears to be listening to some surprising suitors. — On Wednesday morning …
Discussion:
Variety, FTVLive, Mediaite, @brianstelter, USA Today, TVNewser and TVWeek.com
Charlie Warzel / BuzzFeed:
Trump's denunciation of individuals on Twitter, which often leads to harassment by his followers, tests the limits of Twitter's rules against incitement — Twitter declined BuzzFeed News' request for comment. — Last night President-elect Donald Trump used his Twitter account to criticize Chuck Jones …
Discussion:
Washington Post, VentureBeat, New York Magazine, The Daily Caller, @cwarzel, @gavinnewsom, @brendannyhan, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, emptywheel, Motherboard, AOL and The Week
Cynthia Littleton / Variety:
Trump will remain executive producer of Celebrity Apprentice, getting royalties through MGM, likely in the low five figures per episode — Donald Trump will remain an exec producer on NBC's “Celebrity Apprentice,” which is returning Jan. 2 after a two-year hiatus with new host Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Discussion:
New York Times, Media Matters for America, Mediaite, Ad Age, Hollywood Reporter, Politico, NPR, @clarajeffery, CNNMoney, Washington Post, Vanity Fair, Western Journalism, The Week, AOL, @corybooker, @lhfang, @voiceofobrien, Gothamist, VICE, bookforum.com, Broadcasting & Cable, Mother Jones, Fortune, FTVLive, The Guardian, The Huffington Post, The Verge, Mashable, @poniewozik, @mizque, @maggienyt, @kurteichenwald, @jfagone, @brendanreichs, @adamserwer, @jamilsmith, Business Insider, TheBlaze, KXAN-TV, @nycsouthpaw, @poniewozik, @braddjaffy, @alex, @sophiabush and Media Law Prof Blog
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Peter Sterne / Politico:
BuzzFeed adds Tampa Bay Times' Anthony Cormier, a Pulitzer winner, to its investigative unit, and hires Daily Beast's Nancy Youssef to cover the Pentagon — Buzzfeed News is adding Anthony Cormier to its Investigative Unit and Nancy Youssef to its World team, the company was set to announce on Friday.
Jeff Schogol / Military Times:
The Blaze reporter Jason Buttrill criticized after posing with sniper rifle and shooting at ISIS combatants in Mosul — Journalists in warzones are supposed to be non-combatants, but Jason Buttrill of The Blaze recently tweeted a picture of himself with a sniper rifle along with the message: “Major bucket list completed.
Discussion:
TheBlaze, @pptsapper, @jengriffinfnc and Politico
Peter Sterne / Politico:
Associated Press lays off 25 staffers in global news department; the cuts include two staffers from the AP's New York statehouse bureau in Albany — The Associated Press is laying off 25 editorial staffers this week, a spokesman confirmed to POLITICO. The cuts came as part of an effort to reduce expenses.
Shan Wang / Nieman Lab:
Wall Street Journal grows digital subscriptions from 948K in August to 1M+ now, pitching subscriptions when staffers or subscribers share non-paywalled links — Despite a bad fall shadowed by news about ad revenue declines and layoffs, the Journal has ridden what seems to be a post-election wave of interest in paid media.
Discussion:
@laurahazardowen, @jackshafer, @garyrosenwsj, @thenewcharlotte and @niemanlab