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, Vox, Washington Post, @austinramzy, @joanwalsh, @jswatz, @edyong209, @reporterporter, @sulliview, 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, The Huffington Post, Business Insider, Slate, Mashable, The Guardian, Washington Post, The Daily Caller, The Week and @byrontau
Hadas Gold / Politico:
The Blaze suspends reporter Jason Buttrill over claim he shot at ISIS fighters, recalls him to the US, after initially publishing a story detailing the incident — The Blaze has recalled and suspended a researcher who while in Iraq said he fired shots at ISIS fighters, and later proudly publicized his actions.
Discussion:
The Wrap, TheBlaze, @cjchivers, @jenstar, @dmartosko, @bkesling, @chuckrossdc, @esotericcd and @kelseymsutton
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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:
The Wrap, @jeffschogol, @pptsapper and @jengriffinfnc
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 Guardian, AdExchanger, The Wrap, Engadget, USA Today, @mathewi, @jake_kanter, @business, @tomgara, @lucas_shaw, @djack_journo, @mediaguido, BBC, Sky News, @pkafka, @pkafka, @pkafka, The Guardian, @cnbc and StreetInsider.com
Lloyd Grove / The Daily Beast:
Two sites named on blacklist of news sites peddling Russian propaganda featured by WaPo demand retraction; one, Naked Capitalism, threatens to sue the newspaper — The Washington Post—whose coverage of Watergate four decades ago angered the powers that be, toppled a president …
Discussion:
Current Affairs, The Intercept, @ggreenwald, @adamjohnsonnyc, @esotericcd, Columbia Journalism Review, The Nation, naked capitalism, KSFO-AM and Mediaite
Tatiana Siegel / Hollywood Reporter:
Sources: Annapurna Pictures is developing a film about the Roger Ailes scandal which will focus on Megyn Kelly and other alleged 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, Rolling Stone, AOL, TVWeek.com, @lachlan, @tatianasiegel27, @thrmattbelloni and @bryanllenas
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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:
Ad Age, Variety, Mediaite, FTVLive, @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 …
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.
Peter Sterne / Politico:
Associated Press lays off 25 staffers in global news department, including 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.
Discussion:
Washington Post
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:
@garyrosenwsj, @jackshafer, @laurahazardowen, @thenewcharlotte and @niemanlab
Philip Bump / Washington Post:
LA entertainment attorney says Trump's EP title on Celebrity Apprentice is likely credit for past work, other presidents have derived income from media products — I know next to nothing about how the entertainment world works. Like many Americans, I assume, the blur of names that I ignore …
Discussion:
Variety, @pbump, The Daily Caller and PAPERMAG
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Cynthia Littleton / Variety:
Trump will remain executive producer of Celebrity Apprentice, getting royalties through MGM, likely in the low five figures per episode
Trump will remain executive producer of Celebrity Apprentice, getting royalties through MGM, likely in the low five figures per episode
Discussion:
The Wrap, Mediaite, New York Times, New Urban Legends, Media Matters for America, Politico, Hollywood Reporter, Fortune, Western Journalism, Ad Age, The Week, AOL, Washington Post, Gothamist, VICE, NPR, bookforum.com, Vanity Fair, Broadcasting & Cable, @corybooker, @voiceofobrien, @lhfang, Mother Jones, @clarajeffery, The Guardian, FTVLive, CNNMoney, The Huffington Post, The Verge, Business Insider, TheBlaze, Mashable, @poniewozik, @mizque, @maggienyt, @kurteichenwald, @jfagone, @brendanreichs, @adamserwer, @jamilsmith, KXAN-TV, Deadline, Media Law Prof Blog, @nycsouthpaw, @poniewozik, @braddjaffy, @alex and @sophiabush