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, Vox, Washington Post, @austinramzy, @joanwalsh, @jswatz, @edyong209, @reporterporter, @sulliview, TODAY.com, TwitLonger, Fortune, Mother Jones and Mashable
RELATED:
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, The Huffington Post, Mashable, Slate, The Guardian, Washington Post, The Daily Caller and The Week
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, @dmartosko, @jenstar, @bkesling, @chuckrossdc, @cjchivers, @esotericcd and @kelseymsutton
RELATED:
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
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, The Nation, Columbia Journalism Review, naked capitalism, KSFO-AM and Mediaite
Tim Peterson / Marketing Land:
Facebook discloses more engagement measurement errors; some of the faulty stats were used by The New York Times and BuzzFeed in their stories about fake news — Facebook misreported engagement numbers for links and live videos and is refining the ad reach estimates it shows advertisers.
Discussion:
Facebook, Ad Age, Forbes, Fortune, The Drum, TechCrunch, The Daily Caller, Wall Street Journal, Consumerist, Mashable, Adweek and Business Insider
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, USA Today, AdExchanger, Engadget, The Wrap, @mathewi, @jake_kanter, @business, @tomgara, @lucas_shaw, @djack_journo, @mediaguido, BBC, Sky News, @pkafka, @pkafka, @pkafka, The Guardian, @cnbc and StreetInsider.com
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:
Deadline, Mediaite, Rolling Stone, AOL, @lachlan, @tatianasiegel27, @thrmattbelloni, TVWeek.com and @bryanllenas
RELATED:
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, Ad Age, 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:
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
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:
The Wrap, Variety, @pbump and The Daily Caller
RELATED:
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, TVWeek.com, Bloomberg, New York Times, New Urban Legends, Politico, Media Matters for America, Washington Post, Gothamist, Fortune, VICE, bookforum.com, Western Journalism, Hollywood Reporter, The Week, AOL, Ad Age, NPR, Mother Jones, Vanity Fair, Broadcasting & Cable, @corybooker, @voiceofobrien, @lhfang, The Guardian, CNNMoney, The Huffington Post, @clarajeffery, FTVLive, TheBlaze, The Verge, Business Insider, Deadline, KXAN-TV, Mashable, @poniewozik, @mizque, @maggienyt, @kurteichenwald, @jfagone, @brendanreichs, @adamserwer, @jamilsmith and Media Law Prof Blog
Micah Singleton / The Verge:
Sources: Spotify testing new feature, Jump In, that lets free users play songs on-demand in certain playlists, but negotiations with labels may delay release — But will the labels go for it? — Spotify is testing a new feature called Jump In that would let its free mobile users …