Mediagazer: Vice Media launches film division, Vice Documentary Films, which will produce feature-length documentaries from both established and up-and-coming directors (Liz Calvario/IndieWire)

11:15 AM ET, January 16, 2017

Top News:

Peter J. Boyer / Esquire:

3 senior officials on Trump transition team say there's been serious consideration of evicting White House press corps; press secretary acknowledges discussion — “They are the opposition party,” a senior official says. — The upset to the existing order caused by the presidential election …

Jack Shafer / Politico:

Trump's presidency will strengthen journalism by forcing reporters not to rely on the back-scratching relationship they previously had with D.C. sources — In his own way, Trump has set us free. — Donald Trump and his forthcoming presidency may be the greatest gift to Washington journalism since …

Discussion: @merrillbro, @carloslozadawp, @davidfolkenflik, @ralstonreports, @mehdirhasan, @benhowe, @richardgrenell, @justinjm1, @stuartmillar159, @sethamandel, @jpodhoretz, @wokieleaks1, @therickwilson and @thefix

Matthew Champion / BuzzFeed:

Source: The Daily Mail's US Political Editor, David Martosko, suggested Trump should drug test White House reporters when he applied for WH Press Sec job — David Martosko, the US political editor for the Mail Online, made the suggestion when he applied to work as Trump's press secretary, BuzzFeed News understands.

Discussion: Mediaite, Page Six, @tvietor08, @mattdpearce, @kfile, @mattdpearce, @jonswaine and @adamserwer

Sarah Westwood / Washington Examiner: A look behind the scenes at how the Trump administration is preparing to monitor press coverage and deal with reporters

Ali Dukakis / ABC News:
Responding to Esquire report, Reince Priebus says the Trump administration is considering moving press briefings out of the West Wing to building beside the WH

Discussion: New York Times, The Hill, Washington Post, @charlesmblow, @jeffmason1, @jremsikjr, @charlesmblow, @westwingreport, Variety and The Week

Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:

A hellscape of lies and distorted reality awaits journalists covering President Trump — At the northeast corner of the National Archives building sits Robert Aitken's sculpture “The Future,” inscribed with some famous words from Shakespeare's “The Tempest”: “What is past is prologue.”

Discussion: Columbia Journalism Review, The Wrap, @erinmcunningham, @tonyhorwitz, @timdegier, @pierre, @brianstelter, @emilybell, @shannonpareil, @sulliview, @kairyssdal, @nickspencer, @dabeard, @farnazfassihi, @mlcalderone, @jimaxelrod and @reallucasneff

Mathew Ingram / Fortune:
After Trump's confrontational press conference, the media needs to start treating the president-elect like a hostile witness rather than try to curry favor

Discussion: The Wrap, Mediaite, @ronrosenbaum1, @oliverburkeman, @laurachapin, @iamedigathegi, The Big Lead, @msgoddessrises and Mother Jones

Amar Toor / The Verge:

Facebook says it will soon expand tools to fight fake news to Germany, will send flagged posts to Berlin-based nonprofit news org Correctiv for fact-checking — Social network introduces fact-checking tools ahead of national elections later this year — Facebook will begin rolling …

Discussion: TechCrunch, CNNMoney, Forbes, BuzzFeed, The Next Web, BuzzFeed, BBC, @borzou, @kenroth, @howiewolf, @craigsilverman, MediaNama, @anneapplebaum, Engadget, @amolrajan, @craigsilverman, @sheeraf, UPI and Business Insider

BBC:
Syrian migrant who posed for a selfie with Angela Merkel is suing Facebook after being falsely linked to terrorism in Facebook posts

Discussion: Newser, BuzzFeed, VentureBeat, Telegraph, Newser, Metro.co.uk, Silicon Valley Business …, Al Jazeera English and Mashable

Peter Sterne / Politico:

C-SPAN ‘investigating’ why congressional livestream switched to Russia Today — On Thursday afternoon, C-SPAN's online live video coverage of Congress abruptly switched to a live feed of the Kremlin-backed news channel Russia Today. The livestream continued to show RT for about 10 minutes, before switching back to C-SPAN.

Discussion: @samsanders, @repbrendanboyle, @dorseyshaw, @blackjack13, @lisabloom and iMediaEthics

Amanda Erickson / Washington Post: The intelligence report calling out Russia Today for involvement in US election overestimates the influence of channel's political coverage in the United States

Justin Baragona / Mediaite:

In interview with The Sunday Times, Trump says he'll keep using @realDonaldTrump Twitter account — With President-elect Donald Trump on the brink of officially becoming the country's Commander-in-Chief, it appears we are getting the answer to what he will do with his personal Twitter account …

Discussion: The Wrap, The Next Web, @jacobkornbluh, The Daily Caller, Press Gazette and Business Insider

Eugene Volokh / Washington Post:

When ‘there is serious reason to doubt’ rumors and allegations, is it libelous to publish them? — BuzzFeed, as everyone now knows, has published unverified allegations about Russia having “compromising material and information on [Donald] Trump's personal life and finances”; …

Discussion: @thensim0nsaid, @marshallyoum and @ladywell23

Paul Mozur / New York Times:

China orders the registration of app stores to combat apps that “spread illegal information”, which can include fraud, malware, and political speech — HONG KONG — In the clearest sign yet that China's government has begun a new push to solidify control over mobile apps …

Discussion: Engadget, The Next Web and The Verge

Brian Stelter / CNNMoney:

How NBC and producer Pat Weaver invented morning TV with “Today” in 1950s — January 14 is the 65th birthday of NBC's “Today” show. This is a “lost chapter” from Brian Stelter's book “Top of the Morning,” recounting how NBC invented the morning TV format.

Discussion: @brianstelter, @brianstelter and @brianstelter

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

PBS launches PBS KIDS, a 24/7 channel available on PBS member stations that will stream online and via the PBS KIDS mobile app — The way children watch TV is changing - shifting away from the big screen in the living room to tablets and other mobile devices.

Liz Calvario / IndieWire:

Vice Media launches film division, Vice Documentary Films, which will produce feature-length documentaries from both established and up-and-coming directors — The new division will produce feature-length documentaries and docuseries for a variety of platforms.

Scarlett Conlon / Vogue:

Wolfgang Blau appointed President of Condé Nast International, with Albert Read promoted to Managing Director, both succeeding Nicholas Coleridge — NICHOLAS COLERIDGE's successors at Condé Nast have been announced this morning. Wolfgang Blau, who is currently chief digital officer …

Discussion: The Guardian