Mediagazer: Obama will use his last press conference to highlight his concerns about the restrictions Trump has placed on the media, says outgoing WH Press Sec Josh Earnest (Edward-Isaac Dovere/Politico)

3:30 PM ET, January 18, 2017

Top News:

An open letter to Trump from the US press corps, on access, airtime, objective truth, dividing the press corps, and more — Dear Mr. President Elect: — In these final days before your inauguration, we thought it might be helpful to clarify how we see the relationship between your administration and the American press corps.

Discussion: NPR.org, Newser, @susanclairmont, @therickwilson, @mzbat, @jayrosen_nyu, @taradublinrocks, @megan_alpert, @usprojectcjr, @jason_kint, @jackiephotog, @aktange and @sulomeanderson

Edward-Isaac Dovere / Politico:

Obama will use his last press conference to highlight his concerns about the restrictions Trump has placed on the media, says outgoing WH Press Sec Josh Earnest — President Barack Obama frequently used his trips abroad to highlight the importance of a free press, making leaders …

Discussion: Ad Age, @isaacdovere, @mlcalderone, @sarahemclaugh, @hadas_gold, @cbudoffbrown, @amyfiscus, @sethamandel, The Laurel, Hit & Run, @snowden, TheBlaze, The Guardian, Mother Jones, The Daily Caller, The Huffington Post and The Hill

SPJ News:

SPJ, 60 other journalism groups, ask Trump administration for meeting on government access — INDIANAPOLIS — The Society of Professional Journalists and 60 other journalism organizations have requested a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence to discuss access to government.

Discussion: Broadcasting & Cable and Radio & Television …

Rebecca Savransky / The Hill:
Trump says he will “pick” which reporters get into future press conferences at the White House and claims reporters will be “begging” for a larger room

Discussion: @penamerican, @metaquest, @stonekettle, @blackamazon, @kiangasunshine, @rhinocartoon and @tara_mckelvey

Howard Kurtz / @howardkurtz:
Trump tells Fox & Friends he won't move reporters out of the briefing room because the press “went crazy”

Discussion: @blackamazon

Daniel Lippman / Politico:

Trump's hotel in DC has banned journalists during inauguration week; a Politico reporter, at the venue for a breakfast meeting, was prevented from entering — The Trump International Hotel in Washington is banning the media from its premises during inauguration week.

Discussion: @dlippman, Washington Post, @daveweigel, @chrisgeidner, @patcaldwell, @carigervin and @shanegoldmacher

Gabriel Sherman / New York Magazine:

In broad ranging interview, CNN Worldwide President Jeff Zucker says the era of access journalism is over, discusses Trump, Megyn Kelly, more — At his press conference last week, President-elect Trump refused to take a question from CNN reporter Jim Acosta, denouncing the network as a purveyor of “fake news.”

Discussion: Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, @jimsciutto, @sethamandel, @brianstelter, @pkafka, @aakankshat, The Daily Caller, @lrozen, @jayrosen_nyu, @mlcalderone, @lucas_shaw, @thefix, @jayrosen_nyu and CNN

Peter Kafka / Recode:

Quartz Editor-in-Chief Kevin Delaney says the site is working on a subscription product — Qz.com will remain free. But it's working on a research product. — Quartz, the business news site owned by Atlantic Media, gives away its global economics coverage to anyone who wants to click.

Thanks:@ravichandrans25

Quartz:
Business news site Quartz acquires San Francisco-based artificial intelligence research firm Intelligentsia, will work with the team to develop a new product

Discussion: @miamabanta, @zseward and Editor & Publisher

Scott Shane / New York Times:

How recent college graduate Cameron Harris launched a fake news operation that published a viral story about fraudulent Clinton ballots found in Ohio — ANNAPOLIS, Md. — It was early fall, and Donald J. Trump, behind in the polls, seemed to be preparing a rationale in case a winner like him somehow managed to lose.

Discussion: @theyneedacrane, @bowtiepolitics, @natalieroth, @davemosher, @scottshanenyt, @lelindstrom, @jbouie, @kagrox, @sethmacfarlane, @nickbilton and @scottshanenyt

Daniel Holloway / Variety:

Sources: NBCUniversal to shut down Esquire Network cable channel, relaunching the brand as a digital-only service — NBCUniversal will shutter Esquire Network's linear cable channel and relaunch the brand as a digital-only platform, Variety has learned. The decision to end …

Discussion: The Wrap and @lucas_shaw

Washington Post:

Washington Post debuts The Lily, a publication for millennial women, featuring original content and WaPo stories, initially available on platforms like Facebook — The Washington Post today announces The Lily, an experimental, visually-driven product designed for millennial women …

Discussion: @alexlaughs, @benmullin, WashPost PR, @caseyjohnston, @jenniferdaniel, @genepark and @juliaccarpenter

Benjamin Mullin / Poynter:

Axios launches with a vertical news stream resembling Facebook's News Feed, presenting brief excerpts of stories — Chances are, you're not going to finish this article. — The rise of social media has turned us into a legion of swipers and scrollers who rarely reach the end of a story.

Discussion: Nieman Lab, @benmullin, @jason_kint and @axios

Joe Pompeo / Politico:

After being criticised by Trump on Twitter, Vanity Fair gained 80K subscribers; Editor-in-Chief Graydon Carter says 2016 may have been the magazine's best year — A month has passed since Donald Trump gave Vanity Fair the social-media equivalent of a middle finger by firing off a tweet about its …

Discussion: FishbowlNY, @blakehounshell, @jdawsey1, @gerryfsmith and The Guardian

Arjun Kharpal / CNBC:

WPP CEO Martin Sorrell says clients spent $90M, three times the WPP forecast, on Snapchat last year — Clients of WPP, the world's largest advertising firm, spent $90 million on Snapchat last year, helping the ephemeral messaging app to become a threat to Facebook, chief executive Martin Sorrell told CNBC on Tuesday.

Discussion: The Drum, Media Star and Fortune

Farhad Manjoo / New York Times:

The centralization of the internet via app stores has made government censorship of the press easier, as shown by the removal of the NYT's app in China — There's a new form of digital censorship sweeping the globe, and it could be the start of something devastating.