Top News:
The Huffington Post:
Sources: supervisors have frozen public communications at DHHS, EPA, and USDA's research arm as new Trump administration takes over — Staff have been told to stop talking to Congress and the press. — WASHINGTON Multiple federal agencies have told their employees to cease communications …
Discussion:
NewsLab, BuzzFeed, Salon, The Huffington Post, Columbia Journalism Review, @claudiakoerner, Washington Post, Gothamist, Business Insider, Sunlight Foundation, TIME, Harvest Public Media, Common Dreams, The Verge, The FADER, @juddapatow, Fortune, ProPublica, Washington Post, @bengoldacre, NJ Spotlight, The Next Web, @martina, @blkahn, Forbes, The Wrap, Motherboard, Mother Jones, RT, GeekWire, Mediaite, @bfriedmandc, New York Magazine, Reuters, Freedom of the Prez, @dkthomp, Techdirt, bookforum.com, Mashable, The Daily Caller, Hot Air, Vanity Fair, Jalopnik, The Hill, USA Today, Engadget, The Week, @astrokatie, @dpaqreport, The Verge, The Guardian, @nathanrott, Scientific American, Washington Post, Politico, @jayrosen_nyu, Axios, @palafo, @johnupton, New Urban Legends, AP News, The Independent, Mediaite, Associated Press, @blakehounshell, Gizmodo and GeekWire
Richard Gonzales / NPR:
NPR's Senior VP for News, Michael Oreskes, says NPR will not use the word “lie” to describe Trump's false claims as doing so would drive away listeners — There's an active debate inside newsrooms, and particularly within the NPR newsroom, about how to characterize the statements …
Discussion:
Mediaite, New York Times, @owillis, @jessesingal, @20committee, @jbenton, @angela_n_hunt, @ddale8, @biensur_jetaime, @jswart, @bryngreenwood, @mrdespicable, @sarahnoid, @doranb, @npr, @mayatcontreras, @smilum77, @_chicagov_, @catecoleman, @ruckawriter, @awakeblackwoman, @heyreeenee, @xeni, @anniemal, @rubywisp, @nkellanb, @will_bunch, @afarray, @grudging1, @pwthornton, @ruckawriter, @pawo_22, @sjaejones, @djbenhameen, @dpc_maj, @xeni, @claystanman, @openmothersmale, @maryruthie46, @aubs89, @andrewhunterm, @jjohnsonlaw, @erngenc, @bobcatarts, @mfstern, @glynnmacn, @markwhyy, @joelewisdixon, @feministajones, @tina_culbertson, @clarajeffery, @nprkelly, @aynayahsteenkur, @casey_cac, @sjenkins, @gabrieljr, @yeathatterrence, @victoriousgable, @mharvey816, @scottmcgrew, @chairmanfrog, BuzzFeed and NPR
James Warren / Poynter:
In second full press conference, Spicer defends Trump's belief in rampant voter fraud amid multiple media questions, citing unspecified “studies and evidence” — Sean Spicer may need the Army Corps of Engineers to clean up a mini-mess created by his boss.
Discussion:
@realdonaldtrump, New York Magazine, New York Times, Media Matters for America, Mediaite, The Wrap, Gothamist, Washington Post, Slate, Vanity Fair, The Guardian, Infowars, TheBlaze, Business Insider, @keitholbermann, Common Dreams, Washington Post, @fusion, Sputnik International, Politicus USA, @sensanders, The Daily Caller, myfox8.com, @nickkristof, Jon Slattery, Hot Air, The Week, CNN, twitchy.com, @tedlieu, FOX31 Denver, The Huffington Post, Gothamist, @arimelber, CBS New York, FishbowlDC, TVNewser, @lexalexander, BuzzFeed, @ryanlizza, Mediaite, @theleadcnn, @matthewamiller, ThinkProgress, NPR, @cnnbrk, @davidaxelrod, @ryanstruyk, @keithboykin, @petesnyder, @glennkesslerwp, @elonjames, @davidlauter and @jayrosen_nyu
New York Times:
Legal experts say the First Amendment provides limited protection to the press; with few legal safeguards, reporters have relied on public goodwill, tradition — When President Trump declared on Saturday that reporters are “among the most dishonest human beings on earth,” it was not the first time he had disparaged the press.
Discussion:
@stevesilberman, @mathewi, @stevekornacki, @jamestaranto, Memex 1.1 and Columbia Journalism Review
Jon Swaine / The Guardian:
Four more journalists face felony charges after being arrested while covering unrest at US inauguration — A documentary producer, a photojournalist, a live-streamer and a freelance reporter facing up to 10 years in prison and a $25,000 fine if convicted — Four more journalists …
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Alison Griswold / Quartz:
The World Economic Forum treated “fake news” as a human rights issue as its Global Future Council on Human Rights will spend the next two years examining it — On Jan. 17, more than 100 people crowded into the Kirchner Museum in Davos, Switzerland, for a panel on the ailing state of global trust.
Discussion:
@alisongriswold and @dangillmor
Ginny Marvin / Search Engine Land:
Google's 2016 “Bad Ads Report”: 1.7B ads removed compared to 780M in 2015, 200 publishers banned from AdSense for fake news — In its annual Bad Ads report, Google says it took down more than double the number of ads in 2016 that it did in 2015 by removing 1.7 billion ads, compared to the 780 million removed in 2015.
CNNMoney:
Penguin reprints 75K copies of 1984 as book hits #1 on Amazon's best-selling books list — “Alternative facts” are lies — The book publisher Penguin is printing more copies of George Orwell's dystopian classic “1984” in response to a sudden surge of demand.
Discussion:
The New York Observer, Mediaite, @brianstelter, The Verge, Fortune, The Huffington Post and The Guardian
Cynthia Littleton / Variety:
Peter Liguori stepping down as president, CEO of Tribune Media in March; there are rumors he may be appointed CEO of Sony Corp.'s Hollywood operations — Peter Liguori is stepping down as president and CEO of Tribune Media in March, the company said Wednesday.
Discussion:
Broadcasting & Cable, Radio & Television …, TVSpy, The Wrap, Wall Street Journal, Hollywood Reporter, Poynter and FTVLive
NorthJersey.com:
North Jersey Media Group announces more layoffs, will be giving notices to 141 employees by the end of the week — North Jersey Media Group announced Monday a restructuring in several of its departments, the latest step in a major strategic reorganization that was unveiled in September.
Discussion:
@crtmj, @davidwchen, @steffdaz, NJ Spotlight, @rebeccadobrien, New Jersey Online, New York Post, Melville House Books, Forbes, Associated Press, Politico and FishbowlNY
vogue.co.uk:
British Vogue's Editor-in-Chief Alexandra Shulman is stepping down after more than 25 years, departing the role this summer; a successor will be named soon — ALEXANDRA SHULMAN, editor-in-chief of British Vogue for more than 25 years, is stepping down. Shulman intends to leave her role this summer.
Discussion:
The Guardian, @sadiqkhan, Jezebel, Refinery29, @britishvogue, @zerbojulie, @theadamscorner, @fashionista_com, @thefashionlaw and @matthancockmp
Craig Silverman / BuzzFeed:
Survey says 55% of American adults consume news on Facebook but just 18% trust news on Facebook all or most of the time — Only 18% of people surveyed said they trust news on Facebook all or most of the time. — A majority of American adults say they consumed news on Facebook in the past month …
Discussion:
@kubremner and Business Insider, Thanks:@steverubel