Mediagazer: Sources: NBC is canceling the third hour of Today to make way for Megyn Kelly, who starts in September and will take over the 9AM or 10AM slot (Carlos Greer/Page Six)

5:50 PM ET, January 27, 2017

Top News:

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

Melania Trump wins the first round in a libel suit she filed against a Maryland blogger who claimed she worked as a “high-end escort” — First Lady Melania Trump prevailed Friday in the first round of a libel suit she filed against a Maryland blogger over a report he published …

Discussion: The Wrap, LawNewz, @johnjcook, @mattdrange, @joshgerstein, @rmac18, @eriqgardner, @drudge_report, @fordm, @hadas_gold and @politico

H.G. Watson / j-source.ca:

NYT hires Toronto Star columnist Catherine Porter as its Toronto bureau chief; a Times editor says the paper has 44K subs in Canada, a 47% increase since 2015 — By Dylan C. Robertson — The New York Times has hired its Toronto Bureau Chief. — Toronto Star columnist Catherine Porter …

Discussion: @jbenton, @withfilesfrom, FishbowlNY, @jsource, @schmidtcity, @katherine_dunn, @jbenton, @gregorytaylor1, @sarah_fulford, @shansquared, @mattgallowaycbc, @picardonhealth and Rehak/Stuebing Mostly Media

Mădălina Ciobanu / Journalism.co.uk:

Discourse Media to focus on six issues, including gender, welfare, and Canadian economy over next 12 months as the company rebrands with a new digital presence — In 2017, the media company's coverage will be focused on six issues, including gender, welfare and energy poverty

Discussion: @carlneustaedter, @ppforumca, @gillwave, @erinmillar and @journalismnews

Joseph Lichterman / Nieman Lab:

An estimated one-third of Canadian journalism jobs have been lost since 2010, says a new report, which offers 12 ways to safeguard the future of Canadian news — From preferential tax treatment for Canadian publishers to a more focused CBC, “The Shattered Mirror” aims to support journalism …

Discussion: @egreenspon, @_sejalparmar, @gierasimczuk, @ylichterman, @kennedy_writes, @ananny, @shansquared, @niemanlab and Globe and Mail

Carlos Greer / Page Six:

Sources: NBC is canceling the third hour of Today to make way for Megyn Kelly, who starts in September and will take over the 9AM or 10AM slot — More On: — NBC is canceling the third hour of “Today” to make way for new star Megyn Kelly, sources exclusively confirm to Page Six.

Discussion: Mediaite, The Daily Caller, @pagesix, @mattgertz, Jezebel, @bryanwesttv, TVLine, @connortryan, @pagesixemily and @samimain

Kristen Hare / Poynter:

Belo's Dallas Morning News is cutting 25 newsroom jobs and outsourcing print production to Gatehouse Media — The Dallas Morning News announced late Thursday that it would outsource the design of its print newspaper and cut 25 newsroom jobs. Newspaper chain Gatehouse Media …

Discussion: Dallas Morning News, @scmitchp, @charlesapple, @wneff and @carolineduke

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:

Trump's ‘war’ with the media (and the facts) forces journalists to question their role — No president has ever said what Donald Trump has said, let alone said it a day into his administration. “As you know,” he remarked Saturday, “I have a running war with the media.”

Kelsey Sutton / Politico:

Upworthy is merging with Good Worldwide, a media and consulting company; about 20 staffers from both companies have been let go — About 20 staffers were laid off as part of the merger — The viral news and video site Upworthy is merging with the media and consulting company Good Worldwide …

Discussion: @willoremus, @elipariser, @amyoleary, @tylercoates, @alexckaufman, @mattpetronzio, @emiliecolker, @petersterne and Columbia Journalism Review

Zoe Tillman / BuzzFeed:

Prosecutors drop charges against Vocativ's Evan Engel, arrested at inauguration protests and represented by top Washington lawyer; cases pending for 5 others — WASHINGTON — Prosecutors announced on Friday that they had dropped a criminal case against a journalist arrested amid protests …

Discussion: Vocativ, @zoetillman, US News, Raw Story and @chrisgeidner

Matthew Lynley / TechCrunch:

Recode's Ina Fried joins Politico co-founder's Axios Media as chief tech correspondent — Axios Media — a new media venture founded by former Politico executives — is beefing up its tech team with the new hiring of longtime reporter Ina Fried as its chief tech correspondent in San Francisco.

Discussion: @danprimack, @pkafka, @techcrunch, @alexislloyd, @mikeisaac, @jgreendc and @khart

Lucinda Southern / Digiday:

Quartz plans to increase its UK sales and marketing team from 11 to 20 this year, hiring a mix of designers, branded-content specialists, and researchers — Quartz prides itself on being a global brand, but there comes to a point when a stronger local commercial presence is needed.

Discussion: @asimondavies, @sdhambly, @dmedialab, @jzrosenberg and @bmorrissey

Kristen Hare / Poynter:

MuckRock's Slack channel devoted to FOIA and Trump has grown to 1.5K+ journalists from national and local newsrooms in the US in about a week — A few days before President Trump's inauguration, MuckRock opened up a Slack channel to help journalists better cover him and his administration.

Discussion: Fortune, @firstdraftnews, @poynter and @jenniferbrandel

Lindsay Stein / Ad Age:

Publicis Groupe names Arthur Sadoun Chairman and CEO to succeed Maurice Levy June 1, 2017 — After years of speculation about one of advertising's best-kept secrets, Publicis Groupe has answered the question of who will succeed Maurice Levy: The holding company today announced Arthur Sadoun will take the role of chairman and CEO.

Discussion: AgencySpy, Publicis Groupe, Adweek, @publicisgroupe and AdExchanger

Laura Hazard Owen / Nieman Lab:

Frontline annotated Trump's Road to the White House script to test new navigation and sharing techniques for films, provide alternate options for interaction — “The challenge for journalists now is to show how we have done our work. The audience needs to have it at their fingertips …

Discussion: @grahamdavida, @raneyaronson, @imran, @frontlinepbs, @niemanlab and The Daily Caller