Top News:
J.D. Durkin / Mediaite:
Fox News contributor Alan Colmes, Sean Hannity's former on-air debating partner, has died at age 66 — Longtime radio and cable news broadcaster Alan Colmes is dead at the age of 66 after reportedly battling a brief illness. — Fox News moments ago reported on Colmes' death with a segment narrated …
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Fox News Insider, @megynkelly, Radio & Television …, Newser, The Wrap, alan.com, Variety, @dylanbyers, People.com, @govmikehuckabee, @geraldorivera, @ewerickson, @lisamarieboothe, @ericbolling, @liz_wheeler, @lesliemarshall, @rorycooper, @prisonplanet, @tweetbrk, @mikeemanuelfox, @brianstelter, AOL, The Huffington Post, Washington Examiner, The Week, The Daily Caller and TheBlaze
Hadas Gold / Politico:
The New York Times is using the Oscars to launch a multi-faceted ad campaign about “The Truth,” the paper's first TV ad push in a decade — The New York Times is taking the unusual and expensive step of advertising during the Academy Awards on Sunday, joining companies like McDonalds …
Discussion:
Ad Age, @niemanlab, Business Wire, @dylanbyers, @alexweprin, @alexweprin, @kelseymsutton, @dylanbyers and @hadas_gold
Jeff John Roberts / Fortune:
Google's Jigsaw unveils Perspective, an AI-powered tool for publishers to weed out abuse from online comments, available as an API for free — A research team tied to Google unveiled a new tool on Thursday that could have a profound effect on how we talk to each other online.
Discussion:
Forbes, Washington Post, Jigsaw - Medium, VentureBeat, Wired, Softpedia News, Consumerist, Mashable, Reuters, BBC, New York Times, @dovseidman, @martinsfp and Yahoo
Joseph Lichterman / Nieman Lab:
The New European, set to print for four weeks post-Brexit, gets 1M pageviews/month with 20K circ.; print serves as “visible articulation” of readers' values — “If I were a U.S. journalist, I would be looking to launch The Trump Watch.” — Last summer, two weeks …
Discussion:
@niemanlab, @jbenton, @vischella, @newsalliance, @pilhofer, Journalism.co.uk, @jbenton, @brianstelter, @ylichterman and @simonmacmichael
Brian Stelter / CNNMoney:
CNN targeted by James O'Keefe, who promises to release “a few hundred hours” of covert recordings from inside the network at 10AM ET Thursday — Conservative provocateur James O'Keefe is setting his sights on CNN. — O'Keefe said in a telephone interview with CNN on Wednesday that he has …
USA Today:
USA Today Network launches secure website for sources and government whistleblowers using SecureDrop — The USA TODAY Network has launched a secure website for sources who want to share information with reporters covering government institutions from city halls to the White House.
Discussion:
@jguynn, @nchute, @mickeyshueypi and @nathanielcary
Garett Sloane / Ad Age:
41% of online ads are larger than industry standards, slowing down websites and annoying users with crawling load times, according to Ad Lightning — Ads need to go on a diet. — More than 40% of online ads are larger than industry standards, which slows down websites and annoys users …
Discussion:
@jarroddicker, @adage and @niemanlab
Washpostpr / Washington Post:
John Podesta, Hillary Clinton's former campaign chairman, is joining The Washington Post as a contributing columnist — The Washington Post today announced that John Podesta will join the Opinion section as a contributing columnist. Podesta, former chairman of the 2016 Hillary Clinton campaign …
Discussion:
@mlcalderone, @timebner, @brentscher and Poynter
Joe Mayes / Bloomberg:
Sources: The Financial Times is eliminating 20 editorial jobs globally to cut costs as print revenue declines — The Financial Times, the salmon-colored newspaper bought by Japan's Nikkei Inc. in 2015, is eliminating 20 editorial jobs globally through attrition to cut costs as print revenue declines …
Discussion:
@business, @wan_medialex, @newslambert and @mskimberlychin
Dylan Byers / CNNMoney:
Sources: White House adviser Kellyanne Conway has been sidelined from making TV appearances, after being “off-message” on Flynn scandal — Kellyanne Conway, once the most visible spokesperson for the Trump White House, has been sidelined from television appearances for making statements …
Discussion:
CNNMoney, Washington Post, Politico, AOL, Business Insider, New York Magazine, @dylanbyers, The Week, Fortune, The Wrap, TheBlaze, Mediaite, Washington Post, Mashable, @dylanbyers, @tomkludt, @katenocera, @dylanbyers, @dylanbyers and @jayrosen_nyu
Neil MacFarquhar / New York Times:
Russia's foreign ministry unveils effort to label news it considers to be fake, includes articles from NYT, Bloomberg, Daily Telegraph, NBC, and more — MOSCOW — Russia's Foreign Ministry got into the fake news business in a splashy way on Wednesday. — No, not by creating it.
Discussion:
The Verge, CNNMoney, @nytimesworld, @gordonnyt, @stevinazo, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, The Hill, @cressman, @baekdal, @anupkaphle, Mashable and BuzzFeed
Anne Steele / Wall Street Journal:
Tronc Q4 profit swings to $19.4M from year-earlier loss of $77K, expands digital audience by 16% YoY, but advertising drops 16% for the quarter — Company formerly known as Tribune Publishing cites tough newspaper ad climate — Tronc Inc.swung to a profit in the final quarter of the year …
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Adweek, tronc, inc., Los Angeles Business Journal and Seeking Alpha