Top News:
Annie Karni / Politico:
Sources: Sean Spicer warns staff against leaking to media in a meeting that included a check of phones, saying apps like Confide and Signal violate Records Act — The push includes random phone checks overseen by White House lawyers. — Press Secretary Sean Spicer is cracking …
Discussion:
Washington Post, @braddjaffy, Mediaite, RT, @maggienyt, Washington Monthly, Washington Examiner, @arimelber, The Hill, @maggienyt, New York Magazine, CNN, The Slot, @sheeraf, @annericeauthor, Politicus USA, @kfile, @danpfeiffer, @pwnallthethings, @tripgabriel, Mashable, @erinscafe, @erinscafe, @realdanlyons, @katieglueck, @lrozen, Newser, @lpdonovan, @jeffbercovici, @davidenrich, @wakeup2politics, @mikiebarb and Axios
Carole Cadwalladr / The Guardian:
How Robert Mercer steers politics through Facebook data and media, using Cambridge Analytica, Breitbart, the Media Research Center, aid to Leave.EU, and more — With links to Donald Trump, Steve Bannon and Nigel Farage, the rightwing US computer scientist is at the heart of a multimillion-dollar propaganda network
Discussion:
The Guardian, @pierre, @markruffalo, @edfrenkel, @astroehlein, @arron_banks, @ndrewhung, @christopherzara, @kreissdaniel, @_felixsimon_, @origiful, @chanders, @carolecadwalla, @zeynep, @_felixsimon_, @emilybell, @chanders, @chanders, @emilybell, @bryanrieger, @_felixsimon_, @jayrosen_nyu, @chanders and @jayrosen_nyu
New York Times:
A frustrated Trump, used to controlling media with strategic tabloid leaks, ramps up attacks on an entrenched White House press corps and broader media — WASHINGTON — The White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, has taken to slapping journalists who write unflattering stories with an epithet …
Discussion:
@realdonaldtrump, @sweden, Mediaite, @maggienyt, @maggienyt, CNNMoney, @radhikajones, @mathieuvonrohr, @radhikajones, @adamnagourney, @jmseabrook, @ariannahuff, @nils_gilman, @danawollman, @jayrosen_nyu, @jonathanwpeters, The Century Foundation, Axios, @markberman, @markharrisnyc and @jerometaylor
McKay Coppins / The Atlantic:
Profile of Tucker Carlson, who as a newly minted primetime Fox News anchor has emerged as one of the most powerful people in media — Tucker Carlson is selling me hard on the swamp. It is an unseasonably warm afternoon in late January, and we are seated at a corner table in Monocle …
Joseph Bernstein / BuzzFeed:
YouTube has attracted little scrutiny for hosting and rewarding creators of fake news, conspiracy theories, and hate speech — David Seaman is the Pizzagate King of the Internet. — On Twitter, Seaman posts dozens of messages a day to his 66,000 followers, often about the secret cabal …
Discussion:
@bernstein and @bernstein
Boris Kachka / Vulture:
Exploring why New York Times theater critic Charles Isherwood was fired after a management search of his work email — Charles Isherwood woke up on the morning of February 3 with one of the best jobs in the country: second-string theater critic for the New York Times.
Discussion:
@vulture, @maxfalkowitz, @stacylemelle, @tedgioia, @bringsjohn, @kevinpokeeffe and @felixsalmon
Benjamin Mullin / Poynter:
Interview with Mashable CCO on how beats, quality over quantity, and focus have increased unique views by 78% YoY and video views by 452% YoY to 320M/month — Last year, Mashable laid off about two-dozen employees, cutting its politics and international reporters in a push for more video.
Oliver Darcy / Business Insider:
Sources: Gretchen Carlson is in talks to join MSNBC; the former Fox News anchor settled a sexual harassment lawsuit against Roger Ailes for $20M last year — Gretchen Carlson, who settled a multi-million lawsuit late last year against former Fox News chief Roger Ailes …
Discussion:
New York Daily News, Daily Mail, The Hill, @brucebartlett, Mediaite and @imillhiser
Ken Yeung / VentureBeat:
Twitter opens up Periscope Producer to all users; the service lets broadcasters incorporate live video from sources other than their mobile device — After four months of being slowly released, Twitter announced that its Periscope Producer service is now available to everyone …
Discussion:
@periscopehelp and Digital Trends
Martin Pengelly / The Guardian:
President Trump says he will not attend White House Correspondents' Association Dinner this year; WHCA president says the dinner will still go ahead on April 29 — Donald Trump on Saturday capped a week of tumultuous relations with the press by saying he will not attend …
Discussion:
TVLine, Washington Post, CNET, CBS New York, The Huffington Post, TheBlaze, @maggienyt, Axios, The Week, Fox News Insider, CBS Philly, RT, The Wrap, The Slot, NPR, @realdonaldtrump, @jeffmason1, TVNewser, The Daily Beast, BBC, New York Times, Washington Monthly, Politicus USA and Fox News
Spiegel Online:
Documents show Germany's foreign intelligence agency, the BND, spied on the phones, faxes, and emails of foreign journalists over several years — Germany's foreign intelligence agency, the BND, apparently spied on large numbers of foreign journalists overseas over the course of several years …
Discussion:
DER SPIEGEL, @mathieuvonrohr and @sunnysingh_n6