Top News:
Mike Allen / Axios:
Sources: Sean Spicer had the CIA's director and a GOP official call reporters to discredit an NYT story on links between Trump's campaign aides and Russia — Exclusive: Spicer arranged CIA, GOP intelligence push-back — White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer personally picked up the phone …
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Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
The White House appears to have leaked a story about a Politico reporter to the Washington Examiner, in retaliation for a story by the same reporter on WH leaks — Never let it be said that President Trump and his underlings don't work hard, especially when it comes to initiatives aimed …
Discussion:
New York Times, @stevenjay, The Huffington Post, @yashar, @elistokols, @mlcalderone, @brucebartlett, @cbudoffbrown, @maggienyt and TVLine
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
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
Discussion:
Mediaite, Washington Examiner, Media Matters for America, Fortune, Vanity Fair, Mashable, Hit & Run, The Slot, Axios, @chadlivengood, The Week, @anniekarni, @ashleyrparker, @susanpage, @jayrosen_nyu, RT, Washington Monthly, The Hill, Newser, Politicus USA, @arimelber, @annericeauthor, @kfile, @danpfeiffer and @maggienyt
Kurt Schlosser / GeekWire:
Amazon Studios wins its first-ever Oscars with best foreign language film for “The Salesman” and best original screenplay for “Manchester by the Sea” — Amazon Studios won its first-ever Academy Awards on Sunday night, taking home three Oscar statues …
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David Lieberman / Deadline:
Time Warner shares rise to 52-week high as FCC Chairman Pai says he probably won't review AT&T deal, meaning it would only require approval of Justice Dept. — Time Warner shares jumped late this morning after FCC chairman Ajit Pai said that his agency probably won't review its $85 billion deal to sell itself to AT&T.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Multichannel News, Business Insider and @srabil
Casey Newton / The Verge:
Mozilla buys Pocket, its first acquisition, and says the read-it-later service will continue operating as an independent subsidiary — From browser extension to acquisition — Mozilla has acquired Pocket, a kind of DVR for the internet, for an undisclosed sum.
Discussion:
The Mozilla Blog, Pocket Blog, VentureBeat, Fast Company, GeekWire, ZDNet, Fortune, MacStories, MacRumors, Recode, Android Police, @caseynewton, @joshconstine, @caseynewton, @kunalcagarwal, @jamieartkin, @benpopper and The Loop
Louis Nelson / Politico:
Former President George W. Bush says media is indispensable to democracy, in what is seen as a direct rebuttal of Trump's war on the press — Former President George W. Bush said Monday that the media is “indispensable to democracy,” a break from the position of his fellow Republican …
Discussion:
TODAY.com, TVNewser, CNET, Newser, The Slot, Mediaite, NPR, @rourkel, @katieglueck, @daveweigel, Politicus USA, @nishachittal, @saletan, @blakehounshell, @lauraolin, Washington Post, @kallisti, @dabeard, Mashable, TheBlaze, Fox News Insider and AOL
Benjamin Mullin / Poynter:
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which broke Panama Papers story, splits off from Center for Public Integrity, citing financial reasons — Shortly after breaking the Panama Papers, an international exclusive that shed light on illegal offshore banking around the globe …
Discussion:
@benmullin, @bgpublic and @journalism
Andrew E. Kramer / New York Times:
A look at StopFake News, a weekly Ukrainian TV show that debunks fake news, particularly factual errors in Russian propaganda — KIEV, Ukraine — The studio lights dim, and the anchor taps a stack of papers on her desk and directs a steely gaze toward the television cameras.
Discussion:
@maitlis, @anneapplebaum, @karaszpalko, @christopherjm, @michaeldweiss, @nytimesworld and PEN America
Jack Nicas / Wall Street Journal:
YouTube viewers worldwide watch more than 1B hours of video a day, a 10-fold increase since 2012, threatening to eclipse US TV viewership — Google unit posts 10-fold increase in viewership since 2012, boosted by algorithms personalizing user lineups — YouTube viewers world-wide …
Discussion:
@david_marcelis, @scottmaustin, @sallyshin, @samsheffer, @dseetharaman, @jacknicas, @rkyncl, @jackmarshall and Axios
New York Times:
Swedish officials say they've never heard of a man who appeared on Fox News, identified as a Swedish national security adviser — A man described as a Swedish defense and national security adviser appeared on Fox News last week to defend President Trump's claim that criminal immigrants are wreaking havoc in Sweden.
Discussion:
@rudnit, @tinadupuy, @ssilvius, @albertocairo, @kfile, @chunklet, @melissagrelo, @jamie_weinstein, @exlarson, Washington Post, The Huffington Post and The Week
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Comcast to launch YouTube app on its Xfinity X1 set-top platform later this year; terms of the deal with Google are not being released — Cable operator inks distribution deal with Google-owned video platform — Comcast plans to launch a YouTube video app on the Xfinity X1 set-top platform …
Discussion:
Business Wire, Recode, Softpedia News and Home Media Magazine
Erich Schwartzel / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: China's recent capital-control policy has stalled Chinese investments in Hollywood, including one deal that would have put MGM under Chinese control — Deals stall amid capital curbs, including one that would have put MGM under Chinese control — China's crackdown on overseas investment …