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 Examiner, @braddjaffy, Mediaite, @maggienyt, @anniekarni, @ashleyrparker, @susanpage, Washington Post, @arimelber, @maggienyt, New York Magazine, CNN, The Slot, RT, @sheeraf, @annericeauthor, @jayrosen_nyu, Washington Monthly, Politicus USA, @kfile, @danpfeiffer, @pwnallthethings, The Hill, @tripgabriel, @erinscafe, @erinscafe, Mashable, @realdanlyons, @katieglueck, @lrozen, @lpdonovan, @jeffbercovici, @davidenrich, @wakeup2politics, @mikiebarb, Newser and Axios
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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 …
Discussion:
The Guardian, @rvawonk, Mother Jones, @arifleischer, @noahcrothman, @davidfrum, @davidfrum, The Week, Washington Post and New York Times
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 …
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 …
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
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 and Mediaite
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 …
Pete Brown / Columbia Journalism Review:
Study explores how 14 publishers are experimenting to reach audiences across 16 different social platforms — Despite publishers' disillusionment with low financial returns, there is no sign of them retreating from publishing material directly onto Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and other distribution platforms.
Patrick Shanley / Hollywood Reporter:
Actor Zach Braff, SNL fans suggest Alec Baldwin should take Donald Trump's place at this year's White House Correspondents' Dinner — Following the president's announcement that he would not be attending the event, social media was quick to suggest the ‘SNL’ Trump impersonator take his place.
Discussion:
The Hill, Washington Post and CNET
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:
@slpng_giants, @brendannyhan, @craigsilverman, @bernstein and @bernstein
Matt Pressberg / The Wrap:
How anime-focused Crunchyroll turned a streaming service for a niche audience into a global powerhouse with 1M paid subscribers — Anime, has long had a devoted — if niche — fan base in the U.S. But with anime-focused streaming service Crunchyroll hitting 1 million paid subscribers this month …
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
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