Top News:
Wall Street Journal:
Snap closes first day of trading at $24.51 per share, 44% above original price of $17, valuing the company at around $34B — Popular disappearing-message app ends day valued at $34 billion, higher than Marriott, Target
Discussion:
@kantrowitz, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, CNBC, The Wrap, Los Angeles Times, Ad Age, Fortune, TechCrunch, New York Times, Recode, Bloomberg, Digital Trends, MediaNama, Forbes, TIME, Bloomberg, The Wrap, CNBC, The Guardian, VentureBeat, TIME, Dealbreaker, Daring Fireball, AOL, Digiday, The Daily Caller, NPR, Recode, The Guardian, The Information, Fortune, Gizmodo, @danprimack, Softpedia News, Forbes, @scottmaustin, Axios, HYPEBEAST, VentureBeat, CNNMoney, BuzzFeed and The Verge
Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
Journalistic basics resulted in strong stories from two newspapers after weak cable news punditry followed President Trump's Congress speech — Call it the revenge of the reporters over the pundits. — Tuesday night was a low point for “the media” — if such a multi-headed beast …
Discussion:
CNN, The New York Observer, New York Times, Fox News, Observer, USA Today, The Guardian, Politicus USA, Snopes.com, Slate, @jasonkauf1, @jamilsmith, TheBlaze, Fox News Insider, Common Dreams, Vanity Fair, Business Insider, Washington Monthly, The Wrap, Al Jazeera English, The Daily Caller, Rolling Stone, Newsy, @jnelz, @bobbierman, @carloslozadawp, @jayrosen_nyu, AOL, Above the Law, IJR, Hit & Run, @jayrosen_nyu, @laurahelmuth, @hofrench, Mother Jones, The New Civil Rights Movement, @johnrobinson, The Week, The Slot, Hot Air, Gothamist, Q13 FOX News, Miami New Times, www.wnyc.org, Infowars, emptywheel, Talking New Media, Mediaite, New York Magazine, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Mashable, The Huffington Post, Boing Boing, NPR, RT, Refinery29, Axios and Fast Company
John Sudworth / BBC:
BBC team assaulted in China, is forced into signing confession for trying to conduct “illegal interview” by thugs and officials, while working on story — We'd arranged to meet a woman in her village in China's central Hunan Province and to then travel with her by train to Beijing, filming as we went.
Discussion:
The Guardian, Press Gazette, The Guardian, The Quint and @hendopolis
David Folkenflik / NPR:
Interview with CNN chief Jeff Zucker, who is emerging as a champion of aggressive journalism as Trump attacks and snubs his network — Attacked on national TV for supposedly serving up “fake news.” Shut out of a White House press briefing in retribution.
Discussion:
Hollywood Reporter, Eater, The Daily Caller, Washington Post, @perlberg, @mlcalderone, @npr, @davidfolkenflik, Refinery29, The Huffington Post and Media Wire Daily
Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge:
Spotify says it has 50M paying subscribers, up from 30M in March 2016 — Spotify continues to cement its place as the leader in music streaming, and today the company announced that it just hit another milestone of 50 million paid subscribers. … It's impressive growth for the company …
Discussion:
@spotify, Digital Trends, TechCrunch, Softpedia News, Variety, Fast Company, 9to5Mac, CNET, MacRumors, Engadget, Axios, Mashable, Tech Narratives and hypebot
Pew Research Center:
Pew survey: 76% of Democrats and 49% of Republicans say freedom of the press to criticize political leaders is very important — 77% say it would be ‘too risky’ to give presidents more power — Large majorities of the public, Republicans and Democrats alike, say open and fair elections …
Discussion:
Hot Air, @basquiatball, @kkaplan and Washington Post
Andrew R. Chow / New York Times:
Bob Mankoff is stepping down from his post as the cartoon editor of The New Yorker after a 20-year run; Emma Allen will succeed him in April — Bob Mankoff is stepping down from his post as the cartoon editor of The New Yorker after a 20-year run. — Emma Allen, another editor at the magazine …
Discussion:
WWD, Washington Post, @dylanbyers, @jeremywins, @stuartenyt, @kbsmoke and @andrewgiambrone
Kristen Hare / Poynter:
Interview with Matt DeRienzo, who was named LION's executive director this week, on trends, business models, and making newsrooms “healthy again” — When Matt DeRienzo started working with Local Independent Online News Publishers two years ago, he thought the local news business had hit the bottom of cuts and layoffs.
Discussion:
LION Publishers, @mattderienzo and Editor & Publisher
Lukas I. Alpert / Wall Street Journal:
Vice Media's video and TV programming workers, including hundreds of writers, producers, and on-air talent, may unionize as organized labor makes major push — Unions are looking to extend their success in organizing digital newsrooms as media companies expand into video and TV
Adrienne LaFrance / The Atlantic:
Even in an age of nearly-real-time news, big stories still often break in the evening because of newspaper print deadlines — It's usually around 8 p.m. when the push notifications start rolling in. On Wednesday night, The New York Times kicked things off at 7:56 p.m. with a major story …
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Washington Post, CNN, New York Times, Fox News Insider, Business Insider, IJR, Al Jazeera English, Newsy, The Guardian, @mattdpearce, The New Civil Rights Movement, FOX2now.com, Common Dreams, The Wrap, Vanity Fair, AOL, The Gateway Pundit, @lizziejohnsonnn, @rationaldoge, @geniepee, @amyweissmeyer, @ejgold94, @adriennelaf, @elizabethangell, Hot Air, BGR, TheBlaze, Politicus USA, Infowars, Above the Law, Washington Monthly, Mediaite, The Slot, The Week, The Daily Caller and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Bloomberg:
Source: Trump has sworn off Morning Joe as he cuts back on MSNBC and CNN; he remains an avid Fox viewer and watches CNBC for business news — President said to binge more on Fox News, avoid CNN, MSNBC — Lobbyist discusses buying ads on Trump's favorite TV shows
Anya Schiffrin / Columbia Journalism Review:
New report on donor influence over media finds introducing universal standards may help protect both sides — Around the world, media outlets are taking millions of dollars from private donors and foundations in order to pay for news. The Mail & Guardian in South Africa receives grants …
Discussion:
Townhall.com