Top News:
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Vice Media signs expanded deal with Snap, under which it will produce shows exclusively for Snapchat, including an eight-episode dating series — Snapchat continues to beef up its lineup of premium short-form shows: Snap Inc. and Vice Media have struck an expanded deal under which Vice will produce shows exclusively for Snapchat.
Discussion:
Adweek, Mediaite and eMarketer and Newsroom Posts
Andrew Kirell / The Daily Beast:
Fox Business Network sees ratings surge after abandoning straight business news for politics with a right-wing voice and becoming a Trump defender — It turns out Donald Trump never would have needed to launch his own cable-news outlet if he'd lost the election. He already has one: It's called the Fox Business Network.
Discussion:
BuzzFeed, NPR, TVNewser, @henryjgomez, @perlberg, @andrewkirell, @andrewkirell, @andrewkirell and Talking Biz News
New York Times:
Sources: ex-Fox News CFO Mark Kranz among those subpoenaed for federal grand jury — The political drama around the federal courthouse in Manhattan did not end with the sudden, unexplained turnabout of President Trump in firing Preet Bharara, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Discussion:
PEN America, @tackettdc, @tomfitton, Washington Post, ProPublica, Rewire, @dleonhardt, @gabrielsherman, Fortune, www.wnyc.org, New York Magazine, Jezebel, The Week, New York Magazine and Gothamist
Emily Bazelon / New York Times:
A profile of Lawfare, a national security blog read widely by the intel community which has gained a broader following in the Trump era — A little over a year ago, Benjamin Wittes, the editor in chief of the blog Lawfare, made the case that Donald Trump, as a Republican presidential candidate …
Discussion:
@k8brannen, @susan_hennessey and @lawfareblog
Joe Pompeo / Politico:
At SXSW, NYT Executive Editor Dean Baquet says Trump loves the paper and lashes out when he can't win its favor, describes Breitbart as propaganda — AUSTIN, Tex. — The New York Times' top editor, Dean Baquet, says Donald Trump loves the Times and lashes out when he can't win its favor.
Discussion:
@joepompeo
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Amar Toor / The Verge:
Germany's Justice Ministry introduces draft law proposing fines of up to $53M on social media companies that fail to remove hate speech, defamatory fake news — Justice ministry says Facebook and Twitter are still failing to quickly remove illegal content reported by users
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Forbes, Fortune and Financial Times, more at Techmeme »
Mark Sweney / The Guardian:
Channel 4 chief executive David Abraham to stand down; the broadcaster prematurely tweeted a statement about his resignation — Broadcaster accidentally reveals boss's resignation after seven years in tweet — David Abraham is to stand down as chief executive of Channel 4 after seven years.
Ted Bridis / Associated Press:
AP analysis: Obama administration spent $36.2M on legal costs incurred by fighting FOIA requests, setting a record for outright denial of access to files — WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration in its final year in office spent a record $36.2 million on legal costs defending its refusal …
Discussion:
@heidiprzybyla and @johnfund
New York Times:
Liberal TV ratings are surging in wake of Trump victory, with MSNBC's primetime audience in February up 55% from a year ago — There is a new safe space for liberals in the age of President Trump: the television set. — Left-leaning MSNBC, after flailing in the Obama years, has edged CNN in prime time.
Discussion:
Mediaite, Fox News, @katrinanation, @joanwalsh, @mtracey, @tvnewser, PEN America and Axios
Michael Schuman / Washington Post:
By disparaging media in US, Trump gives tacit permission for autocratic authorities around the world to dismiss press reports as false and to harass journalists — Foreign correspondents already have a risky job. Now that risk is being increased. — I received a text message …
Laura Hazard Owen / Nieman Lab:
Q&A with Sam Parr, founder of San Francisco-based The Hustle, a general-interest tech and business newsletter that has raised $1.3M+ in funding — “One guy put in a hundred grand.” — Launching a general-interest tech and business news site these days seems like kind of a dumb idea — there's way too much competition.
Andrew Beaujon / Washingtonian:
HBO will debut a documentary about ex-Washington Post Editor Ben Bradlee, who oversaw the paper when it broke the Watergate story — HBO is making a documentary about Ben Bradlee, the legendary Washington Post executive editor who died in 2014. A lot of interviews for the film have been shot already …
Brian Flood / The Wrap:
Report: questioned about his rumoured 2020 bid for the White House, Disney CEO Bob Iger neither confirmed nor denied the story — Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger won't consider running for President of the United States at the moment, but he didn't rule out a White House bid once his schedule clears up, according to CNN's Chloe Melas.