Mediagazer: Jimmy Breslin's death highlights the loss of authoritative, local voices that speak for the average person (Jim Rutenberg/New York Times)

4:05 AM ET, March 20, 2017

Top News:

Jimmy Breslin, the Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist who championed ordinary New Yorkers, dies at 88 — Jimmy Breslin was the biggest, the baddest, the brashest, the best columnist in New York City. — And the first to say so, too. — The Pulitzer Prize-winning former Daily News columnist died Sunday …

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Post, @dvnjr, The Wrap, @jamilsmith, @macloo, @reliablesources, @pete_wells, @anildash, Jezebel, @ludkmr, @jasongay, @profdeanmiller, Variety, The Huffington Post, @williegeist, @davidcorndc, Poynter, @glennthrush, @benmullin, Newsday, @maggienyt and The Week

Jim Rutenberg / New York Times:

Jimmy Breslin's death highlights the loss of authoritative, local voices that speak for the average person — The reason I fell in love with newspapers — the printed kind — was because of the great columnists of the New York City tabloids, whose bylines hit the sidewalks like anvils …

Discussion: @nbj914

Elliot Smilowitz / The Hill:

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson defends decision not to allow a pool reporter to travel with him, saying he's “not a big media press access person” — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Saturday stood by his decision not to allow a pool reporter to travel with him on his Asia trip …

Discussion: IJR, New York Times, @jayrosen_nyu, @jayrosen_nyu, Business Insider, The Daily Caller, AOL, Mediaite, The Huffington Post, @jonathanweisman, The Guardian, @defensebaron, @keitholbermann, @ikebarinholtz, @brianstelter, @brianstelter, Axios and @mlcalderone

Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:

Tracking the special treatment media get when they play nice with the White House — Some people regard Tomi Lahren as a racist. — The social-media star's past commentary on the conservative website the Blaze, including her disparagement of the Black Lives Matter movement …

Discussion: @sulliview, @jayrosen_nyu and The Wrap

Dylan Byers / CNNMoney:
Trump administration ramps up efforts to control media by giving preferential access to friendly outlets and excluding others

Discussion: The Korea Heald, The Hill, The Huffington Post, Telegraph, @oliverdarcy, The Week, Mediaite, @davidmpaine, @chrislhayes and @buzzfeedben

Steven Perlberg / BuzzFeed:
Nick Ayers, a top adviser to Vice President Mike Pence, is an investor in IJR, which got exclusive access to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson this week

Discussion: @perlberg, Sunlight Foundation, Business Insider, The Guardian, Washington Post, The Independent, Poynter, Media Matters for America, Jezebel, @nick_ayers, @penamerican and @stevesilberman

Matea Gold / Washington Post:

How an alliance between the Mercer family and Stephen Bannon fueled a media narrative that drove Trump's victory — The champagne was flowing as hedge fund executive Robert Mercer and his daughter Rebekah hosted a reception during the Cannes Film Festival last May to promote “Clinton Cash …

Discussion: New Yorker, Highline, @oliverdarcy, @sullivank, @opensecretsdc, @maggienyt and Axios

Charlie Warzel / BuzzFeed:

How Techmeme continues to set the agenda for influential tech readers, without chasing scale or adopting the trappings of most media firms — Gabe Rivera was halfway through his lamb gyro when it became clear he'd been spotted. It was the middle of the lunch rush at a bustling upscale food court …

Discussion: @panzer, @tolles, @rafat, @anthonyquintano, @chrisamccoy, @tolles, @ashleymayer, @dannygroner, @jonsteinberg, @kerrymflynn, @gaberivera, @ow, @martinsfp, @benthompson, @cwarzel, @msquinn, @mat and @martinsfp, more at Techmeme »

Steven Perlberg / BuzzFeed:

Two New York Times reporters publicly reject claim of a FISA warrant connected to Trump campaign, published in NYT's op-ed section by News Corp's Louise Mensch — An opinion piece by controversial writer and former UK member of Parliament Louise Mensch mentions her FISA warrant story, which Times reporters have knocked down.

Discussion: @susan_hennessey, @charlie_savage, @ericlichtblau, @goodnewsbitches, @buzzfeedben, @daviduberti, @edmundlee, The Daily Caller, @peterjukes, @markamesexiled, @mrmaitra, @louisemensch, @davidfolkenflik and New York Times

Mix / The Next Web:

Startup LBRY preserves 20K Berkeley lecture videos purged from YouTube to comply with Americans with Disabilities Act — Earlier this week, the University of California at Berkeley purged some 20,000 lectures from various academic fields from its YouTube channel following a less-than-sensible ruling from the US Department of Justice.

Discussion: LBRY News, @awrigh01, MyBroadband, The Libertarian Republic, Weekly Standard, Boing Boing and Hit & Run

Jordan Crook / TechCrunch:

How Facebook's language around the fake news issue has evolved, and why it will never say it is a media company or has a responsibility for user-shared content — ark Zuckerberg is displeased. It's been more than four months since election night, but Facebook still finds itself in the hot seat …

Discussion: CNBC, more at Techmeme »

Max Galka / FOIA Mapper:

An analysis of 229K FOIA requests to 85 government agencies finds that journalists submit only 7.6% of federal FOIA requests — When the Freedom of Information Act was enacted in 1966, it was envisioned as a tool for journalists to facilitate government oversight and accountability.

Discussion: Columbia Journalism Review

The Guardian:

George Osborne accused of breaching rules with Evening Standard job — Shadow minister calls for investigation into whether Osborne has broken regulations on former ministerial appointments — The Cabinet Office is facing calls to investigate George Osborne's decision to take a job as editor …

Discussion: Sky News, @greglabour, @greglabour, @gracew_bm, BBC, @mehdirhasan and @shashj

Roy Greenslade / The Guardian:
George Osborne's appointment as editor of the Evening Standard shows media owners' comfort with overt Tory partisanship, with disturbing democratic implications

Discussion: Crikey, @mrevgenylebedev, Sky News, Forbes, The Independent, BuzzFeed, Transparency International UK, Business Insider, @adambienkov and The Drum

Alexandra Steigrad / WWD:

Sources: New York Time's T Magazine quietly reduces frequency from 13 to 11 issues per year as search for an editor in chief continues — The New York Times' T Magazine has reduced its frequency to 11 times a year. — Tom Waits on T's March cover. — T: The New York Times Magazine …

Doug Stanglin / USA Today:

Russia's parliament calls for investigation into US media companies operating in Russia, responding to what it says are US attacks on Russian media — Russia's parliament has called for an investigation into U.S. media operating in its country in response to what it says are attacks …

Discussion: Reuters, The Hill, UPI, Voice of America and presstv.ir