Top News:


Ex-Fox News CFO Mark Kranz offered immunity from prosecution in exchange for co-operating with govt probe into payments to women allegedly harassed by Ailes — The former chief financial officer of Rupert Murdoch's Fox News Channel has been offered immunity from prosecution …
Discussion:
TVNewser, Variety, @kt_so_it_goes, @mattgarrahan, @lionelbarber and @gabrielsherman


Dutch news startup De Correspondent plans to launch in the US in Spring 2018, with $515K grant from the Knight Foundation, Democracy Fund, and First Look Media — It's built a membership-driven model that produces trust, connection, and good journalism. But can it extend that approach to the hurly-burly of the American media market?
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, @digidave, @jayrosen_nyu, Democracy Fund and DemocracyFund


Letter to Wall Street Journal management seeks stronger diversity efforts, with one source saying 160 staffers signed — Reporters and editors at The Wall Street Journal have signed a letter to management expressing concern about the roles of women and people of color in the newsroom.
Discussion:
The Hill, @lauraelizdavis and @moorehn


BuzzFeed opens its first Texas office in Austin; Exec Creative Producer Summer Anne Burton and Editorial Director Jack Shepard will work out of it initially — For years, Summer Anne Burton has been expanding the guide to Austin she created as a shareable Google Doc.
Discussion:
@texasmonthly, @annehelen and @buzzfeedben


Sources: Comcast will rebrand its skinny bundle option as Xfinity Instant TV, priced at $15-$40/month; it will include ESPN and roll out across US in Q3 2017 — Comcast, looking to build another TV on-ramp for subscribers, is rebranding its broadband-delivered “skinny bundle” …
Discussion:
Reuters, Light Reading, 9to5Mac, Multichannel News and AppAdvice.com


Focusing on tech to fix fake news only distracts while allowing underlying issues with a long, complicated history to flourish — Fake news is too big and messy to solve with algorithms or editors—because the problem is....us. — Increasingly, I'm frustrated by (and often antagonistic toward) …
Discussion:
@carotagg, @zephoria, @fredericg, @jonathanstray, @tessawegert, @dskok and @jeffjarvis


The apology from InfoWars' Alex Jones for his bizarre and dangerous Pizzagate lies doesn't fix the damage from his multiple conspiracy theories — A heartfelt apology can be a beautiful step toward healing. — Alex Jones's “Pizzagate” apology doesn't come close.
Discussion:
@dangillmor, @sulliview, @pierre and @ann_neighbors


Twitter gives publishers option to run pre-roll ads on Periscope broadcasts — Twitter is announcing a new ad unit — pre-roll ads on Periscope videos. — In a blog post, Periscope Group Project Manager Mike Folgner says the ads will appear in a way that's “organic to how people already consume that content on the platform.”
Discussion:
Adweek, VentureBeat, Variety, Engadget, Recode, Fast Company and 9to5Google, more at Techmeme »


Hulu inks multi-year agreements for Telenovolas, other Spanish-language content from Telemundo, Sony Pictures Television — Hulu has set new multiyear agreements with Telemundo and Sony Pictures Television that will add several hundred episodes of popular telenovelas, as well as nine Pedro …
Discussion:
Broadcasting & Cable

Playbook: Washington Post, CNN, and McClatchy Newspapers' DC bureau have all increased their security in recent months; CNN did so following threats to staff — DRIVING THE DAY — WE HOPE THIS IS TRUE — Playbook's Palm Beach correspondent Luke Russert sends in this dispatch …


IMAX signs co-financing and co-production agreement with Warner Bros. to create three VR experiences based on upcoming Warner Bros. films — If virtual reality is truly the new frontier that the entertainment industry hopes it will be, then Warner Bros. and Imax want to be among the pioneers.
Discussion:
/Film, PR Newswire and TechCrunch


YouGov survey finds 61% of people trust ads they see, an 11% jump from March 2014; 72% say ads are “honest”, a 16% increase over past three years — Consumers say they trust ads, new survey finds — Trust in key institutions has plummeted in the US, but a new survey finds significantly …
Discussion:
@linkedinb2b, more at Techmeme »


First-person account from an American journalist who was detained by riot police while covering a demonstration in Moscow on Sunday — The treatment of peaceful protesters was shocking — raised my phone to take a photo as riot police suddenly began detaining protesters …
Discussion:
PSFK, New Yorker, The Daily Caller and @brizzyc
RELATED:

CPJ says Russia should stop detaining journalists to prevent them covering protests after 11 were detained and then released Sunday, calls it “crude censorship”
Discussion:
Business Insider, @greensep, Mediaite, Vocativ, The Guardian, Scroll.in, @joelcpj and The Week