Top News:
Jonathan Tilove / Austin American-Statesman:
In custody court case dispute, Alex Jones' lawyer says the talk-show host is a “performance artist” playing a character on Infowars — Highlights — Alex Jones and his ex-wife, Kelly, will be locked in a child custody trial the next two weeks in Austin.
Discussion:
@tedfrank, The Wrap, The Week, Mediaite, Newser, Snopes.com, The Huffington Post, Houston Chronicle, @damonbruce, Washington Post, Real Stories, @ericliptonnyt, Above the Law, @mrjamesob, Boing Boing, AOL, @braddjaffy, Mashable, @joyannreid, Jezebel, Fox News Insider and The Daily Caller
Alyson Shontell / Business Insider:
Bustle acquires Elite Daily from Daily Mail for an undisclosed sum and rebrands to Bustle Digital Group — - Bustle has acquired Elite Daily, a millennial site, from Daily Mail. — The deal was a mix of cash and stock. The exact amount was undisclosed but seems to be less …
Discussion:
@jackmarshall, Adweek, Digiday, New York Magazine, The Drum, @ajs, @perlberg, @sai, @stevekovach, @ajs, @mekosoff, @pkafka, @jayrosen_nyu, Nieman Lab and TechCrunch
Dylan Byers / CNNMoney:
Ex-Trump spokesman Epshteyn joins conservative local news operator Sinclair Broadcasting Group as chief political analyst — Boris Epshteyn, the combative former White House spokesperson, has joined the conservative local news operator Sinclair Broadcasting Group.
Discussion:
PR Newswire, @dylanbyers, @lachlan and Media Matters for America
Jim Rutenberg / New York Times:
In the latest US-Russia diplomatic crisis, Putin has used Trump's anti-media stance to undermine him on the global stage — MOSCOW — I wanted to better understand President Trump's America, a place where truth is being ripped from its moorings as he brands those tasked with lashing it back into place …
Discussion:
@andreachalupa, @neilmacfarquhar, @jimrutenberg, @brianstelter and @jeffzeleny
Rachel Stockman / LawNewz:
Glenn Beck countersues Tomi Lahren, claiming she mistreated staff, offended the Blaze audience, and made public appearances without prior approval — Glenn Beck, and his conservative network, The Blaze, have filed a counter lawsuit against firebrand conservative news personality Tomi Lahren …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Dallas Morning News, Business Insider, The Huffington Post, The Daily Caller, @mediaite and New York Magazine
Justin Osofsky / Facebook:
Facebook releases timeline of murder suspect's activity: first video uploaded 11:09AM PDT, first report received around 11:27AM, account disabled at 1:22PM — On Sunday morning, a man in Cleveland posted a video of himself announcing his intent to commit murder, then two minutes later posted another video …
Discussion:
Mediaite, Adweek, TechCrunch, USA Today, Cleveland Division of Police, Fortune, Recode, Variety, BetaNews, Business Insider, Engadget, Mashable, CNET, Techdirt, GeekWire, Axios, The Verge, The Verge and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »
Brian McGrory / BostonGlobe.com:
Memo from Boston Globe Editor-in-Chief Brian McGrory on how the publication plans to retool the newsroom to support both digital and print — A dedicated group of Boston Globe staff has spent much of the past year examining our digital and print report, talking with colleagues throughout the newsroom …
Discussion:
Media Nation
Adam Taylor / Washington Post:
Interview with the reporter who broke a story on Chechnya's recent anti-gay purges and considers fleeing Russia after 15K people in Chechnya allegedly vow jihad — Novaya Gazeta is no stranger to hostility and controversy. The crusading Russian newspaper is known for powerful investigations …
Discussion:
Committee to Protect …, Jezebel, @arothwp, @mradamtaylor, @unamullally, @monaeltahawy, @deanvictorr, @katrinanation and PinkNews
Eric Johnson / Recode:
Interview with Axios co-founder Mike Allen on making the transition from Politico and writing for a much broader audience now — “When they're fighting a fight, when they're in the war, then they need to explain themselves more than ever." — Even before President Trump took office …
Discussion:
@pkafka, @danprimack and @joshluger
Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
Great local reporting remains alive in a dying newspaper industry, but employment trends show it urgently needs support — In only 15 years, American newspaper companies slashed their workforces by more than half — from 412,000 employees in 2001 to 174,000 last year.
Discussion:
@sulliview, @chadwickmelissa, @schmitzmedia, @jswatz, @betsbarnes, @katrinanation, @kathrynvarn and WGBH News
Nitasha Tiku / BuzzFeed:
How Zuckerberg has polished his image to win people over, beginning with greater use of personal FB posts in 2015 and culminating in his current US talking tour — Until recently — , Mark Zuckerberg's most iconic public appearance may have been the image of the young startup founder sweating through …
Discussion:
@martinsfp, @glennf, @nxthompson, @annehelen, @annehelen, @kimmaicutler and @nitashatiku, more at Techmeme »
Casey Newton / The Verge:
How Facebook's shifting priorities and inferior monetization options for Instant Articles are leading some big publishers to abandon the format — Facebook's Instant Articles promised to transform journalism — but now big publishers are fleeing — Inside Facebook's Menlo Park headquarters …
Discussion:
Fortune, Axios, @rafat, @backlon, @macloo, @reckless, @jayrosen_nyu, @caseynewton, @jcstearns, @rafat, @hrheingold, @alexmleo, @mhbergen, @moorehn, @dannygroner, @raju, @lainnafader, @mathewi and @jcstearns, more at Techmeme »