Top News:
Brian Stelter / CNNMoney:
Sources: DoJ investigation of Fox News widens, with interviews being conducted by the US Postal Inspection Service, which probes mail and wire fraud cases — Fox News still under grand jury probe — The U.S. Justice Department's investigation of Fox News has widened to include a second law enforcement agency.
Discussion:
Mediaite, TVWeek.com, Variety and Axios
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Gabriel Sherman / New York Magazine:
Sources: Fox News co-president Bill Shine asked Lachlan and James Murdoch to release a statement supporting him recently but they refused — As Fox News is roiled by lawsuits and the ouster of Bill O'Reilly, the network's co-president Bill Shine has retained the backing of the Murdochs.
Discussion:
@seanhannity, Bloomberg, Deadline, The Wrap, Mediaite, TVNewser, @seanhannity, Media Matters for America, Politico, Variety, Boing Boing, CNNMoney, @hadas_gold, Business Insider and The Week
Kaitlin Menza / Marie Claire:
Interview with New York Times reporter Emily Steel, who with Michael Schmidt spent six months investigating sexual harassment claims involving Bill O'Reilly — He was the most popular figure on the country's highest-rated television network. But he was no match for New York Times reporter Emily Steel.
Joseph Menn / Reuters:
Facebook identifies efforts to falsely amplify content and sentiment using fake accounts, as seen in US election, improves detection using patterns of activity — Facebook Inc acknowledged on Thursday that it has become a battleground for governments seeking to manipulate public opinion …
Discussion:
Facebook, @emilybell, The Guardian, Bloomberg, @mantzarlis, @digiphile, @mathewi, @justinhendrix, Margarita Noriega, TechCrunch, Mashable, Fortune, The Verge, CNNMoney, Gizmodo, Adweek, New York Magazine, @elbeldner, @pwnallthethings, @emptywheel, @normative, @selectedwisdom, CNBC, CNBC, @alexstamos, @josephmenn, @jenrweedon, @ericgeller, @profcarroll, @micahgrimes and The Verge, more at Techmeme »
Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica:
FCC releases the full text of Ajit Pai's proposal to roll back Title II net neutrality rules ahead of May 18 vote — The FCC will now take your comments on whether to kill net neutrality. — You can now start filing public comments on the Federal Communications Commission plan to eliminate net neutrality rules.
Discussion:
Backchannel, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Free Press Blog, TechCrunch, Fortune, Hindustan Times, Consumerist, The Next Web, Recode, Variety, Ars Technica, Techdirt, The Verge, TechCrunch, @jbrodkin, New York Times, Vox, @pattymurray, Free Press Blog, @ajitpaifcc, World News Publishing Focus …, Ars Technica UK, eMarketer and Newsroom Posts, ZDNet, Boing Boing and New York Times, more at Techmeme »
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Facebook updates Rights Manager tool to let creators claim ad earnings on copyright-infringing videos posted by others — Facebook finally has a better solution to freebooting — the common practice of stealing video and uploading it to one's Facebook Page to reap the engagement and audience growth.
Discussion:
Facebook Media, Adweek, Recode and @pkafka, more at Techmeme »
Alex Emmons / The Intercept:
Barrett Brown, on parole after serving time related to a hacking case, was re-arrested Thursday, the day before he was to be interviewed for PBS documentary — Award-winning journalist Barrett Brown was re-arrested and taken into custody Thursday, the day before he was scheduled to be interviewed for a PBS documentary.
Discussion:
D Magazine, Hit & Run, @kateconger, @freedomofpress and @alexanderemmons
Stephen Gardner / Bloomberg BNA:
EU panel approves changes to media rules to combat harmful content, mandate video streaming services offer 30% European content — FREE TRIAL — The Internet Law Resource Center™ is the complete information solution for practitioners in cyberlaw. Follow the latest developments …
Discussion:
European Parliament, @whatthebit, ebu.ch, Broadband TV News, Business Insider and The Drum
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Ex-BuzzFeed staffers are posting videos on YouTube discussing why they left the site; some have garnered millions of views — BuzzFeed has drilled its young employees in the dark arts of crafting viral content. And many of them have been using those skills in spades — after they've quit the company.
Discussion:
@theinsneider, @cebsilver and YouTube
Tony Maglio / The Wrap:
Comcast beats Q1 targets with revenue of $20.46B, as cable network revenue rose 7.6% to $2.6B and broadcast revenue rose 5.9% to $2.2B — Comcast is off to a strong start in 2017, thanks in large part to its better box office beginning. — The NBCUniversal parent company topped media …
Discussion:
Broadcasting & Cable, Fortune, Multichannel News and @bobbierman
Claire Zillman / Fortune:
Jesse Watters, co-host of Fox News show The Five, announced an abrupt two-day vacation after backlash over a remark he made about Ivanka Trump — Fox News' Jesse Watters, a co-host of The Five, faced social media backlash Wednesday for remarks about Ivanka Trump's appearance in Berlin that were interpreted as a crude innuendo.
Discussion:
Business Insider, The Huffington Post, TVNewser, The Hill, @aroneisenberg, @nycjim, Variety, @anthony and TVNewser
Krishna Bharat:
Creator of Google News describes traits of story clusters and their sharing patterns that can be used by algorithms and humans to flag them as fake — Fast enough to empower humans to take action — Last November, a friend told me about his extended family of Filipino-Americans in the Fresno area.