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Zack Whittaker / ZDNet:
FCC's website has been flooded with 128K+ identical fake anti-net neutrality comments via its public comment system API — Several people we spoke to denied they had posted comments to the Federal Communication Commission's (FCC) feedback pages. — A bot is thought to be behind the posting …
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The Verge, Washington Free Beacon, Recode, BGR, Naked Security, @zackwhittaker, @mmasnick, @digiphile, Mashable, @dangillmor, Engadget, Cyberscoop, The Hill, New York Magazine, Fortune, The Daily Caller, DSLreports, Consumerist, Axios, Fast Company, Techdirt, Business Insider, Multichannel News and Boing Boing, more at Techmeme »
Natalie Jarvey / Hollywood Reporter:
BuzzFeed Motion Pictures' Jessica Chambers docuseries, based on a BuzzFeed investigation, will air on the Oxygen channel, the studio's first TV show pickup — ‘What Happened to...Jessica Chambers’ will examine the death of a Mississippi teen, whose story was first told in an investigative piece …
Discussion:
@maxstrasser, @katiejmbaker and @gerryfsmith
Andrew Joseph / STAT:
HHS Secretary Tom Price praises WV police for “doing what they thought was appropriate” in arresting journalist, says “gentleman was not in a press conference” — CONCORD, N.H. — Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price on Wednesday commended police in West Virginia for …
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The Hill, Public News Service Newscasts, Los Angeles Times, Techdirt, Reuters, Washington Post, @wpjenna, @wpjenna, Adweek, @fridaghitis, NBC News, @scottwongdc, @stevethomma, @nickriccardi, USA Today, @aclu, @ktullymcmanus, @jimrutenberg, @mlcalderone, @sahilkapur, @rebeccadrobbins, @drewqjoseph and Committee to Protect …
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Rishika Sadam / Reuters:
Verizon to buy 5G spectrum holder Straight Path Communications for $3.1B — Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N), the No.1 U.S. wireless carrier, is buying wireless spectrum holder Straight Path Communications Inc (STRP.A) for an enterprise value of about $3.1 billion, ending a bidding war with rival AT&T (T.N).
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Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch, ZDNet, CNBC, @felixsalmon, The Verge, Engadget, Investor's Business Daily and Seeking Alpha, more at Techmeme »
Adi Robertson / The Verge:
Google acquires Owlchemy Labs, the VR-focused game studio behind Job Simulator and Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality, for an undisclosed sum — Google announced today that it's acquiring Owlchemy Labs, the VR-focused studio that created Job Simulator and Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality.
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Owlchemy Labs, Forbes, ValueWalk, The Next Web, Mashable, Engadget, Android Police, TechCrunch, SlashGear, VentureBeat, Google, Polygon, Business Insider, 9to5Google, Seeking Alpha and ZDNet, more at Techmeme »
Elsa Keslassy / Variety:
Cannes Film Festival allows two Netflix movies into competition this year but will require future films to screen in French theaters — PARIS - A week before its opening ceremony, the Cannes Film Festival said Wednesday that the Netflix movies “Okja” and “The Meyerowitz Stories” …
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Deadline, IndieWire, Vanity Fair, Hollywood Reporter, Reed Hastings, Los Angeles Times, TechCrunch, The Verge, New York Times, Reuters, Engadget, Bleeding Cool Comic Book …, Forbes and The Wrap
Pew Research Center:
Pew: 89% of Democrats say media criticism keeps leaders in line, while 42% of Republicans say the same, the largest gap since Pew began asking question in 1985 — Democrats are 47 points more likely than Republicans to support news media's watchdog role — Democrats and Republicans …
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Washington Post, The Rural Blog, NBC News, Washington Post, Broadcasting & Cable, Fox News and New York Times
Lucia Moses / Digiday:
IJR hires Shareblue's Tommy Christopher to diversify its political coverage; he starts in a a few weeks and will launch a new vertical called The Response — Independent Journal Review is often described as a conservative viral news upstart. While it grew an audience of nearly 28 million uniques …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, @digiday, @lmoses, @newsceo, @brucebartlett, @jason_howerton, @hadas_gold, @jason_kint and @moelleithee
Kara Bloomgarden-Smoke / WWD:
The NYT will publish a print-only, stand-alone kids' section aimed at nine to 12-year-olds this Sunday, the latest installment in a new print initiative — Sunday's New York Times will include a special print section for kids. — The New York Times for Kids
Discussion:
Quartz, @jackmarshall, @loganhill33, @billwasik, @willystaley, @benharnett, @kbsmoke, @mathewi and The New York Times Company
Brooks Barnes / New York Times:
Sony Pictures Entertainment names Tony Vinciquerra, formerly of Fox Networks Group, its CEO, as the company shifts toward TV — LOS ANGELES — Hollywood has a new mogul. — Sony Pictures Entertainment, bedeviled in recent years by movie misfires, a devastating cyberattack and executive ejections …
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Twitter announces a new deal for year-round NFL content that includes a 30-minute live digital show that will air five nights per week — Twitter lost the deal to stream the NFL's Thursday Night Football games this year to Amazon, but today the company is announcing a new multi-year agreement …
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Adweek and Variety, more at Techmeme »
Rishi Iyengar / CNNMoney:
Indian newspaper circulation increased by more than 23M copies a day between 2006 and 2016, according to a new report from India's Audit Bureau of Circulation — India's newspapers are booming — Newspapers and magazines are selling fewer copies the world over. Not in India.
Brian Stelter / CNNMoney:
SEC filing: settlements related to Ailes at 21st Century Fox cost $10M in first 3 months of 2017, $45M for 9 months ending March 31, not including Ailes payout — O'Reilly accuser: It's about women's rights, not revenge — The costs of the Roger Ailes era at Fox News keep rising.
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