Mediagazer: Prior to his death, Ailes was discussing the formation of a new right-wing news network, despite the non-compete provisions in his severance agreement (Michael Wolff/Hollywood Reporter)

9:50 PM ET, May 18, 2017

Top News:

Roger Ailes, former Fox News chief and architect of conservative-oriented TV news, has died at 77, his wife Elizabeth says in a statement — “I am profoundly sad and heartbroken to report that my husband, Roger Ailes, passed away this morning. Roger was a loving husband to me …

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Michael Wolff / Hollywood Reporter:

Prior to his death, Ailes was discussing the formation of a new right-wing news network, despite the non-compete provisions in his severance agreement — The Fox News exec understood the intensity of the unhappiness and anger in another America that liberal media people are only now waking up to with Donald Trump.

Discussion: New York Times, Mediaite, @thrmattbelloni and Hollywood Reporter

Frazier Moore / Associated Press:
Medical Examiner rules Roger Ailes death accidental, says Ailes died of bleeding on the brain after fall at home on May 10

Discussion: TVWeek.com, Variety, KHOU-TV and WPEC

Brian Stelter / @brianstelter:
An Ailes family spokeswoman says there will be a private funeral for family only. “Appropriate tribute at a later date.”

Discussion: @oliverdarcy, The Guardian and Wall Street Journal

Cynthia Littleton / Variety:
Ailes death complicates the federal probe into Fox News and other lawsuits, making it harder for the network to refute claims of harassment and discrimination

Discussion: Mediaite and TVNewser

Politico:

Sources: Sean Spicer is no longer expected to do a daily, on-camera briefing after Trump's foreign trip, as Trump weighs broader communications shakeup — Several officials say Spicer is no longer expected to do a daily, on-camera briefing after Trump's foreign trip.

Jordan Novet / CNBC:

Spotify acquires French machine-learning music recommendation startup Niland — - Spotify bought a French AI start-up called Niland that has a unique approach to music recommendations. — It's in a race with Apple and Pandora to use AI and other methods to give music customers the best music-discovery experience.

Discussion: Press, TechCrunch, Music Ally, Inverse, 9to5Mac, Forbes and RAIN News, more at Techmeme »

New York Times:

Trump's urging that Comey jail reporters is denounced by journalists and press freedom groups as an act of intimidation — During a private meeting in February with the former F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, President Trump floated a proposal that, even by the standards of a leader …

Discussion: Washington Post, Media Matters for America, Techdirt, Fox News Insider, The Guardian, @rachbarnhart, @costareports, @melbournecoal, @jenniferbrandel, Common Dreams, Boing Boing, Refinery29, Talking New Media, The Wrap, Mediaite and Washington Free Beacon

The New York Review of Books:

Ian Buruma named editor of The New York Review of Books, succeeding founding editor Robert B. Silvers who recently died — Ian Buruma has been named editor of The New York Review of Books. He succeeds Robert B. Silvers who recently died and who was, with the late Barbara Epstein, a founding editor of the Review.

Discussion: @freedland, @mcandrew, @luyte, @jason_pontin and @carloslozadawp

Nathan McAlone / Business Insider:

Facebook signs deal with MLB to broadcast 20 Friday night games live this season, with the first one being streamed tomorrow — Facebook just announced that it has reached a deal with Major League Baseball to broadcast 20 games live on Facebook this season, part of the tech giant's big push into premium video.

Discussion: Forbes, The Next Web, TechCrunch, Hollywood Reporter and Variety, more at Techmeme »

David McCabe / Axios:

FCC votes to begin rolling back Obama-era rules governing net neutrality for ISPs — The long-anticipated rollback of net neutrality rules has officially begun. The FCC voted along party lines on Thursday to formally consider Chairman Ajit Pai's plan to scrap the legal foundation for the rules …

Discussion: Observer, Washington Post, The Verge, Vanity Fair, NPR, VentureBeat and Engadget, more at Techmeme »

Jeffrey Goldberg / The Atlantic:

The Atlantic relaunches its homepage to emphasize density, doubling the number of “above the fold” stories — The casual reader could be forgiven for assuming that The Atlantic is not a hot center of high-velocity digital innovation. We are, after all, 160 years old.

Discussion: @emmaogreen, @mckaycoppins, @yappelbaum and Talking New Media

Ken Yeung / VentureBeat:

Medium launches audio versions of stories, narrated by actors or post writers, for subscribers, with 50+ available now, and more coming — Medium is hoping to sweeten the pot in order to get you to become a paying member. The publishing platform provider said that members will now be provided …

Discussion: TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »

Lukas I. Alpert / Wall Street Journal:

The Daily Beast hires former Gawker president Heather Dietrick as its new president and publisher — News site's pick to lead was Nick Denton's right hand through Gawker Media's legal struggles — The Daily Beast has always aimed at being smart and edgy, and is now turning to someone …

Discussion: @johnjcook, Business Insider, @jeffjohnroberts, @ashleyfeinberg, @noahshachtman, @emmacargo and @g_bluestone

Thomas E. Patterson / Shorenstein Center:

Shorenstein report on media coverage of Trump's first 100 days finds Trump was the topic of 41% of all news stories analyzed, and most of them were negative — A new report from Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy analyzes news coverage of President Trump's first 100 days in office.

Discussion: @daviduberti, @agyllenhaal, Poynter, @mkramer and @ylichterman

Indira A.R. Lakshmanan / Poynter:

The Washington Post withheld key details about an ISIS bomb plot from a story at the urging of officials - yet Trump shared the same info with Russian officials — When The Washington Post broke the story this week that President Trump shared highly classified intelligence from a U.S. ally with Russia …

Discussion: Washington Post, The Daily Caller, @indira_l and Slate