Mediagazer: Fox News names Ron Mitchell, previously senior producer of “The O'Reilly Factor”, as VP of story development and primetime programming, promotes five others (Brian Steinberg/Variety)

1:14 PM ET, June 12, 2017

Top News:

Congressman-elect Greg Gianforte has been sentenced to 40 hours community service and a $385 fine for assaulting Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs — Montana Republican gets community service and $385 fine after pleading guilty to assaulting Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs on the eve of Gianforte's election

Discussion: CBS News, HuffPost, Missoulian, @braddjaffy, @brespolitico, @wabermes, @brianstelter, @kylegriffin1, @wabermes and @wabermes

Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:

How a false tweet about Comey from pro-Trump activist Jack Posobiec ricocheted to Breitbart, Infowars, Limbaugh, and Hannity on Fox News — WASHINGTON — Jack Posobiec had his Twitter sights set on James B. Comey. — A pro-Trump activist notorious for his amateur sleuthing into red herrings like the …

Discussion: @danpfeiffer, @davidfrum, Medium, @sonalrshah, @dangillmor, @nickfalacci, @willardjed, @ethanjweiss, @jonkay, @dangillmor, @jackposobiec, @tglaisyer and @jwpetersnyt

Christopher Williams / Telegraph:

Sources: The Guardian will soon convert to tabloid and may announce a printing deal with Trinity Mirror as soon as this week — The Guardian newspaper will soon abandon its European-style “Berliner” print format and go tabloid to help stem heavy losses. — It is understood that an agreement …

Discussion: Financial Times, @jim_edwards, The Week, @amolrajanbbc, @raheemkassam and @raju

Reuters:

Egypt has blocked 50+ sites since late May as part of a growing censorship crackdown, the latest one being Al-Bedaiah, run by journalist Khaled al-Balshi — An often fiery government critic, Egyptian journalist Khaled al-Balshi has been arrested, had his operations monitored, and staff harassed by police for years.

Ramsey Tesdell / Nieman Lab:
Egyptian news site Mada Masr launches reader-funded model, with memberships ranging from $50 to $2,000/year, to maintain editorial independence, build community

Discussion: @catherinecornet

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

Fox News names Ron Mitchell, previously senior producer of “The O'Reilly Factor”, as VP of story development and primetime programming, promotes five others — Fox News Channel said it promoted six executives - many of whom have been involved with producing shows …

Discussion: TVNewser and Deadline

Kejal Vyas / Wall Street Journal:

To fight censorship in Venezuela, a group of volunteer writers and artists board buses to read the daily news to riders, calling the initiative El Bus TV — A handful of journalists, writers and artists in Venezuela are delivering the news to their compatriots in one of the country's remaining uncensored zones: Caracas's public buses.

Discussion: @akurmanaev and @niemanlab

Alexios Mantzarlis / Poynter:

Analysis shows that conservative websites are far more likely to attack fact-checkers than their liberal counterparts — During the 2016 presidential election, popular conservative websites were far more likely to criticize fact-checking organizations than their liberal counterparts …

Discussion: @mantzarlis and Duke Reporters' Lab

Associated Press:

Memo: Associated Press promotes Chief White House Correspondent Julie Pace to Washington bureau chief — Senior Vice President and Executive Editor Sally Buzbee today announced a key appointment: White House Correspondent Julie Pace is AP's new Washington bureau chief.

Discussion: HuffPost, @philiprucker and HuffPost

Michael Getler / European Journalism Observatory:

A former ombudsman at PBS and The Washington Post on why the role of the public editor is the most effective check on press transparency and accountability — The recent news that The New York Times is eliminating the position of Public Editor—sometimes called an ombudsman …

Discussion: @kathyenglish

Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:

Politicians including Trump have no right to expect balanced positive and negative coverage, but media must weigh issues like fairness, overkill, and focus — The New York Daily News's front page on Friday morning screamed “LIAR” in huge type over a photo of President Trump.

Discussion: @lpolgreen, @sulliview, @joshroiland, @jamesfallows and @albertocairo

Russell Brandom / The Verge:

Apple's new third-party ad tracker blocker in Safari will further entrench the dominance of Google and Facebook in web advertising — The brutal logic of online advertising — The internet is an ad-tracking machine. It's been true for long enough that we rarely talk about it anymore, but it bears repeating.

Discussion: Monday Note

Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:

Music rights agency Merlin distributed $353M to its member indie labels, up 52% YoY, with most of the growth coming from streaming services — Thanks to streaming, Merlin sees 52 percent jump in sales — Streaming services helping indies reach global listeners

Discussion: @lucas_shaw and Billboard, more at Techmeme »

Gerry Smith / Bloomberg:

Inside BuzzFeed's video efforts as the company projects TV and movie development could make up a third of total revenue in a few years — In a room at the BuzzFeed Inc. offices in Los Angeles, past a keg of cold-brew coffee, a popcorn maker, and a cardboard cutout of a grinning Joe Biden …

Discussion: @carlospache_co

Washpostpr / Washington Post:

The Washington Post is experimenting with audio articles using Amazon Polly, a service that converts article text into lifelike speech — The Washington Post today announced it has started experimenting with audio articles using Amazon Polly, a service that converts article text into lifelike speech.