Top News:
Gabriel Sherman / New York Magazine:
Fox News has dropped the marketing slogan “Fair & Balanced”, invented by Roger Ailes in 1996, to be replaced by “Most Watched. Most Trusted.” — As Fox News moves further into the post-Roger Ailes era, the network is shedding one of its most iconic elements.
Discussion:
Vanity Fair, Mashable, The Guardian, Mediaite, New York Times, Newser, Talking New Media, Politicus USA, Business Insider, Fortune, TVNewser, The Week and @jbflint
Peter Kafka / Recode:
Filings: Spotify reaches 140M MAUs as 2016 revenue grew over 50% YoY to $3.3B, with a net loss of $601M; firm agrees to pay big labels $2B+ over next two years — The streaming service posted revenue of $3.3 billion last year; it has promised big checks in exchange for better rates.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Forbes, United States, Variety, hypebot, @gerberkawasaki, @mathewi and @pkafka, more at Techmeme »
Daniel Funke / Poynter:
Vocativ lays off editorial staff and says in a statement it will focus exclusively on video distributed via social media and other platforms — “RIP fake deep web data reporting.” — That was one reaction Wednesday morning after Vocativ announced it was cutting its entire newsroom focused …
Discussion:
@zenalbatross, Talking New Media, Vocativ, @ryanbeckler, @parkermolloy, @adrjeffries, @lemirejoe, @clarajeffery, @s_m_i, Fast Company, @poynter, @rafat, @rafat, Fast Company, @jbenton, @erik_hayden, @johnjcook, @benmullin, @emilybell, Adweek, Folio, @jayrosen_nyu, @jonlemire, @meena_thiru, @mathewi and @caleweissman
Gregory Wallace / CNN:
CNN files lawsuit against FBI seeking Comey's memos about his talks with Trump, accusing the agency of violating the federal FOI Act — Washington (CNN)In federal court Thursday, CNN filed a lawsuit seeking to force the FBI to turn over former director James Comey's memos documenting his conversations with President Donald Trump.
Discussion:
@brianstelter and @brianstelter
Kristine Lu / Pew Research Center:
Pew: 80%+ of US adults get news on their phones, up from half that four years ago, with 25% of growth over past year coming from 65-year-old adults — Mobile devices have rapidly become one of the most common ways for Americans to get news, and the sharpest growth in the past year …
Discussion:
INMA
Allan Smith / Business Insider:
US Office of Government Ethics calls retroactive, unsigned ethics waiver that applies to Steve Bannon “problematic”, in reply to Democratic senators — The Office of Government Ethics said in a letter to Democratic senators this week that the Trump administration's blanket ethics …
Discussion:
United States Office …, @maggiejordanacn, @normeisen, Bloomberg, The Week, Mother Jones and @bystevereilly
Michael Calderone / HuffPost:
HuffPost layoffs affect 39 people including reporter David Wood, who won the site its first and only Pulitzer Prize — HuffPost laid off over three-dozen employees Wednesday, including a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, as part of broader corporate cutbacks.
Discussion:
The Wrap, Poynter, @bendwalsh, @bluechoochoo, Casual Information, @xokasia, @ethanklapper, @jessicaschulb, Deadline, @caitlin__kelly, @screenslaver, CNNMoney, @sfiegerman, @mlcalderone, @edgeofsports, @timothynoah1, @tomzellerjr, @dceiver, @samsteinhp, USA Today, @mlcalderone, Adweek, @gsparks94, @mlcalderone, @christinawilkie, @tomkludt, CNBC, @juliacraven and @alexkotch
Daniel Funke / Poynter:
Report: full-time Dow Jones female employees earn on average less than 85% of their male counterparts — The union that represents many journalists at The Wall Street Journal has published an analysis that shows a persistent wage gap between men and women employed by Dow Jones & Company.
Discussion:
Vanity Fair
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Amazon, CBS, Disney, HBO, NBCU, Netflix, Warner Bros., Twentieth Century Fox form anti-piracy coalition the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment — Members of anti-piracy coalition include Disney, Amazon, HBO, Netflix, NBCU, CBS, Warner Bros., Twentieth Century Fox
Discussion:
Naked Security, Forbes, Digital Spy, Screen Rant, Los Angeles Business Journal and Advanced Television
Ian Morris / Forbes:
Report: Netflix has 50.85M subscribers, surpassing major US cable networks' 48.61M for the first time, cable subs down 4M in the five years Netflix's doubled — Netflix has, for the first time, surpassed cable in total subscribers according to Leichtman Research.
Discussion:
Engadget, 9to5Mac and Statista Infographics
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Social video app Musical.ly launches a series of short original shows, after signing deals with Hearst, NBCUniversal, and Viacom — Musical.ly, the lip-syncing social video app popular among teen girls, is stirring professionally produced content into its mix of user-generated content.
Discussion:
The Verge
Justin McCurry / The Guardian:
UN special rapporteur on freedom of expression accuses Japan of eroding media freedoms, stifling public debate of issues like the Fukushima meltdown — Investigation prompted by concern over government pressure on country's media over issues such as Fukushima and WW2