Top News:


FAA says it will offer “instant authorization” for drone flights for journalists and others near 50 airports by the end of year, mostly at quieter sites — Drone journalists just got some very good news. The FAA says that this year it will begin offering “instant authorization” for drone flights in controlled airspace.
Discussion:
Axios, Forbes, @mattwaite and @mattgrosack


Profile of Sinclair Broadcast Group, whose low production values and politically conservative agenda are clashing with local newsrooms as the network expands — In the menagerie of television talking heads who have come to prominence advocating for Donald Trump, Boris Epshteyn is hardly the most memorable.
Discussion:
@brucebartlett, @devinleonard, @riceid, @matthaber, @mlcalderone, @timkarr, @felixgillette and @randalljudt

Local TV affiliates convened with the WH on Tuesday as part of a relationship building meeting and to discuss how to book WH officials — PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP SAT DOWN FOR AN EXPLOSIVE INTERVIEW WITH THE ‘FAILING NEW YORK TIMES’ — his second interview with them in just over a month.
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, New York Times, Journalism.co.uk, Ad Age, The Wrap, @hadas_gold, Mediaite, Slate, The Hill, Business Insider, The Daily Caller, Talking New Media, Vanity Fair, @hadas_gold, Adweek, The Week, Washington Post, Axios, The Guardian, Fortune, BuzzFeed, NPR, Politicus USA, ABC News Public Relations, Mother Jones and AOL


A look at CNN Talk, a weekly half-hour politics chat show streamed on Facebook Live and TV simultaneously — Since May 5, CNN International has produced “CNN Talk,” a half-hour politics chat show streamed on Facebook Live and TV simultaneously at noon London time each Friday.


Facebook launches tool that lets publishers compare Instant Articles traffic to traditional links that point to mobile pages — Facebook today released a new developer's tool for publishers to see how their stories are doing on the social media platform. — The analytics tool …
Discussion:
Facebook Media, TechCrunch, Wall Street Journal, @rafat, Facebook for Developers, Digiday and TheStreet


Hulu adds 3,000 drama and comedy shows including How I Met Your Mother, M*A*S*H, Glee, and NYPD Blue, expanding its deal with 20th Century Fox — Hulu and 20th Century Fox Television Distribution announced an massive new agreement that will add nearly 3,000 episodes from 26 recent …
Discussion:
Broadcasting & Cable, TechCrunch, Home Media Magazine, @willmckinley, @deggans, Hulu, Deadline, Adweek and The Verge

New research finds people struggle to detect fake images and pinpoint where they've been manipulated — I recently, shamefully fell for a photo plastered all over my timeline last week of Vladimir Putin sitting in a chair at G-20 as other world leaders, including Donald Trump …


Twitter says it's taking action against 10x the number of accounts it did a year ago, and that majority of disciplined accounts don't commit a second infraction — But real data is in short supply — A sustained push to reduce abuse on Twitter has shown promising results, the company said …
Discussion:
Twitter, Fast Company, TechCrunch, Gizmodo, @cwarzel, Recode, Mashable, VentureBeat and BuzzFeed, more at Techmeme »


Vimeo promotes Anjali Sud, who has been the video company's general manager, to CEO — Anjali Sud gets a promotion; Joey Levin goes back to running IAC full time. — Vimeo has a new boss, after going more than a year without a full-time leader. — Parent company IAC has promoted Anjali Sud …
Discussion:
TechCrunch, The Wrap, VentureBeat and Variety


The Knoxville Mercury, a Tennessee alt-weekly, is closing just two years after its launch — Staff at the Knoxville (Tennessee) Mercury went back and forth on how depressing their final issue should be. — The two-year-old publication distributed its last edition on Thursday.
Discussion:
Talking New Media, @jones_mattryan and @kristenhare


A look inside NBC News new twice-daily news show on Snapchat, “Stay Tuned”, which is aimed at younger viewers who no longer watch traditional TV — NBC News is bringing news broadcasts to Snapchat, the company announced today, with the launch of a twice-daily headline news show it's calling “Stay Tuned.”
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, Ubergizmo, @kurtwagner8, Axios, Engadget, Fortune and Refinery29


28-country study including democracies and autocracies finds that gov'ts and political parties spend greatly on manipulating public opinion over social media — Cyber troops are government, military or political party teams committed to manipulating public opinion over social media.