Top News:
Michael Calderone / Politico:
MSNBC confirms it investigated, reprimanded Chris Matthews over inappropriate comments in 1999, and made a “separation-related payment” to an employee — A former NBC employee who worked on Chris Matthews' show and complained that the cable news star made inappropriate jokes …
Facebook:
Facebook is clamping down on posts with “engagement bait”, which ask people for Likes or shares, by demoting them in the News Feed — People have told us that they dislike spammy posts on Facebook that goad them into interacting with likes, shares, comments, and other actions.
Discussion:
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Brian Stelter / CNNMoney:
How Fox News commentators including Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, and Jeanine Pirro create a feedback loop with President Trump to cast doubt on Mueller probe — Bernstein: Fox hosts are abetting a cover-up — An anti-Robert Mueller, anti-FBI fervor is intensifying among Trump supporters …
Discussion:
@brianstelter, @brianklaas, Politico, Mediaite, @normornstein, @renato_mariotti, New York Times, New York Magazine, @bluechoochoo, @jlownlaw, @crampell, @jackshafer, @jayrosen_nyu, @juddapatow, @preetbharara, @cmarinucci, @justinbaragona, The Hill, @markberman, Newsweek, The Guardian, Fox News, Splinter, bookforum.com, The Week, Washington Post and Slate
Thuy Ong / The Verge:
Twitter's new policies on violence, abuse, and hateful conduct do not apply to military or govt entities, appearing to provide a loophole for Trump's tweets — Policies now extend to hateful imagery and to conduct both on platform and off — Twitter says it will now begin enforcing …
Discussion:
Recode, Twitter, @pronounced_ing, @enbrown, @willsommer, @damonlinker, @sarahw and Gizmodo, more at Techmeme »
Martin Belam / The Guardian:
Twitter is facing criticism after suspending the account of prominent Egyptian journalist and campaigner Wael Abbas for unspecified reasons — Account of blogger and campaigner who has won awards for documenting human rights abuses shut down — Twitter has faced criticism after the account …
Discussion:
Wael Abbas
Brian Stelter / CNNMoney:
Comments by Iger and Murdoch following the announcement of Disney-Fox merger show that the deal is all about streaming and battling Silicon Valley giants — Disney buying 21st Century Fox for $52.4 billion — Odds are, if you're reading this story, you're a subscriber to Netflix.
Kathy Lally / Washington Post:
Matt Taibbi and Mark Ames bullied female journalists as they ran The eXile in Russia in the late 1990s, says former Moscow correspondent for The Baltimore Sun — Matt Taibbi and Mark Ames trafficked in hideous stereotypes and body-shaming. — There's more than one way to harass women.
Discussion:
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Brian Steinberg / Variety:
CBS will expand its video streaming hub, CBSN, in 2018, following a 17% increase in viewers watching the network via streaming over the past year — CBS intends to give more attention to CBSN, the video-streaming hub devoted to news, in 2018, as a younger generation of news aficionados finds …
ABC News:
On Good Morning America, Tavis Smiley says PBS suspended him for having consensual relationships with employees but insists he never sexually harassed anyone — Talk-show host Tavis Smiley defended himself again against sexual harassment allegations today, saying, “PBS made a huge mistake here.”
Rebecca Sun / Hollywood Reporter:
Top Hollywood Execs Unveil Anti-Sexual Harassment Commission Chaired by Anita Hill — The recent convening of leaders was organized by Kathleen Kennedy, Maria Eitel, Nina Shaw and Freada Kapor Klein — Kathleen Kennedy's proposed industry commission to combat gender inequality is coming to fruition …
Discussion:
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Rachel Abrams / New York Times:
Journalist documents her frustrating quest to fix an error in the Knowledge Graph panel appearing on Google searches for her name, which claimed she was dead — I'm not dead yet. — But try telling that to Google. — For much of the last week, I have been trying to persuade the world's …
Discussion:
@andysternberg and @baekdal, more at Techmeme »
Eliot Nelson / HuffPost:
In Flint, Michigan, the local Fox, NBC, and CW affiliate stations are all run by Sinclair Broadcasting Group, with its coverage frustrating residents, activists — The conservative media giant dominates local TV in the troubled city, where people say the press hasn't raked nearly enough muck.
Discussion:
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