Top News:
Washington Post:
Sources: years after FBI began tracking Russian disinformation efforts and US intelligence agencies drew up counter operations, the US still equivocates — The first email arrived in the inbox of CounterPunch, a left-leaning American news and opinion website, at 3:26 a.m. — the middle of the day in Moscow.
Discussion:
Washington Post, @profcarroll, @ericgarland, @omriceren, @angryblacklady, The Week, @propornot, @anneapplebaum, @adamentous, @markscott82, @natashabertrand, @adamentous, @attackerman, @kimdozier, emptywheel, @trumpprisondate, @joycewhitevance, @elilake, @marcowerman, @yashalevine, VICE, @profcarroll, @kimdozier, @chris_biow, @andrewsweiss, @davereaboi, @propornot, @demwrite, @omriceren, Newser, @maerroshan, @ericgeller, @michaeldweiss, @cjcmichel, @ilvestoomas, Axios and @sashaingber, more at Techmeme »
David Remnick / New Yorker:
Q&A with incoming NYT publisher A. G. Sulzberger on his new job, how he caught the journalism bug from his family, the decline of print advertising, and more — In 2009, a byline began appearing in the Times that carried with it the harbinger of dynastic transition.
Discussion:
New York Times
Lizzie Plaugic / The Verge:
US Library of Congress will no longer archive the text of every tweet, will instead archive tweets on a “very selective basis”; the archive has yet to go online — The Library of Congress just announced some changes to its long-running plan to archive all of Twitter.
Discussion:
Library of Congress, Gizmodo, Fast Company, The Wrap, New York Magazine, Business Insider, The Week, CNET, The Hill, @davewiner, @evepeyser and Splinter, more at Techmeme »
Lucinda Southern / Digiday:
CNBC's global ad sales team will start selling audio sponsorship packages to advertisers soon, after the network's voice audience on Google and Amazon doubled — Publishers have been enthusiastic about voice assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant this year, often undaunted …
Niraj Chokshi / New York Times:
Don Hogan Charles, who was the first black photographer to be hired by The New York Times, died December 15 aged 79 in East Harlem — Don Hogan Charles, who was the first black photographer to be hired by The New York Times, and who drew acclaim for his evocative shots of the civil rights movement …
Discussion:
@rachelswarns, @rizingashren, @ericuman, @nytimesphoto, @nytmetro, @nycjim and @normeisen
Matt Schudel / Washington Post:
William Graham, son of ex-Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham, died at his home in Los Angeles from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Dec. 20 — William W. Graham, a lawyer, investor and philanthropist who was a member of the family that owned and published The Washington Post for many years …
Discussion:
The Wrap, @nprscottsimon and @lallyweymouth
Shoon Naing / Reuters:
Myanmar police drop charges against two journalists working for Turkish state broadcaster; two Reuters journalists remain in detention without access to lawyers — (Reuters) - Myanmar police said on Tuesday they would drop pending charges against two journalists working for Turkey's state broadcaster …
Reuters:
Vietnam unveils new, 10K-strong cyber warfare unit to counter “wrong” views online, a month after blogger was sentenced to 7yrs for propaganda against the state — HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam has unveiled a new, 10,000-strong military cyber warfare unit to counter “wrong” …
Julia Manchester / The Hill:
Joan Walsh announces move to CNN in 2018, hours after news broke that MSNBC would not be renewing her contract — Political analyst Joan Walsh announced Saturday night that she will be moving to CNN in 2018, just hours after MSNBC said it would not be renewing her contract with the network.
Discussion:
@joanwalsh, Variety, TVNewser and Deadline
RELATED:
Joe Concha / The Hill:
MSNBC says it won't renew longtime contributor Joan Walsh's contract, prompting outrage on Twitter and from MSNBC hosts including Joy Reid and Chris Hayes
MSNBC says it won't renew longtime contributor Joan Walsh's contract, prompting outrage on Twitter and from MSNBC hosts including Joy Reid and Chris Hayes
Discussion:
Hollywood Reporter, New York Times, @chrislhayes, @joyannreid, @katiecouric, @joanwalsh, Fox News, @mobylives, @joanwalsh, @tomwatson, TheBlaze, @jess_mc, @lizzwinstead, @olivianuzzi, Mediaite, @peterdaou, @jess_mc, @yashar, @sdkstl, The Wrap, @kirstenpowers and @yashar
Ross Benes / Digiday:
NYT boosted average visit length to five minutes in 2017, up 35% YoY, after embedding multimedia in articles using OAK CMS and hiring 25 visual journalism staff — People aren't just subscribing to The New York Times in greater numbers; they're also spending more time on its site.
Ben Blanchard / Reuters:
Xinhua state news agency: China has closed 13K+ websites for breaking the law since 2015, suspended 10M+ telecom accounts lacking real names over last 5 years — BEIJING (Reuters) - China has closed more than 13,000 websites since the beginning of 2015 for breaking the law or other rules …
Discussion:
@greatfirechina, @fabiochiusi, xinhuanet.com and Engadget
Lucinda Southern / Digiday:
BBC's branded-content arm StoryWorks begins offering its clients data on how people react to content, gathered using face and eye tracking tech — Proving the effectiveness of branded content has been an industry fixation in 2017, BBC StoryWorks, the branded-content arm …
Alexios Mantzarlis / Poynter:
2018 predictions for fact-checking: consultants will help craft more fake news, anti-misinformation bills will fail, collaborative efforts will flourish, more — To get a sense of what the past couple of years have been like for fact-checkers, go no further than the dictionary.