Mediagazer: As the fourth-largest US bookstore chain, Book World, closes and Barnes & Noble remains the top chain, Amazon is set to take the No. 4 spot by number of outlets (David Streitfeld/New York Times)

Top News:

Network of 300 prominent Hollywood women, including Shonda Rhimes, launch initiative to tackle sexual harassment in Hollywood and blue collar workplaces — Driven by outrage and a resolve to correct a power imbalance that seemed intractable just months ago, 300 prominent actresses and female agents …

Erik Wemple / Washington Post:

NYT's Baquet responds to criticism over 2016 story that said the FBI saw no clear link between Trump and Russia, saying they would cast story differently now — It was a week before the 2016 presidential election that the New York Times wrote this headline: “Investigating Donald Trump, F.B.I. Sees No Clear Link to Russia.”

Discussion: New York Times, @talkingnewmedia, @mlcalderone, @mlcalderone, The Guardian, The A.V. Club, Mother Jones, Business Insider, New York Magazine, Mediaite and Axios

Ben Kentish / The Independent:

Iran blocks access to Instagram and Telegram apps amid anti-government protests — Authorities respond after demonstrations leave at least two dead — Live: New Year's Eve celebrations kick off around the world — Coutinho move from Liverpool to Barca accidentally confirmed by Nike

Discussion: Washington Post, @durov, english.alarabiya.net, The Hill, The Daily Caller, Fortune, New York Times, Mashable, CNN, Reuters, NPR, The Guardian, Mediaite, AOL, Business Insider and Engadget, more at Techmeme »

Theodore Schleifer / Recode:

Telegram, citing ToS, suspends public channel that incited violent anti-government protests in Iran; Telegram is a major platform with ~40M users in Iran — “There are lines one shouldn't cross,” says the CEO of the popular messaging app. — The executives of Telegram …

Discussion: New York Times, @azarijahromi, @durov, @durov, @twittermoments, Twitter, @snowden, @snowden, Axios and @mosharrafzaidi, more at Techmeme »

BBC:

Germany starts enforcing law under which social networks will face fines of up to €50M if they fail to remove hate speech, fake news, and illegal material — Germany is set to start enforcing a law that demands social media sites move quickly to remove hate speech, fake news and illegal material.

Discussion: Yahoo! Finance, Newsweek, Engadget, @jeffjarvis and @neilclark66

Craig Silverman / BuzzFeed:

BuzzFeed News' Media Editor Craig Silverman helped popularize the term “fake news” and watched as it became politicized by Trump and the alt right — After a yearlong battle for its meaning and ownership, “fake news” is now both an empty slogan and a deeply troubling warning sign.

Discussion: @buzzfeednews, @craigsilverman, @moorehn, @craigsilverman, @jayrosen_nyu, @lwvmiamidade, @craigsilverman and @jason_kint

Alex Hern / The Guardian:

Damian Collins, the chair of the UK's fake news inquiry, has given Facebook and Twitter until Jan. 18 to hand over info about Russian disinformation campaigns — Chair of parliamentary committee gives firms a deadline to hand over information about Russian misinformation campaigns

Discussion: @thattimwalker, @ericgarland and Press Association, more at Techmeme »

Megan Specia / New York Times:

Facebook says it removed Chechnya's Ramzan Kadyrov's accounts due to US sanctions, prompting questions on why others, like Venezuela's Maduro, are still active — The strongman leader of the Chechen Republic has long been a prolific social media user, filling his accounts with photos …

Discussion: The Intercept, @matthewstoller, @nytimesworld, @nytimesworld and Forbes

Mary Ann Georgantopoulos / BuzzFeed:

Book editor says Jann Wenner sexually assaulted him, then gave him Rolling Stone job in '83 and fired him in '85 after editor didn't sustain sexual relationship — Jonathan Wells says it took years for him to fully process what happened between him and the publisher.

Discussion: @mattmittenthal, AOL, The FADER, The A.V. Club, thecut, Consequence of Sound and The Wrap

Zachary M. Seward / Quartz:

Snap blocked public snaps from area around its New Years Eve party in LA, reported to have cost $4M, but some posted to Instagram, including performer Drake — Snap marked the end of its first year as a public company with a huge New Year's Eve party for its employees and other guests.

Discussion: Business Insider

David Streitfeld / New York Times:

As the fourth-largest US bookstore chain, Book World, closes and Barnes & Noble remains the top chain, Amazon is set to take the No. 4 spot by number of outlets — APPLETON, Wis. — This fall, at a moment when retailers traditionally look forward to reaping holiday profits …

Melody Kramer / Poynter:

A look at good explanatory Twitter threads for journalism, based on interviews with Byard Duncan of Reveal and Eric Umansky and Terry Parris Jr. of ProPublica — Throughout the year, I've been collecting tweetstorms from journalists and news organizations explaining how they do what they do.

Discussion: @mkramer