Top News:
Michael Wolff / New York Magazine:
Michael Wolff book excerpt recounts Trump's talks with media figures including Roger Ailes, who urged Trump to float rumors of a TV network, and Murdoch — One year ago: the plan to lose, and the administration's shocked first days. — Election Night: It “looked as if he had seen a ghost.”
Discussion:
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John Santucci / ABC News:
Trump lawyer Charles Harder sends Steve Bannon a letter demanding he refrain from disparaging comments about Trump and his family, claims Bannon breached NDA — Lawyers on behalf of President Donald Trump sent a letter Wednesday night to former White House Chief Strategist Stephen Bannon demanding …
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Paul Farhi / Washington Post:
Second-guessing of Michael Wolff's juicy book on the Trump White House begins, fueled by some rebuttals of Wolff's reporting in the past
Second-guessing of Michael Wolff's juicy book on the Trump White House begins, fueled by some rebuttals of Wolff's reporting in the past
Discussion:
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Dan Primack / Axios:
Sources: Spotify confidentially filed IPO documents with the SEC at the end of December; indications are the company wants to list in Q1 — Music streaming giant Spotify confidentially filed IPO documents with the SEC at the end of December, Axios has learned from multiple sources.
Discussion:
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Recode:
Sources: TPG and Dragoneer converted Spotify debt into equity at ~$10B valuation, sold it to Tencent at ~$20B, solving Spotify's $1B debt problem ahead of IPO — Big investors TPG and Dragoneer get a nice return, and Tencent gets a piece of the streaming music company. Everybody happy?
Discussion:
Axios, more at Techmeme »
Ryan Mac / BuzzFeed:
Sources: Peter Thiel still exploring creation of a conservative cable news network to compete with Fox News, with his representatives engaging Mercer family — Peter Thiel addresses the final night of the 2016 Republican National Convention at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
Discussion:
@mattwelch, @jeffjarvis, Business Insider, Mediaite, @mikeisaac and The Verge
Brian Stelter / CNNMoney:
CBS News fires political director Steve Chaggaris after investigation into allegations of inappropriate behavior — CBS News said Wednesday that it has fired its political director, Steve Chaggaris, amid allegations of “inappropriate behavior” in his past. — Chaggaris was a longtime CBS News employee.
Jason Schreier / Kotaku:
Editor-in-chief of gaming website IGN, Steve Butts, has been fired after an investigation into workplace misconduct, general manager says — The massive gaming website IGN has fired its editor-in-chief, Steve Butts, after an investigation into alleged workplace misconduct, the company said today.
Discussion:
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Greg Dool / Folio:
Time Inc. sells Essence magazine to group of investors led by Shea Moisture founder Richelieu Dennis; Michelle Ebanks will remain president and get equity stake — Time Inc. has officially sold Essence—the magazine as well as its website and events business—to a group of investors led …
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Emily Smith / Page Six:
Sources: Today Show co-anchor Hoda Kotb is earning $18M less than her predecessor Matt Lauer, with a $7M/year deal, underlining huge wage disparity at NBC News — Hoda Kotb made history by officially landing Matt Lauer's former “Today” show job — but she is still being paid around $18 million less per year …
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Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
The New York Times, constantly under attack from all quarters, often resorts to “both-sides” reporting that fails to properly challenge those with power — When most newspapers get a new publisher, few people know or care. It gets a shrug, except by those directly affected.
Discussion:
@sulliview, @dankennedy_nu, @agrenell, @amy_siskind, @jayrosen_nyu, @orskov, @kvox, @ericnagourney, @rtraister, @moorehn, @mariaramirezny, @moorehn, @dangillmor, @jimrutenberg and @markberman
Todd Spangler / Variety:
A&E Networks signs deal with Verizon's Oath to make some of its programming available to stream for free on Yahoo and AOL — Telco also gets exclusive window on original digital content from A+E's 45th & Dean studio — Episodes of History's “Vikings,” Lifetime's “Project Runway” …
Tanya Dua / Business Insider:
JPMorgan Chase created internal tool to select “safe” YouTube channels for its ads; algorithm culled list of channels where its ads can appear from 5M to 3K — - JPMorgan Chase has created an internal tool to make sure its ads don't end up next to unsavory content on YouTube.