Mediagazer: Xinhua News Agency rebuilds newsroom around AI, introduces “Media Brain”, a platform integrating cloud computing, Internet of Things, and AI in news production (Christine Schmidt/Nieman Lab)

11:20 AM ET, January 12, 2018

Top News:

Zuckerberg says News Feed will focus on what friends share, de-emphasize content from publishers and brands as it moves to favor interactions over passive posts — SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook introduced sweeping changes to the kinds of posts, videos and photos that its more than two billion members …

Discussion: Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, Musings of Modern Day Nomads, Nieman Lab, The Guardian, Digiday, One Man & His Blog, One Man & His Blog, Whither news?, Financial Times, Fast Company, @craigsilverman, Adweek, New York Magazine, Business Insider, Vanity Fair, Bloomberg, Gizmodo, Hollywood Life, Variety, @jbenton, The Daily Caller, Bustle, Mashable, the Econsultancy blog, USA Today, Recode, @dskok, Ad Age, The Verge, @kantrowitz, TechCrunch, BetaNews, FOX59, @sarthakgh, The Next Web, MediaNama, VentureBeat, @jonrussell, @ia, @rasmus_kleis, Forbes, Fortune, BuzzFeed, Press Gazette, France 24, @lookner, CNNMoney, Engadget, MacRumors, TIME, @lukeoneil47, @jgrovum, @mattgarrahan, @mathewi, Chris Cox, @caseynewton, @perlberg, @paul_shetler, @w7voa, @juddlegum, @sanasaeed, @oldrowswig, @lukeoneil47, @hannahkuchler, @zeynep, @247ls, @bendreyfuss, 9to5Mac, @craigsilverman, Peter O'Kelly's Reality Check and WebProNews, more at Techmeme »

Lucia Moses / Digiday:

Publishers briefed on News Feed changes say Facebook told them reputable publishers will also be surfaced, though term was undefined, traffic impact was unclear — The end is nigh. Facebook is planning a major change to its news feed, starting as early as next week, that will decisively favor user content …

Jason Koebler / Motherboard:

Facebook's News Feed changes liberate the media industry from Facebook's whims; journalism engineered for an algorithm is not journalism, it's marketing — Thursday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told the New York Times that the social network will revamp its news feed to emphasize “meaningful interaction” between friends and family.

Discussion: @craigsilverman, The Atlantic, New York Times, @gisellalomax, @adriennelaf, @jamesgleick, @jason_koebler, Polis, Peter O'Kelly's Reality Check and Business Insider, more at Techmeme »

Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:

How news outlets handled the decision to repeat President Trump's “shithole” comment, and why some editors decided readers needed to see the word — Lester Holt opened the “NBC Nightly News” on Thursday with a parental warning: “This may not be appropriate for some of our younger viewers.”

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Washingtonian, NBC News, @pittsburghpg, @nyt_first_said, The Daily Beast, @scottdetrow, New York Daily News, @nydailynews, The Wrap, The Guardian, Washington Post, Vox, The Wrap, New York Magazine, Columbia Journalism Review, Poynter, Wonkette, Bustle, The Daily Caller, ThinkProgress, Vanity Fair, Reuters, CNN, TVLine, Mother Jones, KTLA, Splinter, Miami New Times, CNBC, Business Insider, @marycaitlinbyrd, @davidaxelrod, UPROXX, The Week, @dinahvp, @annafifield, @abeaujon, @palafo, @bbcjamescook, @grynbaum, @sarah_k_brooks, @davidfolkenflik, @nyteileen, The A.V. Club, @samjcharles, Variety, The Daily Beast, @alexhousethomas, @edatpost, @marycaitlinbyrd, @sulliview, @steventdennis, Mashable, Jarrod Marozzi, Guenet Gittens-Roberts, Charles Apple, @bgrueskin, @lpolgreen, Charles Gasparino, @doylealbee, @farhip, TIME, Hollywood Life, Chris Riemenschneider, France 24, Gabriella CF, Polygon, NBC4 Washington, Mediaite, Washington Monthly, NPR and WGN-TV

Rebecca Sun / Hollywood Reporter:

Teen Vogue EIC Elaine Welteroth, who expanded the brand to cover politics, feminism, and more, is leaving the magazine and has signed with talent agency CAA — She announced her departure in an internal email to staff on Thursday. — Teen Vogue editor-in-chief Elaine Welteroth is leaving the magazine …

Discussion: Fashionista, Mediawire, @fashionista_com, Jezebel, thecut, The Drum and Folio

Oliver Darcy / CNNMoney:

Sources: Breitbart CEO Larry Solov and Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow say they won't immediately name a Bannon replacement or make other staff changes — Steve Bannon is out at Breitbart — It's difficult to imagine Breitbart without Steve Bannon. — Bannon had headed the far-right website since 2012 …

Discussion: Vanity Fair, The Daily Beast, @chick_in_kiev, The New York Observer, Wonkette, @jilldlawrence, @cherijacobus, Mediaite, USA Today, Washington Monthly, Politico, The Daily Caller, @dangillmor, @oliverdarcy, @oliverdarcy and Washington Examiner

Robert Mackey / The Intercept:

A group of Dutch journalists collectively pressed the new US ambassador about a false claim he made, in contrast to how US outlets handle Trump's false claims — White House correspondents who routinely allow the president of the United States to repeat false claims unchallenged should study …

Discussion: NPR, Washington Post, New York Times, Mediaite, Wonkette, @alexandernl, @shabanamir1, @jayrosen_nyu, @robertmackey, @theintercept, @scottros and The Week

Kara Swisher / Recode:

Recode partners with MSNBC for town halls about tech's impact, hosted by Kara Swisher, Ari Melber, airing on cable and online; 1st features Google, YouTube CEOs — First up to be interviewed: Google's Sundar Pichai and YouTube's Susan Wojcicki. — Yes, I am about to become an anchor monster.

Discussion: Vox Media, MSNBC, Wired, @jess and Peter O'Kelly's Reality Check, more at Techmeme »

Marisa Guthrie / Hollywood Reporter:

Ronan Farrow finalizes three-year deal with HBO to develop and front a series of investigative documentary specials and produce other pieces — Farrow will develop and front a series of investigative documentaries for the network. — Ronan Farrow has finalized a three-year deal with HBO, the network confirmed Thursday.

Discussion: Variety, Splinter, The New York Observer, The A.V. Club, Broadcasting & Cable, TVNewser and New York Times

Tom Kludt / CNNMoney:

Sources: Washington Post reporter Janell Ross, who spoke at a liberal conference last year, has been put on leave and is unlikely to return — A Washington Post reporter who came under fire late last year for participating in a liberal conference has been put on leave by the newspaper, CNN has learned.

Discussion: @donmoyn and The Daily Caller

Mark Bergen / Bloomberg:

Sources: Google to vet videos in the Google Preferred ad program with human moderators and AI, after concerns from marketers over videos including Logan Paul's — Google is planning a new push to vet top-tier YouTube videos that it bundles for major advertisers, people familiar with the effort said …

Discussion: Engadget, Beyond Search, Recode, New York Magazine, Polygon, The Verge, @daiwaka, @lmatsakis, Polygon and The Daily Beast, more at Techmeme »

Jessica DiNapoli / Reuters:

Sources: Peter Thiel joins other bidders in making an offer in bankruptcy court for Gawker's remaining assets, including domains and 200K+ articles — NEW YORK (Reuters) - Venture capitalist Peter Thiel has made an offer for Gawker, hoping to overcome legal hurdles and rival bidders …

Discussion: Recode, @jyarvin, UPROXX, New York Magazine, The Daily Caller, @nktpnd, @clarajeffery, Mashable, @ggreenwald and @ingridlunden, more at Techmeme »

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More News:

Terry Flores / Variety:
Profile of Roku and its founder Anthony Wood, looking at the company's early days, how Roku plans to compete with its rivals, and more

Discussion: @adamnash, more at Techmeme »

Helena Horton / Telegraph:
BBC lets John Humphrys keep presenting on equal pay despite Humphrys being accused of mocking Carrie Gracie's equal pay stand in breach of impartiality rules

Discussion: The Sun, The Times & The Sunday Times, The Guardian, Mashable, @claire_phipps, Press Gazette, @markdistef, @horton_official and @horton_official

Christine Schmidt / Nieman Lab:
Chicago's City Bureau trains and pays Documenters to take notes at public meetings, given absence of journalistic coverage, and is expanding to Detroit

Discussion: @niemanlab and @laurenhorsch

Christine Schmidt / Nieman Lab:
Xinhua News Agency rebuilds newsroom around AI, introduces “Media Brain”, a platform integrating cloud computing, Internet of Things, and AI in news production

Earlier Picks:

Pew Research Center:
Pew study of 38 countries shows US with the largest partisan gap on whether people see news media as covering political issues fairly, at 34 percentage points

Discussion: Poynter and Nieman Lab

Max Willens / Digiday:
Quartz to offer five short-run newsletters tied to major events like SXSW, says short-term nature and narrow scope lead to higher than average open rates

Joshua Oliver / Columbia Journalism Review:
Study of 32 journalism schools in US and Canada finds only half offer cybersecurity training, and less than a quarter make it mandatory

Discussion: @nickheynen and @bkcharvard

Maxwell Tani / Business Insider:
Vox Media voluntarily recognizes employee editorial union after almost two months of meetings with representatives from Writers Guild of America East

Discussion: The Daily Caller, @greenhousenyt, The Wrap and Splinter

From Techmeme:

Emma Roth / The Verge:
Mark Zuckerberg says Threads is testing custom feeds for certain profiles or topics; the Threads' version seems easier to use than Bluesky's custom feeds

Financial Times:
Sources: xAI raised $5B at a $45B valuation, almost double its valuation a few months ago; SpaceX prepares a tender offer that would value the company at $250B+

Jibin Joseph / PCMag:
UK mobile operator Virgin Media O2 creates Daisy, an AI-generated “scambaiter” tool that mimics the voice of an elderly woman to waste scammers' time

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