Top News:
Joe Pompeo / Vanity Fair:
NYT editorial-page editor James Bennet defends op-ed page controversy, saying it publishes a variety of voices; newsroom sources voice concern and embarrassment — A yoga-pants refusenik, a climate science skeptic, and a tech writer with a neo-Nazi pal, among other offenders, have put James Bennet in the crosshairs.
Discussion:
HuffPost, @blakehounshell, @mathewi, @page88, @xeni, @gregmitch, @morlockp, Splinter, @glennf, @maxboot, @rickyrawls, @vanityfair, @corgizhukov, @awinston, @paleofuture, @jonathanchait, @jbenton, @jayrosen_nyu, @tomscocca, @jackshafer, @rbryant2012, @joepompeo, @joepompeo, @sulliview, @willsommer, @onesarahjones, @davidklion and @jackmirkinson
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Ashley Feinberg / HuffPost:
Transcript of a Q&A with the New York Times' Editorial Page Editor James Bennet which happened during a meeting with NYT staffers in December — “The world needs this from us right now.” … James Bennet: So the op-ed page was created to do a bunch of different things.
Mark Sweney / The Guardian:
Comcast offers about £22B for Sky, a 16% premium on the offer from Murdoch's 21st Century Fox — US cable TV group outbids 21st Century Fox's existing offer for broadcasting group … Comcast is attempting to gatecrash Rupert Murdoch's takeover of Sky, submitting a rival offer …
Discussion:
Variety, Press Gazette, InvestEgate, Broadcasting & Cable, Fortune, MarketWatch, Variety, Wall Street Journal, The Wrap, Bloomberg, TheStreet, Telegraph, The Guardian, Seeking Alpha, Reuters and @financialtimes
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Facebook to announce launch of the Local News Subscriptions Accelerator, a $3M three-month pilot program to help metro papers boost digital subscription efforts — Facebook Journalism Project will announce today the launch of its Local News Subscriptions Accelerator, a $3 million …
Discussion:
@thewilderthings and @nathanbomey
Tamara Mathias / Reuters:
Liberty Media offers $1.16B for a 40% stake in restructured iHeartMedia and will finance working capital if iHeart files bankruptcy according to term sheet — (Reuters) - Certain lenders and noteholders of iHeartMediaInc (IHRT.PK) on Monday said John Malone's Liberty Media Corp (FWONA.O) …
Discussion:
Variety, New York Post, Hits Daily Double, Wall Street Journal, Radio Ink, Seeking Alpha, Media Star and @patricialclark
Sara Fischer / Axios:
The News Media Alliance is setting up a political action committee, which will reward members of Congress who help the newspaper industry meet its goals — The newspaper industry is working with Facebook to launch a new project to help local newspapers beef up their digital subscription efforts, Axios has learned.
Kelly Weill / The Daily Beast:
Neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen Division continues to have a YouTube presence despite being implicated in five murders; YouTube says a warning label is sufficient — While social media platforms like Twitter crack down on abuse from alt-right accounts, YouTube is defending hosting propaganda videos …
Discussion:
@anthony, @cwarzel, HuffPost and Motherboard
Leanna Garfield / Business Insider:
Petition by father of Parkland shooting survivor calling on Amazon to drop NRAtv has nearly reached its 200K goal, at which point it would be sent to Jeff Bezos — - A mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School has ignited a wave of protests against the National Rifle Association (NRA).
Discussion:
The Hill
Brian Stelter / CNNMoney:
The New York Times is in talks with streaming services and cable channels about launching a weekly ~30-minute TV show — The New York Times has conquered the podcasting world with “The Daily.” Now it wants to crack television with a weekly news program. — The Times is seeking …
Discussion:
Deadline and Hollywood Reporter
Greg Dool / Folio:
Fast Company names Vanity Fair deputy editor Stephanie Mehta as editor-in-chief — Mansueto Ventures has tapped Vanity Fair deputy editor Stephanie Mehta as the next editor-in-chief of Fast Company, CEO Eric Schurenberg announced today. — The announcement comes two months after Robert Safian …
Discussion:
@moorehn
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
One-time Flickr rival 500px acquired by Visual China Group, the “Getty of China”, which had been one of its strategic investors — 500px, the photo-sharing site that once proposed to take on Flickr and Getty, has been acquired by Visual China Group (VCG), a strategic investor in 500px via previous financings.
Discussion:
PetaPixel, Tech Startups, BetaKit, PR Newswire and Android Police, more at Techmeme »
Daniel Boffey / The Guardian:
Ján Kuciak, a journalist who was investigating tax fraud by a businessman linked to Slovakia's ruling party, found shot dead alongside his girlfriend — Police chief says murder of reporter and his girlfriend is probably linked to his work … A journalist investigating alleged tax …
Discussion:
DW.COM, @jaspjackson, Committee to Protect …, Daily Mail, The Independent, Newsweek, Politico, BBC, Washington Post, CNN, The Slovak Spectator, Bloomberg, AOL, Financial Times, BuzzFeed and Associated Press