Top News:
ProPublica:
ProPublica retracts reporting saying Gina Haspel oversaw a “black site” while al-Qaida suspect Abu Zubaydah was waterboarded and that she mocked his suffering — On Feb. 22, 2017, ProPublica published a story that inaccurately described Gina Haspel's role in the treatment of Abu Zubaydah …
Daniel D'Addario / TIME:
Fox's Shep Smith on separating news and opinion programming, quitting if the show changes to accommodate viewers, concerns about who would replace him, and more — In a Manhattan Fox News studio on a recent Tuesday in February, Shepard Smith sits ready to begin taping his 3 p.m. newscast.
Molly McHugh / The Ringer:
Digg to shut down Digg Reader, its barebones RSS reader, on March 26 — A requiem for a haven from algorithms and trending topics — On Wednesday, Digg announced that it will be shutting down Digg Reader on March 26. The RSS reader, for me and likely many others, was a godsend after the 2013 shuttering of Google Reader.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, The Next Web, Yahoo! News, @nbj914, Android Community, @ringer, Buggy App, Associations Now, Liliputing, Beautiful Pixels and BetaNews, more at Techmeme »
Benjamin Mullin / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Univision-hired consulting firm's preliminary recommendation calls for cuts of Fusion's budget by up to 35%; Fusion has 600 staff, ~$150M annual budget — Parent company Univision has hired a consulting firm to review the entire business and recommend budget reductions
Discussion:
The Hill, Seeking Alpha and @adamweinstein
Felix Salmon / Recode:
As Reuters receives $10B over 30 years and retains editorial independence in Blackstone M&A deal, it should expand internationally and acquire digital news orgs — Reuters News just won the lottery. What will it do with all that money? — It's the biggest assignment in journalism …
Discussion:
@felixsalmon, @edmundlee, @lucas_jackson_ and Reuters
Wall Street Journal:
Preview of AT&T-Time Warner lawsuit: antitrust unit says merger would raise prices, and its chief swears AT&T CEO asked whether a CNN sale would get deal OK'ed — Next week, a federal judge will begin trying an antitrust case that has broad ramifications for media …
Discussion:
Reuters, @shalini, New York Times, @davidmwessel and @hadas_gold, more at Techmeme »
Alex Hern / The Guardian:
Facebook apologizes and says it is investigating why its search box autocomplete suggested sexual videos, child abuse content, and other strange results — Searches starting ‘video of’ returned autocomplete suggestions of sexual videos and child abuse content
Discussion:
The Wrap, @alexhern, The Verge, Newsweek, Gizmodo, Engadget, USA Today, Motherboard, Mashable and New York Magazine, more at Techmeme »
Joe Pompeo / Vanity Fair:
Naming Nancy Dubuc CEO of Vice signals both its commitment to changing its internal culture and a traditional shift from visionary founder to proven operator — A+E's Nancy Dubuc has picked hits (Duck Dynasty, Ice Road Truckers), acts like an adult, and is female—which is precisely what Vice needs right now.
Discussion:
Splinter
Wikimedia Blog:
Wikipedia survey over 14 languages shows about 35% of users are seeking a specific fact, 33% want a topic overview, and 32% want to read about a topic in depth — Wikimedia's mission is to provide educational content and to effectively disseminate it. Doing so requires understanding …
Discussion:
Nieman Lab and Fast Company
Bart Barnes / Washington Post:
Michael Getler, a Washington Post foreign correspondent, editor and ombudsman, as well as an ombudsman for PBS, dies at 82 — Michael Getler, a Washington Post foreign correspondent and editor who later led the Paris-based International Herald Tribune and served as an incisive in-house media critic …
Discussion:
New York Times, @shearm, @wesleylowery, @ruthmarcus, @normornstein, @marycjordan, @jamesfallows and @glennkesslerwp
Lucia Moses / Digiday:
BuzzFeed tests specific release times, or “universal windows”, for its episodic shows across platforms, including YouTube, Facebook, Amazon, Hulu, and Roku — BuzzFeed is experimenting with a new windowing strategy to get people to tune into its distributed series.
Robert Feder:
Layoffs hit Tronc's Chicago Tribune, the second round in five months; memo lists other changes, including content management system, redesign, and planned move — Chicago Tribune staffers bid farewell to more of their colleagues as another wave of layoffs hit the newsroom today.
Discussion:
Chicago Sun Times, @byheatherlong, @jackiekcalmes, NPR, @johnrobinson, Splinter, Denver Post, New York Post, @jcstearns and @lynnbecker