Mediagazer: Christian Media Corporation, which also has ties to pastor David Jang and Olivet University, ran code identical to the Newsweek Media Group's ad fraud scheme (Craig Silverman/BuzzFeed)

11:10 AM ET, March 31, 2018

Top News:

Jordan Weissmann / Slate:

The Atlantic's Kevin Williamson hire is another instance of the media legitimizing writers with abhorrent ideas because they are Never Trumpers — In a memo to staff, editor Jeffrey Goldberg cites an affinity for “second chances” and ideological diversity in hiring the conservative troll.

Discussion: New York Times, New York Times, @jillfilipovic, The Daily Caller, @wajahatali, @wesleylowery, @dvglasgow, @jamilsmith, @jessicavalenti, @matthewamiller, @schemaly, @jayrosen_nyu, Henry Giroux and RedState

David French / National Review:

Liberals calling for firing of Atlantic's Kevin Williamson over outrageous quotes should apply same standard to left-leaning op-ed writers like Ta-Nehisi Coates — If left-leaning but not explicitly ideological publications cleanse their pages of conservative voices, the loss to American intellectual life will be immense.

Discussion: @cliffgl, @klshall, @drexrawson, @zackbeauchamp, @cherry_la, @rclu, @jackfeerick, @jessicavalenti, @artrafford and New York Times

Ralph Peters / Washington Post:

Ex-Fox News analyst says Russia-related crimes by Trump associates were dismissed, expertise on Russia was ignored, and Fox leads a “witch hunt” against Mueller — You could measure the decline of Fox News by the drop in the quality of guests waiting in the green room.

Discussion: Newser, The Hill, CNBC, @tripgabriel, @maxboot, @rbreich, @evan_mcmullin, @jayrosen_nyu, @nycsouthpaw, @miekeeoyang, @aterkel, TVNewser and Mediaite

Laura Hazard Owen / Nieman Lab:

NewsWhip data suggests that hyperpartisan sites, and even two fake news sites, are doing as well or better on Facebook as they were before News Feed changes — Data that NewsWhip pulled together for Nieman Lab suggests that popular hyperpartisan publishers are actually doing pretty well post-algorithm change.

Discussion: Nieman Lab, Fast Company, Media Bias/Fact Check, @laurahazardowen, @oliverdarcy, @mattyglesias and Politico

John Saroff / Nieman Lab:

Chartbeat: Chrome recommendations on mobile, Articles for You, is now the fourth-highest referrer to websites, growing 2100% in 2017 from 15M to 341M visits/mo — It's already driving almost as many visits as Twitter, and publishers have no idea why their stories get chosen (or don't).

Discussion: @calundmark, @jinnovationcity, @ericlbarnes, Android Police, @aodhanmcgregor and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »

New York Times:

How Trump helped National Enquirer's David Pecker meet the Saudi crown prince; Pecker's American Media recently published a 97-page glossy promoting the prince — In July, David J. Pecker, the chairman of the company that owns The National Enquirer, visited his old friend President Trump at the White House.

Discussion: Washington Post, @helenkennedy, @dankennedy_nu, New York Magazine, @justinjm1, @dylanbyers, @tripgabriel, @alexburnsnyt and Common Dreams

Karnika Kohli / The Wire:

Two Vice India editors resign over editorial interference, claim the not-yet-launched TV channel practices self-censorship to avoid offending government — New Delhi: “Is it okay to be gay (and in the far-right)?" Vice asked in a story on its British website earlier this month.

Discussion: @svaradarajan and Business Insider

Craig Silverman / BuzzFeed:

Christian Media Corporation, which also has ties to pastor David Jang and Olivet University, ran code identical to the Newsweek Media Group's ad fraud scheme — Newsweek Media Group and Christian Media Corporation both have close ties to a controversial religious leader and the university he founded.

Discussion: @craigsilverman

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Trump's crusade against Amazon has nothing to do with the post office or mom-and-pop shops and everything to do with his hatred of The Washington Post — President Trump is determined to find some way to hurt Amazon, reports Jonathan Swan. “He's obsessed with Amazon,” a source tells him.

Charles Elmore / Palm Beach Post:

GateHouse Media acquires the Palm Beach Post and Palm Beach Daily News for $49.25M, adding to its stable of more than 140 daily newspapers — One of the nation's busiest acquirers of newspapers and online media has agreed to buy The Palm Beach Post and Palm Beach Daily News in a deal announced Wednesday at $49.25 million.

Discussion: Business Wire, Gossip Extra, South Florida Business Journal, @kodacohen and Associated Press

Jeff Baumgartner / Multichannel News:

Anime-focused video streaming site Crunchyroll publishes its first mobile game, Memoria Freese, to deepen ties with audience, 90% of whom say they're gamers — Anime-focused SVOD service offers ‘Memoria Freese’ on mobile devices — Crunchyroll, Ellation's Anime-focused subscription VOD service, is branching out into games.

Discussion: Collider, TechQuila, in Anime by Crunchyroll!, VentureBeat, Forbes and Engadget

Natalie Jarvey / Hollywood Reporter:

Podcasting startup Wondery raises $5M round led by Greycroft, Lerer Hippeau Ventures, and Advancit Capital, plans to add shows and increase staff — The round was led by Greycroft, Lerer Hippeau Ventures and Shari Redstone's Advancit Capital. — Wondery, the podcasting startup behind Dirty John …

Discussion: Business Wire, Los Angeles Business Journal, RAIN News, Variety and TechCrunch

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