Mediagazer: Sources: Viacom rejected a below-market bid from CBS for the company but is now working on a counter-offer (CNBC)

4:50 PM ET, April 4, 2018

Top News:

Michelle Broder Van Dyke / BuzzFeed:

YouTube shooter Nasim Aghdam had denounced the platform for age-restricting and demonetizing her videos; her father warned police she might visit YouTube HQ — The woman posted frequently on the video sharing platform about animal cruelty, vegan recipes, and said she believed YouTube was discriminating against her.

Casey Newton / The Verge:

Police say one woman, now dead from self-inflicted gunshot wound, shot three others at YouTube's headquarters in San Bruno, one of whom is in serious condition — San Bruno received multiple 911 calls from headquarters, report says — At least four people were shot at YouTube's headquarters …

Discussion: KGTV-TV, The Wrap, Ad Age, TechCrunch, Mediaite, @jeffbezos, BuzzFeed, thecut, USA Today, Axios, AOL, The Hill, The Daily Beast, Rolling Stone, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, KTLA, Polygon, MovieWeb News, SlashGear, ABC News, Slate, BGR, The Week, @satyanadella, Crikey, Business Insider, Yourstory.com, Jezebel, Fortune, @sundarpichai, @google_comms, @lavrusik, Hollywood Reporter, VideoInk, KRON, New York Times, @realdonaldtrump, CBS Los Angeles, @jack, CBS News, Hit & Run, Associated Press, Deadline, CNN, @lavrusik, CNET, Silence is Consent, @google_comms, @johnlegere, Mashable, @jack, New York Times, The Daily Caller, @tdd, The Daily Beast, CBS News, @buzzfeednews, Hollywood Reporter, CNBC, KTVU-TV, The Daily Beast, Recode, USA Today, TechCrunch, Washington Post, io9, @cwarzel, @w7voa, The Guardian, ABC News, Mother Jones, Politico, CBS San Francisco, gameinformer.com, Tubefilter, TVNewser, ThinkProgress, KRON, The FADER, TIME, Refinery29, CBS New York, The Next Web, @techcrunch, @fbisanfrancisco, PAPER, GeekWire, Vanity Fair, The Wrap, 9to5Google, @recode, @fbe, Business Insider, WGN-TV, Engadget, Fast Company, New York Magazine, @lavrusik, The Drum, Variety and Motherboard, more at Techmeme »

Russell Brandom / The Verge:
Twitter account of YouTube product manager Vadim Lavrusik was hacked and shared fake news during YouTube HQ shooting; Twitter deleted hoax tweets from account

Discussion: The New York Observer, @sdkstl, AOL, @janelytv, @twittersafety, @allonsykraken, @lavrusik, @scottbix, @bruce_arthur, @maitlis, @imraansiddiqi, @lavrusik and @sdkstl, more at Techmeme »

Brian Stelter / CNNMoney:

A Sinclair TV producer at KHGI in Nebraska, Justin Simmons, resigned March 26 in protest of what he calls the company's “obvious bias” — Ex-Sinclair news director: We had must-run pieces — A morning TV producer at a Sinclair-owned station in Nebraska has resigned in protest …

Discussion: Slate, Variety, @justinsimmonsne, Mediaite, @mlcalderone, @mattdpearce, ThinkProgress, AOL, The Daily Beast, Bloomberg and @gerryfsmith

Joe Pompeo / Vanity Fair:

In Trump era, NYT's newsroom is divided with tensions brewing between older and younger staff as Managing Ed says journalism is not about “creating safe spaces” — Catalyzed by the Trump presidency, roiled by flash points like Glenn Thrush, Bret Stephens, and Bari Weiss …

Discussion: Media Nation, @moorehn, @rafat, @fawfulfan, @primetimeprguy, @maelvallejo, @alicesperi, @hunterdk, @mattdpearce, @brianstelter, @sulliview, @matt_pressman and New York Times

CNBC:

Sources: Viacom rejected a below-market bid from CBS for the company but is now working on a counter-offer — A below-market bid for Viacom by CBS was immediately rejected, sources familiar with the situation said Wednesday. — Viacom will now propose a counteroffer to CBS.

Discussion: Multichannel News, Deadline, Multichannel News and Broadcasting & Cable

Tom Kludt / CNNMoney:

Judge denies Bill O'Reilly's motion to keep settlements with accusers sealed; deal with Andrea Mackris could have forced her to lie even under oath — Fox gave O'Reilly contract after $32 million settlement — A federal judge in New York has denied Bill O'Reilly's motion to seal settlement agreements …

Discussion: Washington Post, @nycsouthpaw, The Daily Beast, @mmasnick, ThinkProgress, @erikwemple, @erikwemple, @jonswaine, @tomkludt and @tomkludt

Kurt Wagner / Recode:

Facebook now says Cambridge Analytica may have collected information on as many as 87M people, mostly in US; original reports pegged the number closer to 50M — You can find out on Monday, April 9, if you were one of them. — Cambridge Analytica may have had data from more unwitting Facebook users than originally thought.

Discussion: Facebook, Facebook, Adweek, Mediaite, The Wrap, Fast Company, TechCrunch, Variety, New York Times, New York Magazine, Slate, @caseynewton, The Verge, @sarahfrier, @juliawaldow, @kurtwagner8 and @alexeheath, more at Techmeme »

Tony Romm / Washington Post:
Mark Zuckerberg to testify before House Energy and Commerce Committee on April 11, first of three potential hearings in Congress, about Facebook's data privacy

Discussion: Energy and Commerce Committee, Mediaite, Mediaite, TechCrunch, Mother Jones, Ad Age, Marketing Land and BGR, more at Techmeme »

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

Researchers at Ohio State University find fake news probably played a significant role in depressing Hillary Clinton's support on Election Day — President Trump has said repeatedly that Russian interference didn't matter in the 2016 election, and he has suggested — wrongly …

Discussion: The Daily Caller

PR Newswire:

Comcast, Charter, and Cox announce new division of their jointly owned NCC Media to sell ads through linear TV and VOD using data to target specific audiences — The new division within NCC Media will help advertisers reach audiences nationwide with innovative technologies that deliver precision, consistency and accountability.

Discussion: Axios

Fast Company:

An in-depth look at how Twitter is scrambling to combat abuse on its platform, after initially being blinded to safety concerns by its zeal for free speech — Yair Rosenberg wanted to troll the trolls. — Rosenberg, a senior writer for Jewish-focused news-and-culture website Tablet Magazine …

Discussion: @brendannyhan and @fastcompany

Ruchi Kumar / Nieman Lab:

Profile of Business DNA, a new English-language financial mag focused on growing industries in Afghanistan, hoping to foster local entrepreneurship, investment — Business DNA aims for a success that will show “the Afghan private sector has the ability to operate independently …

Discussion: The Diplomat

Wall Street Journal:

Sources: WPP board is looking into allegations of misuse of company assets and improper personal behavior by Chief Executive Martin Sorrell — Questions come as advertising giant is facing cost-cutting pressures from clients and stepped-up competition from Google, Facebook

Discussion: Adweek, Wall Street Journal, Ad Age, Adweek, NPR, The Drum, Politico, Financial Times, Business Insider, Fortune, The Week, Washington Post, Mumbrella, Mumbrella Asia, AdExchanger, Ad Age, CNBC and Adweek

Audra Schroeder / The Daily Dot:

Former contributors and producers at Channel Awesome, a YouTube channel, allege sexual misconduct, harassment, verbal abuse, and more against management — Former contributors and producers of YouTube's Channel Awesome have alleged misconduct and ineptitude against its management …