Top News:
Associated Press:
Sources: National Enquirer owner paid former Trump doorman $30K for rumor that Trump had illegitimate child; contract had $1M fine if rumor disclosed elsewhere — NEW YORK (AP) — Eight months before the company that owns the National Enquirer paid $150,000 to a former Playboy Playmate …
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New Yorker, Mediaite, @ronanfarrow, New York Daily News, @jasonleopold, @petersterne, @passantino, RADAR, @rohded, @emmersbrown, @lalpert1, @michaelluo, @petersterne, @rohded, @yashar and New York Times
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New York Times:
Probe of Trump's lawyer examines ties with David Pecker, head of American Media Inc., and raises questions about First Amendment and company's political role — President Trump has long had ties to the nation's major media players. But his connections with the country's largest tabloid publisher …
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@tedlieu, @twpolk, @brianstelter, @jimrutenberg, @williampeace81, @twpolk, Mediaite and Washington Post
New York Times:
Sources: warrant for Trump lawyer sought records about Access Hollywood tape and role of National Enquirer publisher in silencing women who claim Trump affairs — The F.B.I. agents who raided the office and hotel of President Trump's lawyer on Monday were seeking all records related to the …
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CBS News, AOL, Mediaite, The Daily Beast, Washington Post, Susan Solomon, The Wrap, @selectedwisdom, @sfpelosi, @kyledcheney, @renato_mariotti, @vermontgmg, CNN, Business Insider, CNN, @nycsouthpaw, @kaitlancollins, HuffPost and Vox
Joe Pompeo / Vanity Fair:
As executives leave Univision's Fusion Media Group, staffers worry about looming budget cuts and possibly new owners — Two years after its splashy acquisition of the former Gawker sites, Isaac Lee's Fusion Media Group is careening into a new era of belt-tightening and downsizing.
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@fidmart85, @rafat, @tommorton, @johngary, @benmullin, @barry, @heyveronica, @toomuchme, @joepompeo and @joepompeo
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Maxwell Tani / The Daily Beast:
On Tuesday, Gizmodo Media Group staff had heated 90-minute meeting with Univision's Head of Digital Media Sameer Deen who disclosed that Fusion isn't profitable — Univision's head of digital media received a frosty welcome during his first meeting with Gizmodo Media Group …
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Digiday
Ramin Setoodeh / Variety:
Ted Sarandos says Netflix won't screen its movies at Cannes Film Festival following rule that bans films without French theater distribution from prizes — Ted Sarandos says Netflix won't be going to Cannes this year. — In an exclusive interview with Variety, Netflix's chief content officer …
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Deadline, The Wrap, The Guardian, Slate, The Guardian, Fortune, Vanity Fair, CNNMoney, The A.V. Club, IndieWire, Engadget, Fast Company, /Film, Business Insider, Variety, EW.com, Vulture, Deadline, Vanity Fair, The Wrap and The Verge
Paul Sandle / Reuters:
The UK's takeover regulator has ruled that Disney must make an offer to buy Sky in its entirety if its acquisition of 21st Century Fox succeeds — LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's takeover regulator ruled on Thursday that Walt Disney (DIS.N) must make an offer for the whole of Sky if it succeeds …
Adi Robertson / The Verge:
Amid privacy questions, multiple Republican lawmakers have alleged Facebook has an anti-conservative bias, asking about two “censored” pro-Trump vloggers — Mark Zuckerberg is facing a lot of questions about Facebook's policies, most of which involve handling user data.
CNNMoney:
The government's star witness in its AT&T lawsuit, economist Carl Shapiro, took the stand on Weds to argue that AT&T-Time Warner deal would be bad for consumers — The government's star witness in its suit to stop AT&T's proposed purchase of Time Warner took the stand in a marathon court session Wednesday.
CNBC:
Sources: Shari Redstone is likely to replace CBS CEO Les Moonves and the company's board if proposed merger deal with Viacom falls through — - Shari Redstone is likely to replace CBS chief Les Moonves if no merger deal is reached with Viacom, sources tell CNBC.
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Reuters, Recode, The Wrap, Deadline, Los Angeles Times, New York Post, Multichannel News, CNNMoney, Business Insider, Seeking Alpha, TVWeek.com and FierceCable
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Davey Alba / BuzzFeed:
Answering lawmakers, Zuckerberg repeatedly relied on the promise of AI to weed out undesirable content, a defense that lets Facebook avoid responsibility — Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies in a Senate Judiciary and Commerce committees joint hearing regarding the company's use and protection of user data.
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Crain's Cleveland Business:
GateHouse Media has acquired the Akron Beacon Journal and its website, Ohio.com, from Black Press Group for $16M; Black Press paid $165M for the paper in 2006 — GateHouse Media has purchased the Akron Beacon Journal and its website, Ohio.com, from Black Press Group Ltd. for $16 million …
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WKYC-TV, Chronicle-Telegram Headlines, @stephenodyer and Columbus Business Journal
Tamar Harris / Toronto Star:
Canadian Journalists for Free Expression revises communications policy to add more oversight after it scrubbed a statement condemning force by Israel in Gaza — Canadian Journalists for Free Expression on Wednesday said it will amend its communications policy after it scrubbed a statement condemning the …
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@ggreenwald, CANADALAND, Kevin Metcalf and @trevortimm