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, CNNMoney, Mediaite, @petersterne, Washington Post, @ronanfarrow, RADAR, @jasonleopold, @petersterne, @passantino, New York Daily News, @rohded, @emmersbrown, @lalpert1, @michaelluo, @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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Mashable, @tedlieu, @williampeace81, @twpolk, @twpolk, @jimrutenberg, @brianstelter, 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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AOL, CBS News, 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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@tommorton, @rafat, @fidmart85, @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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@williamturton, @sophiekleeman, @artiofab, @nkulw, @kmmokai, @maxwelltani and Digiday
Daniel Boffey / The Guardian:
European Commission says it could scrap voluntary code of conduct on removal of online hate speech in favor of legislation and sanctions — Commissioner says voluntary code could be scrapped in favour of legislation and sanctions … A loss of trust in Facebook in the light …
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Chris Welch / The Verge:
First look at ESPN+, the $4.99 per month direct-to-consumer streaming service, launching today within a redesigned ESPN app on iOS and Android — Today is the debut of ESPN+, a $4.99 direct-to-consumer subscription video service that offers a little bit of MLB and NHL action with a lot …
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Variety, TechCrunch and Axios, more at Techmeme »
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.
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Bloomberg, @ceciliakang and @romoraleselcoro
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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/Film, Deadline, New York Times, Vanity Fair, IndieWire, The Guardian, The Wrap, Slate, Fortune, CNNMoney, The A.V. Club, Engadget, Fast Company, 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.
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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The Wrap, Recode, Reuters, Deadline, Los Angeles Times, New York Post, Multichannel News, CNNMoney, Business Insider, Seeking Alpha, TVWeek.com and FierceCable, more at Techmeme »
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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