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 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 …
Discussion:
Washington Post, @newday, @tahoesquaw1, Mashable, @tedlieu, @williampeace81, @twpolk, @twpolk, @jimrutenberg, @brianstelter, The Wrap and Mediaite
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
Discussion:
Mediaite, AOL, CBS News, Washington Post, The Daily Beast, Susan Solomon, The Wrap, @selectedwisdom, @sfpelosi, @kyledcheney, @renato_mariotti, @vermontgmg, CNN, Business Insider, CNN, @nycsouthpaw, @kaitlancollins and HuffPost
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.
Discussion:
Politico, @tommorton, @rafat, @fidmart85, @johngary, @benmullin, @barry, @heyveronica, @toomuchme, @joepompeo and @joepompeo
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Sydney Ember / New York Times:
A Colorado civic group, Together For Colorado Springs, is leading an effort to buy The Denver Post, owned by Alden Global Capital, with $10M pledged so far — A Colorado civic group is spearheading an effort to buy The Denver Post, which on Sunday excoriated its owner, a New York hedge fund …
Discussion:
@chaseneil, Mercury News, Columbia Journalism Review, @rcfp, @jcstearns, @jimbrady, @mgafni, @mattdpearce, @coreyhutchins, @usprojectcjr and @coreyhutchins
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.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, @ceciliakang and @romoraleselcoro
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 …
Discussion:
Variety, Variety, TechCrunch, GeekWire, Recode and Axios, more at Techmeme »
Sahil Patel / Digiday:
Sources: Snap is testing a feature with some publishers that lets them sell products in the Snap Store Discover channel, alongside Snap's own products — Snap has been stepping up efforts to curry favor with publishers, especially as publishers continue to feel the impact of Facebook's news feed changes.
Discussion:
New York Magazine, @digiday, @creativenerdsuk and 9to5Mac, more at Techmeme »
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 …
Bloomberg:
Spotify acquires music licensing company Loudr, which helps track and pay royalties to music publishers as Congress weighs simplifying the royalty system — Spotify is buying rights company Loudr in a move to beef up its ability to track and pay royalties to music publishers amid attempts …
Discussion:
TechCrunch and newsroom.spotify.com, more at Techmeme »
Laura Hazard Owen / Nieman Lab:
ProPublica investigative journalist Julia Angwin and data scientist Jeff Larson are leaving to launch a newsroom covering tech's impact on society — “I've long wanted to build a newsroom around this concept of pairing technical experts with journalists. So that is what this newsroom will be about."
Discussion:
@laurahazardowen, @ndiakopoulos, @palewire and @zararah
L.A. Times Guild:
Guild analysis of newsroom salary data at the LA Times shows Tronc has underpaid journalists of color and women at the paper by an average of $14K+ a year — Tronc has underpaid women and journalists of color by thousands of dollars a year at the Los Angeles Times, suggesting systemic salary gaps …
Discussion:
@mattdpearce, @jaweedkaleem, @jaweedkaleem, Bethany Mollenkof and LA Observed
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