Mediagazer: FBI is offering up to $1M for information leading to Austin Tice, a journalist who disappeared in Syria in 2012 (Associated Press)

8:55 AM ET, April 20, 2018

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Josh Gerstein / Politico:

Michael Cohen drops libel lawsuits against BuzzFeed and Fusion GPS over publication of Steele dossier, which alleges he met with Russian operatives for Trump — Embattled attorney Michael Cohen has dropped a pair of much-touted libel suits against BuzzFeed and the private investigation firm Fusion GPS …

CNNMoney:

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CNNMoney:

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CNNMoney:
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CNNMoney:
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Pew Research Center:

Pew: 58% in US prefer to protect the freedom to publish rather than letting government restrict false info; 56% favor tech firms restricting false information — But 56% support steps from technology companies, even if it means some limits on publishing and accessing information

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Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Cheddar and Hulu make a deal to bring Cheddar's live linear content to Hulu Live TV, with daily news briefs and other content coming to Hulu on-demand — Cheddar isn't done making deals with the over-the-top streaming TV providers. Only yesterday, news came out that Cheddar was the first digital …

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Tony Maglio / The Wrap:

SEC filing on Murdoch earnings from Disney-21st Century Fox deal: Rupert Murdoch, $66.7M; Lachlan Murdoch, $69.1M; and James Murdoch, $70.6M — The Murdochs have a lot of money, and once Disney's $52.4 billion acquisition of the bulk of 21st Century Fox goes through, Fox's top executives …

Discussion: Variety, Business Insider, Deadline and Wall Street Journal

Wall Street Journal:
Regulatory filing confirms 21st Century Fox rejected Comcast offer largely due to antitrust risks, even though bid was 16% higher per share than Disney's offer

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Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg / Wall Street Journal:

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Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal:

NBCU joins Fox, Viacom, and Turner in OpenAP consortium with a buy-in that costs $10M, sources say; OpenAP standardizes categories ad buyers can purchase — OpenAP membership can cost up to $10 million over five years — Comcast Corp.'s NBCUniversal has been reluctant to support OpenAP …

Discussion: Broadcasting & Cable, MediaPost, FierceCable, Radio & Television …, @awolk, @alexbruell, Adweek, AdExchanger and Ad Age

Daniel Funke / Poynter:

A look at Facebook's month-long rollout of its fact-checking tool and its partners in Mexico, Indonesia, the Philippines, India, and Colombia — What started as a pilot project 16 months ago is now one of Facebook's primary weapons against fake news. — During his testimony to Congress last week …

Discussion: Peter O'Kelly's Reality Check

Ryan Faughnder / Los Angeles Times:

Sources: Netflix has considered buying movie theaters in New York and Los Angeles; it decided not to pursue LA-based Landmark Theatres due to high price — Netflix, the global streaming giant that has dramatically changed the TV industry and clashed with movie theater owners …

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Associated Press:

FBI is offering up to $1M for information leading to Austin Tice, a journalist who disappeared in Syria in 2012 — https://www.apnews.com/ef6c4095ab464c1b a03ededfb8e6dcd4 — WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal authorities for the first time are offering a reward for information leading …

Discussion: New York Daily News and CBS News

Voice of America:

Over 60 Pakistani journalists condemn curbs on freedom of expression as op-ed columns are dropped, articles are taken down, and Geo TV appears to be blocked — More than 60 leading journalists, op-ed writers and editors of some major newspapers in Pakistan have condemned what they said are …

Discussion: Pakistan Today, Bloomberg, Economist, Business Standard, Hindustan Times and Journeys to democracy

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Douglas Busvine / Reuters:
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Jaclyn Peiser / New York Times:
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Kate Kelly / New York Times:
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