Top News:
Jon Swaine / The Guardian:
A look at Hannity's real estate empire, including apartment complexes bought with HUD help, a fact Hannity didn't mention when interviewing Ben Carson last year — Fox News host who said Trump's fixer ‘knows real estate’ has a portfolio that includes support from Department of Housing and Urban Development …
RELATED:
Scott Stedman:
Sean Hannity has routinely promoted a Georgia financial firm he co-owns via a shell company, even as the company was raising $13M in a round early this year — Hannity disguised his involvement via a shell company incorporated in Georgia — For months, Fox News's Sean Hannity …
Discussion:
Washington Post, @annalecta, @scottmstedman and The Guardian
Nellie Bowles / New York Times:
Profile of Campbell Brown, Facebook's head of news partnerships; sources say she controls a $90M budget that will pay partners to make original news programs — It was another terrible day for Facebook and the company had dispatched Campbell Brown, its head of news partnerships, to do some damage control.
Gabriel Debenedetti / New York Magazine:
“Bernie TV”, or videos on Facebook Live and Twitter from Bernie Sanders' staff, lets the senator reach voters directly; his 2017 videos were viewed 800M+ times — For a brief moment in late October 2016, when Hillary Clinton was surfing on a six-point national lead over Donald Trump …
Discussion:
@regwag2003, @jmillerlewis, @kasie, @gdebenedetti, @adamplatt1999, @bobbrigham, @gdebenedetti, @dougbierend and @jonathancohn
New York Times:
How hate speech and misinformation spread on Facebook in developing countries like Sri Lanka, where reputable sources are scarce, leading to real-world violence — MEDAMAHANUWARA, Sri Lanka — Past the end of a remote mountain road, down a rutted dirt track, in a concrete house …
Discussion:
@astroehlein, @ninabernstein1, @schemaly, @demianvonosten, @anxiaostudio, Fortune, @rcallimachi, @hannarosin, @kenroth, @wadhwa, @thyagir, @kylepope, @jessefelder, @nicoleperlroth, @nadaveyaldesk, @byjoelanderson, @sarahfrier, @om, @indiaexplained, @brooklynmarie, @nytimes, @mattyglesias, @max_fisher, @timoreilly, @zeynep and @miriamelder, more at Techmeme »
Lukas I. Alpert / Wall Street Journal:
Leaked AMI financials reveal $920M in debt, $204M in 2017 revenue, down 9% YoY; National Enquirer sales benefited more from anti-Hilary not pro-Trump, coverage — Tabloid owner American Media's debt has mushroomed while newsstand sales of its print publications are shrinking
Discussion:
@lalpert1, @kylegriffin1 and Poynter
David Nakamura / Washington Post:
Trump lashes out at New York Times and reporter Maggie Haberman over Michael Cohen coverage, claims he doesn't speak to her despite granting many interviews — PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Trump vowed Saturday that his personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, will not “flip” and cooperate …
Nieman Reports:
How some TV stations are trying to reach new audiences, using apps, podcasts, AR/VR, and more amid ownership consolidation as profits and audiences erode — When the Rev. Billy Graham died in February, Raleigh-based WRAL-TV provided expansive coverage of the famed evangelist's life and legacy.
Discussion:
@montclairstateu
Amy Chozick / New York Times:
Amy Chozick, the main NYT Clinton campaign reporter, reflects on covering Podesta's stolen emails and later feeling she had become a Russian intelligence tool — Covering Hillary Clinton's campaign from before it started to the very last moment. — Things were already looking bad when …
Dean Yates / Reuters:
Former Iraq bureau chief for Reuters describes dealing with moral injury on top of his PTSD after two colleagues were shot dead by a US helicopter in 2007 — In 2016, I was treated in a psychiatric unit for PTSD after a career spent covering conflict and tragedy. Last July, I was back in Ward 17.
Tim Cushing / Techdirt:
12th District Court of Appeals strikes down Texas law that made disclosing “revenge porn” unlawful, ruling it violates the First Amendment — Texas attorney Mark Bennett — instrumental in getting an unconstitutional “peeping tom” law tossed in 2014 — has scored another win …
Discussion:
Simple Justice, Associated Press, Dallas Morning News, Fox News, The Texas Tribune and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
Angela Watercutter / Wired:
A look at some VR entries at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival and how they are using the tech to shed light on political topics in the Trump era — Meeting a Monster is incredibly painful. It's supposed to be. Created using audio recordings and re-enactments, the virtual reality experience recounts …