Top News:
Lydia Wheeler / The Hill:
District court judge rules President Trump can't block people from viewing his Twitter feed, calling it a designated public forum protected by First Amendment — A federal district court judge on Wednesday ruled that President Trump — can't block people from viewing his Twitter feed over their political views.
Nicholas Thompson / Wired:
Facebook outlines new steps to combat false news: request for academic proposals to study it on Facebook, release of a 12-minute film, and news literacy program — NEWS FEED, THE algorithm that powers the core of Facebook, resembles a giant irrigation system for the world's information.
Discussion:
Facebook, Facebook, @issielapowsky and @rasmus_kleis, more at Techmeme »
CNNMoney:
Reporters from CNN, Politico, and other news outlets have been banned from covering the EPA summit for a second day — Journalists blocked from EPA event — The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday barred journalists for the second consecutive day from attending a national summit focused …
Discussion:
The Hill, Poynter, Mediaite, Politico, @kyunglahcnn, Washington Post, Washington Post and @will_bunch
RELATED:
Politico:
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders says the White House is investigating the EPA's ban of reporters from certain news outlets on Tuesday — The Environmental Protection Agency temporarily barred journalists and the public from a national summit Tuesday addressing toxic chemicals contamination …
Evelyn Cheng / CNBC:
Comcast says it is in the advanced stages of preparing an all-cash offer for parts of 21st Century Fox that Rupert Murdoch's company agreed to sell to Disney — - Comcast said Wednesday it is in “advanced stages of preparing” an all-cash offer for parts of Twenty-First Century Fox …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Comcast Corporation, TechCrunch, MediaPost, Broadcasting & Cable and Adweek
Jeremy Barr / Hollywood Reporter:
Source: Sinclair is laying the groundwork for a Fox News competitor, is in talks with current and former Fox News stars about joining the would-be network — Company execs are taking meetings with conservative stars as a prelude to launching a competitor to the Murdoch-led juggernaut.
Discussion:
@jeremymbarr and @lionelmedia
Ben Schreckinger / Politico:
Sources: GOP fundraiser Elliott Broidy subpoenaed the AP for info about the source of hacked emails that formed the basis of recent reports about him — The impasse comes at a time when political battles are increasingly being waged via leaks of hacked data.
Discussion:
@schreckreports, @evan_rosenfeld, @kt_so_it_goes, @evan_rosenfeld, @aliasvaughn, The Week, New York Magazine and Vanity Fair
Gerry Smith / Bloomberg:
Newspaper-owning hedge funds point to profits and hiring of experienced executives, but layoffs and other cost-cutting measures seem to belie good intentions — Coast to coast, financial firms are playing a bigger role at local papers struggling to adapt in digital age
Discussion:
@gerryfsmith, @eddyelfenbein, @vwpickard, @dabeard and @briankarem
Kurt Wagner / Recode:
Snap launches a seed accelerator, called Yellow, that will invest $150K in 10 different media startups and creators starting this fall — Snap's executives, including CEO Evan Spiegel, will help the program's founders. — Snap wants to find the next big media business …
Lucia Moses / Digiday:
With its short-run newsletters on topics like the World Cup, The New York Times can showcase its expertise and convert readers into subscribers — The New York Times has lofty subscription goals, aiming to get to 10 million globally, but with some of its newsletters, it's going small.
Maryam Saleh / The Intercept:
New York Times reporter Rukmini Callimachi removed around 15,000 ISIS-related documents from Iraq, igniting a debate about ownership and cultural theft — For the last five years, Sara Farhan has been researching medical education in Iraq. A doctoral student of history at Toronto's York University …
Discussion:
@dabeard and @theintercept
Rick Maese / Washington Post:
Profile of PFT Commenter, the anonymous satirical sports podcaster behind Pardon My Take who began as a parody Twitter account — NEW YORK — Wearing dark sunglasses with an acoustic guitar slung over his shoulder, the most unlikely sports media personality on the planet stepped through …
Rosie Gray / The Atlantic:
Breitbart London's Editor-in-Chief Raheem Kassam, a close ally of Steve Bannon, is leaving the site and will be replaced by his deputy, Oliver Lane — The site, whose influence has faded since last year, is losing its London editor Raheem Kassam. — Breitbart London editor Raheem Kassam …
Elizabeth Williamson / New York Times:
Families of another six Sandy Hook victims sue Alex Jones and InfoWars, bringing the total number of lawsuits again Jones and InfoWars to three — After the body of Jesse Lewis, age six, was recovered from his classroom at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Neil Heslin cradled his son for a final time.