Top News:
Paula Rogo / Essence.com:
TV producer Tyra Martin, a woman named by CNN as one of Morgan Freeman's accusers, says the network misrepresented her comments — One of the women who came forward against actor Morgan Freeman is pushing back against CNN's explosive report that he had sexually harassed up to eight women.
Discussion:
@essence, @drboycewatkins1 and TMZ.com
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Sopan Deb / New York Times:
Q&A with CNN reporter Chloe Melas who, along with colleague An Phung, broke the story about Morgan Freeman after the actor allegedly sexually harassed Melas — Chloe Melas, a reporter for CNN, broke a major story on Thursday: After an investigation that took six months …
Discussion:
Fox News, @lkherman and @michaelroston
Jackie Strause / Hollywood Reporter:
Morgan Freeman's lawyer writes to CNN President Jeff Zucker, demanding a retraction of the network's story about the actor sexually harassing women — YOUTUBE — The actor has since issued two statements in response to the claims. — Morgan Freeman's lawyer has asked CNN to retract …
Discussion:
Deadline, @evan_rosenfeld, @morninggloria, @anhaiphung, @sopandeb, The Daily Caller, TV Tattle and Morning Consult
Trey Williams / The Wrap:
Shari Redstone says National Amusements had already advised Viacom it no longer supported a merger with CBS, before CBS moved to strip her of voting power — Shari Redstone said on Tuesday that she and her family's company, National Amusements Inc., “no longer supported” …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Multichannel News, Adweek, Broadcasting & Cable, Radio & Television … and @pkafka
RELATED:
Wall Street Journal:
Sources describe tensions between Shari Redstone and Les Moonves amid a possible CBS-Viacom merger that has led to litigation over voting control — Shari Redstone and Les Moonves are locked in a legal battle triggered by disagreement over a potential merger of Viacom and the broadcasting powerhouse
Discussion:
The Wrap, @keachhagey and Editor & Publisher
Eleanor Ainge Roy / The Guardian:
Papua New Guinea will ban Facebook for a month in a bid to crack down on fake users and study how fake news and pornography spreads — Analysts will explore how fake news and pornography spreads, and assess whether country needs its own version of the platform
Discussion:
Post Courier, @anneapplebaum, @lcmoser, Fast Company, ABC, Engadget, Mashable, The Hill and Papua New Guinea Today, more at Techmeme »
Erin Biba / The Daily Beast:
Female journalists reporting or commenting on Tesla say they face online abuse, including death and rape threats, from supporters of Elon Musk — Female journalists who cover Elon Musk have the same personal rule: Mention his name on Twitter at your peril.
Pete Vernon / Columbia Journalism Review:
Trump's claim that the NYT used “phony sources” in story on off-record briefing with WH official sparks debate about describing his false claims as “lies” — The weekend began with a series of tweets from the president, and, like so many times before, several of them contained factually incorrect information.
Discussion:
Washington Post, American Press Institute, Mediaite, Poynter, @joshtpm, @jenansbach, @kathyenglish and @connieschultz
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Tronc is buying Virginia's largest paper, Norfolk's The Virginian-Pilot, in an all-cash deal for $34M, becoming the latest conglomerate to buy a local paper — Newspaper conglomerate Tronc, which owns a plethora of local American newspapers like The Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Tribune …
Lachlan Cartwright / The Daily Beast:
Sources on TMZ founder Harvey Levin and Trump's friendship, Levin's work to discredit women accusing Trump of assault, and TMZ staff alarm at pro-Trump coverage — When the Access Hollywood tape of Donald Trump emerged in the home stretch of the 2016 election, it should have been a gift from the tabloid gods for TMZ.
Discussion:
@justinjm1, @jonlemire, @andrewkirell, @amy_siskind, @arriadna, @ruthbenghiat, @christinawilkie, @stevenbeschloss, @lachcartwright, Mediaite, @maxwelltani and @maxwelltani
Mike Barnes / Hollywood Reporter:
Veteran CBS News radio correspondent Bob Fuss, who covered Capitol Hill for more than two decades, has died aged 64 from a rare form of leukemia — Using crutches his entire life, he covered the Oscars and worked on Capitol Hill for more than two decades. — Bob Fuss, the inspirational reporter …
Discussion:
@susanpage
Josh Kosman / New York Post:
Wharton professor and renowned antitrust law expert Herbert Hovenkamp says the Dept of Justice is likely to succeed in blocking AT&T-Time Warner deal — Maybe AT&T's $85 billion merger with Time Warner is in trouble, after all. — Herbert Hovenkamp, a prominent Wharton professor known as the …
Discussion:
The Wrap