Mediagazer: Wordpress.com owner Automattic buys technology and publishing company Atavist, a deal that includes its CMS, customer base, and the Atavist Magazine (Benjamin Mullin/Wall Street Journal)

9:05 PM ET, June 21, 2018

Top News:

Sources: National Enquirer sent copies of stories and covers related to Trump and opponents to Michael Cohen in advance, sometimes making changes after feedback — During the presidential campaign, National Enquirer executives sent digital copies of the tabloid's articles and cover images related …

Discussion: @johnwdean, Mediaite, @christinawilkie, @adamserwer, @stevekopack, @kimmasters, @tcleveland4real, @ericuman, @dbarkin, @gabrielsnyder, @davidfolkenflik and Wall Street Journal

Benjamin Mullin / Wall Street Journal:

Wordpress.com owner Automattic buys technology and publishing company Atavist, a deal that includes its CMS, customer base, and the Atavist Magazine — Automattic's deal for Atavist will expand the suite of subscription and membership tools it has to offer

Discussion: The WordPress.com Blog, @peterpham, @rafat, @dimensionmedia, @tomcritchlow, @maxlinsky and Docs

Alex Kantrowitz / BuzzFeed:

Twitter has made a somewhat miraculous comeback in the past two years, with rising revenue and MAUs, due to luck and a focus on news and premium video — A bird emerges from the ashes. — Two years ago, people were writing eulogies for Twitter. — Rudderless and without product direction …

Discussion: @kantrowitz, @bohan, @can, @xc, @kantrowitz, @cwarzel, @mathewi, @raju, @ashleymayer, @marklittlenews, @monteiro, @kantrowitz, @richbtig and @ratamahattass, more at Techmeme »

Adam Bernstein / Washington Post:

Charles Krauthammer, Pulitzer-winning Washington Post conservative political analyst, foreign policy hawk, and Fox News contributor, has died at 68 — Charles Krauthammer, a Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post columnist and intellectual provocateur who championed the muscular foreign policy …

Donie O'Sullivan / CNNMoney:

By embedding lighthearted tweets without trying to verify the authenticity of Twitter accounts, news outlets legitimize and increase the reach of Russian trolls — Russians released anti-Clinton video game weeks before election — Russian trolls posing as an American college student tweeted …

Discussion: @theapjournalist, @brooklynmarie, @lilymasonphd, @cnn and @blowryontv

Alexandra Steigrad / New York Post:

Sources: former Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter is planning his own media company covering wealthy and famous European families, is in talks with TPG Capital — Revenge may just be the sweetest victory for Graydon Carter. — The legendary magazine editor, less than a year after stepping away …

Discussion: @meganmurp, @alex_norcia, Mediaite, @jeremymbarr and @maxwelltani

NBC News:

Thomson Reuters Special Services signed a $6.8M ICE contract in March; spokesperson says news gathering unit is independent of other commercial contracts — The contracts highlight how technology companies are putting their innovations to work with the U.S. government in ways that are often not visible to the public.

Discussion: Talking Biz News and @jaxalemany

Lesley Goldberg / Hollywood Reporter:

MTV launches MTV Studios, which will reboot and reimagine past shows and franchises like Daria and The Real World to shop them to outside networks and streamers — Network president Chris McCarthy wants to mine the youth-focused cable network's vault to revive old hits …

Discussion: Multichannel News, Variety, New York Times, MediaPost, @kingbeyoncestan, Consequence of Sound, @thr, The Outline, @jongraywb, Gothamist, Fortune, The Verge and PAPER

Tessa Lyons / Facebook:

Facebook announces updates in effort to fight false news: using more machine learning, expanding fact-checking partnerships, using Claim Review framework, more — Over the last year and half, we have been committed to fighting false news through a combination of technology and human review …

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Poynter, @billadairduke, Bloomberg, The Daily Caller, Engadget, Marketing Land, TechCrunch, Gizmodo, Fortune, Fast Company, @dpfunke and @mattnavarra, more at Techmeme »

Pam Vogel / Media Matters for America:

Sinclair's Epshteyn praises Trump for signing family-separation executive order “on his own”, blames Congress for holes in immigration law in must-run TV spot — Sinclair's Boris Epshteyn: Media have “seized on this issue to make it seem as if those who are tough on immigration are somehow monsters”

Discussion: Bloomberg, WJLA-TV, Vox, @adamcbest, @johnjharwood, @pamela_vogel, Mediaite, @brucebartlett, The Wrap, NPR and Splinter

The New York Times Company:

The New York Times adds Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow, as a columnist for its opinion pages starting September — Today The New York Times announced that Michelle Alexander will join the Opinion pages as a columnist in September. — James Bennet, New York Times editorial page editor …

Discussion: @jformanjr, @jenparker393, Splinter, @originalspin, @mehdirhasan, @parkermolloy, @jamilsmith and @msshanitarenee

YouTube Blog:

YouTube announces $4.99/mo Channel Memberships for eligible channels with 100K+ subscribers, Teespring merchandising, and Premieres to debut pre-recorded videos — I just stepped off the stage at VidCon, a conference created from scratch by Hank and John Green in 2010 that brings together fans …

Discussion: support.google.com, Variety, TechCrunch, CNET, SlashGear, Engadget, Engadget, The Verge, @cheriehu42, @joshconstine, @tictoc and @lucas_shaw, more at Techmeme »

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More News:

Nathan Fuller / Courage Foundation:
Reality Winner, accused of leaking to The Intercept, takes plea deal after being held for a year on Espionage Act charge; hearing planned for Tuesday

Discussion: WJBF-TV, @petersterne, Boing Boing, @petersterne, @petersterne and The Intercept

Brent Lang / Variety:
SEC filing: MoviePass parent Helios and Matheson Analytics plans to raise up to $164M through a bond sale and by issuing 20K+ shares

Discussion: The Wrap, /Film, Business Insider, MacRumors, Gizmodo, Engadget, @thefilmstage, @themeparkjosh, The Wrap, Deadline and Wired

Taylor Blatchford / Poynter:
Gallup/Knight survey: 77% of Republicans believe news is biased vs. 44% of Democrats and ratings of accuracy and bias diverge especially for Fox, CNN, and MSNBC

Discussion: The New York Observer, Knight Foundation, @brianstelter, @viacristiano and Trust, Media and Democracy

Janko Roettgers / Variety:
AT&T unveils 31 TV networks offered in its WatchTV streaming service, which is launching next week for $15/month and is also included in two wireless plans

Discussion: Fast Company, Radio & Television …, Gizmodo, @reckless, Hollywood Reporter, MediaPost, Multichannel News, MacRumors, Engadget, Fortune, PR Newswire, The Verge, 9to5Mac and CNET, more at Techmeme »

Lea Trusty / The Engaged Journalism Lab:
Research finds gaps in philanthropic support for newsroom diversity, with fewer and smaller grants for ethnic and racial groups, women, and LGBTQI populations

Discussion: DemocracyFund and Shorenstein Center

Lindsay Weinberg / Hollywood Reporter:
Indoor fitness brand SoulCycle hires Vox Media's Angela Bowers, Glamour's Laurel Pinson, and Mashable's Gregory Gittrich to launch a media division

Discussion: @weinberglindsay, @amtomchak, @vivian and Fast Company

Earlier Picks:

Jack Morse / Mashable:
Facebook blocks news about policy at a detention center for immigrant children from being boosted with an ad buy, under the cover of “political ads” policy

Discussion: Snopes.com, Gizmodo, @profcarroll, @aliabunimah, @levinecarrie, @costasamaras and @mikeisaac

Jeff Baumgartner / Multichannel News:
T-Mobile says its deal with Sprint will create a “truly competitive” national pay TV service with lower programming rates, and more affordable video services

Discussion: Adweek

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Facebook begins letting Group admins test a feature that charges members $4.99 to $29.99 per month for access to exclusive sub-groups

Discussion: VentureBeat, @noahchestnut, The Verge, Stock Market News …, MediaNama, Fast Company, Entrackr, Facebook, INSIDE, Fortune, SlashGear, The Next Web, Gizmodo, Alex Deve, MediaPost and Engadget

Katherine Krueger / Splinter:
Twitter temporarily suspended some accounts that simply linked to a Splinter post that shared a phone number for White House adviser Stephen Miller

Discussion: Nieman Lab, Columbia Journalism Review, Splinter, Boing Boing, The Daily Caller, Techdirt, Mediaite, The Guardian, VICE News, Vanity Fair, Snopes.com, Fortune, The Wrap, @kath_krueger, Mashable, The Daily Beast and Slate, more at Techmeme »

Debra Birnbaum / Variety:
Apple gives a multi-series order to the nonprofit Sesame Workshop for a slate of live-action and animated children's programs, not including Sesame Street

Discussion: New York Times, MacRumors, MediaPost, @pkafka, Stock Market News …, Broadcasting & Cable and Engadget

Jon Levine / The Wrap:
Univision issues statement calling on Democrats and Republicans to end practice of separating children from their parents at the US-Mexico border

Discussion: CBS News, Sean Hannity, New York Times, Ed Barr, @raniakhalek, @jackposobiec, @bbcjonsopel and Mediaite

From Techmeme:

Michael Peel / Financial Times:
Google DeepMind and Isomorphic Labs detail AlphaFold 3, an AI model to predict interactions and structures of proteins, DNA, RNA, more, beating many top methods

Carl Franzen / VentureBeat:
OpenAI publishes Model Spec, which specifies how its models should behave, including objectives, rules, and default behaviors, and asks the public for feedback

Tom Dotan / Wall Street Journal:
Microsoft plans to invest $3.3B to build a data center in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, and train locals, alongside investing in a University of Wisconsin AI lab

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