Top News:
Laura McGann / Vox:
Study: male DC journalists reply on Twitter to other male journalists 92% of the time, retweet other men 69% of the time, and 62% of follows are other men — A new study reveals why female journalists are so much less influential on Twitter than men. — Anyone that follows Beltway Twitter knows it's …
Hollywood Reporter:
Netflix fires PR head Jonathan Friedland; CEO Hastings memo: his use of the N-word at least twice “showed unacceptably low racial awareness and sensitivity” — In lengthy internal memo, CEO Reed Hastings addressed letting go top communications executive Jonathan Friedland …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Variety, @angrynegrita, @omgkee, The Daily Caller, @karensd, Vanity Fair, Gizmodo, Deadline, New York Times, BuzzFeed, IndieWire, Multichannel News, The Guardian, Tubefilter, Decider, CBS News, @pkafka, The Verge, Fortune, New York Post, Financial Times, AOL, Fast Company and Mediaite
The Daily Beast:
Sources: Glenn Beck's TheBlaze laid off more than a dozen employees as negotiations to sell the site to backers of The Daily Wire broke down — Conservative media firebrand Glenn Beck's multimedia empire TheBlaze appears to be on its last legs after another round of layoffs and after a prospective high-profile buyer lost interest.
Discussion:
Mediaite, @hc_richardson and @maxwelltani
Jonathan Handel / Hollywood Reporter:
Study: 16% of 651 films released theatrically in 2017 were directed by women, 12% of films with $250K+ box office take directed by women, 10% by people of color — “Every aspect of the entire system disadvantages women and people of color," charged guild president Thomas Schlamme.
Rob Price / Business Insider:
Instagram deleted a 2017 ProPublica video identifying members of a violent white supremacist group citing “Community Guidelines” violation, later reinstated — - Instagram has taken down a video posted by news outlet ProPublica, saying it was in violation of its rules.
Discussion:
@lhwaldron, Gizmodo and WebProNews
Alex Kantrowitz / BuzzFeed:
Facebook has hired a team that will try to spot vulnerabilities in its systems before bad actors exploit them, to prevent abuses like 2016 US elections debacle — Silicon Valley's giants are looking for future crises before they happen. — In an attempt to spot vulnerabilities in its system …
Discussion:
@dcwoodruff, Gizmodo, @kantrowitz, The Hill, @facebook and @kantrowitz, more at Techmeme »
Daniel Funke / Poynter:
IFCN survey of 42 fact-checking projects: vast majority are small, new, digital-first nonprofits or academic initiatives; 62% had budgets under $100K in 2017 — ROME — Snopes. Full Fact. Chequeado. Teyit. Africa Check. — Chances are, no matter where you are …
Discussion:
@mantzarlis and @poynter
Wall Street Journal:
How tensions between Comcast CEO Brian Roberts and 21st Century Fox Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch have complicated Comcast's efforts to buy 21st Century Fox — Tensions between Comcast CEO Brian Roberts and 21st Century Fox's Rupert Murdoch have complicated Comcast's pursuit of the biggest media deal in years
Etan Vlessing / Hollywood Reporter:
SiriusXM Radio owner Liberty Media pulled proposed $1.16B cash injection for iHeartMedia after iHeartMedia rejected Liberty's ask for a 40% stake in return — The largest U.S. radio company rejected the proposed cash injection for a 40 percent stake from the investment company controlled by John Malone.
Discussion:
The Wrap, Variety, Wall Street Journal and FMQB
Rong-Gong Lin II / Los Angeles Times:
Sources: Trump administration directive instructs USGS scientist to seek approval before agreeing to interview requests — A new directive from the Trump administration instructs federal scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey to get approval from its parent agency before agreeing …
Discussion:
@drlucyjones, ScienceAlert, Popular Mechanics, The Scientist RSS, CNBC, EcoWatch, Common Dreams, The Hill and Washington Post
H.G. Watson / Nieman Lab:
Micropayments generate less than $100K/year for The Winnipeg Free Press after three years, but the data gathered helps with targeted subscription selling — Three years in, the Winnipeg Free Press' attempt to get readers to pay by the article is still producing less than $100,000 a year …
Julia Jacobo / ABC News:
ABC announces spinoff of Roseanne, with a working title of The Conners, coming this fall; Roseanne Barr will not be involved in the series — ABC has greenlit a spinoff series of the now-canceled “Roseanne” — without the show's embattled star. — On Thursday, the network announced …
Discussion:
@abc, /Film, Variety, Fast Company, CNBC, New York Times, SlashGear, Ad Age, HuffPost, @sternbergh and @carolineframke