Mediagazer: Despite repeated requests, Spotify does not let users block followers to deal with harassers and says a block feature is not in its current road map (Davey Alba/BuzzFeed News)

1:40 PM ET, July 19, 2018

Top News:

Jen Carlson / Gothamist:

Chance the Rapper announces in a new song that he has bought the assets of Chicagoist from public radio station WNYC — Chance the Rapper may not be dropping his album this week, but he did drop four new tracks at midnight... and we're here to talk about one of them, “I Might Need Security.”

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Bloomberg:

Comcast announces it doesn't plan to pursue acquisition of 21st Century Fox and will focus on its Sky bid instead — Comcast says in a statement, “Comcast does not intend to pursue further the acquisition of the Twenty-First Century Fox assets and, instead, will focus on our recommended offer for Sky,” Bloomberg News reports.

Discussion: CNBC, Variety, Variety, The Wrap, Deadline, Fast Company, The Wrap, @stevekopack, @shalini, @jyarow, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and Fortune

Claire Atkinson / NBC News:

Guardian Media Group says it has raised about $130M in reader revenue, reduced its losses by two-thirds in 2017, and increased revenue 1% YoY to 282M — by CLAIRE ATKINSON — LATEST POSTS FROM THE QUERY — CLAIRE ATKINSON — July 19, 2018, — Netflix on an Oscar push?

Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:

In a sign of solidarity at a WH press briefing, one reporter gave his time for a question to another who had been cut off while asking about Trump's credibility — It was a subtle exchange, about 20 minutes into yet another clamorous White House press briefing, and a casual viewer …

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Kara Swisher / Recode:

Mark Zuckerberg clarifies his comments about Holocaust deniers on Facebook: “I absolutely didn't intend to defend the intent of people who deny that” — The Facebook founder has attracted controversy for how the social network deals with content that is offensive to many, such as Holocaust denying.

Casey Newton / The Verge:
Facebook says it has begun removing misinformation that contributes to violence on its site, will review text and images in partnership with local organizations

Discussion: Recode, Engadget, @rabiasquared, @caseynewton, @nytmedia, New York Times and @profcarroll, more at Techmeme »

Kara Swisher / Recode:
Q&A with Mark Zuckerberg about Russia, fake news, InfoWars, Myanmar, and why he thinks Facebook shouldn't take down posts that deny the Holocaust

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Davey Alba / BuzzFeed News:

Despite repeated requests, Spotify does not let users block followers to deal with harassers and says a block feature is not in its current road map — When Meghan, a 26-year-old bookseller in Boston, left her boyfriend after months of emotional abuse, she made every effort to cut him out of her life.

Discussion: @cwarzel, @daveyalba, Jezebel, The FADER, Engadget and 9to5Mac, more at Techmeme »

Jacob Weindling / Paste Magazine:

In a Twitter thread, a journalist shares ICE tactics for blocking press access like narrowly restricting times for interviews, withholding document info, more — I honestly don't know how you can read this first-hand report from journalist Molly Crabapple and think that abolishing ICE is a radical position.

Eric Russell / Press Herald:

Senators testify that newsprint tariffs will hurt US paper industry by shrinking its customer base, say the tariffs conflict with First Amendment — They cite damage to various domestic industries, including newspapers, and urge the International Trade Commission to advise the U.S. to rescind the tariffs.

Discussion: @mainelisad, @sendougjones, @repbrianhiggins, @senatorisakson, @repmceachin, @repmckinley, Roll Call and The Rural Blog

Politico:

Rep. Devin Nunes, who operates his own partisan news outlet, is running an ad campaign saying McClatchy's Fresno Bee is publishing fake news about him — The California GOP congressman says his local paper is working with ‘radical left-wing groups.’ — LOS ANGELES — Devin Nunes is sitting …

Discussion: McClatchy Washington Bureau, @kateirby, @bybenspillman, @politico, @byrhondalyons, @cliffpotter, @dabeard, @zengerle, @mlcalderone and The Daily Caller

Meg James / Los Angeles Times:

Discovery extends CEO David Zaslav's contract through 2023 — Discovery has extended Chief Executive David Zaslav's stock-rich employment contact for five years, keeping him at the helm of the New York-based television company through December 2023. — The company, in a statement …

Joseph Cox / Motherboard:

Leaked documents: Facebook moderators can ban Pages if admins get 5 “strikes” or if 30%+ of other people's posts violate its community standards within 90 days — During testimony to lawmakers, Facebook did not provide specifics on the threshold Pages or Groups have to cross before being deleted.

Discussion: Fast Company, @jason_koebler, Politico and Engadget, more at Techmeme »

Reuters:

Court filing: DOJ has proposed an expedited schedule for its appeal of the ruling allowing AT&T to buy Time Warner, seeking briefs by Oct. 18 — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department has proposed an expedited schedule for an appeal of a judge's ruling that allowed AT&T Inc …

Vivian Schiller / Civil:

Civil Foundation announces first members of its Civil Council: Emily Bell, Maria Ressa, Sue Gardner, Raju Narisetti, and Ellen P. Goodman — As we count down towards the Civil launch, I want to provide some updates on the evolution of the Civil Constitution and governance …

Discussion: @vivian, @gaberivera, @jackshafer, @emilybell, @mattcoolidge and @nicolebode

Benjamin Mullin / Wall Street Journal:
Civil Media opens registration for an Aug. 13 offering of up to $32M in tokens that can eventually be used to support freelancers and news organizations