Mediagazer: Profile of Josh Russell, an amateur troll hunter who has helped journalists and social networks identify Russian disinformation online (Donie O'Sullivan/CNN)

2:25 PM ET, August 14, 2018

Top News:

Recording: Trump campaign officials discussed how to “spin” Apprentice outtake tapes showing Trump using the N-word if they were released — President Trump says former White House staffer Omarosa Manigault-Newman lied when she called him a racist who has said the N-word on tape.

Discussion: Variety, Mediaite, Slate, The Wrap, Vox, Hit & Run, Boing Boing, Conservative News Today, Refinery29, The Daily Beast, The Guardian, BloombergQuint and The Week

Paul Bedard / Washington Examiner:

Trump campaign files for arbitration against Omarosa Manigault-Newman, claims she broke 2016 NDA by disparaging Trump in book and sharing recorded private talks — President Trump's campaign organization Tuesday filed charges against friend-turned-enemy Omarosa Manigault Newman …

Discussion: Variety, New York Times, Bloomberg, Washington Post, @rachelking, @michaelcbender, @timobrien, @ichotiner, @mattyglesias, @tribelaw, @dandrezner, @elianayjohnson, @maggienyt, @mrbromwich, @maggienyt, @jtuckermartin and The Daily Caller

Jake Shapiro / RadioPublic:

Automattic, parent company of WordPress.com, invests in podcast company RadioPublic, joining earlier investors including the NYT, Bose, McClatchy, and PRX — We are thrilled to announce that Automattic—parent company of WordPress.com—is making an investment to deepen its partnership with RadioPublic …

Discussion: Nieman Lab, RAIN News, @kinseywilson and AllAccess.com

Graeme Mcmillan / The Verge:

Comcast's Xfinity X1 partnership with Netflix and Amazon presages a future of streaming bundles, which would be similar to the cable TV subscription model — As Xfinity's distribution deals expand, disruptors are taking up the same models as past cable companies

Discussion: @thinkhero and @umanoid

Cory Bergman / Factal Blog:

Team behind the Breaking News site and app launch a new startup, Factal, an enterprise service providing critical info during crises like natural disasters — When BreakingNews.com and the Breaking News app were shut down at the end of 2016, we were inundated with email urging us to bring it back as a new company.

Discussion: Nieman Lab, GeekWire, @corybe, @w7voa and @sclary

Lachlan Markay / The Daily Beast:

White House counsel Don McGahn granted new communications chief Bill Shine an ethics waiver to meet with former colleagues at Fox News — It is “in the public interest” for the White House's top communicator to be excused from federal ethics laws so he can meet with Fox News, according to President Donald Trump's top lawyer.

Discussion: @lachlan, Blog Network, @mollyjongfast, @pleasesaveour, @bobclendenin, @swin24, @djrothkopf, @badhorseoc, @timobrien, @goldengateblond, Mediaite and Media Matters for America

Benjamin Mullin / Wall Street Journal:

Sources: New York Media, parent company of New York Magazine and several sites, is exploring strategic options including a possible sale — The publisher of New York magazine, Vulture and The Cut is reviewing strategic options including a possible sale, the latest media outlet to consider consolidation in a tough marketplace.

Discussion: @benmullin and @evanasmith

Richard Martin / Reuters:

Facebook buys exclusive rights to show major Spanish soccer league La Liga in the Indian subcontinent for the next three seasons for free — BARCELONA (Reuters) - Spain's top flight soccer division La Liga announced on Tuesday a landmark deal with Facebook which will allow viewers …

Discussion: Bloomberg, The Guardian, MediaNama, @ayshardzn, @ridi_qlas, @laligagav, @indianregista, @rich9908, BBC, The Drum and Fast Company

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:

Facebook acquires the seven-person team and tech from startup Vidpresso to make its video more interactive — Zombie-like passive consumption of static video is both unhealthy for viewers and undifferentiated for the tech giants that power it. That's set Facebook on a mission to make video interactive …

Discussion: Adweek, Blog Network, Business Insider, Vidpresso, FierceVideo, MSPoweruser, The Economic Times, Engadget, VentureBeat and Variety, more at Techmeme »

AAJA Voices:

An overview of seven pay studies from unions at US media organizations: on average, men and white people make significantly more than women and people of color — The tumult would spread to every newspaper in the industry, but it began with whispers within the confined spaces of the women's bathrooms …

Discussion: @jonathanngbos, @ronlin, @rzgreenfield, @juliaccarpenter, @perreaux, @philmarcelo, @slulay2, @kristenrgo, @ronlin, @amyluft, @laura_nelson, @rowanwalrath and @djnyc1

Donie O'Sullivan / CNN:

Profile of Josh Russell, an amateur troll hunter who has helped journalists and social networks identify Russian disinformation online — Bloomington, Indiana (CNN)When it comes to hobbies, Josh Russell concedes he gets a little obsessive. No matter his interest, be it videogames …

Discussion: @jmalt87, @janelytv, @cillizzacnn, @cjcmichel, @oneunderscore__ and @ilvestoomas

McClatchy Washington Bureau:

US State Department says it believes missing journalist Austin Tice is still alive; Tice's mother Debra says they have spoken directly with Trump about the case — WASHINGTON — Six years after journalist Austin Tice disappeared in war-torn Syria, the State Department says it believes …

Robyn Urback / CBC News:

Toronto Sun photographer Stan Behal was assaulted by an anti-fascist protestor at a rally in Toronto on Saturday but there has been little publicity about it — The altercation happened on camera, in front of police, with dozens of onlookers — A member of the news media was assaulted by a protester in Toronto this past weekend.

Discussion: Reason, @id4ro, @perreaux, @rmfaris, @colbycosh, @mhallfindlay, @jkenney, @adriennebatra and @sunlorrie

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Todd Spangler / Variety:
BuzzFeed Senior VP of agency strategy Matt Trotta is leaving to join interactive-content startup Playbuzz as GM of North America

New York Times:
Despite complaints from a Sandy Hook parent, Automattic has not taken down content from conspiracy theorists, citing Wordpress.com's content policy

more at Techmeme »

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David Beard / Poynter:
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Cale Guthrie Weissman / Fast Company:
Thrillist staff on strike today have had their work Slack accounts and email addresses deactivated, in apparent act of retaliation by Group Nine Media

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Will Sommer / The Daily Beast:
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Spencer Ackerman / The Daily Beast:
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Emilia Petrarca / The Cut:
The New York Post's front and back pages on Monday had an ad from skate brand Supreme instead of the usual news and headlines

Discussion: Blog Network, New York Times, New York Post, @connortryan, Adweek and MediaPost

Julian Borger / The Guardian:
Outgoing UN human rights commissioner Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein says Trump's anti-press rhetoric is “very close to incitement to violence”

Discussion: Politico and New York Post

Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:
Report: Facebook's Campbell Brown told The Australian that Zuckerberg doesn't care about publishers, Facebook not interested in discussing traffic and referrals

Todd Spangler / Variety:
Netflix says its CFO David Wells, who led the service's international expansion to 190 countries, is leaving the company after 14 years

Discussion: Blog Network, Wall Street Journal, USA Today and MediaPost

Washington Post:
Sources: when Trump expressed worries that Bill Shine could be at risk because of investigation into Ailes conduct, Rupert Murdoch rang Trump to reassure him

Discussion: CNNMoney, TVNewser, Mediaite and @olivianuzzi

From Techmeme:

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Anthropic raised another $4B from Amazon, will make AWS its primary training partner, and is working with Annapurna Labs to develop new Trainium accelerators

Andy Greenberg / Wired:
Researchers detail a “nearest neighbor attack” by Russia's APT28, which remotely breached a target's Wi-Fi by hijacking a laptop in a building across the street

Wall Street Journal:
Elon Musk, as Trump's efficiency czar, is singling out ordinary federal staffers, including some with climate-related jobs, on X and unleashing his fans on them

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