Top News:
Gabriel Sherman / Vanity Fair:
Sources: both David Pecker and chief content officer Dylan Howard were granted immunity so they would describe Trump's role in payments to Daniels and McDougal — David Pecker and Dylan Howard corroborated Michael Cohen's account implicating the president in a federal crime.
Discussion:
Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, BuzzFeed News, Mediaite, Folio, Associated Press, The Guardian, Variety, The Wrap, Common Dreams, emptywheel, Adweek, @chrisgeidner, @lalpert1, @evanasmith, Slate, CNN, @jackshafer, Law & Crime, KTLA, Mindy Fischer, Writer, @jeffreytoobin, @tedlieu, @kylegriffin1, Sputnik International, Axios, @jackshafer, Vox, @rgoodlaw, The A.V. Club and The Week
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CNBC:
Report: American Media Inc. Chairman David Pecker was granted immunity by prosecutors as part of investigation into Michael Cohen — - AMI chairman David Pecker gave prosecutors information about President Donald Trump's knowledge of payments his ex-lawyer Michael Cohen made to women alleging affairs with Trump.
Discussion:
Mediaite, Law & Crime, The Guardian, @thomasaroberts, Boing Boing, The Wrap and The Daily Caller
Washington Post:
How National Enquirer essentially became a research arm of the Trump campaign and bought the silence of women, based on Cohen case documents — In August 2015, David Pecker and Michael Cohen hatched a plan to help a mutual friend in need. — Donald Trump had launched his improbable presidential campaign just two months earlier.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, New Republic, Slate, The Marshall Project, @mateagold, @sarahlellison, @robertmaguire_, @rachaelmbade, New York Times, @juddlegum, The Wrap, @whitehouserogue, @rabbijill, @bidenzhairplugz, @clarajeffery, @normornstein, @amy_siskind, @kylegriffin1, @therickwilson, @rebeccaballhaus, @rickhasen, electionlawblog.org, @rstockmanlaw, @rebeccaballhaus, @bethreinhard, @juddlegum and CNNMoney
Motherboard:
Leaked docs and sources describe Facebook's content moderation apparatus and the logistics of trying to moderate billions of posts a week in 100+ languages — Moderating billions of posts a week in more than a hundred languages has become Facebook's biggest challenge.
Laura Wagner / Deadspin:
Sources: The Athletic is struggling to hire reporters for its new D.C. operation, with seven journalists at WaPo's sports desk rejecting offers to move — The Athletic, the venture capital-backed digital sports media venture that's plundering sportswriters from news organizations …
Discussion:
@dcsportsbog and @ngreenberg
CNN:
Ex-NSA contractor Reality Winner has accepted a plea deal and been sentenced to five years in prison for leaking information to The Intercept — (CNN)A former government contractor accused of leaking confidential information to the media has been sentenced to more than five years in prison.
Discussion:
Freedom of the Press …, The Intercept, emptywheel, NPR, Engadget, @marygauthier_, @will_bunch, Task & Purpose and @sebastianmurdoc
New York Times:
NYT Exec Editor Dean Baquet and Managing Editor Joe Kahn say bylines have not appeared above stories in paper's app or mobile UI for some time — Our executive editor, Dean Baquet, and managing editor, Joe Kahn, explain our thinking regarding bylines on our home page.
Discussion:
MediaPost, @shelbygrad, @ericacbarnett, @mattblaze, @hannaingber, @brianjameswalsh, @gregorydjohnsen and @lfung
RELATED:
Rob Beschizza / Boing Boing:
Readers object after The New York Times drops bylines from stories on its homepage as part of a redesign
Readers object after The New York Times drops bylines from stories on its homepage as part of a redesign
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, Poynter, @jonathanvswan, @jbenton, Editor & Publisher, @craigmod, @mlcalderone, @pamelacolloff, @indira_l, @campbellronaldw, @kairyssdal, @morningmoneyben, @jim_brunner, @edlavacnn, @umnewsie, @jdawsey1, @exumam, @harrymccracken, @drewharwell, @jonahnro, @bethanyshondark, @mhanham, @asher_elbein, @laurabrounstein, @jricole, @donaldrwinslow and @michaelroston
Christine Schmidt / Nieman Lab:
The Lenfest Institute has created the Lenfest Local Lab, a team of news technologists tasked with testing and building products to aid local news — In the local news space, what's missing? (Don't say money.) — What about rigorous — maybe even fun — product development and testing?
Discussion:
The Lenfest Institute … and @burtherman
Issie Lapowsky / Wired:
A look at SurfSafe, a browser plug-in that cross-references images with 100 trusted news sites and fact-checking organizations to determine if images are fake — WHEN MICHAEL BENNETT played for the Seattle Seahawks, he celebrated wins with a victory dance in the team locker room.
Discussion:
The Verge, more at Techmeme »
Jeremy Barr / Hollywood Reporter:
CNN suspends contributor Paris Dennard following a WaPo story that said he was fired from Arizona State University after sexual harassment allegations — “We are suspending Paris, effective immediately, while we look into the allegations," a CNN spokesperson said.
Discussion:
TVWeek.com, Washington Post, Variety, @repcohen, @umairh, @charlesmblow, @iamgmjohnson, @mehdirhasan, @breznican, @goldietaylor, @brianstelter, @tgreene319, @trancewithme, The Daily Beast, @byaaroncdavis, Mediaite, Contemptor, @talkingnewmedia, @yamiche, @yashar, @jeremymbarr, @bluechoochoo and Mediaite
Soutik Biswas / BBC:
To combat fake news on WhatsApp, the South Indian state of Kerala is running 40-minute classes in 150 schools to educate kids in spotting viral hoaxes — Mobs have lynched at least 25 people across India after reading false rumours spread on WhatsApp. Now the authorities in one Indian state …
Marcela Kunova / Journalism.co.uk:
Publiq, a planned online content platform based on blockchain, would allow users to avoid censorship but would rely on users to weed out misinformation — Thanks to new ways of using blockchain technology in publishing, authors can bypass authorities when reporting uncomfortable truth.
Discussion:
@raju