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:
New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Post, BuzzFeed News, @nypost, Blog Network, @perlberg, New York Post, Washington Post, NPR, Associated Press, @kagrox, @buzzfeedben, @andrewfeinberg, @chrisgeidner, @buzzfeednews, @errollouis, Al Jazeera English, New York Daily News, @jonallendc, @jonathanchait, @kylegriffin1, The Week, emptywheel, The A.V. Club, Law & Crime, KTLA, Slate, Mediaite, Common Dreams, @chrisgeidner, @lalpert1, Sputnik International, @evanasmith, The Guardian, Variety, Vox, Mindy Fischer, Writer, @kylegriffin1, Axios, @jackshafer, @jackshafer, @jeffreytoobin, CNN, @rgoodlaw and Adweek
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Jeff Horwitz / Associated Press:
Sources: Enquirer used a safe for documents about payments and stories it killed as part of ties with Trump; Enquirer first promoted Trump for president in 2010 — WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Enquirer kept a safe containing documents on hush money payments and other damaging stories …
Discussion:
@thegarance, @jeffhorwitz, @thegarance, @jeffhorwitz, @traciemac_bmore, @jeffhorwitz, The Week, @rickhasen, Folio, @noahcrothman, The Wrap, Mediaite and Associated Press
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.
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:
Law & Crime, Boing Boing, The Wrap, The Guardian, Slate, @thomasaroberts and The Daily Caller
Brian Stelter / CNNMoney:
Floyd Abrams on American Media: “If Mr. Pecker and his company acted as is alleged, there should and very likely would be no viable First Amendment defense”
Floyd Abrams on American Media: “If Mr. Pecker and his company acted as is alleged, there should and very likely would be no viable First Amendment defense”
Discussion:
Washington Post, @rolandsmartin, @chriscuomo, CBS Los Angeles, @actual_chaos, @tedlieu and @gabrielsherman
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.
Discussion:
The Verge, @mims, @leoniehaimson, @jeffjohnroberts, @cwarzel, @holden, @jack0spades, @rasmus_kleis, @jayrosen_nyu, @juliacarriew, @xeni, @matthewstoller, @daveyalba, @aaschapiro, @taylor_owen, @max_read, @peterwsinger, @juliagalef, @dory_carrharris, @josephfcox, @josephfcox, @josephfcox, @josephfcox, @jwherrman, @caseynewton, @zackwhittaker, @jason_koebler, @jason_koebler, @jason_koebler, @derektmead, @jason_koebler, @jason_koebler, @josephfcox and @theabridgedzach, more at Techmeme »
Felix Salmon / Slate:
A New York Times article on a preliminary study of Facebook use and hate crimes in Germany overstated the complicated study's conclusions — In December 2017, a pair of Warwick University post-docs, Karsten Müller and Carlo Schwarz, published an intriguing and clever attempt …
Discussion:
@halhod, @oripley, @rohanv, @jwangark, @simonhurtz, @felixsalmon, @nxthompson, @halhod, @richvn, @max_read, @chanders, @chanders, Techdirt and Fortune
Jason Schwartz / Politico:
Sources: LA-based Fox News journalist Adam Housley has resigned from the network over its increased focus on Trump and diminished opportunities for reporters — In the Trump era, hard reporting is being crowded out by opinionated panels, current and former staffers say.
Discussion:
The Wrap, @jayrosen_nyu, @passantino, @whitehouserogue and Blog Network
Benjamin Mullin / Wall Street Journal:
Phillip Picardi, chief content officer of Condé Nast's Teen Vogue, is leaving to become EIC of Out magazine, which focuses on LGBTQ lifestyle and entertainment — Picardi, a rising star at the troubled magazine publisher, will be editor of Out magazine
Discussion:
@cmclymer, Adweek and New York Post
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:
@ajrod, @dcsportsbog and @ngreenberg
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 and The Splice Newsroom Archive
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:
Blog Network, Freedom of the Press …, CBS News, The Week, The Intercept, @will_bunch, Task & Purpose, @marygauthier_ and @sebastianmurdoc
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
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, @demfromct, @rafat, @ron_fournier, @noahpollak, @sbg1, @bgrueskin, @dada_drummer, @nxthompson, @jonathanvswan, @jbenton and Editor & Publisher