Top News:
CBS News:
In interview, Sheryl Sandberg says “we absolutely did not pay anyone to create fake news” and says she didn't know Facebook had hired Definers — A day after a searing investigation into Facebook by The New York Times, the company's chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, is defending herself and the social media giant.
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Donie O'Sullivan / CNN:
With little evidence, Definers Public Affairs pitched a story last summer suggesting Apple News editors were biased against the GOP, based on campaign donations — New York (CNN)The conservative public affairs firm that worked for Facebook, and spread opposition research …
Discussion:
The Atlantic, MediaPost, Vox, Wall Street Journal, getrevue.co, The Verge, @emilybell, @stevekopack, @donie, Business Insider and NBC News, more at Techmeme »
Karl Bode / Techdirt:
Facebook's use of Definers Public Affairs is by no means unique, mirroring the way the telecom industry uses think tanks, PR firms, and bogus news operations — So by now most people have probably read the New York Times deep dive into what can only be described as Facebook's deep well of internal dysfunction and self delusion.
Discussion:
New York Times, Sheryl Sandberg, Bloomberg, Mercury News, The Daily Beast, @jacknicas, @allmattnyt, @karlbode and @daphnehk, more at Techmeme »
Tim Miller:
Tim Miller, who has worked with Definers Public Affairs and Crooked Media, defends his work, including the effort to link Soros to anti-Facebook groups
Discussion:
@timodc, @parkermolloy, @samstein, @oneunderscore__, New York Times, @libbycwatson and Business Insider, more at Techmeme »
Nick Martin / Splinter:
With Tim Miller, suspended after NYT Facebook report, Crooked Media engaged in the familiar media exercise of featuring a Never Trumper in the name of “balance”
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, @ericrennerbrown, @lakshmigandhi, @bayarea4bernie, Vanity Fair, New York Times and Business Insider
Paul Linford / HoldtheFrontPage:
UK's Johnston Press, publisher of The Scotsman, The Yorkshire Post, and the i, is ending its effort to be sold and is planning to place itself in administration — Regional publisher Johnston Press has announced it is ending its attempts to find a buyer for the company and placing itself in administration.
Discussion:
Reuters, Telegraph, @lyramckee, @marksweney and @skynewsbreak
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: DOJ is preparing to prosecute WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange; exact charges are unclear but could possibly involve the Espionage Act — Over the past year, U.S. prosecutors have discussed several types of charges they could potentially bring against the WikiLeaks founder
Discussion:
New York Times, Columbia Journalism Review, @trevortimm, @dangillmor, Associated Press, @sulliview, The Guardian, @wikileaks, @asharangappa_, @evan_greer, @chipgibbons89, @caitoz, @matthewamiller, @devlinbarrett, @markszaidesq, @colmorrisdavis, @bradmossesq, @charlie_savage, @emptywheel, Fast Company, Boing Boing, The Week, The Hill, Politico, The Daily Caller, Peter O'Kelly's Reality Check and Mediaite
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Washington Post:
Court filings in an unrelated case and sources reveal prosecutors have charged Julian Assange under seal, but the nature of charges remains unclear — WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange has been charged under seal, prosecutors inadvertently revealed in a recently unsealed court filing …
Discussion:
@seamushughes, Freedom of the Press …, Washington Post, emptywheel, Committee to Protect …, Associated Press, Vanity Fair, @razhael, @pressfreedom, @jonathanwpeters, @jonathanwpeters, Slate, Mashable, @normeisen, The Week, @sparrowmedia, The Guardian, Fortune, The Daily Caller, NPR, The Wrap, @jamesrbuk, @trevortimm, @mattzap, @mattzap, The Verge, TechCrunch, Gizmodo, Al Jazeera, Reuters, The Daily Beast and Engadget
Glenn Greenwald / The Intercept:
The Obama DOJ didn't prosecute Julian Assange because it would have been a threat to press freedom, a reason as valid now, post-DNC leak, as it was then — The Trump Justice Department inadvertently revealed in a court filing that it has charged Julian Assange in a sealed indictment.
Discussion:
@trevortimm, CNBC, Mediaite, Law & Crime and The Week
CNN:
Judge orders White House to return Acosta's hard pass immediately citing violation of due process, thus granting CNN's request for a temporary restraining order — (CNN)Federal judge Timothy J. Kelly sided with CNN on Friday, ordering the White House to reinstate chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta's press pass.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Press Gazette, Wall Street Journal, TVNewser, Hollywood Reporter, Poynter, @schneidercnn, NPR, @philiprucker, Bloomberg, @erikwemple, Vox, @thr, @postbaron, @thr, New York Times, France 24, @erikwemple, @jameeljaffer, @farhip, @davidafrench, Senator Bob Menendez, @hadas_gold, @erikwemple and Fortune
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Scott Nover / The Atlantic:
Press freedom advocates express cautious relief, for now, after the return of Jim Acosta's press press, and praise unity of most media outlets supporting access — A federal judge temporarily restored Jim Acosta's White House press credentials, but didn't rule on the CNN correspondent's First Amendment claims.
Discussion:
@scottnover, Washington Post, The Week, @scottnover, @medialawrocks, @loebvernon, @scottnover, @spj_tweets and @scottnover
Rebecca Keegan / Hollywood Reporter:
The Criterion Collection says it will launch a streaming service of classic films in the spring, after outcry over WarnerMedia's decision to shut FilmStruck — “Round up your buddies,” Steven Spielberg told Edgar Wright, when a campaign was launched to save FilmStruck.
Discussion:
The Wrap, The Criterion Collection, MediaPost, TechCrunch, @filmstruck and @devancoggan
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Viacom tops Q4 expectations with profit of $386M down from $674M in 2017, with revenue from cable operations falling 1% to $2.52B due to ad revenue shortfall — Viacom Inc. said net income in its fiscal fourth quarter fell as revenue slumped overseas and stayed flat with year-earlier results …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Hollywood Reporter, Broadcasting & Cable, Reuters and MediaPost
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Adam Bernstein / Washington Post:
William Goldman, Oscar-winning screenwriter of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and All the President's Men, dies at 87 — Badly hung over, the detective rises from a foldout couch in his office. He turns off the TV that has been on all night, dunks his head in ice water …
Discussion:
Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Slate, Vox, @realronhoward, @redhourben, New York Times, Deadline, TVWeek.com, @keitholbermann, @timobrien, Vanity Fair, The Ringer, New York Times, NBC News, The Week, Business Insider, The Wrap and io9
Laura Hazard Owen / Nieman Lab:
Reuters smart speakers study: 18% of owners in US use them daily for news, CNN, NPR lead as most popular news brands, users find news briefings too long — People are still much more likely to use smart speakers for music and weather than news. But that could change as news organizations …
Discussion:
Journalism.co.uk, kottke.org, Techdirt and VentureBeat, more at Techmeme »
Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
Journalists at The Capital, where five died in a shooting in June, continue their push to unionize with other nearby newsrooms as the Chesapeake News Guild — The Capital, a Maryland community newspaper where five employees were killed in June in a mass shooting, is pushing to unionize under …
Discussion:
Baltimore Fishbowl, @ckrewson, @phildavis_cg and The NewsGuild - CWA
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