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Paul Manafort and WikiLeaks both deny that Manafort met with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange; Manafort threatens legal action against The Guardian — Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort is denying a Guardian newspaper report that he met with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange three times …
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CNN, The Daily Beast, @wikileaks, @emptywheel, Vanity Fair, @tribelaw, New York Times, @joepompeo, The Week, Fortune and The Guardian
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Sources: Paul Manafort had multiple meetings with WikiLeaks, including one meeting in 2016, just months before WikiLeaks released DNC dossier — Trump ally met WikiLeaks founder months before emails hacked by Russia were published — Donald Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort held secret talks …
Discussion:
@woodruffbets, CNN, New York Times, The Intercept, Wired, Fast Company, @tierney_megan, Slate, Mediaite, The Daily Beast, The Week, FOX News Radio, Washington Post, Fortune, @marcushjohnson, Vanity Fair, Vox, The Gateway Pundit, @k_jeanpierre, @mollyjongfast, @joycewhitevance, Boing Boing, @benjaminwittes, @emptywheel, @natashabertrand, @drdenagrayson, @tribelaw, @davidcorndc, @ggreenwald, @ggreenwald, Renato Mariotti, @kylegriffin1, @rschooley, @armandodkos, @kenbensinger, VICE News, @repadamschiff, The Daily Caller, @tribelaw, NPR, @shadowingtrump, @kylegriffin1, @brianklaas, @sethabramson, @delavegalaw, @kylegriffin1, KTLA, The Verge, Observer, Hit & Run, ABC News and France 24


Trump recently suggested the US needs a state-controlled “Worldwide Network” as he again criticized media; it already exists as the independent Voice of America — Amanda Bennett is director of Voice of America. — “Something has to be done,” President Trump tweeted Monday.
Discussion:
@realdonaldtrump, @27khv, @bearsaremean, Ars Technica, @insidevoa, @kaedotcom, @w7voa, @w7voa, @w7voa, @greta and The Hill


Condé Nast's Chief Executive Bob Sauerberg is stepping down, with the company to combine its US and international operations under a new global CEO — Publisher says Condé Nast and Condé Nast International will combine — Condé Nast said Chief Executive Bob Sauerberg …
Discussion:
Variety, AdExchanger, @ennisnyt, @david_marcelis, @oliverdarcy, The Daily Beast, @edmundlee, The Wrap, CNN and Ad Age


Source: YouTube is expected to scale back scripted shows in 2020; multiple sources say it will focus on YouTube's ad-supported business, with all originals free — YouTube has concluded that its investments in original programming are better placed on the free, ad-supported side — not behind a paywall.
Discussion:
Hollywood Reporter, @shiraovide, Engadget, @xpangler, @modestproposal1, Adweek, @dylanbyers, /Film and The Wrap


Fox & Friends let former EPA chief Scott Pruitt choose topics he would discuss on the show, sent questions in advance, and gave his team approval over script — The president's favorite cable-news show shared its interview scripts and its oh-so-hard-hitting questions in advance with an embattled Trump official.
Discussion:
Mediaite, @davidfolkenflik, Washington Post, @bubbaprog, @brendannyhan, Slate, @joycewhitevance, @brucebartlett, @jeffjarvis, @igorvolsky, @no_little_plans, @brianstelter, @andylassner, @ericgeller, @ike_saul, @swin24, @thedailybeast, Contemptor, @samstein, @asteadwesley, @tanzinavega, @ericboehlert, @kt_so_it_goes, @rockshrimp, @maxboot, @petergleick, @propublica, HuffPost, @melissajpeltier, @drvox, @jeremymbarr, @rosiegray, @jonesnews, @timothy_cama, @jessewente, @ericwolfson, @defensebaron, @joshgreenman, Media Matters for America, The Week and TVNewser


Facebook says alleged “entities” pulling billions of Facebook data points per day in 2014 were legitimate API calls from Pinterest with no connection to Russia — Facebook claimed engineers later “found no evidence of specific Russian activity”.


The DOJ indicts eight men on charges related to a global ad fraud scheme discovered with the help of about 15 tech companies, including Google and White Ops — In August 2017, the FBI organized a secret meeting of digital advertising and cybersecurity experts in a secure room in a Manhattan federal building.


The Emerson Collective, the social impact firm run by Laurene Powell Jobs, buys Pop-Up Magazine Productions, which also publishes California Sunday Magazine — The social impact firm makes another media acquisition, this time of the publisher of California Sunday Magazine and Pop-Up Magazine events.
Discussion:
New York Times, @smartsandcrafts, @mathewi, @ev_rat, @clarajeffery, @chasnote, @karaswisher and @karaswisher


Sources: Spotify has signed deals with major Indian music labels, clearing a path to enter the major market as soon as Q1 2019 — - Streaming service is said to launch as soon as first quarter — Swedish company seeks faster Asian growth to placate investors
Discussion:
Engadget, The Verge, Music Business Worldwide, MediaNama and RAIN News, more at Techmeme »


Disney is moving all of its brands to Google Ad Manager and will drop Comcast's FreeWheel from use by ESPN and ABC Television Group; deal does not include Hulu — The Walt Disney Co. is moving all of its digital brands and properties worldwide — including Disney, ABC, ESPN, Freeform …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Deadline, Adweek, 9to5Google, Broadcasting & Cable, Ad Age, MediaPost and The Keyword


A look at Fox Nation, Fox News' streaming service, as it launches with a range of programming from cooking shows to a weekly broadcast with Diamond & Silk — If you have ever wondered about the culinary skills of a “Fox & Friends” co-host, wonder no longer.
Discussion:
@nytpolitics, TVNewser, The Week, Los Angeles Times, Outkick the Coverage and CNN


A look at how ABC News is investing in local news, from the launch of a new initiative called Localish to hiring reporters based in the community — “The reality is we do not have folks who are embedded in the communities they serve who actually are responsible for telling these stories."