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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 — “Something has to be done,” President Trump tweeted Monday. — Frustrated by CNN, with which he has an ongoing beef …
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@realdonaldtrump, Ars Technica, @insidevoa, @bearsaremean, @w7voa, @w7voa, @kaedotcom, @27khv, @greta, @w7voa, The Hill, Fox News and Politico


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 …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, CNN, @wikileaks, @emptywheel, The Week, @joepompeo, The Daily Beast, @tribelaw, Vanity Fair, VICE News, New York Times 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
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NBC News, @woodruffbets, Mediaite, New York Times, VICE News, The Intercept, The Week, Wired, Fast Company, CNN, @benjaminwittes, @emptywheel, @natashabertrand, The Daily Beast, @ggreenwald, @ggreenwald, @rising_serpent, Slate, FOX News Radio, Boing Boing, @drdenagrayson, @rschooley, @delavegalaw, @tribelaw, @kenbensinger, @k_jeanpierre, @repadamschiff, @tribelaw, @shadowingtrump, @joycewhitevance, @kylegriffin1, @sethabramson, @marcushjohnson, @mollyjongfast, @davidcorndc, @armandodkos, @kylegriffin1, @brianklaas, @kylegriffin1, Vanity Fair, Fortune, NPR, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller, Vox, Washington Post, Renato Mariotti, KTLA, The Verge, Observer, Hit & Run, ABC News and France 24


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, Video Ad News, MediaNama, 9to5Google, @shiraovide, @xpangler, @modestproposal1, @dylanbyers, Engadget, Adweek, /Film and The Wrap


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, @ev_rat, @chasnote, @karaswisher, @karaswisher and @mathewi


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, @tkawaja, Adweek, Deadline, 9to5Google, Broadcasting & Cable, Ad Age, MediaPost and The Keyword


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”.


Q&A: Universal Music Executive VP Michele Anthony on becoming an artist lawyer, the problems faced by women in music, and the future of streaming — The Universal Music executive on cutting school, the hurdles women face in music and what's next for streaming services


Sharon White, CEO of UK media regulator Ofcom, has said the BBC and UK broadcasters should collaborate on a Netflix competitor — “If the growth of Netflix and Amazon tells us one thing, it is that viewers will flock to single destinations that offer a wide variety of quality content," …


Friends of slain journalist Javier Valdez say there was an attempt to hack their phones the day after his murder — MEXICO CITY — The messages arrived at a familiar moment of crisis for Mexico's fragile journalist community — another reporter killed in the line of duty.
Discussion:
Metacurity


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, Music Business Worldwide, The Verge and MediaNama, more at Techmeme »


Philanthropist Judith Neilson says she is funding a AU$100M institute, The Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism & Ideas, in Sydney — Neilson wants to 'support evidence-based journalism and the pursuit of truth in an increasingly complicated world' — Billionaire philanthropist …
Discussion:
Financial Review and Khaleej Times