Top News:
Amanda Bennett / Washington Post:
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 …
Discussion:
@realdonaldtrump, @insidevoa, @bearsaremean, @w7voa, @w7voa, @kaedotcom, @27khv, @greta, @kgyp, @w7voa, Ars Technica, The Hill, Fox News and Politico
Matthew Singer / Willamette Week:
Thrillist article on Portland restaurant Stanich's, which launched a debate about food criticism, left out important context about the owner's legal troubles — The personal life of the owner had been spiraling into chaos long before his restaurant landed on the national radar.
Discussion:
@megreenwell, @pixelmetal, @rwhittall, @bruce_arthur, @mattdpearce, @pete_wells, @mekosoff and @mimapamundi
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Facebook is launching its “Today In” local news digest in 400 US cities, after beginning testing it in January — Facebook has a new area of its app it will have to police for fake news and biased sensationalism. Facebook is launching “Today In”, its local news aggregator …
Discussion:
Facebook, VentureBeat and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Starting next year, YouTube says its original content will be free and supported by ads, instead of being behind a premium paywall — 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, The Wrap, TechCrunch, YouTube Blog, MediaNama, @xpangler, @modestproposal1, Video Ad News, 9to5Google, @shiraovide, @dylanbyers, Adweek, Engadget and /Film, more at Techmeme »
Voice of America:
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:
Fortune, Talking Points Memo, @wikileaks, @emptywheel, @joepompeo, CNN, The Daily Beast, @tribelaw, Vanity Fair, VICE News, The Guardian and New York Times
RELATED:
The Guardian:
Sources: Paul Manafort had multiple meetings with WikiLeaks, including one meeting in 2016, just months before WikiLeaks released DNC dossier
Sources: Paul Manafort had multiple meetings with WikiLeaks, including one meeting in 2016, just months before WikiLeaks released DNC dossier
Discussion:
@woodruffbets, NBC News, New York Times, Mediaite, NPR, CNBC, @tribelaw, The Intercept, Wired, Fast Company, The Week, The Daily Beast, VICE News, @rising_serpent, CNN, @natashabertrand, Slate, @ggreenwald, @ggreenwald, The Daily Caller, @emptywheel, @benjaminwittes, 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, Vox, Washington Post, Renato Mariotti, KTLA, Observer, The Verge, Hit & Run, ABC News and France 24
Amanda Meade / The Guardian:
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, Khaleej Times and jninstitute.org
Craig Silverman / BuzzFeed News:
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.
Kara Swisher / Recode:
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, @jayrosen_nyu, @smartsandcrafts, @karaswisher, @ev_rat, @chasnote, @karaswisher and @mathewi
Tim Molloy / The Wrap:
NPR fires film critic David Edelstein after he made a joke which alluded to a rape scene in Bernardo Bertolucci's"Last Tango in Paris" — Edelstein posted joke in response to Bernardo Bertolucci's death — NPR has fired film critic David Edelstein because of a joke he made after Bernardo …
Discussion:
USA Today, IndieWire and The Daily Beast
Neil Shah / Wall Street Journal:
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
Keith J. Kelly / New York Post:
New York-based weekly magazine City & State is launching a daily newsletter covering the intersection of tech and government regulation on January 6 — The political storm over Amazon's pending arrival with HQ2 in Long Island City has seemingly inspired one publishing entrepreneur …
Discussion:
Talking Biz News
Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter:
Whitney Houston's ex-husband is suing Showtime Networks, the BBC, and the producers of a documentary about the singer for $2M over footage used — Misappropriation of publicity rights is alleged in the $2 million complaint as well as breach of an agreement not to use footage from the Bravo reality series, “Being Bobby Brown”