Top News:
Guru Gowrappan / Verizon:
On January 8, Oath, which was created from Verizon's acquisitions of Yahoo and AOL, will be rebranded as Verizon Media Group — Verizon Media Group will replace the Oath brand, representing our strong alignment as a core pillar of Verizon's business. — I'm excited today to share …
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Wall Street Journal:
Trump adviser Roger Stone settles $100M defamation lawsuit brought by Chinese businessman over claims he made on InfoWars, admits making false statements — Trump adviser made the admission in settling a defamation suit brought against him by an exiled Chinese businessman
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Washington Post, Fortune, NBC News, The Wrap, @paulmwatson, Wonkette, @kylegriffin1, @amy_siskind, @justinhendrix, @tornadoesboreme, @sarahsmith2018, @shelbyholliday, Newser, The Week and Mediaite
Jeremy Barr / Hollywood Reporter:
Tucker Carlson loses at least 14 advertisers from his Fox News show, including Ancestry.com and NerdWallet, after his comments about immigrants — The host claimed on Monday night that he is “not intimidated” by the backlash and stands by what he said last week.
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The Wrap, Mediaite, Media Matters for America, TVNewser, CNN, HuffPost, New York Magazine, Contemptor, The Guardian, @jeremymbarr, @slpng_giants, @juddlegum, @jeremymbarr, @slpng_giants, Washington Post, @brianstelter, @markghuneim, @oliverdarcy, Fortune, Ad Age, The Week, The Daily Beast, Jezebel, Fast Company and Vox
Committee to Protect Journalists:
The Committee to Protect Journalists and First Look Media's press freedom defense fund aims to raise $500K for legal support, with Rappler as a recipient — International Center for Journalists and Reporters Without Borders Join Fundraising Campaign with Leading Organizations Fighting for Global Press Freedom
Discussion:
@sulliview and @jeffjarvis
Bloomberg:
Senate report: Instagram dwarfs all social networks in Russia's IRA posts and engagements, yet Facebook execs have not been upfront about this — - Document prepared for Senate Intelligence evaluates posts — Instagram tops Facebook in IRA posts and unique engagements
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New York Times, Columbia Journalism Review, @noupside, Washington Post, American Press Institute, Marketing Dive, The Computational …, Slate, Vanity Fair, Wired, New York Times, The Guardian, Wired, @alexstamos, Slate, @jaketapper, CNBC, TechCrunch, The Week, @sheeraf, @judywoodruff, @senblumenthal, @ericgeller, @justinhendrix, Variety, @graphika_inc, @wired, Fast Company, @sarahfrier, @clarajeffery, @simonwdc, @jricole, @sarahfrier, @clarajeffery, @bruce_arthur and @mikeelgan, more at Techmeme »
Adam Jacobson / Radio & Television Business Report:
DOJ's antitrust division approves Gray's merger with Raycom Media on the condition that companies will sell overlapping TV stations in nine local markets — The Department of Justice late Friday gave its formal approval of Gray Television's merger with Raycom Media.
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Sources: while Facebook had informal talks with cable networks including HBO and Showtime, it currently has no plans to launch a subscription video product — - Facebook Has Talked With HBO, Showtime and Other Networks but It's Unlikely to Proceed With Pay-TV Idea — Is Facebook about to become cable TV provider?
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@mattnavarra
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
As EU debates Article 13, which would require sites to have an “upload filter”, a look at the failures of YouTube's sophisticated ContentID system — The entire Article 13 debate is a weird one. It appears that both the recording industry and the film industry are going for broke on this one.
Discussion:
@mmasnick
Reporters Without Borders:
RSF: number of journalists killed increased 15% YoY in 2018 to 63, with the US joining the list of the deadliest countries for the press — Organisation — RSF_en — A total of 80 journalists were killed this year, 348 are currently in prison, and 60 are being held hostage …
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NPR, @mallarytenore, @mediaeu, @johnmdonnelly, @greenslader, @conradhackett, @conradhackett, Press Gazette and TVNewser
Tim Baysinger / The Wrap:
A former Wisconsin police sergeant is suing Netflix and the filmmakers behind the “Making A Murderer” series over his portrayal in it — Andrew Colburn, a former police sergeant in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, has sued the filmmakers of “Making a Murderer” as well as Netflix …
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Fast Company
Tampa Bay Times:
The charitable trust of Nelson Poynter's 92-year-old widow is suing Tampa Bay Times parent company Times Publishing Co., claiming it's owed millions — The charitable trust benefitting the 92-year-old widow of Nelson Poynter has sued Times Publishing Co. in federal court, claiming it is owed millions of dollars.
Sahil Patel / Digiday:
A look at how CBS is adding local news channels to its streaming service CBSN, starting with CBSN in New York, with plans to launch in LA in 2019 — CBS News plans to provide more local news coverage on connected TV screens. — Last week, CBS Television Stations and the company's digital arm …
Tim Baysinger / The Wrap:
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred confirmed the league is interested in acquiring Fox's regional sports networks, which Disney is required to divest after 21CF deal — MLB commissioner Rob Manfred confirmed the league's interest in acquiring the regional sports networks (RSN) …
Discussion:
Multichannel News
Todd Spangler / Variety:
A branded content section of WSJ's website was hacked on Monday, with a message posted praising YouTuber PewDiePie; he later tweeted a link to the page himself — Popular YouTube creator PewDiePie's ongoing battle to keep his channel's subscriber count No. 1 ahead of India's T-Series took …
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