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Netflix faced a tough balancing act when Saudi officials claimed an episode of Hasan Minhaj's Patriot Act violated local law — London (CNN Business)What's the price of censoring one episode of a Netflix show in Saudi Arabia? — Though Netflix has not released specifics on the number …
Discussion:
@krudell, @hasanminhaj, @karenattiah and @ase


Departed White House staffers, including John Kelly and Rex Tillerson, validate stories about the Trump administration, despite Trump's claims of “fake news” — The Trump White House isn't big on sharing information or answering questions asked on behalf of the public.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Politico, @saletan, @dabeard, @hunterwalk, @sarahlellison and Mediaite


Inside Beijing-based Beyondsoft and its “censorship factories”, with 4,000+ staff monitoring online content for media companies eager to please China's censors — Thousands of low-wage workers in “censorship factories” trawl the online world for forbidden content …
Discussion:
@suilee, @sophiehrw, @kemc, @jzheel, @puzzlereric, @ewong, @daschles, @b_p_sims, @jzheel, @ericfish85, @wingcommander1, @dangillmor, @puiwingtam, @mariancw, @panphil, @kevin2kelly, @ephs_apcp, @susanmaret, @altusda_ars, @camedwards and @kimmasters, more at Techmeme »


Gray TV completes acquisition of Raycom Media and now holds stations in 91 US markets; nine stations and Raycom's community newspaper unit, CNHI, were spun off — For the last time, we present to you the Raycom Media logo. That's because Raycom no longer exists — it has been officially swallowed …
Discussion:
The Herald, Multichannel News, Broadcasting & Cable and TVSpy


A carriage dispute forces 33 Tribune Media stations off the air, affecting about 6M Charter cable customers, including 1.5M around Los Angeles — Nearly three dozen Tribune Media television stations, including KTLA Channel 5 in Los Angeles, went dark Wednesday afternoon …
Discussion:
@livedoppler, @ourand_sbj, Multichannel News, Broadcasting & Cable, Deadline, @techjournalist and Awful Announcing
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The US Senate confirms FCC commissioners Brendan Carr and Geoffrey Starks, bringing the five seats to three Republicans and two Democrats, for five-year terms — The Senate has officially confirmed the incoming FCC commissioners, Brendan Carr and Geoffrey Starks have been officially confirmed by the Senate for their five-year terms.
Discussion:
Radio & Television … and Multichannel News, more at Techmeme »


Forbes is testing an AI tool that writes rough drafts of stories for contributors, which they can then edit and post — Forbes has dangled various carrots in front of its contributors to get them to post more. Its latest? An artificial intelligence tool that writes a rough draft for them.


The Telegraph hires William Sitwell, the former Waitrose Food magazine editor who stepped down over comments made to a vegan freelancer, as a restaurant critic — The Telegraph has appointed William Sitwell, the former Waitrose Food magazine editor who stepped down over comments he made in an email …


First closed hearing in Jamal Khashoggi murder trial was held in Riyadh on Thursday, with 11 suspects present; prosecutor has requested death penalty for five — The first closed hearing in the Jamal Khashoggi murder trial was held in Riyadh today, with 11 suspects present.
Discussion:
Financial Times and Associated Press


William Arkin, an analyst and reporter on national security, writes a long farewell memo to NBC critiquing war coverage, social media, and the “Trump circus” — New York (CNN Business)There are goodbye notes — and then there's William Arkin's frustrated farewell to NBC News.
Discussion:
@uptonbell, @ninaburleigh, @iddybud, @hongpong, @shoq, @spytalker, @curtmills, @spytalker, @brianstelter, @wjeffreybrown, @rolandsmartin and @moultonk


How deepfakes, AI-generated videos that graft a person's face onto another's body, have been weaponized to harass and humiliate their subjects, mostly women — ‘Deepfake’ creators are making disturbingly realistic, computer-generated videos with photos taken from the Web, and ordinary women are suffering the damage


In her new book “Merchants of Truth”, former NYT Executive Editor Jill Abramson says the paper has become “unmistakably anti-Trump” under Dean Baquet — President Trump appears content to ride out partial government shutdown stalemate over border security funding
Discussion:
@howardkurtz, @peterdaou, @jorjadavis, @wxdam, @daviduberti, @leba_miller, @greta, @carol_cardwell, @parkermolloy, @khanoisseur, The Hill, @sulliview, @realjameswoods, @oliverdarcy, @byronyork, @cjr, @politicalshort, @petehegseth, @martinsfp, @piersmorgan, @howardkurtz, The Wrap and Mediaite