Top News:
Paul Mozur / New York Times:
Some Twitter users in China, of which there are 3.2M, face detention and threats in Beijing's broad and punitive new censorship push — SHANGHAI — One man spent 15 days in a detention center. The police threatened another's family. A third was chained to a chair for eight hours of interrogation.
Discussion:
Nuzzel, Business Insider, @respecthope, @davidramli and @niubi, more at Techmeme »
Matt Donnelly / Variety:
Sources: layoffs hit the Hollywood Reporter-Billboard Media Group and Valence Media, affecting about 22 people including the CMO and Billboard's managing editor — Roughly 22 people have been affected by layoffs at the Hollywood Reporter-Billboard Media Group, as well as its corporate owner Valence Media …
Discussion:
The Wrap
Reuters:
Myanmar court rejects the appeal of Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, the two Reuters journalists sentenced to seven years in jail for their reporting — Thu Thu Aung, Poppy McPherson — YANGON (Reuters) - A Myanmar court on Friday rejected the appeal of two Reuters reporters sentenced to seven years …
Discussion:
New York Times, Press Gazette, CBS News, CNN, Washington Post, Committee to Protect … and Al Jazeera
CNN:
Some question whether National Enquirer investigated Jeff Bezos to please Trump, but sources deny that Trump's animosity toward Bezos spurred the story — (CNN)A few hours after Jeff Bezos and his wife MacKenzie announced their divorce, the National Enquirer had an announcement of its own.
Discussion:
@grynbaum, Observer, @ericgeller, Mediaite, @mfkerr, @delrey, @jaketapper, @brianbeutler, @intelligencer, @conor64, @jazzmankyle, @brianstelter, @elise_jordan, Vox, Fortune and New York Magazine
Paul Kane / Washington Post:
Washington Post Publisher Fred Ryan joins US lawmakers to memorialize Jamal Khashoggi 100 days after his death: “we can't just let Jamal's story fade away” — Dozen of lawmakers and Washington leaders paid tribute to slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi on Thursday at the Capitol …
Discussion:
The Hill and New Yorker
The Information:
Sources say Amazon is developing a game streaming service, but it isn't likely to launch until next year at the earliest — Amazon is developing a service for streaming videogames over the internet, joining Microsoft, Google and other companies that are building similar offerings …
Discussion:
@jtoonkel, The Verge, @mattdrange, BGR, Mashable, SlashGear, Gizmodo, Variety, Business Insider, TechCrunch and GeekWire, more at Techmeme »
Rani Molla / Recode:
Top US ad buyers: Amazon could get 12% of total digital ad spending in 2020, up from 6% in 2018; Facebook's main platform may lose three percentage points — Top ad buyers say increased spending on Amazon is mostly coming from other digital platforms. — Amazon could double …
Discussion:
@kurtwagner8, Investor's Business Daily and Ad Age
Edmund Lee / New York Times:
Agenda, owned by The Financial Times, removes quotes attributed to Les Moonves from a story after representatives for Moonves denied he spoke with the reporters — Agenda, a news service owned by The Financial Times, published an interview with someone claiming to be Mr. Moonves shortly after he was fired as chief executive of CBS.
Discussion:
The Wrap, @edmundlee, @levinejonathan, Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap and Talking Biz News
Jason Lynch / Adweek:
Super Bowl ad inventory is “over 90% sold”, CBS ad sales chief Jo Ann Ross says; prices are $5M+ for a 30-second spot — Title sponsors secured for each pre- and postgame hour — CBS ad sales chief Jo Ann Ross and her team began selling ads for Super Bowl LIII as soon as Super Bowl LII ended last year.
Discussion:
Ad Age, Ad Age, Ad Age, Broadcasting & Cable and TVNewser
Matthew Garrahan / Financial Times:
Sources: Liberty Media is in talks to invest in talent agency CAA — Formula One owner Liberty Media is in talks to invest in Creative Artists Agency, the entertainment and sports group that represents stars from Lady Gaga to Cristiano Ronaldo, according to people briefed on the discussions.
Discussion:
@anotherdancohen and Music Business Worldwide
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Amazon's IMDb launches Freedive, an ad-supported streaming service offering movies and TV shows in the US; site now lists 130+ free movies and 29 shows — Amazon has extended its tentacles into the ad-supported VOD space — stocking IMDb with a back-catalog of dozens of movies and TV shows that are free to watch.
Discussion:
CNBC, Gizmodo, @xpangler, @digitalshields, Engadget, Ad Age, MediaPost, Hollywood Reporter and The Wrap, more at Techmeme »
Mark Di Stefano / BuzzFeed:
Memo: BBC executive Gavin Allen tells corporation staffers to stop using phrase “BBC understands”, claiming it is a “slightly pompous distancing phrase” — OK, so if you're a fan of BBC News you've probably noticed a phrase that pops up in its stories and headlines all the bloody time: “BBC understands...”
Discussion:
@markdistef, Press Gazette, @jamesrbuk, @mlle_elle, @cotslifeeditor, @kate_day, @mattnavarra and @charliebeckett