Top News:
Oliver Darcy / CNN:
BuzzFeed News laid off 43 on Friday, closing its Spain bureau, eliminating the national desk and national security desk, and slashing the health and LGBT desks — New York (CNN Business)BuzzFeed laid off dozens of employees on Friday inside its prized news division as the media organization restructures …
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Peter Kafka / Recode:
Sources: BuzzFeed and Group Nine have discussed merger; companies have ties via BuzzFeed's chairman Ken Lerer and his son Ben Lerer, CEO at Group Nine — BuzzFeed is cutting costs and getting leaner, but it still wants to get bigger — by exploring a deal with Group Nine.
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The Guardian, Slate, The Ringer, @hshaban, @hshaban, @hshaban, @petersterne, @jayrosen_nyu, @rafat, @rafat, @_alastair, @_alastair, @alex, @brianstelter, New York Post and Variety
Tom Kludt / CNN:
HuffPost layoffs: WGAE spokesperson says at least 15 union members laid off; non-union managers also affected; head of opinion section says unit is “no more”
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@indira_l, @jeremylittau, Columbia Journalism Review, The Cut, Newser, @jasoncherkis, @nberlat, @lollardfish, @conz, @bmaygers, @jayrosen_nyu, @jeremymbarr, @zachdcarter, @lebassett, @anildash, @donttrythis, @farhip, @hotlinejosh, @zachdcarter, @mccanner, @rafat, @brandyljensen, @drvox, @reporter_savino, @jmitchem, @_cingraham, @laurenweberhp, @oliverdarcy, @managewski, @yayitsrob, @alexmleo, Washington Examiner, @margarita, @benjysarlin, @citizencohn, @chrislhayes, @aterkel, @elanazak, @elisefoley, @ashleyfeinberg, @paigelav, @bmaygers, @iamandymcdonald, @bmaygers, @marinafang, @chloeangyal, Blog Network, threadreaderapp.com and Nieman Lab
Rafi Schwartz / Splinter:
A source shared BuzzFeed News Slack messages in which staffers criticized the CEO for the handling of layoffs; 40+ BuzzFeed News staffers were fired on Friday
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@mathewi, Columbia Journalism Review, @hcjewell, @sidizenkane, NPR, @techworkersco, @mskellymhayes, @attackerman, The Daily Beast and Splinter
Kate Bennett / CNN:
The Telegraph apologizes to Melania Trump for false statements in “The Mystery of Melania”, an article published last week, agrees to pay “substantial damages” — (CNN)A British magazine has issued an apology to first lady Melania Trump for an article it published …
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Telegraph, Slate, Mediaite, The Daily Beast, The Daily Caller and The Wrap
Jill Abramson / New York Magazine:
An excerpt from Jill Abramson's book “Merchants of Truth” on her time as the New York Times' executive editor as digital disruption took off — Adapted from the forthcoming book Merchants of Truth, by Jill Abramson. Copyright © 2019 by Jill Abramson. Reprinted by permission of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Discussion:
Columbia Journalism Review, @lauraelizdavis, @sesmith, @kpfinnerty, @jbenton, New Republic and Tablet Magazine
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Edelman: number of people who read traditional news weekly rises 14% YoY to 40% as number of people who read traditional news less often drops 20% YoY to 28% — An urgent desire for societal change and a chaotic media environment is driving a renewed interest in fact-finding, according to Edelman's 2019 Trust Barometer.
Christine Schmidt / Nieman Lab:
Research at the University of Texas finds that when more than 75% of comments on news sites are uncivil, it negatively affects readers' perceptions of the site — You never get a second chance to make a first impression. — Grandma adage aside, the comments matter, folks.
Discussion:
@niemanreports
Kali Hays / WWD:
Interview with Kate Lewis, the Chief Content Officer of Hearst Magazines, about the future of print, what advertisers really want, and more — The new chief content officer of Hearst Magazines on what people read “secretly,” whether magazines will last another 20 years and much more.
JSource:
Canadian Journalism Innovators, a journalist-led collaboration of nine media outlets including The Discourse, launches to support innovation in Canadian media — In the wake of massive journalism layoffs, a new journalist-led initiative aims to accelerate what is succeeding in Canadian media.
Laura Hazard Owen / Nieman Lab:
After appealing for paid subscriptions via a printed letter and social media, Arkansas Life magazine survives by gaining 1K subscribers, reducing print issues — How many fans does it take to keep a regional print magazine afloat? — In December, subscribers to Arkansas Life received a printed letter along with their January issue.
Jim Milliot / Publishers Weekly:
Wattpad, the online reading and writing community, is launching its own publishing division, Wattpad Books, this fall with six YA titles — Wattpad, the Toronto-based online reading and writing community that says it has received 565 million story uploads since its launch, is starting its own publishing division, Wattpad Books.
Raphael Satter / Associated Press:
Staff from Toronto's Citizen Lab, behind exposés of government hacking tool vendors like NSO, describe meetings likely arranged to get compromising quotes — NEW YORK (AP) — The researchers who reported that Israeli software was used to spy on Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi's inner circle …
Discussion:
The Citizen Lab, @nathanpatin, @bellingcat, @nickconfessore, @razhael, Gizmodo, @salmansid, @caparsons, @ap, @mikko, @x0rz, @razhael, @dangillmor, @sopandeb, @chadloder, @alexstamos, Beyond Search, @ap and Boing Boing, more at Techmeme »
Billy Perrigo / Time:
Researchers say India's political parties are using armies of volunteers to spread misinformation and hate speech via WhatsApp group chats ahead of elections — SUBSCRIBE Home U.S. Politics World Business Tech Health Entertainment Science Newsfeed Living Sports History The TIME Vault Magazine Ideas …
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Splice, @drsyquraishi, @gitagovinda and @sonaliranade, more at Techmeme »
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