Top News:
Natalie Jarvey / Hollywood Reporter:
Vice to lay off 10% of staff, or ~250 people, across the company as part of restructuring effort; weekly “Vice” show on HBO also ending — The cuts, which will impact around 250 people, are part of new CEO Nancy Dubuc's strategic plan to tighten spending and achieve profitability.
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Daniel Funke / Poynter:
Snopes pulls out of Facebook partnership, says Facebook's closed, manual fact-checking entry system is too labor intensive and fails to benefit the whole web — Snopes is no longer debunking misinformation in partnership with Facebook. In a statement published Friday …
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Devin Coldewey / TechCrunch:
AP says it is “not currently doing fact-checking work for Facebook”, after Snopes said it also stopped; both leave possiblity for future collaboration open — Two of Facebook's four fact-checking partners in the U.S. have stopped working for the program: Snopes …
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The Atlantic, Snopes.com, @shiraovide, PCMag India, Mediaite and Fortune, more at Techmeme »
Peter Kafka / Recode:
Source: Spotify in advanced talks to acquire popular podcast producer Gimlet for $200M+; Gimlet would be Spotify's first purchase of an original content maker — Spotify wants to break out of the music streaming business. Gimlet, the company behind shows like Crimetown and Reply All, can help.
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Nieman Lab, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, @evoterra, @nicktheandersen, @andrewchen, @dcseifert, @blakeir, @khoi, @nicktheandersen, @nicktheandersen, Business Insider, @mathowie, @nicktheandersen, Engadget, 9to5Mac, Fast Company, The Verge, Variety, Fortune, Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap and Music Business Worldwide, more at Techmeme »
Nick Statt / The Verge:
After backlash over stolen jokes, founder of the popular Instagram aggregator account Fuckjerry apologizes, pledges not to post content without permission — A shift the social media landscape's content-stealing culture — Elliot Tebele, founder of marketing firm Jerry Media and creator …
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The Atlantic, @krangtnelson, @hellolanemoore, @nathanallebach, @mcjesse, @dtrinh, @elizaskinner and Gizmodo
Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:
In interview with Trump, NYT journalists and publisher try explaining the global effect of “fake news” claims but his focus shifted to his personal grievances — President Trump takes credit for popularizing the term “fake news.” — But the consequences? Not his concern.
Maura Judkis / Washington Post:
The Washington Post is airing a 60-second ad during the Super Bowl's fourth quarter on Sunday, with Tom Hanks describing journalism's importance to society — The Washington Post will debut its first Super Bowl commercial — a message underscoring the importance of newsgathering …
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Washington Post, Deadline, CNBC, @postbaron, @maurajudkis, KTLA, @maurajudkis, @jason_kint, The A.V. Club, Adweek, Variety, Skift Table and The Week
Chuck Strouse / Miami New Times:
Memo: McClatchy is offering a voluntary early retirement program to about 450 employees, says it will be a one-time opportunity — This morning, Craig Forman, CEO of McClatchy Company, emailed all staff to say about 10 percent of the newspaper chain's employees would be offered voluntary buyouts.
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Ken Doctor / Nieman Lab:
For M&A possibilities among legacy newspaper companies and even digital startups, the next recession looms large and everything is on the table — In an industry where expense reduction is the prime strategy, much more consolidation is likely on the way. Little regulation prevents it, and the financials all favor it.
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Bloomberg, @darrendcarroll, @timhanlon, @newsbyschmidt and New York Post
Meg James / Los Angeles Times:
Starz CEO Chris Albrecht will leave the company in March; COO Jeffrey Hirsch will manage the company along with Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer — Chris Albrecht, chief executive of the premium cable channel and streaming service Starz, is stepping down from the company he has managed for the last decade.
Discussion:
Deadline, Broadcasting & Cable and Variety
Taylor Soper / GeekWire:
Amazon's “other” revenue, which is mostly composed of its advertising services, hit $3.4B in Q4, up 95% YoY and reaching $10.1B for all of 2018 — Amazon's advertising business is showing no signs of letting up. — Amazon reports record profits of $3B, crushes Wall Street expectations for holiday quarter
Brian Fung / Washington Post:
In day one of arguments, the FCC faced tough questions from a three-judge panel on its definition of broadband and potential issues for public safety agencies — The Federal Communications Commission faced sharp questioning from a trio of appellate court judges Friday as the agency sought …
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Common Dreams, The Verge, Gizmodo, Free Press, Ars Technica, The Verge and 9to5Mac, more at Techmeme »
Hannah Murphy / Financial Times:
Facebook says it was able to uncover the Iranian network thanks to information from Twitter and that the two have been sharing notes sooner than previously — Facebook and Twitter have removed thousands of fake accounts originating from Iran, some dating back as far as 2010, after collaborating to combat disinformation.
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Engadget
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Tony Romm / Washington Post:
Twitter says it removed thousands of malicious accounts that originated in Iran, Russia, and Venezuela for spreading disinformation about the 2018 midterms
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Slate, @wiczipedia, New York Times, @justinhendrix, @josh_emerson, Twitter, @yoyoel, @policy, Blog Network, @wiczipedia, @dcherring, PCMag India, NBC News, Twitter, Adweek, Recode, Ad Age, Mashable, Reuters and The Week
Facebook:
Facebook says it removed 262 Pages, 356 accounts, three groups, and 162 Instagram accounts tied to Iran for engaging in coordinated inauthentic behavior
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