Top News:
Vox:
15 influencers, including Jonah Peretti, Ro Khanna, Brooke Binkowski, Malcolm Gladwell, Mark Warner, and Kara Swisher, weigh in on Facebook on its 15th birthday — 15 influencers weigh in on the company's 15th birthday. — When Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg returned to Harvard in 2017 …
Alex Thompson / Politico:
Montana Democrats introduce a “Protect The Free Press Act”, which would increase fine for assaulting a journalist from $500 to $5000, with up to a year in jail — HELENA, Mont. — Democrats in the Montana state legislature put forward a bill Monday that would increase the penalty …
Discussion:
@mtdems
Georg Szalai / Hollywood Reporter:
Viacom's Q1 revenue rose 1% to $3.09B, falling below analysts' expectations, with ad revenue at its media networks dropping 6% YoY — Revenue for the company, led by CEO Bob Bakish, fell short of Wall Street expectations as advertising revenue dropped, but affiliate revenue increased.
Nicole LaPorte / Fast Company:
Speaking at the Television Critics Association's winter gathering, FX CEO criticises Netflix for “not telling you the whole story” about its viewership figures — Is You really the smash that Netflix says it is? What about Sex Education? Its most public scold says don't believe the hype.
Discussion:
@jbflint, The Wrap, Variety, The Wrap, Variety, Adweek, /Film, The Playlist and Broadcasting & Cable
Sanjana Karanth / HuffPost:
The Washington Post's spend on its Super Bowl ad, reportedly $5.2M, has provoked anger in some quarters, including the Washington-Baltimore News Guild — Many are having issues with how much it cost, saying that money could go toward paying journalists. — The Washington Post aired …
Discussion:
@washingtonpost, @jeffbezos, @sarahkaplan48, @tim_cook, The Wrap, @levinejonathan, Ad Age, Fortune, @heroinebook, Broadcasting & Cable, American Press Institute, @laura_nelson, @chick_in_kiev, @slate, @sarahkaplan48, @tanvi_madan, @christophelston, @ahauslohner, @michaelavenatti, @davidrutz, @jessespector, @mkramer, MediaFile, @lam_barrett, @dabeard, @sarahmccammon, @the_ruhoff, @kris_sacrebleu, @deirdrelatour, @mitchellreports, @markhertling, @mcfaul, @amy_siskind, @baekdal, Washington Post, @brianstelter, @postbaron, MediaPost and John Kasich
Jim Waterson / The Guardian:
UK broadcaster Sky News is celebrating its 30th anniversary by broadcasting non-stop behind-the-scenes footage of its newsroom all day — Staff appear self-conscious that discussions were broadcast to audience of several thousand people including rival journalists
RELATED:
Kevin Draper / New York Times:
CBS says 98.2M people watched the Super Bowl, the smallest television audience for the event since 2008, while 2.6M viewed via streaming — It was the lowest scoring Super Bowl ever, a universally agreed upon snoozefest. The halftime show was forgettable. The commercials were tame.
Discussion:
The Week, @latoyafornola, @skooks, CNN, Vox, Mashable, New Orleans Times-Picayune, Ad Age, Mediaite, Newser, @shermichael_, Vanity Fair, ProFootballTalk and @davidwkenny
Anna Clark / Columbia Journalism Review:
Detroit journalist Bill McGraw was fired from his role as an editor of The Dearborn Historian, a city-funded quarterly, for covering Henry Ford's anti-semitism — One hundred years ago, Henry Ford bought a newspaper in Dearborn, Michigan, and used it to publish an anti-Semitic 91-part series called “The International Jew.”
Discussion:
@andreapitzer
Stewart Clarke / Variety:
Viacom has launched MTV Play, a streaming app for music channel MTV, in the UK targeted at younger viewers and cordcutters; it is priced at £3.99 a month — Viacom is going direct-to-consumer, launching an MTV Play app in the U.K. It marks the first time that Viacom …
Tatiana Siegel / Hollywood Reporter:
Source: Netflix is closing in on a deal to purchase director Joe Berlinger's film on Ted Bundy, starring Zac Efron, for $9M — The streaming giant proved to be a natural fit given that director Joe Berlinger already has a docuseries about the serial killer on the platform.
Discussion:
Variety, Fortune, The A.V. Club, Business Insider, The Daily Caller, The Playlist and Consequence of Sound
Tatiana Siegel / Hollywood Reporter:
National Geographic acquires global rights to environmental documentary Sea of Shadows, in deal believed to be the biggest non-fiction acquisition at Sundance — The purchase is believed to be the biggest nonfiction acquisition from the 2019 edition of the festival.
Discussion:
@tatianasiegel27
Paul Farhi / Washington Post:
How Patrick Howley, editor-in-chief of Big League Politics, got the scoop about Governor Ralph Northam's yearbook photo, after a tip from a “concerned citizen” — The reporter who exposed the racist photo on Gov. Ralph Northam's yearbook page said a “concerned citizen” …
Discussion:
Hit & Run, Fox News, Mediaite, Big League Politics and The Daily Caller