Top News:
Jeff Bezos:
Jeff Bezos publishes letters from National Enquirer owner AMI that he says show threats to publish his nude photos unless he stops probing AMI's reporting — Something unusual happened to me yesterday. Actually, for me it wasn't just unusual—it was a first. I was made an offer I couldn't refuse.
Discussion:
@jeffbezos, The Verge, Poynter, Columbia Journalism Review, Washington Post, @ronanfarrow, Bloomberg, Bloomberg, CNN, @hypatiadotca, @maxwellstrachan, @felixsalmon, The Atlantic, The Daily Beast, Mashable, HuffPost, Page Six, @yashar, Fortune, Recode, The Guardian, Citi Newsroom, The Week, New York Times, Associated Press, Al Jazeera, @pkafka, Business Insider, Big League Politics, The Hill, @sonnybunch, @karaswisher, @nxthompson, @ndrew_lawrence, @kfile, @normative, @jamilsmith, @renato_mariotti, @kbiegel, @eisingerj, @anildash, @maxwellstrachan, @noahshachtman, @profgalloway, @mrtsmith81, @heidilifeldman, @donnarapado, @popehat, @renato_mariotti, @dmgshuey, @popehat, @tjl, @jeffjarvis, @po8crg, @yashar, @mkarolian, Mediaite, @dkahanerules, @maxwellstrachan, @erikwemple, Slate, @elisewho, @benjaminwittes, @maggienyt, @moorehn, @maggienyt, @mmasnick, @nycsouthpaw, @kevinmkruse, @samstein, @jenniferjjacobs, @billkristol, @xeni, @nycsouthpaw, @harryh, @michaelsteele, @fritinancy, The Wrap, @renato_mariotti, Deadline, @washingtonpost, @renato_mariotti, @borzou, @brianstelter, @waltshaub, @renato_mariotti, @yashar, @rachelwalexande, @ksadjadpour, @renato_mariotti, @maxwellstrachan, @mrbromwich, @shiratarlo, @marklittlenews, @hypatiadotca, @gaberivera, @heerjeet, @popehat, @nxthompson, @yashar, VICE, @nycjim, @michaelavenatti, @mariashriver, @sdkstl, @popehat, @jerrydunleavy, @donie, @sulliview, @gbrockell, @danbarker, NPR, Hollywood Life, Jezebel, Vox, WINK NEWS, Splinter, The A.V. Club, Contemptor, TechCrunch, USA Today, The Japan Times, Wall Street Journal, KTLA, Fast Company, Boing Boing, WIRED UK, Gizmodo, Variety, GeekWire, The Daily Caller, WPIX 11 New York, Engadget and Rehak/Stuebing Mostly Media, more at Techmeme »
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Allyson Chiu / Washington Post:
Ronan Farrow said he and at least one other journalist involved in stories about National Enquirer and Trump faced “blackmail” threats from AMI — Ronan Farrow said Thursday that he and “at least one other prominent journalist” who had reported on the National Enquirer …
Discussion:
New York Times, CNN, Bloomberg, The Week, @ronanfarrow, @ronanfarrow, @noahshachtman, @tbridis, @johncarreyrou, Page Six and Newser, more at Techmeme »
Washington Post:
Jill Abramson responds to plagiarism allegations, says some citations don't match with the right pages and some language is too close to sources, promises fixes — Former New York Times executive editor Jill Abramson responded Thursday to allegations that she plagiarized portions of her new book …
Discussion:
New York Times, @amyjbrittain, Hmm Daily, Associated Press, @willsommer, The Daily Beast, @melodyhahm, NPR, @genepark, BBC, @mattyglesias, @dansinker, @melaniesill, @thealannoble, @aaronblake, @versharma, @davidfolkenflik, @harrymccracken, @rickhasen, @farhip, @tomzellerjr, @mattyglesias, @rafat, @dandrezner, @erikwemple, @petridishes, @daveweigel, @dylanmatt, @susanschorn, @brendannyhan, @jason_pontin, @marcissist, @wolfereports, @carloslozadawp, @johnmcquaid, @sulliview, Washington Post, Mediaite, @ianfrisch and New York Post
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Mathew Ingram / Columbia Journalism Review:
While a fine line exists on what qualifies as plagiarism, it's irritating to have words borrowed for Jill Abramson's book with no apparent attribution — It's an odd feeling to have an otherwise unremarkable passage you wrote appear as an exhibit in an accusation of plagiarism …
Tamar Auber / Mediaite:
Vice News correspondent says former NYT executive editor Jill Abramson included plagiarized passages in chapters about Vice in her book, Merchants of Truth
Vice News correspondent says former NYT executive editor Jill Abramson included plagiarized passages in chapters about Vice in her book, Merchants of Truth
Discussion:
@mcmoynihan, @ianfrisch, @oliverdarcy, @jillabramson, CNN, @ajwimsatt, The Hill, @jillabramson, @mcmoynihan, @annehelen, American Press Institute, Plagiarism Today, @surooshalvi, @jrubinblogger, New York Magazine, NPR, @adrs, The Wrap, @normative, NB Blog, Vox, @bcmerchant, @bcmerchant, @benmullin, @jakemalooley, @bobruggiero2, @hshaban, @cjsprigman, @cjsprigman, @bruce_arthur, @originalspin and @sgtjanedoe
Brendan Nyhan / Medium:
Research comparing 2016 and 2018 suggests Facebook's efforts to limit the reach of fake news are working, but the platform's scale remains an alluring target — After the shock of the 2016 presidential election, many Americans found psychological refuge in a simple explanation for why Donald Trump won: “fake news.”
Max Willens / Digiday:
IAC's Dotdash, which owns Investopedia and the remnants of About.com, posts $131M in revenue in 2018, up 44% YoY, and expects 21% revenue growth YoY for 2019 — In a year where publishers scrambled to diversify their revenues and their business models, Dotdash posted breakout growth stemming from a course it charted a long time ago.
Discussion:
@pkafka, more at Techmeme »
Manish Singh / VentureBeat:
News aggregator Nuzzel sold to Scroll, which is building a news subscription service; Nuzzel founder Jonathan Abrams and COO Kent Lindstrom to leave the company — News aggregator Nuzzel has found a new home and leadership and is undergoing some product changes.
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, @arctictony, TechCrunch, Scroll Blog and @mattmcgee, more at Techmeme »
Dami Lee / The Verge:
Spotify's new Terms of Service, which go into effect on March 1, will give Spotify the authority to immediately terminate accounts that use ad blockers — Cracking down on ad blockers — Spotify is now explicitly banning ad blockers, as stated in an updated Terms of Service policy sent out today.
Discussion:
Music Industry Blog, Gizmodo and Android Police, more at Techmeme »
Cara Lombardo / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Digital First Media, which owns ~7.5% of Gannett's stock and was rejected in a takeover attempt, has launched a proxy fight to remake Gannett's board — Digital First Media, the hedge-fund-backed newspaper chain whose takeover bid for Gannett was rejected, is preparing for a proxy fight to remake Gannett's board.
Discussion:
@cararlombardo
Christine Schmidt / Nieman Lab:
Newsletter provider Substack is now offering support for podcasts by notifying subscribers when a podcast is published, which they can listen to via web player — “It's not paying for the newsletter or the audio file. It's the connection to the mind." — In another snippet of podcast news …
Discussion:
Audio Newsletter and Off The Chain
Sankalp Phartiyal / Reuters:
Facebook's measures to increase transparency before India's election, including requiring advertisers to confirm identity and location, take effect Feb. 21 — NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Facebook Inc is toughening up the rules governing political advertisements in India to create more transparency ahead …
Claire Newell / Telegraph:
UK's Telegraph to report misconduct allegations against Philip Green after he dropped his legal claim and was ordered to pay £3M, the bulk of the outlet's costs — Sir Philip Green faces a legal bill of £3 million after the High Court formally allowed him to abandon his court action …
Discussion:
Press Gazette, The Guardian, @telegraph and @chrisevans1
The Moscow Times:
Report: Google pulls government-banned sites from Russian search results, blocks ~70% of sites blacklisted by Russia's communications regulator Roskomnadzor — Google has started to remove certain entries from its search results in Russia in compliance with long-standing demands from the authorities …
Discussion:
Meduza.io and Beyond Search, more at Techmeme »