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, @ronanfarrow, Columbia Journalism Review, Poynter, CNN, TVNewser, Financial Times, Observer, Adweek, Washington Post, Bloomberg, TechCrunch, USA Today, New York Times, Fast Company, @hypatiadotca, Bloomberg, @maxwellstrachan, @felixsalmon, The Wrap, Mediaite, The Atlantic, The Daily Beast, Page Six, Mashable, @yashar, New Yorker, HuffPost, GeekWire, Business Insider, Vanity Fair, WTVR-TV, The Verge, The Intercept, @sonnybunch, The Hill, Associated Press, Splinter, Fortune, @karaswisher, Citi Newsroom, @nxthompson, Recode, Al Jazeera, The Week, @ndrew_lawrence, @kfile, @normative, @jamilsmith, @renato_mariotti, @kbiegel, @eisingerj, @anildash, @maxwellstrachan, @noahshachtman, @profgalloway, @mrtsmith81, @heidilifeldman, @donnarapado, @popehat, @renato_mariotti, Big League Politics, @dmgshuey, @popehat, @tjl, @jeffjarvis, @po8crg, @yashar, @mkarolian, @dkahanerules, @maxwellstrachan, @erikwemple, @elisewho, @benjaminwittes, @maggienyt, @moorehn, @maggienyt, @mmasnick, @nycsouthpaw, @kevinmkruse, @samstein, @jenniferjjacobs, @billkristol, @xeni, @nycsouthpaw, @harryh, @michaelsteele, @fritinancy, @renato_mariotti, @washingtonpost, @renato_mariotti, @borzou, @brianstelter, @waltshaub, @renato_mariotti, @yashar, @rachelwalexande, @ksadjadpour, @renato_mariotti, @maxwellstrachan, @mrbromwich, @shiratarlo, @pkafka, @marklittlenews, @hypatiadotca, @gaberivera, @heerjeet, @popehat, @nxthompson, @yashar, VICE, @nycjim, The Guardian, @michaelavenatti, @mariashriver, @sdkstl, @popehat, @jerrydunleavy, @donie, @gbrockell, @danbarker, @sulliview, Deadline, The Wrap, Slate, Contemptor, NPR, Hollywood Life, Jezebel, Vox, WIRED UK, WINK NEWS, Boing Boing, The A.V. Club, TMZ.com, The Japan Times, Wall Street Journal, KTLA, Gizmodo, Variety, The Daily Caller, WPIX 11 New York and Engadget, 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:
The Verge, New York Times, CNN, @ronanfarrow, Fortune, @ronanfarrow, @noahshachtman, @tbridis, @johncarreyrou, Page Six and Newser
Washington Post:
AMI says it believes it acted lawfully in its Bezos reporting and characterizes its actions as “good faith negotiations” but will investigate the claims — The parent company of the National Enquirer said it would thoroughly investigate extortion claims by Amazon chief executive Jeffrey P. Bezos …
Discussion:
Variety, CNBC, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, CNBC and @amandamarcotte
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: in August, Mohammed bin Salman met with Vice's Shane Smith to discuss a joint venture like the one the state has with Bloomberg and the Telegraph — New link at Wall Street Journal
Discussion:
New York Times, The Daily Beast and Splinter
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, @melodyhahm, The Daily Beast, @genepark, NPR, BBC, @mattyglesias, @dansinker, @aaronblake, @versharma, @davidfolkenflik, @rickhasen, @farhip, @mattyglesias, @dandrezner, @petridishes, @daveweigel, @dylanmatt, @wolfereports, @tomzellerjr, @susanschorn, @brendannyhan, @jason_pontin, @harrymccracken, @marcissist, @erikwemple, @thealannoble, @melaniesill, @rafat, @carloslozadawp, @johnmcquaid, @sulliview, Washington Post and Mediaite
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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 …
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:
@bmorrissey and @pkafka, more at Techmeme »
Shariq Khan / Reuters:
News Corp beats Q2 estimates with $119M in net income as revenue rises 21% YoY to $2.63B; revenue of online real estate services rose 7%, HarperCollins grew ~6% — (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch-controlled media group News Corp topped Wall Street estimates for quarterly earnings and revenue on Thursday …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, News Corp and Financial Times
Owen Williams / Charged:
Google touts its news initiatives, but essentially bars access to Google News for small publishers with its opaque policies and unrealistic output requirements — There's been a lot of discussion about the future of publishing over the last few years, particularly as Facebook traffic began cratering …
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, Android Police and Gizmodo, more at Techmeme »
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:
Beyond Search and Meduza.io, more at Techmeme »
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
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
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