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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:
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Bloomberg:
Sources: SDNY received information about key exchanges concerning Bezos and AMI and is reviewing it for possible immunity agreement violations — - Authorities were given publisher's missives to Amazon founder — Potential jeopardy for AMI's previous deal with prosecutors
Discussion:
New York Times, Bloomberg, Associated Press and Washington Post
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:
The Guardian, Variety, CNET, @jediofgallifrey, CNBC, The Guardian, @oliverdarcy, Recode, @amandamarcotte, Business Insider and The Week
Vlad Savov / The Verge:
Twitter served as the spark and initial validator for the Bezos blog post on Medium, once again showing how instrumental Twitter is for news — Jeff Bezos' highly personal blog post last night was a bombshell in many ways: it served as a middle finger to blackmailing bullies …
Discussion:
@bluechoochoo, @bborrman, @steverubel, @vladsavov, Vanity Fair, Adweek, KTLA, New York Times, GeekWire and @bluechoochoo
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, @ronanfarrow, Financial Times, Business Insider, @ronanfarrow, @noahshachtman, Bloomberg, @johncarreyrou, The Verge, @tbridis, Newser and Page Six, more at Techmeme »
Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
National Enquirer's work is not any kind of journalism, not even tabloidism; it is threat of publication as a bludgeon, with a clear political agenda — The tweet from Jeffrey P. Bezos, announcing his stunning blog post, came Thursday at 5:51 p.m. — And for a few long minutes, the chattering classes shut up.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, @bgrueskin, The Guardian, @robingivhan, Business Insider, @kitlovelace, Fortune, @ninabernstein1 and @will_bunch
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 — One sunny afternoon in August on a yacht off the Red Sea coast, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Vice Media Executive …
Discussion:
New York Times, @wsj, The Daily Beast, @michaelkamon, @aaschapiro and Splinter
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Washington Post:
Trump administration declines to submit a report to Congress on whether Saudi Arabia's crown prince is responsible for the killing of Jamal Khashoggi — The Trump administration declined Friday to submit a report to Congress determining whether Saudi Arabia's crown prince is personally responsible …
Discussion:
@kendilaniannbc
Eric Johnson / Recode:
Gimlet's Alex Blumberg and Matt Lieber on weighing remaining independent and being acquired, the days before the deal, and reach, data, and discoverability — Blumberg and Lieber spoke with Recode's Peter Kafka on the latest episode of Recode Media. — On Friday, Recode broke the news …
Discussion:
Recode, TechCrunch, RAIN News, @heyfeifer, @dada_drummer, @teddyschleifer, Techdirt, @nwquah, Hunter Walk, TechCrunch, @hunterwalk, @anchor and @mignano
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 …
Discussion:
@baekdal
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:
Vox, New York Times, Hmm Daily, @amyjbrittain, @willsommer, @melodyhahm, Associated Press, @genepark, @melissagira, @ezraklein, @juliacarriew, NPR, @farhip, @wolfereports, @daveweigel, @davidfolkenflik, @dansinker, @mattyglesias, @mattyglesias, @aaronblake, @versharma, @rickhasen, @dandrezner, @petridishes, @dylanmatt, @tomzellerjr, @susanschorn, @brendannyhan, @jason_pontin, @harrymccracken, @marcissist, @erikwemple, @thealannoble, @melaniesill, @rafat, @carloslozadawp, @johnmcquaid, @sulliview and BBC
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Chris Roush / Talking Biz News:
Capitol Forum, which focuses on M&A and government contract news, sues Bloomberg News, claiming Bloomberg is violating copyright's “hot news doctrine” and more — Capitol Forum, a Washington-based news service that focuses on mergers and acquisitions, antitrust and government contracts …
Discussion:
courthousenews.com, Thanks:@talkingbiznews
Reuters:
IAC's Vimeo generated $160M in revenue in 2018, up from $103.3M in 2017 as its subscribers grew to 952,000, up 9% YoY — Arjun Panchadar, Pushkala Aripaka — (Reuters) - Online video platform Vimeo's revenue jumped 54 percent last year as its subscriber base surpassed 950,000, its parent group IAC said on Thursday.
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Amazon launches Amazon Live streaming site and Amazon Live Creator iOS app for hosts from Amazon and brands to showcase available products — Amazon is taking on QVC with the launch of Amazon Live, which features live-streamed video shows from Amazon talent as well as those from brands …
Discussion:
The Verge, Engadget, GeekWire and App Store, more at Techmeme »