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, Bloomberg, @ronanfarrow, Columbia Journalism Review, Washington Post, Poynter, Financial Times, The Wrap, Variety, Mediaite, @ndrew_lawrence, The Guardian, TechCrunch, Associated Press, @hypatiadotca, New York Times, @maxwellstrachan, CNN, @felixsalmon, @maggienyt, TVNewser, Washington Post, Observer, Newser, The Atlantic, Vanity Fair, Business Insider, Adweek, @yashar, Fast Company, @kitlovelace, Page Six, Vox, emptywheel, The Daily Beast, Mashable, The Week, The Verge, Recode, WIRED UK, Fortune, HuffPost, USA Today, Contemptor, GeekWire, KTLA, The Hill, @sonnybunch, @nxthompson, New Yorker, Associated Press, @karaswisher, @jamilsmith, @maxwellstrachan, @profgalloway, The Intercept, Big League Politics, @dmgshuey, @popehat, @tjl, @yashar, @dkahanerules, @elisewho, @xeni, Citi Newsroom, @michaelsteele, @washingtonpost, @brianstelter, @pkafka, @hypatiadotca, @heerjeet, @nxthompson, @yashar, VICE, @nycjim, Al Jazeera, Splinter, @mariashriver, @popehat, @mmasnick, @billkristol, @kevinmkruse, @po8crg, @popehat, @popehat, @maxwellstrachan, @maggienyt, @normative, @mrbromwich, @michaelavenatti, @waltshaub, @mrtsmith81, @moorehn, @fritinancy, @renato_mariotti, @renato_mariotti, @renato_mariotti, @renato_mariotti, @renato_mariotti, @renato_mariotti, @donie, @noahshachtman, @jeffjarvis, @samstein, @maxwellstrachan, @erikwemple, @kfile, @nycsouthpaw, @jenniferjjacobs, @gaberivera, @sdkstl, @nycsouthpaw, @marklittlenews, @benjaminwittes, @heidilifeldman, @gbrockell, @yashar, @kbiegel, @shiratarlo, @anildash, @donnarapado, @ksadjadpour, @mkarolian, @borzou, @rachelwalexande, @harryh, @danbarker, @jerrydunleavy, @eisingerj, @sulliview, Deadline, The Wrap, Slate, NPR, Hollywood Life, Jezebel, WINK NEWS, Boing Boing, The A.V. Club, TMZ.com, The Japan Times, Wall Street Journal and Gizmodo, more at Techmeme »
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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:
CNBC, @jediofgallifrey, TechCrunch, CNBC, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, @amandamarcotte and @oliverdarcy
Bloomberg:
Sources: SDNY received information about key exchanges concerning Bezos and AMI and is reviewing it for possible immunity agreement violations — - Billionaire says he won't give in to ‘extortion and blackmail’ — Magazine reported Bezos relationship as CEO announced divorce
Discussion:
@ninabernstein1, @will_bunch, CNN, Business Insider, Vanity Fair, Recode and The Week
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:
Bloomberg, Financial Times, CNN, Mediaite, The Wrap, @ronanfarrow, @ronanfarrow, @noahshachtman, @tbridis, @johncarreyrou, Newser and Page Six
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:
New York Times, @bluechoochoo, @vladsavov, @bluechoochoo, Business Insider and GeekWire, more at Techmeme »
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, @aaschapiro, The Daily Beast and Splinter
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 …
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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, @willsommer, Associated Press, @melodyhahm, @genepark, NPR, @mattyglesias, @dansinker, @davidfolkenflik, @farhip, @mattyglesias, @daveweigel, @wolfereports, @aaronblake, @versharma, @rickhasen, @dandrezner, @petridishes, @dylanmatt, @tomzellerjr, @susanschorn, @brendannyhan, @jason_pontin, @harrymccracken, @marcissist, @erikwemple, @thealannoble, @melaniesill, @rafat, BBC, @carloslozadawp, @johnmcquaid, @sulliview, Mediaite and Washington Post
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
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
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.”
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 »
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
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, @telegraph, The Guardian and @chrisevans1
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 …