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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:
Bloomberg, Associated Press, Washington Post and The Guardian
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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, New York Times, Adweek, The Wrap, Washington Post, @ndrew_lawrence, Associated Press, Fast Company, The Guardian, @kimzetter, New Yorker, Observer, Bloomberg, Variety, The Wrap, @hypatiadotca, @maxwellstrachan, @felixsalmon, @maggienyt, Financial Times, Mediaite, TVWeek.com, CNN, Melville House Books, The Daily Beast, Fortune, TechCrunch, @yashar, The Atlantic, Reason, Slate, Business Insider, Page Six, The Hill, The Daily Beast, Mashable, HuffPost, @nxthompson, @sonnybunch, Vanity Fair, TVNewser, Vox, Recode, @karaswisher, The Week, GeekWire, emptywheel, KTLA, The Intercept, Contemptor, Big League Politics, @gregpmiller, WIRED UK, @dkahanerules, @elisewho, The Verge, Citi Newsroom, USA Today, @brianstelter, @pkafka, @hypatiadotca, Los Angeles Times, @nxthompson, @nycjim, Al Jazeera, Splinter, @mariashriver, @profgalloway, @maxwellstrachan, @michaelsteele, @xeni, @heerjeet, Newser, @dmgshuey, @jamilsmith, @washingtonpost, @popehat, @tjl, Associated Press, @yashar, @yashar, VICE, @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 and @sulliview, more at Techmeme »


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, CNBC, @oliverdarcy, @jediofgallifrey, The Guardian, @amandamarcotte, Business Insider, Vanity Fair and Adweek


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, KTLA, New York Times, GeekWire, The Week, @bluechoochoo and CNN

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, @robingivhan, Business Insider, Fortune, Recode, @ninabernstein1, @kitlovelace and @will_bunch

Ronan Farrow said he and at least one other journalist involved in stories about National Enquirer and Trump faced “blackmail” threats from AMI
Discussion:
CNN, @ronanfarrow, Financial Times, Business Insider, @ronanfarrow, @noahshachtman, Bloomberg, The Week, @johncarreyrou, The Verge, @tbridis and Newser


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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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, @karenattiah, @w7voa, @senatorleahy and @w7voa


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, @alansmurray, RAIN News, @heyfeifer, @dada_drummer, @teddyschleifer, Techdirt, @nwquah, TechCrunch, @anchor and @mignano
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Interview with Adam Davidson, co-founder and longtime co-host of Planet Money, on audio talent, various kinds of podcasts, and where the podcast business is now — In the design of social apps, we'll sometimes talk about how there's a Friend Graph and an Interest Graph, and they don't always mix.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, @timslloyd, @hunterwalk and @hunterwalk


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 …


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


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, @oliverdarcy, Associated Press, @timmcguire, @genepark, @tomscocca, @melissagira, @ezraklein, @juliacarriew, NPR, @mathewi, @farhip, @jamesgleick, @jeremyduns, @wolfereports, @daveweigel, @davidfolkenflik, @dansinker, @mattyglesias, @mattyglesias, @aaronblake, @versharma, @rickhasen, @dandrezner, @petridishes, @dylanmatt, @tomzellerjr, @susanschorn, @brendannyhan, @jason_pontin, @harrymccracken, @marcissist, @erikwemple, @mcmoynihan, @thealannoble, @melaniesill, @rafat, @carloslozadawp, @johnmcquaid and @sulliview
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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.