Mediagazer: The Canadian Press to cut six editorial staff, mostly in its Atlantic bureau in Halifax, citing declining subscription and ad revenues (Blair Rhodes/CBC News)

3:40 AM ET, February 10, 2019

Top News:

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: Washington Post, New York Times, The Hill, Business Insider, USA Today, Bloomberg, @eisingerj and Slate

The Daily Beast:

Ex-AMI investigators tell how AMI has used “blackmail” tactics like those revealed by Bezos; company lawyers have pressured other reporters to stop probing AMI — Threatening to reveal Jeff Bezos' “dick p*ck” was just the latest strong-arm tactic.

Discussion: @noahshachtman, @bluechoochoo, @swin24, @thedailybeast, @thegrugq, @mbaram, @swin24, @jbenton, USA Today, Associated Press, The Verge, The Hill and Newser

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

Discussion: @lpolgreen, @bgrueskin, Bloomberg, @abeaujon, @jamieson, @shelbygrad, @evleaks, New York Times, @robingivhan, @kitlovelace, @ninabernstein1, @will_bunch, The Wrap and Los Angeles Times

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

Discussion: @klasfeldreports, @nycsouthpaw, @sims, Washington Post, @bborrman, @bluechoochoo, @bluechoochoo, @vladsavov, @steverubel, New York Times, Business Insider, Slate, The Guardian and CNN

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

Discussion: New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, @jeffbezos, @ronanfarrow, New Yorker, @kimzetter, Rolling Stone, The Wrap, Bloomberg, @ndrew_lawrence, Politico, CNN, USA Today, The Wrap, Splinter, Fortune, Business Insider, The Guardian, The Week, YouTube, Columbia Journalism Review, @timobrien, @hypatiadotca, @waltmossberg, @maxwellstrachan, New Yorker, Poynter, @felixsalmon, @maggienyt, Observer, Associated Press, @gregpmiller, Wall Street Journal, CNBC, New York Post, @nxthompson, @pkafka, @yashar, Mashable, Slate, The Verge, The Hill, Miami New Times, @nxthompson, Vanity Fair, Mediaite, Adweek, Melville House Books, The Daily Beast, @noahshachtman, @dkahanerules, @nycjim, @hypatiadotca, @elisewho, @sonnybunch, Fast Company, @brianstelter, Variety, @ronanfarrow, Financial Times, Vanity Fair, @johncarreyrou, @mariashriver, emptywheel, @profgalloway, @maxwellstrachan, @karaswisher, @michaelsteele, @xeni, @heerjeet, @dmgshuey, Contemptor, Vox, @jamilsmith, @washingtonpost, @popehat, @tbridis, TechCrunch, @tjl, Recode, @yashar, @yashar, @popehat, @mmasnick, @billkristol, @kevinmkruse, @po8crg, @popehat, @popehat, TVNewser, @maxwellstrachan, @maggienyt, @mrbromwich, @michaelavenatti, @normative, @waltshaub, @mrtsmith81, @moorehn, @fritinancy, @renato_mariotti, @renato_mariotti, @renato_mariotti, @renato_mariotti, @renato_mariotti, @renato_mariotti, @donie, @noahshachtman, @jeffjarvis, @samstein, @maxwellstrachan, @erikwemple, @nycsouthpaw, @jenniferjjacobs, @kfile, @gaberivera, @sdkstl, @nycsouthpaw, @marklittlenews, @benjaminwittes, @heidilifeldman, @gbrockell, @yashar, @kbiegel, @shiratarlo, @anildash, @donnarapado, @ksadjadpour, @mkarolian, @borzou, @rachelwalexande, @harryh, @danbarker, @jerrydunleavy, @eisingerj, The Intercept, @sulliview, Bloomberg, American Press Institute, Newser, The Atlantic, Page Six, Editor & Publisher, Boing Boing, The Daily Beast, Deadline, Page Six, The Wrap, Washington Post, Associated Press, HuffPost, NPR, The A.V. Club, TMZ.com, The Daily Caller, The Japan Times, Wall Street Journal and Gizmodo, more at Techmeme »

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

Discussion: The Guardian, @tomfriedman, New York Times, Variety, @jediofgallifrey, @oliverdarcy, Bloomberg, @amandamarcotte, Slate, Variety, Vanity Fair, Business Insider, CNET and CNBC, more at Techmeme »

Ben Thompson / Stratechery:

Spotify's bet on Gimlet and Anchor gives it a foothold into podcasting to apply its listener monetization skills without worrying about sending money to labels — Credit Spotify CEO Daniel Ek with honesty; in a blog post announcing a major move into the podcast space, Ek wrote:

Discussion: Billboard, @mdudas, Ad Age and Gizmodo, more at Techmeme »

Hunter Walk:

Interview with Adam Davidson, co-founder and longtime co-host of Planet Money, on audio talent, various kinds of podcasts, and how podcasting is maturing 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: @hunterwalk, @adamdavidson, @arishapiro, TechCrunch, @timslloyd, @hunterwalk and @hunterwalk

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: @alansmurray, @sachinrekhi, @heyfeifer, @spotifynews, @dada_drummer, @teddyschleifer, @nwquah, Techdirt, RAIN News, TechCrunch, @mayafish and @mignano, more at Techmeme »

Matthew Ball / REDEF:

Fortnite's longevity will hinge on its ability to evolve and be a social network, which could allow Epic to build a Metaverse rivaling big internet platforms — If Fortnite is to play an important role in Epic's future (let alone that of media overall), it's important to address …

Discussion: @dwallacewells, @bakergavin and @mathewi

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: @glcarlstrom, @toddgitlin, @wsj, New York Times, @aaschapiro, @michaelkamon, The Daily Beast and Splinter

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

Discussion: @kendilaniannbc, @mrbromwich, New York Times, @lauralitvan, CNN, @swin24, @raju, @karenattiah, @w7voa, @senatorleahy, @w7voa and Mediaite

Blair Rhodes / CBC News:

The Canadian Press to cut six editorial staff, mostly in its Atlantic bureau in Halifax, citing declining subscription and ad revenues — The Canadian Press is cutting six editorial positions, in a move the company said is prompted by a decline in its subscription revenue.

Discussion: @larochecbc

Alison Herman / The Ringer:

NYT Cooking's comment section is helpful and civil because comments are focused on improving recipes, moderated by humans to keep them relevant — The subscription-based service offers hundreds of recipes—and even more suggestions—from helpful, well-meaning users. Who knew that such a thing was possible?

Recode:

Q&A with Fortune CEO Alan Murray about selling Fortune, its push into other businesses like live events, and how WSJ changed after News Corp bought it in 2007 — Murray recently sold the Fortune Media Group to Chatchaval Jiaravanon, a Thai billionaire you've probably never heard of.

Discussion: @pkafka

Brooks Barnes / New York Times:

Netflix says Roma has had theatrical releases in 41 countries and 1,100 screens, of which 250 were in the US; it's been viewed by 50% of accounts in Mexico — LOS ANGELES — For weeks, “Roma,” the Netflix movie directed by Alfonso Cuarón, has occupied an odd position in Hollywood: both omnipresent and mysterious.

New York Times:

Les Moonves's new company Moon Rise Unlimited, which focuses on “entertainment services”, operates in office space paid for by CBS as part of his exit agreement — Just months after being fired by CBS, Leslie Moonves is running a new company. — And though Mr. Moonves …