Mediagazer: NYT Cooking's comment section is helpful and civil because comments are focused on improving recipes, moderated by humans to keep them relevant (Alison Herman/The Ringer)

7:15 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, USA Today, Business Insider, @eisingerj, Bloomberg 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

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

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 The Wrap

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: @tomfriedman, The Guardian, New York Times, @jediofgallifrey, Variety, @oliverdarcy, @amandamarcotte, Slate, Bloomberg, Variety, Vanity Fair, Business Insider, CNET and CNBC, 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, @mathewi and @bakergavin

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: @mdudas, Billboard and Ad Age, 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

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

Brian Feldman / New York Magazine:

The rise on Instagram of “meme accounts” like @fuckjerry, which steal jokes, videos, and other content, is a platform failure Instagram refuses to acknowledge — The past few weeks have been rough for Elliot Tebele. Tebele is the morally compromised founder of Jerry Media …

Discussion: Columbia Journalism Review

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?

Christine Schmidt / Nieman Lab:

Knight Commission on Trust, Media, and Democracy recommendations for journalism: be transparent, gain philanthropic support, improve tech use, diversify staff — Radical transparency, committed philanthropy, disinformation-debunking technology, organizational diversity — and a year of service …

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

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, @aaschapiro, @michaelkamon, New York Times, 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, @lauralitvan, New York Times, @swin24, @raju, CNN, Mediaite, @karenattiah, @w7voa, @senatorleahy and @w7voa

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.

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

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 …