Top News:
Peter Kafka / Recode:
Local news network Patch is now profitable, with $20M in ad revenue a year, but wants to offer deeper coverage and is exploring AI, paid memberships, and more — Patch is reemerging as local newspapers decline. — Perhaps you've read that the future of media is in peril. But that's probably overstating the case.
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, Nieman Lab, @jasonabbruzzese and @mathewi
Lachlan Markay / The Daily Beast:
AMI sources: Lauren Sanchez's brother provided her texts with Bezos to National Enquirer; Bezos' security consultant says probe into who provided texts is over — Multiples sources tell The Daily Beast that Michael Sanchez, a Trumpworld associate and brother to Bezos' lover, gave the couple's texts to The National Enquirer.
Discussion:
USA Today, Mediaite, Washington Post, Politico, Vanity Fair, ABC News, Fast Company, Wall Street Journal, Contemptor, The Guardian, Newser, Slate, CNBC, @helenkennedy, @alexzfinley, @justclaudia3, @profjeffjarviss, Business Insider, @abcpolitics, @bakari_sellers, @brianstelter, @malcolmnance, @laurenwern, @timobrien, @noahshachtman, @joshgreenman, @benmullin, @sdkstl, @hshaban, TechCrunch, Philly.com, New York Times, Fortune, @bluechoochoo and @swin24
Mark Fainaru-Wada / ESPN:
Bob Costas, a sports broadcasting icon, on how his criticism of the NFL and its handling of the CTE scandal led to him leaving NBC — IN DECEMBER 2015, the movie “Concussion” was set for a Christmas Day release in nearly 3,000 theaters across America. The film told the story of the NFL's attempts …
Benjamin Goggin / Business Insider:
Sources: GateHouse Media has quietly cut 60+ employees after buying a group of newspapers from Schurz Communications for $30M in late January — - GateHouse Media, owned by local newspaper giant New Media Investment Group, is quietly laying off journalists across the country.
Alexandria Neason / Columbia Journalism Review:
Former Marketplace reporter Lewis Wallace, fired for refusing to take a post on journalistic objectivity down, is crowdfunding a podcast exploring the subject — The American journalism community fancies itself a completely neutral estate, the poster child for objectivity. But this conceit is, at best, ahistorical.
Discussion:
@chasdanner, @a_w_gordon, @will_bunch, @lewispants and @jayrosen_nyu
Mihir Zaveri / New York Times:
A.J. Calloway, a host on entertainment news show “Extra,” was suspended by Warner Bros. on Saturday amid growing number of sexual misconduct allegations — A.J. Calloway, a host on the entertainment news show “Extra,” was suspended by Warner Bros. on Saturday amid a growing number of accusations of sexual misconduct.
Discussion:
Associated Press, @tezlynfigaro and @thr
CNN:
Jill Abramson continues to defend her book against plagiarism charges, says she gave Vice early excerpts of the book and invited the company's response — New York (CNN Business)Jill Abramson continues to claim that passages from her new book, “Merchants of Truth,” weren't plagiarized, but instead were improperly credited.
Discussion:
@bgrueskin, @brianstelter, @brianstelter, @axios, @spytalker, @mjrowland68, @tripgabriel, @mjs_dc, @annelamott, @greenfield64, @jordanuhl, @bethanyshondark, @mathewi, @wakeup2politics, @jaraparilla, @jonathanvswan, @amandionair, @mcwm, @rtmannjr, @boobpunchtina, @piersmorgan, @jordgoldman, @cnn, @medialawprof, @anthonylfisher, @will_bunch, @jyuanathan, @mathewi, @benmullin and Axios
RELATED:
Kevin McElwee / Columbia Journalism Review:
Analysis of six years of Who Pays Writers? data: freelancers typically made $200 per article, 73% had to wait 4+ weeks to be paid, and print articles paid more — The website Who Pays Writers? was founded in 2012 as a public, anonymous forum for freelancers to share their experiences working for publications.
Discussion:
@sarphanuzunoglu, @awj_chicago, @jennygzhang, @jamesfdennin, @dlberes, @ryp__, @mariekshan, @niemanlab and @susie_c
Sahil Patel / Digiday:
Complex has licensed six of its shows to Netflix and another 10 to Hulu in 2019 — “QB1: Beyond the Lights” is a reality show that follows three star high school quarterbacks during their final season before they move on to play college football. Produced by Complex Networks with …
Discussion:
@digiday and @richantoniello
Business Wire:
Hearst Magazines President Troy Young has been named Vice Chairman of IAB's board for 2019, which a number of media execs have also joined — IAB today announced it has elected Rik van der Kooi, Corporate Vice President at Microsoft Advertising, as Chairman of the trade organization's Board of Directors.
William Branigin / Washington Post:
William Branigin recalls Joe Alex Morris Jr, the LA Times Middle East correspondent, who was killed in the Iranian Revolution 40 years ago — Forty years ago, L.A. Times correspondent Joe Alex Morris Jr. and I headed into Tehran's chaos as the shah's regime teetered.
Discussion:
@amlwhere, @21timo, @keithrichburg, @eosnos, @postbaron, @jrubinblogger, @jbmoorephoto, @peterbakernyt, @jrezaian and @shelbygrad
Georg Szalai / Hollywood Reporter:
Viacom's VidCon, a conference for online video creators, is launching in London this week as part of an expansion into international markets — “There is such a great group of creators in the U.K.,” says Jim Louderback, the CEO of the Viacom-owned events business that has been making an international push.