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, @niemanlab, @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, Politico, Washington Post, Mediaite, Vanity Fair, ABC News, Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Slate, CNBC, @alexzfinley, @justclaudia3, Business Insider, @abcpolitics, @malcolmnance, @laurenwern, @timobrien, Newser, Contemptor, @profjeffjarviss, @bakari_sellers, @joshgreenman, @sdkstl, @hshaban, @helenkennedy, @noahshachtman, @benmullin, Fast Company, @brianstelter, TechCrunch, Philly.com, Fortune and New York Times
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Wall Street Journal:
Source: American Media sought advice from the DOJ over whether it should register as a foreign agent after working with Saudi Arabia — American Media inquired about having to register as foreign agent after publishing glossy magazine promoting Saudi Arabia and its new crown prince
Discussion:
@rebeccaballhaus, @natashabertrand, @bykowicz and @lrozen
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 …
Discussion:
@espn, CNN, Awful Announcing, Poynter, Variety, TVNewser, @morgfair, @jeffnesbit, @ddiamond, @walsha, @stevecapus, @zigmanfreud, @jonheyman, @bruce_arthur, @janesports, @nmercad, @domeniconpr, @julietmacur, @markfwespn, @torrainewalker, @tjmoe28, Vanity Fair, @richarddeitsch, @mathewi, @markfwespn, Newser, Slate and The Wrap
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:
@janebsinger, @mathewi, @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
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
As Fox News' opinion programming comes under scrutiny, the network's pitch to advertisers is more focused on the popularity of its news anchors and their shows — Whether or not they watch Fox News Channel regularly, a lot of people talk about its primetime hosts: Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham and Tucker Carlson.
Discussion:
TVNewser
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.
Discussion:
@z_everson, @lbischoff and @amlwhere
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
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
Tom Scocca / Hmm Daily:
Journalists defending Jill Abramson's plagiarism show that public figures above a certain level are somewhat immune to any real career consequences — The Worst Thing We Read Yesterday™ — Last night, Michael C. Moynihan of Vice tweeted a series of examples of Jill Abramson …
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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
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
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
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.
Jeremy Barr / Hollywood Reporter:
Despite recent cost-cutting measures at digital media companies, major Hollywood media conglomerates remain confident in them as long-term strategic investments — As BuzzFeed and Vice cut hundreds of jobs, Comcast or Disney could look at takeover bids, but “why would they want to double …
Discussion:
@erik_hayden and @jeremymbarr