Top News:
Laura Hazard Owen / Nieman Lab:
Knight Foundation pledges $300M over five years to further local news and free speech, with the bulk going to national orgs working with local partners — The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation will provide a whopping $300 million over five years to organizations including …
Ian Sample / The Guardian:
Interviews with 30 flat Earth conference attendees finds most did not consider the Earth to be flat two years ago, but YouTube videos changed their minds — Conspiracy theories shown on video-sharing site persuade people to doubt Earth is round — Researchers believe they have identified …
Discussion:
New York Times, Boing Boing, @jimalkhalili, Daily Mail, CNET, The Economic Times, BBC, BGR, HuffPost, Engadget, The Independent and Peter O'Kelly's Reality Check, more at Techmeme »
Jacob Granger / Journalism.co.uk:
Google News Initiative aims to provide 4,000 journalists in Australia and New Zealand with training on new revenue streams, SEO, fighting misinformation, more — Students and publishers alike will learn about new revenue streams and optimising content for digital audiences under latest GNI training programme
Melissa Brown / The Montgomery Advertiser:
Goodloe Sutton, publisher of the Alabama newspaper the Democrat-Reporter, authored an editorial calling on the KKK to “ride again” and “clean out DC” — The editor of a small-town Alabama newspaper published an editorial calling for “the Ku Klux Klan to night ride again” …
Discussion:
@itsmelissabrown, New York Post, The Wrap, @repterrisewell, The Week, The Guardian, @espiers, @jeffamy, al.com, @blakehounshell, @laneyruckstuhl, AOL, @kristenclarkejd, @kevinmkruse, @adamhdomby, @debramessing, @will_bunch, Newser, Slate, KTLA and Boing Boing
@polkawards:
Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, the two Reuters reporters sentenced to jail in Myanmar for their reporting, have won the Polk Award for Foreign Reporting — Polk Award for Foreign Reporting: Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo of Reuters for “Massacre in Myanmar” documenting the execution of 10 #Rohingya.
Politico:
Sarah Isgur, who was the DOJ's lead spokesperson under AG Jeff Sessions, is joining CNN as political editor next month and will coordinate 2020 coverage — Sarah Isgur will coordinate political coverage for the 2020 campaign at the network. — President Donald Trump has derided CNN …
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Lara Logan and CBS News parted ways in 2018; the split was disclosed following comments Logan made on a podcast about the press being “mostly liberal” — Lara Logan, the journalist who gained wider renown covering war-torn spots in the Middle East for CBS News …
Discussion:
TVNewser
Rebecca Keegan / Hollywood Reporter:
Q&A with Amazon Studios Chief Jennifer Salke on her content acquisition strategy, potentially broadcasting a ceremony such as the Oscars one day, and more — The studio head opens up about her Sundance buying spree, blockbuster ambitions and the secret room where Amazon's 'Lord …
Discussion:
Deadline, Business Insider, Variety, @thrmattbelloni, New York Times, Engadget and The Playlist, more at Techmeme »
Brooks Barnes / New York Times:
Inside Netflix's all-out effort to win its first Oscar for Roma, including the hiring of a savvy campaigner and over-the-top spending — LOS ANGELES — Netflix called it “'Roma' Experience Day.” — On a Sunday in December, the streaming giant rented two soundstages on a historic movie lot …
Discussion:
@kimmasters, @nytmedia, @davidmwessel, The Wrap and IndieWire
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Brooks Barnes / New York Times:
Inside the struggle between the Academy and Oscars producer Donna Gigliotti to shorten the awards ceremony, as ratings gradually decline
Discussion:
@marinafang, @ennisnyt, @nytimesarts, @davidkorins, @brooksbarnesnyt, @nytmedia, @hunteryharris, The Wrap, The Week, /Film, IndieWire, The Playlist and The A.V. Club
Alexandra Steigrad / New York Post:
Sources: companies are wary of bidding for Gizmodo Media Group as its independent editorial clause means it can criticize owners — Not only is Gizmodo Media losing money, its snarky news and gossip sites may trash you if you buy them. — That's the bizarre dilemma prospective bidders face …
Eric Johnson / Recode:
IAC Chairman Barry Diller says Hollywood movie studios are now “irrelevant” as the market has fragmented, says Netflix cannot be displaced in streaming — Diller, the former CEO of Paramount and Fox, talks about the diminished power of movie studios and why “Netflix has won this game” on the latest Recode Decode.
Discussion:
@drudgefeed, @skiscontent and @noltenc
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Netflix Establishes Production Hub in Toronto, Leasing Nearly 250,000 Square Feet of Studio Space — Netflix is taking on close to 250,000 square feet of studio and office space in Toronto, as part of its agreement to invest in Canada's entertainment industry.
Mark Di Stefano / BuzzFeed:
The Economist's Editor-in-Chief Zanny Minton Beddoes says less than 1% of the magazine's staff are black — The prestigious British political magazine revealed 0.9% of its staff are black. — The Economist's editor-in-chief Zanny Minton Beddoes has responded to a Medium post calling …
Discussion:
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