Top News:


A DC appeals court has rejected the Department of Justice's bid to overturn a ruling that cleared the way for AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner — London (CNN Business)An appeals court has rejected the Justice Department's bid to overturn a ruling that cleared the way for AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner.
Discussion:
Broadcasting & Cable, CNBC, Adweek, The Wrap, Fortune, @amy_siskind, @cnnbrk, @zoetillman, @richbtig and Engadget, more at Techmeme »


The American Journalism Project, a venture philanthropy project aiming to reinvigorate local news, has launched with $42M in commitments — New venture philanthropy organization will work collaboratively to catalyze a new generation of civic news organizations — Feb. 26, 2019.
Discussion:
@chanders, @journalismproj, @journalismproj, @elizwgreen, @clockwerks, @knightfdn, @evanasmith and @raju


Sources: Facebook will only renew about one-third of existing Facebook Watch news shows; source says one show that was renewed had a 30% budget cut — Facebook is showing a greater willingness to ax news programming that's not working on Facebook Watch. — Last June, Facebook rolled …
Discussion:
Variety, Fast Company, TechCrunch, Facebook, Engadget, @jbenton, Tubefilter, @mattnavarra and @danielpmcdermot, more at Techmeme »


Univision says Jorge Ramos and his team, who were in Caracas to interview Maduro, were briefly detained at the palace after Maduro “didn't like” their questions — Univision reporter Jorge Ramos was detained at the presidential palace in Caracas Monday by order …
Discussion:
CNN, BuzzFeed News, The Wrap, Boing Boing, Newser, @patrickruffini, @slimongi, @brianstelter, @jpballoujourn1, @annaleclaire, Miami New Times, @cbsthismorning, Jorge Ramos, KIDY, Variety and Mediaite


UK far-right activist Tommy Robinson has been permanently banned from Facebook and Instagram for repeatedly breaking policies on hate speech — Far-right founder of English Defence League repeatedly breached hate speech rules — Tommy Robinson, the far-right founder of the English Defence League …
Discussion:
Press Gazette, Facebook, CNN, @adamwagner1, Mashable, @themjap, Business Insider, @jaredlholt, @peoplesmomentum, @erinsaltman, @tom_watson, @ezralevant, @markdistef and @ezralevant, more at Techmeme »


LinkedIn: share of journalism hires has declined 14% since 2004, but total share of journalism, PR, content, and social media hires was larger in 2018 than 2004 — The plight of journalists might not be that bad if you're willing to consider a broader view of “journalism.”
Discussion:
@ranimolla, @polislse, @austinonsocial, @mrdanzak, @vijaychattha, @steverubel, @raju, @voxdotcom, @taylorlorenz and @nicknelsonmn


Mozilla partners with Scroll to test alternative funding models for the web, following the news subscription service's acquisition of Nuzzel earlier this month — News subscription service Scroll, which is yet to launch to consumers but has received the backing of several top publishers, courted another major player today: Mozilla.
Discussion:
Future Releases and The Verge


Discovery Inc, which purchased Scripps Network Interactive last year, said Q4 revenue rose 51% YoY to $2.8B+, after posting a loss in the same period last year — Discovery Inc. said it swung to a profit in the fourth quarter after posting a loss in the year-earlier period.
Discussion:
MediaPost and Broadcasting & Cable


Ratings for the 2019 Oscars, which had no host and ran 41 minutes shorter than last year's, increased ~12% YoY to 29.6M viewers, after 2018's all-time low — ABC's broadcast up by more than 10 percent from 2018's all-time low. — The 2019 Oscars delivered year-to-year gains in Sunday's ratings …
Discussion:
Associated Press, TVLine, The Wrap, Adweek, The Wrap, Observer, @thrmattbelloni, @erik_hayden, Mumbrella, Ad Age, Vanity Fair, The Playlist, Broadcasting & Cable and TVWeek.com
RELATED:

At the Oscars, Netflix's Roma wins Best Director, Best Cinematography, and Best Foreign Film, but not Best Picture
Discussion:
NBC News, Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg, @jillfilipovic, @markharrisnyc, @originalspin, @jamilsmith, Fortune, @felixsalmon, @netflixfilm, @raminsetoodeh, @irin, /Film, Ad Age, CNET, The Daily Beast, The Wrap, Observer, Fast Company, Bloomberg, Business Insider and Mediaite

A job posting from Spotify suggests the company wants to develop a series of sports podcasts — Earlier this month, Spotify boss Daniel Ek got the music industry talking by predicting that over 20% of listening on his service will cover non-music content in the years to come.
RELATED:


Memo: Jenna Bush Hager has been named as co-host of NBC's “Today” show, anchoring the program alongside Hoda Kotb in its fourth hour — She replaces Kathie Lee Gifford, who will step down this spring. — Jenna Bush Hager will join Hoda Kotb as the co-host of the fourth hour of NBC's Today.
Discussion:
@thestalwart


UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on governments and the international community to protect the press as attacks become “the new normal” — The head of the United Nations has called on governments and the international community to protect journalists and media workers …


Seattle Weekly is publishing its final printed edition on February 27, switching to a web-only version from March 1, mainly featuring archival material — The city will now be without a true alternative weekly newspaper. — Sixteen months after the Seattle Weekly laid off most of its staff …
Discussion:
@markbaumgarten, @byrosenberg, @crosscut and @kromandavid


Facebook says it's committed to enforcing its expectations of working conditions for contractor moderators, and the firms it partners with excel in their domain — We know there are a lot of questions, misunderstandings and accusations around Facebook's content review practices …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, @edzitron, @rmac18, @metaviv, @sarahfrier, @caseynewton, @sarahfrier, Engadget, The Hill and The Verge
RELATED:

Interviews with current and former Facebook content moderators in US show they make $28K/year, some develop PTSD, and a few are radicalized by fringe content
Discussion:
@caseynewton, One Man & His Blog, Motherboard, The Next Web, Nieman Lab, @verge, A Whole Lotta Nothing, @ajreid, Quartz, @waltmossberg, CNN, @profcarroll, @betheplan, @marawilson, @dannagal, @_ethangrey, @nickwiger, @slpng_giants, @mattklinman, @jordan_sather_, @jtaylorskinner, @knguyen, @juliaangwin, @philjimeneznyc, @andybcampbell, @sarahkendzior, @hjarche, @lam_barrett, @jason_koebler, @dhh, @jason_kint, @drewtoothpaste, @parkermolloy, @guattari7800, @gorskon, Adweek, @bankoff, @brandyzadrozny, @robmanuel, @keysersozebro1, Fortune, @markdistef, @tonyromm, @mcnees, @oneunderscore__, @matthewstoller, @voxmediainc, @marinahyde, Mashable, MediaPost, The Wrap, Business Insider, Boing Boing, Gizmodo, Mediaite and The Week, more at Techmeme »