Top News:
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Sources: CNN head Jeff Zucker expected to expand his portfolio to lead AT&T's Turner Sports as part of AT&T's restructuring of WarnerMedia — Jeff Zucker, the leader of cable-news outlet CNN, is about to add sports to his portfolio, giving him expanded oversight of more of the most valuable content …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, The Wrap, @awallenstein and @brianstelter
RELATED:
Peter Kafka / Recode:
Plepler and Levy's exits indicate that AT&T plans to combine HBO and Turner into one entity, contrary to previous comments, which will be run by Bob Greenblatt — HBO's famous boss is going because the TV business is changing. Warner Bros.' boss is staying because the movies aren't going anywhere.
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, @jadande, Business Insider, The Guardian and The Wrap
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Turner Broadcasting President David Levy confirms he is leaving WarnerMedia in about two months — David Levy is getting ready for what is likely to be his last insider's view of the NCAA Final Four. — In 2010, Levy was one of the principals in a surprising sports deal that brought …
Discussion:
Ad Age, CNN, Business Insider, @bristei, @richarddeitsch and Sports Media Watch
Michael O'Connell / Hollywood Reporter:
Memo: HBO CEO and Chairman Richard Plepler tells staff he is leaving the company, nine months after AT&T's acquisition of HBO parent Time Warner
Memo: HBO CEO and Chairman Richard Plepler tells staff he is leaving the company, nine months after AT&T's acquisition of HBO parent Time Warner
Discussion:
New York Times, The Wrap, @joehagansays, @brianstelter, Bloomberg, The Atlantic, Quartz, The Week, Broadcasting & Cable, Engadget, The Verge, CNBC, Wall Street Journal, Newser, @lucas_shaw, @jbflint, @sherman4949, @reckless, @murrelldan, @kerrymflynn, @lucas_shaw, @thr, @bristei, @grynbaum, @buzzfeedben, @jimwindolf, @lucas_shaw, Vanity Fair, @asharma, Variety, Gizmodo, Fast Company, Fortune, TechCrunch, TV Tattle, The Wrap and Variety
Caysey Welton / Folio:
Dennis Publishing, the UK-based owner of The Week, has acquired 99-year-old Kiplinger Washington Editors Inc.; Kiplinger's COO will become its CEO — Terms of the deal were not disclosed. — Dennis Publishing, the U.K.-based owner of The Week, has acquired 99-year-old Kiplinger Washington Editors Inc.
Discussion:
Adweek, New York Post, MediaPost and Talking Biz News
Tom Jones / Poynter:
A look back at The Rocky Mountain News, the Pulitzer-winning paper that closed 10 years ago, and how Denver fell from having 500+ journalists to fewer than 80 — Early in 2008, John Temple was excited about the 150th anniversary of his newspaper. The publisher, president and editor …
Jeffrey Schweers / Tallahassee Democrat:
Judge throws out defamation suit against NYT by a professor known for defending genetically modified food, citing “fair report” privilege and public records law — A University of Florida horticulture professor known for his scientific defense of genetically modified foods lost …
Discussion:
@ericliptonnyt, @careygillam, @morisy, @ericliptonnyt, @adamliptak, @careygillam, @gmwatch, @kevinfolta and @cynthiabarnett
Simon van Zuylen-Wood / Vanity Fair:
Inside Facebook's content policy team, which is made up of several dozen Facebook engineers, lawyers, and PR people who decide what users can post — The company blew it on privacy and fake news. Can it do better against trolls and racists? An exclusive embed with Facebook's shadow government.
Discussion:
Hmm Daily, @antoniogm, @pt, @antoniogm, @ibogost, @antoniogm, @xixidu and @chronotope, more at Techmeme »
James Walker / Press Gazette:
EU commissioners say Facebook's, Google's, and Twitter's reports on their fight against disinformation don't give enough information on their results — European Union commissioners have accused three tech giants of providing “too little information” in reports on their efforts …
Natalie Jarvey / Hollywood Reporter:
Sources say Instagram is paying some IGTV creators, but some big influencers stay away due to obstacles like discoverability, monetization, and vertical format — Unlike the wildly popular Insta Stories, the social media juggernaut's new extended video service has struggled to capture the zeitgeist …
Rick Porter / Hollywood Reporter:
Nielsen: TV coverage of Michael Cohen's congressional testimony brought in just under 16M viewers, compared to 20M for Kavanaugh's hearing and 19.5M for Comey's — The former Trump lawyer's grilling by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform was the most watched program on TV Wednesday.
Discussion:
The Hill, Fortune, @ryanoconn, Contemptor and TVNewser
Caroline O'Donovan / BuzzFeed News:
Amazon removes at least three anti-vaccination documentaries from Prime Video hours after Rep. Schiff sent letter to Bezos regarding anti-vaccine misinformation — Amazon appears to have removed anti-vaccination documentaries from search results on Amazon Prime Video today …
Discussion:
CNBC, Gizmodo, @peterhotez, @ceodonovan, Variety, schiff.house.gov, CNN, The Hill, Engadget, The Verge and @ceodonovan, more at Techmeme »
MediaPost:
Report: New York Media, parent of New York Magazine, The Cut, Vulture, and more, has decided against seeking a buyer after reviewing its options — New York Media, the parent company of New York Magazine, decided against seeking a buyer after reviewing its strategic options, Dow Jones Newswires reported.