Mediagazer: Former White House staffer Seb Gorka says he is no longer a contributor to Fox News: “I decided not to renew my contract” (Jeremy Barr/Hollywood Reporter)

9:45 AM ET, March 4, 2019

Top News:

Jane Mayer / New Yorker:

Since Trump was elected, Fox News has swerved from being a partisan news network to the closest thing the US has to state TV — Fox News has always been partisan. But has it become propaganda? — In January, during the longest government shutdown in America's history …

Discussion: @hadas_gold, Fast Company, Mediaite, @adamgoldmannyt, @goldietaylor, @dandrezner, @cfidd, The Week, The Daily Beast, @janemayernyer, @azalben, @tribelaw, @fawfulfan, @karpmj, @joycewhitevance, @jwgop and Politico

Rene Chun / The Daily Beast:

When AMI moved all company operations to its HQ in FL, only three Star staffers out of 61 made the move, some citing poor job security and Pecker's bad temper — A previously unpublished profile captures the Enquirer boss at start of his reign as gossip king. ‘He likes people walking around in fear,’ says one worker.

Discussion: @noahshachtman, @thedailybeast, @thedailybeast and @therickwilson

Recode:

Q&A with Vivek Shah, CEO of J2 Global, which owns a portfolio of 40+ brands like Mashable, Ziff Davis, Speedtest, and IGN and which almost bought Gawker Media — J2 Global owns a portfolio of media and internet service companies that includes PCMag, Mashable, and Speedtest by Ookla.

Snopes.com:

GOP political consultants, some working for PACs, are running a network of fake news sites targeting conservative voters ahead of the 2020 election — On 6 February 2017, a website of uncertain origin named “The Tennessee Star” was born. At the time, it was unclear who funded or operated this …

Jeremy Barr / Hollywood Reporter:

Former White House staffer Seb Gorka says he is no longer a contributor to Fox News: “I decided not to renew my contract” — Gorka, who hosts a daily radio show for Salem Radio Network, said he decided not to renew his contract. — Sebastian Gorka is no longer a Fox News contributor …

Discussion: The Wrap, MarketWatch, @alexnazaryan, The Week, @rosiegray, @jeremymbarr, @sebgorka and Mediaite

Mark Di Stefano / BuzzFeed:

Writer and editor Emily Sheffield to launch #ThisMuchIKnow, a media startup backed by Guardian that will deliver news through Instagram posts and stories — Emily Sheffield told potential reporters and editors she had the backing of the Guardian's £42 million venture capital fund.

Max Willens / Digiday:

VC investors see growth in sports digital media like Overtime and Chernin Group's Action Network because their loyal fan bases offer revenue sources beyond ads — Venture capital firms might have soured on digital media companies over the past few years, but many sports media companies continue to draw backing.

Isaac Lee / Columbia Journalism Review:

A look at the tactics used by the Venezuelan government to eliminate most independent media, from censorship to having government sympathizers buy outlets — Earlier this week, the Nicolás Maduro regime detained and expelled journalist Jorge Ramos, one of the most famous news anchors in the world …

Discussion: @samuelcnn

Luke Ottenhof / Observer:

A look at how freelancers are affected by media layoffs and at their efforts to organize to ensure better working conditions, including timely payment — It's been a tough year for workers in the media industry. Though we're less than two months removed from 2018, the first stretch …

Discussion: @rl_bynum, @freelancersu and @michellemanafy

Paul Mozur / New York Times:

Interview with NYT's Paul Mozur, a tech reporter in Shanghai, about his most important tools, especially in a country with a government known for surveillance — To protect himself and his sources from prying eyes in China, Paul Mozur, a technology reporter in Shanghai, leaves just an “innocent trace” of digital exhaust.

Discussion: American Press Institute

Laura Hazard Owen / Nieman Lab:

Q&A with the NYT Opinion Video director and senior editor on their first year, lessons learned, and how they're trying to appeal to a YouTube-native audience — “Hi. I'm Niecy Nash, actress, inventor, and advocate for not calling 911 on black people for no goddamn reason."

Discussion: @laurahazardowen, @nytimespr, @niemanlab, @jayrosen_nyu and @niemanlab