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Brexit funder Arron Banks issues legal threats against Netflix and journalist Carole Cadwalladr over The Great Hack documentary, which comes out this week — Legal threat comes as campaigners warn UK government that courts are being used to intimidate journalists
Discussion:
The Guardian, @carolecadwalla, @carolecadwalla, @stilldelvingh and Digital TV Europe
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Observer editor, press freedom nonprofits, and others pen open letter concerning rising use of SLAPP litigation in the UK to silence journalists — In an open letter to Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, and Jeremy Wright, the culture secretary, the Observer's editor …
Discussion:
Press Gazette, @carolecadwalla, @caoilfhionnanna, @carolecadwalla, @justinbbarthet, @pcaruanagalizia, @peterjukes and @scottishpen


Knight Foundation invests $50M at 11 American universities and research institutions to better understand how technology is transforming democracy — Cross-disciplinary research centers and projects will fill knowledge gaps on how society is informed in the digital age
Discussion:
@unc, Medium, @zeynep, @karlrohe, @sarafischer, @jevinwest, @smalljones, @prowag and Editor & Publisher


ESPN reasserts policy to avoid politics after radio talk show host Dan Le Batard criticized Trump and his recent racist comments, and ESPN itself, on air — NEW YORK (AP) — ESPN is making sure that its employees know there is not change in the network's policy to avoid talking about politics unless …
Discussion:
New York Post, Poynter, CNN, @leslieannewade, New York Post, @jayrosen_nyu, Deadspin, @andrewmarchand and Politico


Kristian Rouz, an on-air reporter for the Trump-endorsed One America News Network, has been writing simultaneously for Russian propaganda outlet Sputnik — Kristian Rouz appears on segments for One America News Network—ironic given he is working for a Russian outlet fingered in the 2016 election attack.
Discussion:
@katestarbird


Steven Edginton, a Brexit party staffer who describes himself as a freelance journalist, says he was the middleman who passed the Darroch cables to the Mail — Lying awake at 2am last Wednesday and unable to sleep for the third night in a row, I listened as footsteps crunched up and down the gravel outside my ground-floor flat.


Following Cairncross Review, UK establishes a £2M pilot fund for publishers to explore new ways of providing sustainable public interest journalism — The UK Government will establish a £2m innovation fund to support public interest journalism, with a focus on local and regional news providers.


Trump's departures from the White House, open to all press, become the best way for reporters to access the president, as daily press briefings have disappeared — Home Depot stocks dozens of different step ladders. The White House press corps isn't far behind.
Discussion:
@editorpublisher and @erikwemple


After Epstein got out of jail, Forbes, HuffPost, and National Review ran puff pieces about him, not mentioning his conviction, largely via outside contributors — After Jeffrey Epstein got out of the Palm Beach County jail in 2009, having served 13 months of an 18-month sentence resulting …
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, American Press Institute, @cleucl, @cleucl, @cleucl, @nytimes, @cleucl and @jonswaine

[Thread] Newsrooms can't ignore Trump's outrageous behavior without normalizing him, but they do have options for responsible coverage beyond “taking the bait” — Here is how the Los Angeles Times put it on July 14: “We shouldn't rise to his bait, but how can we not? If we ignore him, we normalize his reckless behavior, and that's even worse.” https://www.latimes.com/... Welcome to my new THREAD, where I try to solve this problem. 1/
Discussion:
@dougjballoon, @jayrosen_nyu and @thomboyd


Insider has shifted its video strategy to focus on longer videos, with 35.5% of published videos from April-July 2019 running 5+ minutes, up from 7.8% last year — In 2017, Business Insider's top executives used their pitch at the NewFronts to talk about its short-form video know-how …
Discussion:
@austin_rief and @mattnavarra


Cumulus Media blocks country radio stations from airing Blair Garner's interview with Pete Buttigieg, citing the FCC's equal-time rule — Nash FM's Blair Garner recorded an interview with the Democratic presidential candidate last week, but the broadcasting company spiked it.
Discussion:
Billboard, Rolling Stone, Talking Points Memo, The Hill, VICE, @blairgarner, SoundCloud, @kurtbardella, Washington Post, HillReporter.com, @dabeard and CNN