Top News:
Hannah Gais / Splinter:
Leaked emails show how former Daily Caller staffer Jonah Bennett and think tank staffer John Elliott pushed white nationalist ideas into conservative media — Conservative institutions in the Donald Trump era have often sought to portray themselves as shocked and appalled by the so-called “alt-right.”
Shira Tarlo / Salon:
MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell retracted a thinly sourced report alleging Russian oligarchs co-signed loans for Trump; Trump then blasted O'Donnell on Twitter — O'Donnell has retracted a thinly-sourced report alleging that Trump obtained loans co-signed by Russian oligarchs
Discussion:
@lawrence, @realdonaldtrump, @realdonaldtrump, Washington Post, @erictrump, CNN, @digiphile, Fox News, @oliverdarcy, @oliverdarcy, The Hill, Law & Crime and MSNBC
Lauren Feiner / CNBC:
Disney sells its 80% stake in YES Network to Amazon, the Yankees, and Sinclair, valuing the network that airs the NY Yankees and other local sports at ~$3.5B — KEY POINTS — Disney sold its stake in the YES Network to an investor group that includes Amazon, the company announced Thursday.
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Sources: Disney has laid off National Geographic workers, with one source saying as many as 80 are affected; US editions of Nat Geo Traveler to stop publication — Walt Disney has laid off employees of the National Geographic unit it acquired from the former 21st Century Fox …
Discussion:
@andrewnelson, Politico, @chriselliotts, @rafat, @rafat, @rafat and Los Angeles Times
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Reid Nakamura / The Wrap:
Source: Disney has laid off nearly 60 employees in its home entertainment and TV distribution divisions, affecting both Disney and former Fox employees — Consolidation at Disney is moving forward as the company has handed out pink slips to nearly 60 more employees, TheWrap has learned.
Discussion:
Hollywood Reporter and Variety
Mark Di Stefano / BuzzFeed:
YouTube removed, then reinstated a channel for Martin Sellner, a European white nationalist, and a channel for a British nationalist called The Iconoclast — The video platform said it was a “mistake” to remove the channels of Martin Sellner and another far right personality known as The Iconoclast, but wouldn't explain what happened.
Discussion:
The Verge, @evelyndouek, @markdistef, Boing Boing, Business Insider and Media Matters for America, more at Techmeme »
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Christopher Baxter / Inquirer.com:
Spotlight PA, a donor-funded newsroom devoted to covering the Pennsylvania capitol, launches next week; the outlet is a collaboration among media outlets — There's nothing short of a crisis in our state capital. — Every year, more of Pennsylvania's sprawling and costly bureaucracy …
Discussion:
@swischnowski, @jayrosen_nyu, @dlboardman, @jimfriedlich, @jimfriedlich and @pilhofer
Greg Dool / Folio:
Folio:'s annual salary survey finds female editors-in-chief and managing editors earned $0.83-$0.86 for every dollar earned by their male counterparts — Against a backdrop of sustained industry instability, editorial salaries have remained relatively consistent year-over-year …
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Vice Media trimmed about 15 jobs at cable channel Viceland, as it merges Vice News and Viceland, shifting away from lifestyle and entertainment content — Company is merging Vice News and Viceland, shifting its programming away from lifestyle and entertainment content
Dade Hayes / Deadline:
AT&T and Nexstar say they have reached a multi-year deal to return Nexstar-owned TV stations to DirecTV, AT&T TV, and U-verse, ending a 2-month-long blackout — AT&T and Nexstar Media Group, which is poised to become the No. 1 owner of local TV stations in the U.S. …
Janko Roettgers / Variety:
Plex to launch an ad-supported streaming service this year, plans to begin reselling video subscription services and add transactional VOD, in H1 2020 — Get ready for yet another ad-supported video service: Media center app maker Plex is gearing up to add free movies and TV shows to its app …
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Digital TV Europe, @jank0, The Verge and Multichannel News, more at Techmeme »
Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
After complaints for omitting references to race in an article on Tea Party history, NYT updated story with an ineffective sentence that provided little remedy — The New York Times story by Jeremy W. Peters on tea-party history is extensive and well-written.
Discussion:
@nytpolitics, @wesleylowery, @deggans, @_cingraham, @gregpinelo, @tomperriello, @wesleylowery, @paulkrugman, New York Post, CNN, Splinter, Fox News and The Daily Caller