Top News:


Vice Media agrees to acquire Refinery29 in a deal expected to close before the end of 2019; source: Vice is issuing mostly stock to Refinery29's shareholders — After months of talks, Vice Media sealed an agreement to acquire Refinery29, a bet by the two digital-centric media companies …
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Digiday, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, The Wrap, Business Insider, Wall Street Journal, MediaPost, Ad Age, Adweek, @moorehn, CNN, @sizpatel, IndieWire, @mdudas, @mattdpearce, @rafat, The Drum, Hollywood Reporter, @johnjcook, The Cut, @andreagonram, @vicecomms, @jboorstin, @xpangler and Axios


Poll of US adults: 62% say social media has “too much control” over the mix of news we see on their platforms, and 55% say this results in a worse mix of news — Getting news from social media is an increasingly common experience; nearly three-in-ten U.S. adults do so often
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, MediaPost, @lrainie, @mattmittenthal, @lrainie, The Hill, Adweek, Broadcasting & Cable, @facttank, TechCrunch and Editor & Publisher Magazine, more at Techmeme »


Fox News says radio host and commentator Todd Starnes is no longer working at the network and his show on Fox Nation has also been canceled — TheWrap has learned that Todd Starnes' contract at Fox News is not being renewed. The host will no longer be working at the network, its website …
Discussion:
The Hill, Faithwire, Right Wing Watch, Mediaite, @gaywonk, @nberlat, @slpng_giants, @rightwingwatch, @oliverdarcy, @oneunderscore__, @ehananoki, The Daily Beast and AllAccess.com


Public opinion will affect the outcome of impeachment inquiry; journalists should prepare well for interviews, stop booking liars, and avoid false equivalence — Scott Pelley of CBS pushed back hard Sunday when House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy tried to spin him on Sunday's “60 Minutes.”
Discussion:
@sulliview, @emptywheel, @emptywheel, @penamerica, @jayrosen_nyu, @laurenduca, @jamesfallows, @debramessing, @oliverdarcy, @lawrence, @ivanthek and @digiphile


Ad tech firm MediaMath debuts Source, an initiative to clean up the digital media supply chain, with 16 ad tech firms, ad agencies, and publishers participating — A group of 16 companies — including leading ad tech firms, ad agencies and publishers — is trying to help clean up the murky world of digital advertising.
Discussion:
AdMonsters, @springserve, Broadcasting & Cable, @danr917, PR Newswire, @nytimesbusiness and Mobile Marketing Magazine


Employees of the Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald announce they plan to unionize, while criticizing a decade of downsizing, layoffs, and consolidation — Update: In a newsroom-wide email, Miami Herald Publisher and Executive Editor Mindy Marqués González accused her own employees …
Discussion:
@sarahesmith23, @oneheraldguild, @jerryiannelli, @mattdpearce, @maxwelltani, @jerryiannelli, @greenhousenyt and @miaminewtimes


NewsMatch 2019 fundraising campaign: nearly 200 nonprofit newsrooms participating, 49 for the first time, donations up to $1K matched, running Nov. 1-Dec. 31 — In 2016, 54 news organizations participated in the first NewsMatch campaign, a swiftly organized matching gift campaign created …
Discussion:
@ssuttell, @jcstearns and NewsMatch


Sludge, the media startup focusing on money in politics, says it needs to raise significant funds this month or it will “go into hibernation on October 31” — Sludge is seeking hundreds of new members as we face a potential shutdown. We need your help to stay afloat.
Discussion:
@ppolitics, @mariabustillos, @larryryckman, @donnydonny, @jeffbercovici, @asherschechter, @thetomzone, @nrdavis, @crgibs, @chrislhayes, @donnydonny, @leahmcelrath, @alexkotch, @digiphile and @jaredlholt


Study of 1,769 undergrads in Texas finds those who spent time away from Facebook consumed less news and reported feeling less depressed than those who didn't — Threatening to leave Facebook, or talking about how you should spend less time on it, is common. Actually leaving is less common (though it is happening).


Guardian Media Group CEO David Pemsel to leave the news publisher in spring 2020 to join the Premier League — Clubs say Pemsel hired because of his ‘straightforward style and personal integrity’ — The Premier League has appointed the Guardian's David Pemsel as its new chief executive.
Discussion:
Press Gazette, Daily Mail, CityAM, @jeffjarvis, Mediatel Newsline, @henrymance, @danroan and Telegraph


Chris Stone is stepping down as editor-in-chief of Sports Illustrated after 27 years at the publication; source says layoffs are likely in the next few weeks — Sports Illustrated is currently transitioning ownership and corporate leadership, from Meredith Corp. to Authentic Brands Group …
Discussion:
New York Post and Awful Announcing


The real-life journalists behind characters in three films at the recent Toronto International Film Festival talk about their stories being adapted into movies — Even as she was reporting it, Jessica Pressler had the sense that her story about a group of strippers-turned-criminals was the stuff movies are made of.
Discussion:
@latimesent, @sararivae, @latimes and @jpressler