Top News:
Jeremy Barr / Hollywood Reporter:
Fox News says Shepard Smith is stepping down from his longtime role as chief news anchor and leaving the network — In a shocking turn of events that stunned the media industry, Fox News anchor Shepard Smith announced his departure from the network after more than 23 years.
Discussion:
@jolingkent, @passantino, Washington Post, New York Times, @mlcalderone, Los Angeles Times, Adweek, Fox News, @brianstelter, Variety, Deadline, @brianstelter, Ad Age, @johnrobertsfox, USA Today, @brianstelter, @brianstelter, Fox News Channel Press, @ananavarro, @heidinbc, @oliverdarcy, @stevenportnoy, Los Angeles Times, @philiprucker, @ashleyfeinberg, @wakeup2politics, @philminator, @alexweprin, @violetblue, @mattyglesias, @maggienyt, @nickkristof, The Daily Caller, @grynbaum, @salhernandez, @nycsouthpaw, @briantylercohen, @roadmn, @sulliview, @erikwemple, @rakeshlobster, @nomikikonst, @megynkelly, @latimes, @davidfolkenflik, @brianstelter, @thestalwart, @sarahellison, @herring_nba, @jenniferjjacobs, @michaelshermer, @ryangirdusky, @maggienyt, @elienyc, @kirstenpowers, @bretbaier, @kanew, Hollywood Reporter, SPIN, Vox and Boing Boing
RELATED:
Brian Stelter / CNN:
Source: Shepard Smith asked Fox News management in September to let him out of his contract; tensions with pro-Trump opinion shows were the breaking point — New York (CNN Buiness)Last month Shep Smith decided that he had simply had enough. — With President Trump actively distorting …
Discussion:
CNN, Variety, @ericmgarcia, @jayrosen_nyu, @bluechoochoo, @colbyhall, Breitbart, @xlnb, @brianros1, Mediaite, @djlavoie, TVNewser, Boing Boing and The Wrap
New York Times:
AG William Barr met privately on Wednesday with Rupert Murdoch, whose media holdings include Fox News, which recently has been more critical of Trump
AG William Barr met privately on Wednesday with Rupert Murdoch, whose media holdings include Fox News, which recently has been more critical of Trump
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, @atrupar, The Daily Caller, HollywoodLife, The A.V. Club, Mediaite, The Wrap, @brendannyhan, Politico, FOX59, Talking Points Memo, @vickypjward, @renato_mariotti, @chrislu44, @mattklewis, @lisatozzi, @mollyjongfast, @pauldutton1968, @mrbromwich, @karlbode, @freedlander, @jdawsey1, @juddlegum and @chrisgeidner
Rich McHugh / Vanity Fair:
Ronan Farrow's producer recounts how NBC news chairman Andrew Lack and news president Noah Oppenheim personally intervened to shut down Weinstein investigation — Rich McHugh recounts how top NBC brass, including news chairman Andrew Lack and news president Noah Oppenheim, bowed to Harvey Weinstein to quash the truth.
RELATED:
The Daily Beast:
NBC News President Noah Oppenheim, who allegedly downplayed a rape allegation against Matt Lauer, also penned sexist columns in the Harvard Crimson 20 years ago — Decades before allegedly downplaying a rape claim against Matt Lauer, the NBC News head bashed the network for firing a sportscaster who pleaded guilty in a sex case.
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, @joshablock, @thegarance, @jamielynncrofts, Washington Post, The Wrap, TVNewser, TVWeek.com, Fox News, Mediaite and Page Six
Paul Farhi / Washington Post:
NBC News president has visited seven news orgs to present a rebuttal to Farrow's contention that the network ordered him to stop reporting on Weinstein — Unlike most journalists — most human beings — Ronan Farrow can tell you what it's like to be tailed, surveilled and tracked by people with possibly sinister motives.
Discussion:
@jkbjournalist, @chloesalsameda, @rtraister, @thecut, @nytimesbooks, @blakehounshell, VICE, East Bay Times, New York Times, New York Times, Poynter, @lisatozzi, @koblin and @sulliview
BuzzFeed News:
Sources: in early 2018, Eddy Cue and Morgan Wandell, Apple's international TV lead, asked some Apple TV+ show creators to avoid portraying China in a poor light — We thought trade would bring Western values to China. Instead, it brought Chinese values to Apple.
Discussion:
@rmac18, Pastebin, 9to5Mac, Daring Fireball, @hotlinejosh, Observer, Breitbart, MacRumors, @seamoosi, @blakersdozen, @crtejada and Fast Company, more at Techmeme »
Brian Fung / CNN:
Elizabeth Warren targets Facebook's ad policy of exempting ads by politicians from third-party fact-checking by running a Facebook ad with a clear falsehood — Zuckerberg says legal battles during a Warren presidency would ‘suck’ — (CNN)A fresh series of Facebook ads this week …
Discussion:
@juliacarriew, @donie, @parkermolloy, @jason_kint, The Guardian, Business Insider, @juddlegum, @abdulelsayed, Boing Boing, @jason_kint, Mediaite and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
Lesley Goldberg / Hollywood Reporter:
Apple launches an internal studio, allowing it to own its content; the first series will be Masters of the Air, a follow-up to HBO's Band of Brothers — ‘Masters of the Air,’ which was originally developed for HBO, will be the third story in the WWII saga from Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks …
Discussion:
Deadline, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, Fast Company, Cord Cutters News, Engadget, Digital Trends, /Film, The Verge, 9to5Mac, The Streamable and Collider, more at Techmeme »
Dave Jamieson / HuffPost:
In email, G/O's editorial director tells staff he sees no reason for them to cover Splinter's shutdown and that any post about it will need his approval — The editorial director of G/O Media told top editors not to publish anything about the news and opinion site being shut down.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, @martinsfp, @jamieson and @jatayler
RELATED:
Maxwell Tani / The Daily Beast:
G/O Media's Splinter is shutting down due to insufficient traffic; G/O editorial director says staff will be reallocated but some tweet they've been laid off
G/O Media's Splinter is shutting down due to insufficient traffic; G/O editorial director says staff will be reallocated but some tweet they've been laid off
Discussion:
@aleksnotalex, @nkulw, Nieman Lab, Mediaite, @michaeltoole, @hamiltonnolan, @jscros, @samjgrasso, @richardkimnyc, @dylanmatt, @charlespulliam, @annebranigin, @natalieweiner, @dataeditor, VICE, @sophcw, Boing Boing, @stevenblum, @annamerlan, @annamerlan, @flyingwithsara, @briebriejoy, @kath_krueger, @blumnessmonster, @tomgara, @albertburneko, @mattbuchanan, @mckinneykelsey, @freedomofpress, @freedomofpress, @jscros, @jackmirkinson, @kathbarbadoro, @andrewperezdc, @adriana_lacy, @murielvega, @jscros, @jscros, @emmaroller, @pkafka, @barry, @david_j_roth, @laurawags, @andrewkirell, @freedaaron, @kath_krueger, @dansolomon, @nberlat, @morrisonicpod, @scott_tobias, @libbycwatson, @ashleyfeinberg, Washington Post and Mother Jones
Brooks Barnes / New York Times:
A look at Netflix's kids programming and the creators it has hired to develop family friendly offerings, as it prepares for the gradual loss of Disney content — LOS ANGELES — Walk the halls of Netflix Animation, spread across three buildings in the heart of Hollywood …
Discussion:
@cartoonbrew, @koblin, @mexopolis and @brooksbarnesnyt, more at Techmeme »
Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:
How local papers in a Brazil state were made docile via “media capture”, where around 40% of journalists leaving the papers were hired by local governments — A strategy of “capturing the main professionals from the newspapers, in their respective fields of work …
Columbia Journalism Review:
While tech journalists recently have embraced a watchdog role, they could be even more useful by focusing on solutions rather than palace intrigue and villains — In March, when Mark Zuckerberg called for new regulations on internet companies, journalists rightly covered the move with skepticism.
Discussion:
Talking Biz News and CNN