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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.
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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 …
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With Shepard Smith gone, Fox News will have less of a balance to point to when asked to defend its primetime excesses, but its bottom line will be just fine — Analysis: Fox News' stick-to-the-facts anchor didn't always please the faithful. And that's how the network makes its money
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CNN, @johnnydollar01, @bristei, @johnnydollar01, Washington Post and Mediaite


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 …


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.
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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
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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
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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.
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Companion podcasts like Chernobyl's allow networks to use their access to creators, writers, and actors to give behind-the-scenes insights and attract viewers — After fans gobbled up ‘Stranger Things’ and ‘Chernobyl’ podcasts, networks and streaming services have begun producing companion audio programs to boost TV viewer loyalty


Profile of New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger, as the company works toward shedding its long-held reputation as an “elite” read to attract new subscribers — On a Sunday morning in the summer of 2018, Arthur Gregg Sulzberger, a member of the fifth generation of the family …
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@time, @callaghanpeter and @jswatz


Joe Lockhart, WH press secretary for Clinton, on how the Clinton impeachment showed press is non-partisan, why media should air Trump with a delay to fact-check — Joe Lockhart was named White House press secretary three days before the House voted to impeach Bill Clinton in 1998.


After turning off its ad inventory on the open exchange post-GDPR, FT says private deals now account for 70% of overall programmatic revenue, up from 4% in 2017 — While for many publishers, the General Data Protection Regulation represented an inconvenient, potential threat to programmatic ad revenues …


Music streamer Audius is built on blockchain, introducing issues regarding removing infringing material, which has proliferated, and identifying its hosts — New startup Audius says its blockchain-based music streaming service is the solution that finally pays attention to indie artists' needs.
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@dgwbirch and @danideahl


LadBible says it is rebranding Pretty 42, its female-focused spinoff launched in 2017, as Tyla due to low brand awareness — LadBible made its name with Facebook fare of prank-meets-entertainment videos, like this guy getting squirted in the face with pepper spray and this on America's fattest bear.