Top News:
Brian Stelter / CNN:
ProPublica and The Texas Tribune are creating a joint investigative reporting team of 11 people, with a 5-year commitment funded by $5.75M via Arnold Ventures — New York (CNN Business)ProPublica is widely thought to be the gold standard of nonprofit investigative journalism.
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, The Texas Tribune, @eramshaw, American Press Institute, ProPublica, @evanasmith, @bri_sacks, @louisekiernan, @clockwerks, Poynter, @rickdunham, @kevinrobertstx, @risj_oxford, @enrique_acevedo, @brandonformby, @evaruth, @jmalewitz, @ivoryganja, @rjrusak, @jimschachter, @nbj914, @charlesornstein, @kleinmatic, @katiezavadski, @pamelacolloff, @alexckaufman, @amzam, @jason_kint, @adriana_lacy and @texastribune
Rick Edmonds / Poynter:
Sources: USA Today's print version will likely wind down after the merger of Gannett and GateHouse, though the shift could take several years — After a nearly 40-year run, USA Today and its digital sites are about to undergo a major restructuring that will include building up digital marketing while phasing out the print edition.
Discussion:
Mediaite, @abeaujon, @brynstole, @johnbohnenkamp, @tmorris504 and @rickedmonds
Matthew Belloni / Hollywood Reporter:
Q&A with Lachlan Murdoch about post-Disney plans, Fox Nation success, infighting at Fox News: “unfortunately in the [US], there is less and less civil debate” — The Fox Corp. executive chairman and CEO explains his vision for a slimmed-down company, from acquisitions to sports betting as …
Craig Silverman / BuzzFeed News:
Investigation: US ad agency Ads Inc. ran a subscription-based Facebook scam whereby users rented their account to Ads Inc., which ran $50M in ads since 2016 — Asher Burke built his company, Ads Inc, on the back of one of the internet's most persistent, lucrative, and sophisticated scams — the subscription trap.
Discussion:
@rmac18 and Boing Boing, more at Techmeme »
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Joe Otterson / Variety:
NYT reporter Mike Isaac's book, Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber, will be the basis for a Showtime series, to be developed by Brian Koppelman and David Levien — Brian Koppelman and David Levien are developing a limited series about ridesharing company Uber for Showtime.
Discussion:
@mikeisaac, Business Insider, Deadline, The Wrap, The Verge, @jank0, @laurawags, @poniewozik, @tomstonemayer, @briankoppelman and @pkafka
Hollywood Reporter:
Inside's Apple steep learning curve with TV+ and Hollywood, as sources say the company already well outspent its projected $1B annual content budget — After a few false starts and a little offscreen drama, AppleTV+ finally makes its big debut with a slate of shows, Jennifer Aniston …
Discussion:
@thr, Fortune, @trippmickle, @thrmattbelloni, @designatednerd, @snoodit, @fattailcapital, @thr, @erichaywood, @jamiepastore9, @thr, @jason, @wallstcynic, Deadline, Decider, /Film, Vanity Fair, MacRumors, The Playlist and 9to5Mac, more at Techmeme »
Joe Uchill / Axios:
MIT researchers show ML models aren't yet capable of effectively distinguishing false news reports and reveal flaws in a commonly used database in the field — Current machine learning models aren't yet up to the task of distinguishing false news reports, two new papers by MIT researchers show.
Discussion:
Fast Company
Kelsey Sutton / Adweek:
NBC News and Wondery team up to develop a slate of original news and politics podcasts beginning in 2020; NBC News will continue developing in-house podcasts — Podcast publisher will also take over advertising sales and marketing — NBC News and Wondery are teaming up to develop a slate …
Discussion:
Bloomberg
Natalie Jarvey / Hollywood Reporter:
Inside Bob Iger's risky bet on Disney+, set to launch with 35 originals in first year, which executives hope will have 60M to 90M global subscribers by 2024 — Disney+ leads a wave of billion-dollar Netflix competitors that are transforming the entertainment industry and launching a new age of ambition …
Discussion:
/Film, Business Insider, @davidpoland, @manabyte, @thrmattbelloni and @alexweprin, more at Techmeme »
Tacey Rychter / New York Times:
Booktopia and Amazon in Australia, two of the country's biggest online booksellers, have suspended sales of Catch and Kill, due to Dylan Howard's legal threats — “Catch and Kill” was pulled from two of Australia's biggest online book retailers amid legal threats from the former National Enquirer editor …
Discussion:
Mediaite, @suzannenossel, @ltthompso, @b_obermayer, The Guardian and Politico
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Thrillist names Helen Hollyman, food writer and founding editor of Vice's Munchies, as its new editor-in-chief — Thrillist, part of Discovery-backed Group Nine Media, has named food writer and journalist Helen Hollyman its new editor-in-chief. — Hollyman will be based in Thrillist's …
Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch:
Twitter to restrict user interactions with world leaders' tweets that it deems violate its rules, letting users quote-tweet, but not retweet, like, reply, share — Twitter said it will restrict how users can interact with tweets from world leaders who break its rules.
Discussion:
New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, @twittersafety, Twitter, MediaPost, Breitbart, The A.V. Club, The Guardian, @twittersafety, Variety, @jason_kint, @grady_booch, @twittersafety, @marshablackburn, @digiphile, @larakate, @twittersafety, @tiffanycli, @malwarejake, @edbott, @kayvz, @pkafka, @daveyalba, @vaishnavi, @mat, @rmac18, @kantrowitz, @cpm5280, @tseymat, @davepell, @anthony, @b_fung, The Daily Beast and BuzzFeed News, more at Techmeme »