Top News:
Adi Robertson / The Verge:
Zuckerberg cited a need for diversity of views when asked about Breitbart's presence in Facebook News, but also said News is only for high-quality, curated news — On Friday morning, Facebook announced its plan to spend millions of dollars on high-quality journalism, fueling the launch of a new dedicated news tab on its platform.
Discussion:
Adam Mosseri / @mosseri: @NoahShachtman @cwarzel I'm not defending Breitbart, I'm asking if you really want a platform of our scale to make decisions to exclude news organizations based on their ideology? Put another way, do you care more about advancing your views than preserving freedom for diverse views to be on platforms?
Charlie Warzel / New York Times: Why Will Breitbart Be Included in ‘Facebook News’?
Adam Mosseri / @mosseri: Two things to consider: (1) do you really want platform as big as Facebook embracing a political ideology? And (2) not as important, and this is an honest question, why such a different reaction to Breitbart being Apple News partner?
Judd Legum / @juddlegum: UPDATE: A Facebook spokesperson confirmed to me that the company is not releasing a list of publications that are approved for inclusion in the new News Tab It's hard to understand how this can be a trusted source of news if Facebook won't be transparent about what's included
Jay Rosen / @jayrosen_nyu: “The real threat to Facebook isn't bad P.R., it's alienating its user base. Through this lens, it makes perfect sense that Facebook should want to publicly court conservative audiences that seethe at what they perceive as Facebook's liberal bias.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Oliver Darcy / @oliverdarcy: It's alarming that Facebook execs think the only issue is Breitbart's “ideology.” Another issue would be the quality of stories it publishes. Using a website known for peddling misinformation as a source for a news tab aimed at curating “high quality” info makes little sense. https://twitter.com/...
Nate Silver / @natesilver538: This is what happens when a platform is run by people who are truth-agnostic. I don't think anyone should want Facebook to promote/exclude outlets based on ideology. Rather, the argument is FB decisions should be made based on whether the publications are truthful and accurate. https://twitter.com/...
Bill Thompson / @billt: All of us journalists need to consider what's going on with Facebook's approach to news and authority - because they currently get to legitimise, and we need to express our views about what actually grants status to a news outlet. Now. https://twitter.com/...
Lulu Garcia-Navarro / @lourdesgnavarro: When we talk about the mainstreaming of White Supremacy, we only have to look to the actions of Facebook in its selection of far right sites for its News Tab. As a POC, and as a journalist with the fact based media I find it extraordinary https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Roger McNamee / @moonalice: Nonsense. This is not about free speech. The issue is amplification of content that promotes engagement, namely hate speech disinformation, and conspiracy theories. Algo amplification + micro targeting undermine democracy. https://twitter.com/...
Oliver Darcy / CNN: Facebook News launches with Breitbart as a source
Marc Tracy / @marcatracy: My story with @MikeIsaac updated after this afternoon's event with Zuckerberg https://www.nytimes.com/... pic.twitter.com/SuKStuekXy
Will Oremus / @willoremus: I also get why they don't want to risk it from a biz standpoint, but it sure would be interesting to see Facebook call conservatives' bluff at some point. How hard would Fox News, Breitbart, Shapiro and Trump really bite the hand that feeds them so well?
Rat King / @mikeisaac: they should release the list but i get why they arent — trying to head off outlet scrutiny and the R's screaming bias while D's pick apart the hard Right stuff seems like lose lose but doesnt mean they shouldnt release it
Casey Newton / @caseynewton: my sense is that the list is in flux and they're not ready to talk about it yet. but they should and I hope they do soon
Will Oremus / @willoremus: This is so familiar. Facebook; We've announced a high-minded new project to address all of your criticisms! Critics: Cool, how does it work? Facebook: Sorry that's a secret. https://twitter.com/...
Rat King / @mikeisaac: it might turn out to be a worse strategy for it to slowly leak over time just in terms of extending the outrage or whatever
Joe Bernstein / @bernstein: One way to think about Facebook naming Breitbart a “trusted news source”: my investigation two years ago contained revelations so damning Breitbart funder Robert Mercer stepped down as CEO of his hedge fund. But it's good enough for Zuck & co https://www.buzzfeednews.com/ ...
RELATED:
Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
Facebook takes a step forward by putting money behind high-quality journalism, but must not leave small publishers behind or promote purveyors of disinformation — Ronald Reagan called these the nine most terrifying words in the English language: “I'm from the government and I'm here to help.”
Discussion:
Columbia Journalism Review, @emilybell, Reuters, @cjr, @timobrien, @emilybell, @sulliview and Slate
Discussion:
Emily Bell / @emilybell: Just to remind everyone , News Corp is boosting a new product from Facebook for journalism , hailing it as a new platform. Is this journalism's Free Basics moment? Where it hands over it's development to an unaccountable business ...or is it politically significant ahead of 2020
@cjr: “The event was a publicity coup for Facebook; it tamed the biggest beast in the journalism jungle, and brought it quietly to heel,” @emilybell writes https://www.cjr.org/...
Tim O'Brien / @timobrien: “As with all things Facebook does, this one ought to be viewed skeptically. The company's record on policing blatant disinformation and hate speech, particularly during the 2016 election, is beyond dismal.” - @Sulliview https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Emily Bell / @emilybell: This is good ...Facebook to pay some news organizations for their journalism - (note to self ...don't write on the same subject at the same time as @Sulliview ) https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Todd Spangler / Variety:
At an event with News Corp's Robert Thomson, Mark Zuckerberg says every internet platform has a responsibility to fund and form partnerships for news — Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg — aiming to counter skeptics who believe the social network is a chief culprit in promulgating a flood of misinformation …
Discussion:
@claireatki, CNBC, @jeremymbarr, Metro.co.uk, @pkafka, @emilybell, @karaswisher, @johnpgarrett, @mathewi, @zseward, @matthewstoller, @moonalice, @jessicalessin, @jessicalessin, @alexstamos, @kevinroose, @joshtpm, @heatherlandy, @josephstash, @josephstash, @joshtpm, @bgrueskin, @bgrueskin, @bgrueskin, @bgrueskin, @jmgrygiel, @bgrueskin, @jeffjarvis, @caseynewton, @sivavaid, @eads, @sivavaid, @alexeheath, @alexeheath, @alexeheath, @kateflett, @mathewi, @mollywood, @pkafka, @jeremymbarr, @jeffjarvis, @jeffjarvis, @jeffjarvis, @jeffjarvis, @jeffjarvis, @pkafka, @jeffjarvis, @jeffjarvis, @pkafka, Tubefilter, Fortune, Fox Business and Hollywood Reporter
Discussion:
Claire Atkinson / @claireatki: Digital outlet Quartz is on life support, says News Corp chief Robert Thomson. Local papers need to seek Mark Zuckerberg out before its too late, he says.
Lauren Feiner / CNBC: Facebook's new approach to journalism is a well-timed distraction from antitrust scrutiny
Jeremy Barr / @jeremymbarr: @sarafischer Zuckerberg on Breitbart: “Part of having this be a trusted source is that it needs to have a diversity of basically views in there. I think u want to have content that represents different perspectives but is doing so in a way that complies with the standards we have for this.”
Harrison Jones / Metro.co.uk: Greta Thunberg hits out at ‘very disturbing’ Facebook over ‘lies and hate’
Peter Kafka / @pkafka: Except... Facebook including Breitbart is almost certainly a political decision on FB's part. And there are plenty of subscriber-based businesses that both-sides it.
Emily Bell / @emilybell: At the Paley Center listening to Mark Zuckerberg talk to Robert Thomson of News Corp (I know right?) . Zuckerberg says that there has been disruption to news business model ‘from the Internet’, now the ‘duty of all platforms’ to support journalism .....🤔
Kara Swisher / @karaswisher: I have always thought that whatever the issue, Facebook is the most compromised company I have ever covered, always willing to try to pretend all things were equal: Opinion | Why Will Breitbart Be Included in ‘Facebook News’? - The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/...
John P Garrett / @johnpgarrett: Robert has a lot to learn about business ethics. He's going to learn the hard way with this deal. No thanks, Mark. We will beat you on our own. #localnews https://twitter.com/...
Mathew Ingram / @mathewi: Thompson making this sound like the Holy Grail of news, because Facebook is paying a handful of news companies a sum of money that for Zuckerberg is the equivalent of me giving the guy outside the bus station a quarter for coffee https://twitter.com/...
Zach Seward / @zseward: We're fine, actually. But never thought I'd see Robert praising Facebook while taking a shot at fellow journalists. https://twitter.com/...
Matt Stoller / @matthewstoller: Big media, big tech, and national security officials seem to be circling each other for a grand bargain to get rid of democracy. https://mattstoller.substack.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Roger McNamee / @moonalice: FB's history is clearest on this subject: trusting the company to be a good partner has never been wise. Why the Facebook News tab shouldn't be trusted - TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/...
Jessica Lessin / @jessicalessin: No better example of how a biz models shapes biz decisions than Facebook's unfortunate move to include Breitbart, which is far more advocacy than journalism, in its News Tab. The ad biz pushes companies to a “both-sides ism” that thankfully reader-supported businesses can ignore.
Jessica Lessin / @jessicalessin: Exactly. Facebook faces such political decisions because it needs to appear neutral to avoid alienating advertisers. Newspapers did too, when advertising paid the bills. Subscription has to resist the urge to play to the base, so both models have challenges.
Alex Stamos / @alexstamos: Yes, this is political. FB can't be hated by both sides and needs political protection. If the Dem demand is “don't exist” and the GOP demand is “carry our content”, running for protection from the latter is much more palatable. https://twitter.com/...
Kevin Roose / @kevinroose: This is a) correct, b) encouraging, c) very, shall we say, interesting given how Facebook has treated journalists who cover the company in the past. https://twitter.com/...
Josh Marshall / @joshtpm: 2/ “free money” as Zuckerberg put it, we couldn't say no to that. But this image of every outlet going to FB to beg ... “before it's too late” I get the sense that there's some buying of silence here. And no we're certainly not going to do that.
Heather Landy / @heatherlandy: My own standards for engaging on social media prevent me from responding to this comment from @newscorp CEO Robert Thomson the way I'd like to. Just know that his comment is dead wrong and entirely irresponsible, whether according to standards of journalism or common decency. https://twitter.com/...
Joseph / @josephstash: I guess it's a different Facebook to the one that Thomson called “dysfunctional and socially destructive” two years ago: https://www.thedrum.com/...
Joseph / @josephstash: Imagine being a highly paid exec of a global corporation and having the gall to tell local newspapers, who've suffered for decades before their national or international colleagues ever did, that the only way to salvation is Mark Zuckerberg
Josh Marshall / @joshtpm: This is pretty bizarre. No idea re quartz. But curious the logic of intro'ing this with head of News Corp? Remember, in real life Waystar-Royco got Pierce. We haven't heard from FB about this. I confess if they came to use and just said here's a few hundred grand of ... https://twitter.com/...
Bill Grueskin / @bgrueskin: Or there's the fraud that Facebook allegedly perpetrated in inflating metrics on video views, leading news orgs down the haunted ‘pivot to video’ path, followed by slews of layoffs and shutdowns https://www.theverge.com/... 3/
Bill Grueskin / @bgrueskin: News organizations have made plenty of their own mistakes, and they can't blame all their woes on Facebook. But the company has pursued a toxic policy toward democracy and journalism, as this excellent @jmgrygiel piece noted a few months ago https://theconversation.com/ ... 5/
Bill Grueskin / @bgrueskin: Remember FB's Instant Articles, which were supposed to generate ad revenue and subscriptions for news sites. Most news orgs pulled out, ceding ground to sites w/ headlines like ‘Cop Who Arrested Malia Obama Found Dead Under Suspicious Circumstances’ https://www.buzzfeednews.com/ ... 2/
Bill Grueskin / @bgrueskin: While it's heartwarming to see longtime antagonists, like News Corp's CEO, doing a deal with Facebook, and while it's good to see FB paying for quality content, the news business ought to remain skeptical about this .... 1/
J. Grygiel / @jmgrygiel: Thanks—I wonder why Facebook forgot to invite me to the News tab launch party...just kicking it in Manhattan today and meeting with awesome journalists instead. Just got my shoes shinned—prob a better use of my time than attending this pseudo event...
Bill Grueskin / @bgrueskin: In July, the SEC filed a blistering complaint against Facebook noting, among other misdeeds, the company's misleading statements to news orgs about its data policies. https://www.sec.gov/... 4/ pic.twitter.com/0NIBUZMnND
Jeff Jarvis / @jeffjarvis: Thompson puts Zuckerberg on the spot and asks whether FB can pay local papers. He touts the separate product they've been developing: Today In, a local tab. He says he hopes to have financial relations there. Then he touts FB's $300m commitment to news.
Casey Newton / @caseynewton: “Turn down millions of dollars for work you've already done, because previous Facebook deals were not very good!” — media biz dev geniuses in my timeline today
Siva Vaidhyanathan / @sivavaid: I want to remind all the cynics out there that this is how Zuckerberg actually thinks. For real. Sincerely. It's not an act and it's not out of self-interest. He really can't see the difference. As @ibogost reminds us, it's all just “content” to him. https://twitter.com/...
David Eads / @eads: The timing is curious to me. Facebook rolled out a big new product for publishers in late 2015 (FB live) and paid them to use it. Now we're heading into 2020 and a similar story seems to be playing out.
Siva Vaidhyanathan / @sivavaid: Or neither. Could be negligible.
Alex Heath / @alexeheath: MZ is doing a bit of revisionist history by saying that FB's record-setting drop in market cap last year was due to tweaking the News Feed to down-rank mindless content consumption. What really happened was FB resetting growth expectations with the market. https://www.wsj.com/...
Alex Heath / @alexeheath: Great question from @sarafischer to MZ: Will FB's human editors for the news tab include stories that are critical of FB? She points out that Bloomberg News doesn't cover Mike Bloomberg, a policy MZ didn't know about...
Alex Heath / @alexeheath: ... “I didn't know that's a thing a person could do?,” MZ says of the Bloomberg policy. “I don't think that's a right approach” More on how FB's human editors will curate here https://www.theinformation.com/ ...
Kathryn Flett / @kateflett: I watched a bit of it on, er, Facebook Live. Loved that the News Corp Boss, aka #oldguy was reading from bits of actual PAPER. (Even I might have stuck my monologue on an iPad)
Mathew Ingram / @mathewi: This is going to be a separate tab where literally no one will ever go, and even if they do they will see the same five headlines they see on Google News or Apple News https://twitter.com/...
Molly Wood / @mollywood: Probably the only thing to read about Facebook News. https://techcrunch.com/...
Peter Kafka / @pkafka: @gaberivera @murraymatt @qz @delaney Asked about Breitbart's inclusion in the tab, Zuck says he doesn't want to talk about specific pubs. Makes hand-wavey comments about diversity.
Jeremy Barr / @jeremymbarr: @sarafischer asks how News curators will handle stories about the company Zuck: “The team is going to be independent. For better or worse, we're a prominent part of the news cycle. I don't think it would be reasonable to have a News tab that didn't cover what Facebook was doing”
Jeff Jarvis / @jeffjarvis: Oy again. Breitbart will be include in the news tab. Won't be paid, says The Times, but articles Breitbart posts to FB will be eligible for inclusion. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Jeff Jarvis / @jeffjarvis: Publishers can run their own ads on their news tab content and keep the revenue or they can use FB's ad network and still get “the vast majority of the revenue.”
Jeff Jarvis / @jeffjarvis: Thompson is strutting as if in a movie called The Revenge of the Gatekeepers.
Jeff Jarvis / @jeffjarvis: In short: Thompson et al can be bought.
Jeff Jarvis / @jeffjarvis: Zuckerberg: “This is going to be the first time that we're forming long-term, stable relationships and partnerships with publishers.” Nailing the rug down so it can't be pulled is critical for publishers!
Peter Kafka / @pkafka: @gaberivera @murraymatt Zuck references the multi-year deals as a commitment that FB won't screw over its new media pals. https://twitter.com/...
Jeff Jarvis / @jeffjarvis: “I've been able to make the case persistently and puckishly because of the enduring support of Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch,” says Thompson of his long-time complaint about trying to get money from tech cos.
Jeff Jarvis / @jeffjarvis: Zuckerberg says that he and News Corp.'s Robert Thompson have been talking about “doing this” — news — for two or three years. Thompson: “I do have one question. What took you so long.”
Peter Kafka / @pkafka: This Nixon-to-China Facebook-to-News Corp presser is such a big deal that @gaberivera has left Brooklyn to attend.
Facebook:
Facebook begins testing Facebook News with a subset of people in the US across four categories of select publishers: general, topical, diverse, and local news
Facebook begins testing Facebook News with a subset of people in the US across four categories of select publishers: general, topical, diverse, and local news
Discussion:
New York Times, New York Times, The Guardian, @juddlegum, Bloomberg, Digiday, Journalism, @speechboy71, Breitbart, @politicoryan, @marshawarfield, @edmundlee, @rafat, @bgrueskin, @marshablackburn, @mashable, @kantrowitz, @mollywood, @campbell_brown, @chrismoranuk, @athenae, @parkermolloy, @mollymckew, @brad_polumbo, @karaswisher, @brosandprose, @ianbremmer, @nikkimcr, @lyman_brian, @brianstelter, @cjamcmahon, @raju, @caseynewton, Wired, Politico, Gizmodo, The Daily Beast, @techcrunch, HuffPost, TechCrunch, The Wrap, The Week, Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch, The Information, Android Police and Marketing Land, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
Mark Zuckerberg / New York Times: Facebook Can Help the News Business
Julia Carrie Wong / The Guardian: Facebook includes Breitbart in new ‘high quality’ news tab
Judd Legum / @juddlegum: Facebook's new section of “trusted” news sources will include Breitbart, a website that featured a section on “black crime” and laundered white nationalist talking points https://www.bloomberg.com/...
John Zhu / Journalism: Thoughts on Facebook News
Michael Cohen / @speechboy71: Simply from a PR perspective this is just completely inexplicable. https://twitter.com/...
Allum Bokhari / Breitbart: Facebook To Fund News Outlets, But Won't Say Which Ones
Ryan Heath / @politicoryan: Looking for someone who believes that Bretibart qualifies as “deeply-reported and well-sourced” journalism " https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Marsha Warfield / @marshawarfield: “Fair and balanced” is the new “separate but equal.” There is no fairness and balance in just being indignant about being exposed. https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Edmund Lee / @edmundlee: Facebook will pay publishers, including @nytimes What's more notable is this rare mea culpa from Zuckerberg: “We feel acute responsibility because there's obviously an awareness that the internet has disrupted the news industry business model,” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Rafat Ali / @rafat: I give it 12 months. https://twitter.com/...
Bill Grueskin / @bgrueskin: Facebook often says it shouldn't be treated like a publisher. With this deal, Facebook will be paying for news, curating news, making editorial judgments around news and ... publishing news. https://www.wsj.com/...
Sen. Marsha Blackburn / @marshablackburn: Be very wary...sounds like just another way for Facebook to takeover every aspect of our lives and the news we read. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@mashable: Watch Mark Zuckerberg duck a question about including Breitbart in Facebook's News tab https://mashable.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Alex Kantrowitz / @kantrowitz: A quote from Zuck that would be hard to imagine a few years ago: “It's no secret the internet has really disrupted the new business model. I just think every internet platform has a responsibility to fund and form partnerships for news.” https://variety.com/...
Molly Wood / @mollywood: Ahaha ... oh no, he didn't. He did!? He did. I especially love how he stole Elizabeth Warren's line. “We have a plan to help fix that.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Campbell Brown / @campbell_brown: This is a huge moment for our relationship with the news industry. I know people have doubted us and our commitment to journalism but today should signal that we truly want to be a champion for great reporting. https://newsroom.fb.com/...
Chris Moran / @chrismoranuk: 'When news is deeply-reported and well-sourced it gives people information they can rely on. When it's not, we lose an essential tool for making good decisions.' It really is very hard to take this at face value in the context of the political ad policy https://newsroom.fb.com/...
Allison Hantschel / @athenae: “Facebook stole all the news we gave them in a desperate attempt to reach the young people who haven't used this platform in 10 years, and now we have no money to deliver the paper to people who have been customers for 6 decades.” — media company execs, 6 months from now. https://twitter.com/...
Parker Molloy / @parkermolloy: Breitbart is included in this list of “trusted” publishers. It's a site that absolutely does not adhere to the guidelines, and yet 🤷🏻♀ ️ https://www.bloomberg.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Molly McKew / @mollymckew: Honest question. Do we think Facebook paying publishers to use their context on Facebook news is going to result in less transparent coverage of Facebook? I get this is a gesture toward lost ad revenue, but ... https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@brad_polumbo: I actually like the idea of FB News, but I worry it'll inevitably be biased in its selection and outcomes. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Kara Swisher / @karaswisher: Ah yet another payoff attempt! https://www.nytimes.com/... via @NYTimes
Cruella D'Awson / @brosandprose: Won't this be a fun and harmless experiment!! https://twitter.com/...
Ian Bremmer / @ianbremmer: Oh no https://twitter.com/...
@nikkimcr: Facebook considers The Daily Caller, a publication riddled with white supremacist content, a partner in their “fact checking network.” Just yesterday Zuckerberg told congress he isnt in the business of fact checking political content, he leaves that to “partners.” https://twitter.com/...
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: Facebook is publicly introducing its new News section today. “I know people have doubted us and our commitment to the news business,” Campbell Brown told me. “This should signal that we truly want to be a champion for great reporting.” https://www.cnn.com/...
Ciarn Mc Mahon / @cjamcmahon: This comes less than a fortnight after an Oireachtas committee heard several social media corps deny that they were publishers with editorial control https://twitter.com/...
Raju Narisetti / @raju: The news home page will be curated by journalists, led by Anne Kornblut, who are “independent, free from editorial intervention by anyone at the company,” according to Campbell Brown, @Facebook's vice president of global news partnerships, who oversees News Tab. @axios https://twitter.com/...
Casey Newton / @caseynewton: Facebook News is here. But will an audience show up for it? https://www.theverge.com/... pic.twitter.com/OGb86JCBks
Paris Martineau / Wired: Facebook Tries Again With News, This Time Paying Publishers
Cristiano Lima / Politico: Why Facebook's plan to rescue journalism may not be enough
Blake Montgomery / The Daily Beast: Facebook Slammed for Including Breitbart Among Trusted News Publishers
@techcrunch: Why publishers shouldn't trust Facebook News https://techcrunch.com/... by @joshconstine https://twitter.com/...
Anthony Ha / TechCrunch: Mark Zuckerberg makes the case for Facebook News
Lukas I. Alpert / Wall Street Journal: Facebook Chief Mark Zuckerberg Urges Tech Rivals to Pay for News
Hagop Kavafian / Android Police: Facebook starts testing dedicated Facebook News feed
Brian Stelter / CNN:
Facebook is paying some major publishers millions of dollars per year while excluding smaller local ones, who are struggling and worried about being left behind
Facebook is paying some major publishers millions of dollars per year while excluding smaller local ones, who are struggling and worried about being left behind
Discussion:
Larry Gilbert Jr / @larrygilbertsj: I am quoted in this @brianstelter @CNN story about how far too often big tech forgets about us in smaller markets. https://www.cnn.com/...
Rory Cellan-Jones / @ruskin147: https://newsroom.fb.com/... Facebook rolls out its News tab in the US - will be interesting to see which publishers are excluded. Facebook says it will use “a range of integrity signals in determining product eligibility, including misinformation.”
Zephyr Teachout / @zephyrteachout: Any system that relies on Facebook doing the right thing is a bad system. They can change their mind. They can prefer some content over others. News, ONLY so long as Facebook deigns to allow it to exist, is not healthy. We need Congress and enforcers to act, not rely on Zuck. https://twitter.com/...
Brian Ray / @brianrayguitar: If Facebook “curators” are adding Breitbart in their news section they've already failed at curating. That's noise, not news. https://twitter.com/...
Zephyr Teachout / @zephyrteachout: Also: “local newsrooms fear being left behind” is kind of a grotesque understatement of the problem of no local news. Isn't it more “humans fear democracy being dismantled?” https://www.cnn.com/...
Lydia Polgreen / @lpolgreen: I worry a great deal about this. It's fine to funnel money to prosperous national news orgs but even better to help the smaller ones. (Can't help but notice billionaires Murdoch & Bezos among top beneficiaries of FB largesse here). https://twitter.com/...
Alex Stamos / @alexstamos: Anyway, I understand why FB did this. They rightly realize that a lot of media coverage is explicitly (Murdoch) or implicitly (NY Times OpEd on ad revenue) driven by cash flow. But the blending of curated, paid news with UGC is going to lead to some really bad policy outcomes.
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: Some local papers, already struggling, are worried about being left behind while Facebook funds national sources. Here's what an editor in Maine told me 👇🏼 https://twitter.com/...
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: BuzzFeed CEO @Peretti says “it's a good day for the internet” because Facebook is paying $$ for access to publishers' content. “For the first time, we're seeing the platforms step up and take responsibility for their role in the news ecosystem,” he says https://www.cnn.com/...
Alex Stamos / @alexstamos: Allowing people to chat privately is very different than providing massive paid amplification via ads. It is certainly different than paying millions of dollars for content and then displaying it. @daphnehk, I assume the paid news tab has absolutely no protection under CDA 230?
Alex Stamos / @alexstamos: Should FB use their terrifying power as an intermediary to make Breitbart disappear? No. Should FB pay them and intentionally amplify their disinformation? Definitely no! If FB doesn't distinguish between products based upon amplification and cash flow, why would the gov/media?
Alex Stamos / @alexstamos: I would have much rather seen a privacy-preserving micro-payment platform as the way to help news outlets (could have bought @brave) as it could have been deployed in a much more neutral manner than explicitly picking winners and losers and cutting checks directly.
Alex Stamos / @alexstamos: I'm gonna re-up this chart I've been using to discuss calibrating anti-abuse interventions versus free expression and privacy concerns. Facebook just added a new layer on top, “Curated and Paid Content”, for which they have 100% responsibility. https://twitter.com/...
Librarianshipwreck / @libshipwreck: It's only a matter of time before Zuckerberg gets hauled back before Congress to answer questions about the ways in which Facebook News was exploited to disseminate false/hateful content. Once more, Zuck will squirm, but escape consequence free. https://www.cnn.com/...?
Ben Winslow / @benwinslow: Color me skeptical that Facebook really will include local community news sources, which frequently break the stories that get aggregated into the national reporting. Oh, and Rupert Murdoch is right. They should pay for it. https://twitter.com/...
John Warner / @biblioracle: “Step into my parlor said the spider to the fly.” FB becoming an even bigger pipeline for news organizations is not going to go well for the news organizations. https://twitter.com/...
@rolandsmartin: Will @facebook have Black-owned media companies as a part of this? They sure didn't do ANYTHING for Black Media when they launched Facebook Watch. As long as they keep funding big mainstream companies, the rich get richer, and NOTHING changes. https://twitter.com/...
Simon Owens / @simonowens: One thing that's struck me over the last few months is that news is almost entirely nonexistent on my Facebook feed, a signal of just how thoroughly the company has retreated from the sector. https://twitter.com/...
Shoshana Wodinsky / Adweek: Facebook Rolls Out a Standalone News Service in Its Mobile App
ProPublica:
Sources: John Solomon, now at Fox, worked closely with Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas, sharing files and letting him watch an interview with Ukraine source — ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up for ProPublica's Big Story newsletter …
Discussion:
NBC News, @natashabertrand, @davidmcswane, @ericgarland, @rgoodlaw, @bradheath, @yatpundit, @allahpundit, @adamserwer, @fawfulfan, @blmohr, @samthielman, @samthielman, @ryanjreilly, @willsommer, @jensalan, @blakehounshell, @owillis, @eisingerj, @schwellenbach, @johnjharwood, @aaronblake, @aaronblake, @nickconfessore, @jonahfisherbbc, @schwellenbach, @bradmossesq, @natashabertrand, @ericuman, @ericuman, @owillis, New York Times and Mediaite
Discussion:
Rich Schapiro / NBC News: Rudy Giuliani butt-dials NBC reporter, heard discussing need for cash and trashing Bidens
Natasha Bertrand / @natashabertrand: NEW: Joe diGenova and Victoria Toensing, the lawyers who represent the Ukrainian oligarch paying millions for dirt on Biden, also have another client: John Solomon. The arrangement raises new q's about potential privilege claims. Scoop w/@dsamuelsohn https://www.politico.com/...
J. David McSwane / @davidmcswane: New: Lev Parnas, recently indicted for foreign influence in U.S. elections, collaborated closely with The Hill's John Solomon to fuel spurious allegations involving the Bidens and Ukraine. by @JakePearsonProP, @mikespiesnyc and me https://www.propublica.org/...
Eric Garland / @ericgarland: Executive Vice President and Trump propagandist for @thehill and ex-editor-in-chief of the Moonie-owned Washington Times now lawyered up with FARA agents 😂 https://twitter.com/...
Ryan Goodman / @rgoodlaw: 1. Great reporting 2. The Hill needs to answer to this even more now that John Solomon has implicated them: Solomon “asserted that his editors ‘were aware’ that he was seeking help from diGenova and Toensing on matters concerning Ukraine... ‘Everybody knew about it,’” he said. https://twitter.com/...
Brad Heath / @bradheath: “If a media reporter gets ahold of this story, it could destroy us.” https://twitter.com/...
@adamserwer: I've said this before, but the way to understand conservative media's hostility towards the rest of the press is that they think it operates the way many of their reporters and outlets do—that they take money to make shit up. https://www.propublica.org/... https://twitter.com/...
Matthew Chapman / @fawfulfan: This is a really, REALLY bad look for John Solomon and @thehill. https://www.propublica.org/...
@blmohr: “But Toensing, diGenova, and Parnas are not mentioned in the article, raising the possibility that the trio, who had been working to find evidence of wrongdoing by the Bidens in Ukraine, had been working directly with Solomon on the story.” https://www.politico.com/...
@samthielman: This guy's tendentious opinionating in reporting drag has been the subject of open discussion for years but I had no idea he was also just straightforwardly corrupt. https://twitter.com/...
Ryan J. Reilly / @ryanjreilly: .@jsolomonReports: “everything — everything — was above board.” Narrator: It wasn't. https://www.propublica.org/...
Will Sommer / @willsommer: This is a stunning investigation on Trump ally John Solomon's behavior at The Hill. https://twitter.com/...
Jennifer Salan / @jensalan: For anyone who's been following The Hill - this isn't a big surprise https://www.propublica.org/...
@blakehounshell: “Interviews & company records obtained by ProPublica show Parnas worked closely with Solomon to facilitate his reporting, including helping with translation and interviews. Solomon also shared files he obtained related to the Biden allegations with Parnas” https://www.propublica.org/...
Oliver Willis / @owillis: he had a stint at the washington post, where he also did this stuff https://www.mediamatters.org/ ...
Jesse Eisinger / @eisingerj: How did Lev Parnas, now indicted associate of Rudy Giuliani, get the disinformation campaign on Biden & Ukraine going? By essentially partnering with @jsolomonReports Earlier, the publisher warned Solomon was engaged in “reputation killing stuff.” https://www.propublica.org/...
Nick Schwellenbach / @schwellenbach: Not the first time!! “Solomon was engaged in ‘reputation killing stuff’ by mixing business with journalism” https://www.propublica.org/...
John Harwood / @johnjharwood: conservative writer on working w/since-indicted Rudy associate on anti-Biden, anti-Dem Ukraine stories “No one knew there was anything wrong w/Lev Parnas at the time. “Everybody who approaches me has an angle. My mother has an angle when she calls me” https://www.propublica.org/...
Aaron Blake / @aaronblake: “Watching from the control booth of The Hill's TV studio was Lev Parnas, who helped arrange the interview.” https://www.propublica.org/...
Aaron Blake / @aaronblake: “Solomon recalls first encountering Parnas through Pete Sessions “Sessions ... told ProPublica that he has no connection to Solomon. 'I don't know John,' he said.” https://www.propublica.org/...
Nick Confessore / @nickconfessore: Rebranding someone's shitty and unethical reporting as “opinion” and then letting him keep at it is an insult to decent opinion writers everywhere. https://www.propublica.org/... pic.twitter.com/WiND0ZTusZ
Jonah Fisher / @jonahfisherbbc: Why did @thehill continue publishing @jsolomonReports pieces on Ukraine for so long? https://www.propublica.org/...
Nick Schwellenbach / @schwellenbach: From 7 ys ago: an ICIJ staffer “confronted Solomon about his potential financial interest in the business plan...the deal was something Solomon was pushing, but that [CPI's head] and the board opposed it, citing ‘a conflict of interest’” https://archives.cjr.org/...
Bradley P. Moss / @bradmossesq: .@thehill nice job there on having Solomon as a EVP for so long while he was allegedly laundering info from his lawyers into columns that were helping his lawyers' other clients. https://twitter.com/...
Natasha Bertrand / @natashabertrand: @dsamuelsohn The arrangement raises new q's about legal privileges that could help shield key players from scrutiny, & “whether these individuals are trying to use a lawyer-client relationship to hide communications involving illicit activities,” said @rgoodlaw. https://www.politico.com/...
Eric Umansky / @ericuman: John Solomon's “story” in the @thehill started the disinfo campaign re Ukraine Guess who basically partnered w/ Solomon on story? Rudy buddy Lev Parnas. The indicted Parnas: -swapped files w/ Solomon -helped translate -was literally in control room https://www.propublica.org/... https://twitter.com/...
Eric Umansky / @ericuman: Also: John Solomon engaged in what sure looks like pay-for-play. He made a deal with an advertiser and then inserted a quote from them into a story. “If a media reporter gets ahold of this, it could destroy us,” the Hill's publisher wrote. https://www.propublica.org/... pic.twitter.com/MDUY2Pxj5l
Oliver Willis / @owillis: it bears repeating that john solomon - for years - was a major part of political coverage at ap and *even then* it was clear he was out to get democrats. instead, he kicked around legit journalism forever https://www.propublica.org/...
Noah Weiland / New York Times: The Trump Impeachment Inquiry: What Happened Today
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
NBCUniversal says it would release ex-NBC News staffers who believe they were sexually harassed from NDAs, in a statement read by Maddow before Farrow interview — NBCUniversal said Friday night it would release former NBC News staffers who believe they were sexually harassed from confidentiality …
Discussion:
New York Times, @maddowblog, Hollywood Reporter, Hollywood Reporter, @julieroginsky, The A.V. Club, @thr, @karaswisher, @yashar, @jonlovett, @ronanfarrow, @julieroginsky, @brianstelter, @lynnshawprod, Mediaite, @politicussarah, Slate, HuffPost, TVNewser, @jayrosen_nyu, TVWeek.com and Mediaite
Discussion:
@maddowblog: NEWS: NBCUniversal offers to release “any former NBC News employee who believes that they cannot disclose their experience with sexual harassment” because of an NDA “from that perceived obligation.” pic.twitter.com/zr2dewKDmR
Trilby Beresford / Hollywood Reporter: Tom Brokaw Accuser Slams NBC: “Women Have Already Been Through Hell With This Company”
Sharareh Drury / Hollywood Reporter: Rachel Maddow Unloads on NBC Bosses as Former Staffers Released from NDAs
Julie Roginsky / @julieroginsky: Let me also add that being bound by NDAs is toxic for so many reasons. In the absence of being able to tell your own story, others fill the void less than accurately. There is a movie out soon called Bombshell which purports to tell my story and the story of other women. (1) https://twitter.com/...
William Hughes / The A.V. Club: Rachel Maddow and Time's Up both slam NBC for its treatment of sexual harassment issues
@thr: Rachel Maddow bashed NBC management for letting Ronan Farrow's reporting on Harvey Weinstein “get away”: “The amount of consternation this has caused among the rank and file people who work here would be almost impossible for me to overstate” http://thr.cm/...
Kara Swisher / @karaswisher: Why do these women need to approach NBC legal as part of letting them out of their “perceived” non-disparagement agreements? It's obvi scary to have to do that. Why not just unilaterally declare they can speak out? Also good on @maddow for speaking up: https://www.nytimes.com/...
Yashar Ali / @yashar: When I asked NBC News about this 10 days ago they declined to comment. I asked other networks about this as well in preparation for a story CBS News: decline to comment ABC News: did not respond Standby for Fox News https://twitter.com/...
Jon Lovett / @jonlovett: Maddow also independently confirming that NBC ordered a stop to reporting. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ ...
Ronan Farrow / @ronanfarrow: Credit where due: @maddow, independently confirming my reporting that Weinstein story was halted by NBC execs and calling her bosses to account on their own air—not an easy thing, for her or her staff— did this. https://twitter.com/...
Julie Roginsky / @julieroginsky: This is a huge deal and a massive step in the right direction. Good for you, @NBCUniversal. I hope this starts a trend across this industry and all industries. https://variety.com/...
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: “@Maddow publicly confronted the leadership of her own network on Friday night, declaring live on air that she and other NBC News employees had deep concerns about whether the organization had stymied @RonanFarrow's reporting...” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Connor Mannion / Mediaite: Former NBC Host Linda Vester Blasts NBC's Handling of NDAs in Op-Ed, Says Announcement Raises Questions
Sarah Reese Jones / @politicussarah: Things don't change without a hell of a lot of pressure. @maddow brought it tonight with @RonanFarrow, so much so that @nbc is offering to release former @nbc employees from NDA. Those of us who have suffered horrific sexual harassment+ assault at work appreciate these efforts. https://twitter.com/...
Daniel Politi / Slate: Rachel Maddow Slams NBC News Bosses Live on Air Over Handling of Harassment Allegations
Amy Russo / HuffPost: NBC News To Allow Ex-Staffers Out Of Nondisclosure Agreements, But There's A Catch
A.J. Katz / TVNewser: Rachel Maddow Sharply Criticizes ‘People in Positions of Authority in This Building’
Jay Rosen / @jayrosen_nyu: Tonight @Maddow took a long and critical look at her own network's handling of the Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment story, which Ronan Farrow brought to the New Yorker after NBC told him to pause his reporting. This is rare. http://www.msnbc.com/... The NBC part starts at 6:45.
BBC:
Source: the Barclay brothers are looking to sell the Daily Telegraph and the Sunday Telegraph; Telegraph Media Group's profit last year was £900K, down 94% YoY — The billionaire owners of the Daily Telegraph and the Sunday Telegraph are to put both titles up for sale.
Discussion:
Jim Waterson / The Guardian: Barclay brothers put Telegraph up for sale
Richard Fletcher / @fletcherr: 🚨 Revealed: Telegraph newspapers put up for sale as Barclay family reviews its multibillion-pound portfolio of British investments #tomorrowspaperstoday via @TimesBusiness https://www.thetimes.co.uk/... https://twitter.com/...
Richard Fletcher / The Times & The Sunday Times: Telegraph for sale amid Barclay family break-up
Daniel Tovrov / Columbia Journalism Review:
A look at Newsweek's grim condition: journalists are ranked by page views and expected to write four stories a day as the company struggles to pay its bills — No one working at Newsweek can tell me why it still exists — On March 20, Nancy Cooper, the editor in chief of Newsweek, sent an email to her editorial staff.
Discussion:
Marie Solis / @msolis14: At Newsweek my salary was based on how many people clicked my stories each month, and I was ranked against my coworkers on a Google sheet that autofilled every day. Any quality reporting my coworkers and I did was in spite of these conditions: https://www.cjr.org/...
Lionel Barber / @lionelbarber: Breathtaking read: BladeRunner journalism laid bare https://twitter.com/...
@rhokilpatrick: At my first gig I had to pitch, write, edit, publish and promote 12 “posts” a day starting 0800. Often worked over 15-hour days in the hope of treating myself to more than a few hours' sleep, a lunch break the next day, or a work-free day at the weekend. https://www.cjr.org/...
Michael Roddan / @michaelroddan: “You're being asked to write a story in two hours, and your editors are being asked to edit it in twenty minutes, and we're all supposed to be experts on whatever it is the story's about, even if we're covering the entire world. It's just not possible.” https://twitter.com/...
Jamie Small / @jamieasmall: “clickbait would bring in revenue while hard-news reporting would build our reputation” - the problem with this popular model is that by definition clickbait gets more views and therefore drags reputation down https://www.cjr.org/...
Martyn McLaughlin / @martynmcl: This is a worrying & familiar account. Some stories take months to research, only to be outclicked by hastily rewritten SEO pieces. Journalism can't conflate the debate over changing revenue models with the even more necessary one about its core values. https://www.cjr.org/...
@swedishbriefs: The UK's Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday are masters of this: “Many of us adopted the strategy of using a *pseudonym* to write... when we needed quick hits.” Except they use it to smear, slander and harass people. “The owners and editors were fine with this” https://www.cjr.org/...
Daryl Ilbury / @darylilbury: “The owners see media as a profitable thing, but it's profitable because they've found an exploitable workforce. There are so many young, earnest, hungry writers who will work for so little”. Sobering @CJR account of the collapse of a former giant. https://www.cjr.org/...
David Uberti / @daviduberti: The dudes who bought Newsweek somehow managed to convert its extremely recognizable brand name into literally nothing in terms of direct visitors to its site. Impressive! https://www.cjr.org/... https://twitter.com/...
Chris Moran / @chrismoranuk: Side note. 'Newsweek isn't alone in crafting its headlines for a search engine; not even the NYT is above writing “Who Is William Barr"'. Writing accurate headlines that help people find good journalism or creating pieces that answer a real need isn't something you descend to
Lara Zarum / @larazarum: This CJR Newsweek piece is giving me flashbacks to my Village Voice internship in 2015, when the then-editors demanded both a.) original reporting that no other journalist in NYC had found and b.) new stories every day, from a two-person reporting team. https://www.cjr.org/...
Abhijit Majumder / @abhijitmajumder: Long story in India. * Reporters in some dailies/channels asked to earn from outside. Get a cut on ads, extort * Market leader first set trend of Editor as Manager. Others followed * Editor/bureau chief reduced to usher for politician/celeb/client at events, be a fixer for owners https://twitter.com/...
Robert Valencia / @rvalentwit: I can attest that many of the reporters I worked with really wanted to produce the best material possible, even in the midst of harsh circumstances. My solidarity goes out to those who decided to leave or were fired/let go. #DropshippingJournalism https://www.cjr.org/...
Emily Bell / @emilybell: hair raising indictment of the practices at Newsweek :'We we're digging the owners out of debt at the cost of our mental health' . One of the most shocking things I've read on modern newsrooms by @dantodrov https://www.cjr.org/...
Nathan Heller / @nathanheller: This story—about writers essentially scammed into producing bad work by their vaunted employer—is alternately appalling and infuriating. https://www.cjr.org/...
Doug Main / @douglas_main: Not sure this story makes it clear: The problem was always IBT, w/ their clickbait & criminal execs. Luckily they mostly left Newsweek alone for most of my tenure, until Feb '17. Then it steadily got worse (& I left). Now it's unrecognizable https://www.cjr.org/...
Ashok Lalla / @ashoklalla: Don't blame journalists when you read clickbait headlines, blame their bosses and paymasters https://www.cjr.org/... (by @msolis14)
John Stanley Hunter / @johnstanhunter: Remember this? https://twitter.com/...
Deanna Ting / Digiday:
In Q3, Snapchat says total daily time spent on Discover increased by 40% YoY and 100+ Discover channels saw a monthly audience of more than 10M viewers — What was once a money pit for some publishers is now becoming more of a gold mine. — Snapchat Discover has become a profitable venture …
Matt Zoller Seitz / Vulture:
Movie theater owners complain that Disney is now making 20th Century Fox classics unavailable for reruns, like it does with Disney titles — Joe Neff knew there was trouble when the horror films started vanishing. — Neff is the director of the 24-Hour Science Fiction and Horror Marathons …
Discussion:
Hyperallergic, @alexzafer, @redporchremnant, @vulture, Engadget, @vulture, @augustjpollak, @nullary and The Playlist
Discussion:
Hrag Vartanian / Hyperallergic: Required Reading — Earlier this week, Extinction Rebellion …
Candid Flneur / @alexzafer: Fox's holdings include hundreds of notable films in a variety of genres that give a sense of the richness of American cinema over the last 100 years. We may never see them again. https://thelifeandtimesofhollywood.com/ ...
Angela Woolsey / @redporchremnant: Distribution practices like “block-booking” that @mattzollerseitz describes in his insightful article are just as troubling to me as Disney's hoarding. It all adds up to a system that prizes corporations over art or the public. https://www.vulture.com/...
@vulture: “Disney has the opportunity not to be the bad guy, to act in the public interest and prove that them owning something is not a bad thing” https://www.vulture.com/...
Billy Steele / Engadget: Recommended Reading: How memes became political weapons
@vulture: “Disney has the opportunity not to be the bad guy, to act in the public interest and prove that them owning something is not a bad thing” https://www.vulture.com/...
August J. Pollak / @augustjpollak: Disney/Fox made up half of all US box office sales this year. Movie theaters as you know them are not going to exist in a generation. They have secured a model as one where you pay to see new movies, and then pay for streaming service to see old ones. https://www.vulture.com/...
James Tinged Words / @nullary: This is bad. A huge company removing works from viable markets, the opposite of applying copyright to enable creativity and sharing. https://twitter.com/...
Charles Barfield / The Playlist: Disney Is Seemingly Putting The Fox Library In The “Vault” …
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
RAJAR: podcasts now reach 8.4M listeners in the UK, up from 6M in 2018, with 7.4M people listening to the BBC online or through apps — LBC's audience has grown by almost 500,000 people in the past year to reach 2.6m, the highest weekly reach in the station's 46-year history.
Quinta Jurecic / Lawfare:
Conservative site RedState's decision to publish an explicit photograph of Democratic Rep. Katie Hill has crossed an ugly line into nonconsensual pornography — Amid the hubbub of L'Affaire Ukrainienne, you could be forgiven for overlooking another story that has emerged out of Congress over the past week.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, HuffPost, @ggreenwald, @qjurecic, @qjurecic, @heathat, @qjurecic, @gsdeutch and @lawfareblog
Discussion:
Jonathan Bernstein / Bloomberg: The DNC's Elimination Strategy Is Working
Melissa Jeltsen / HuffPost: Katie Hill Is Not Accused Of Committing A Crime. But She Might Be A Victim Of One.
Glenn Greenwald / @ggreenwald: Consensual sex between adults is never anyone else's business & should never be the topic of public moralizing or judgment. There is in this case arguably a coercive element that's legitimately discussed, but it seems more of pretext to justify the moralizing, gawking & scorn: https://twitter.com/...
Quinta Jurecic / @qjurecic: As far as I am aware, the Hill photograph is the first instance in the U.S. in which a politically aligned publication has released nonconsensual pornography depicting a politician of the opposing party affiliation. That's an ugly line to have crossed. https://www.lawfareblog.com/ ...
Quinta Jurecic / @qjurecic: Hill's own account of her actions speaks to extremely poor judgment, at the very least. But the merits of her actions are separate from the issues raised by publishing the photo. https://www.lawfareblog.com/ ...
Heather Timmons / @heathat: Red State, part of “family themed” Salem Media, is co-owned by “Christian, husband, father” @stuepperson. It recently published revenge porn of a sitting Congresswoman (believed to be supplied by her estranged husband) https://www.lawfareblog.com/ ...
Quinta Jurecic / @qjurecic: This is a test of whether the norm against publishing such material is strong enough to shield against a deep fake or a calculated leak of explicit photos meant to influence an election. So far the results are not encouraging. https://www.lawfareblog.com/ ...
Gabby Deutch / @gsdeutch: “The Katie Hill photograph is the first instance in which a politically aligned publication...has released nonconsensual pornography depicting a politician of the opposing party.” (RedState, where the pic was published, doesn't pass NewsGuard's criteria) https://www.lawfareblog.com/ ...
Alex Hern / The Guardian:
Facebook updated fact-checking guidelines in August to include ads, but some fact checkers say they learned about the change only from Zuckerberg's testimony — Many third-party contractors learned of new policy from Mark Zuckerberg's testimony to Congress
Discussion:
Mike Ananny / @ananny: “'Several of us really don't want that power” one fact checker told the Guardian[...]"why are u now giving us powers to remove content when u haven't before?'" This agrees w confusion I reported in 2018 @TowCenter study https://www.cjr.org/... https://www.theguardian.com/ ...