Top News:
Mike Isaac / New York Times:
Sources: over 250 Facebook employees have signed a letter visible on an internal forum that says letting politicians lie in ads is “a threat” to the company — In an open letter, the social network's employees said letting politicians post false claims in ads was “a threat” to the company.
Discussion:
@mikeisaac, New York Times, USA Today, The Guardian, MediaPost, The Hill, Breitbart, @donie, @sarahfrier, @aoc, The Independent, Politico, Mercury News, @brianstelter, @bariawilliams, Ad Age, @oneunderscore__, @peterwsinger, @mattlech, @davmicrot, The A.V. Club, The Next Web, @thegrugq, @wiczipedia, @ewarren, @senblumenthal, VICE, @mikeisaac, Business Insider, @benioff, KTLA, @donttrythis, The Verge, RAPPLER, CNN, TechCrunch, Beyond Search, Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Memex 1.1, The Wrap, The Week, Gizmodo, Mashable and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
Ryan Glasspiegel / The Big Lead:
Deadspin's interim editor-in-chief, Barry Petchesky, who has worked for the publication for 10 years, says he has been fired for “not sticking to sports” — It was a solid bet when The Daily Beast reported that G/O Media management issued an edict to Deadspin to stick to sports …
Discussion:
@barry, @kerrymflynn, Business Insider, HuffPost, CNN, Awful Announcing, Washington Post, @gmgunion, @libbycwatson, @bruce_arthur, @dceiver, @brianpshea, @taylorcocke, @catmsilverman, @sdkstl, @megreenwell, @jonbolds, @natalieweiner, @maxwelltani, @ryanlcooper, @sportsrapport, @kentremendous and @weareyourfek
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Maxwell Tani / The Daily Beast:
G/O Media Editorial Director Paul Maidment calls Deadspin's focus an “incredibly broad mandate”: “We are sorry that some on the Deadspin staff don't agree” — “We are sorry that some on the Deadspin staff don't agree with that editorial direction, and refuse to work within that incredibly broad mandate."
Discussion:
Mediaite, Mother Jones and @bubbaprog
Kelsey Mckinney / @mckinneykelsey:
Deadspin writer says G/O Media management removed a letter to the readers from Deadspin staff that criticised the recent addition of autoplay videos to the site
Deadspin writer says G/O Media management removed a letter to the readers from Deadspin staff that criticised the recent addition of autoplay videos to the site
Discussion:
@gmgunion, @chronotope, VICE, Awful Announcing, @barry, @williamfleitch, @katiedrumm, @mckinneykelsey, @ashleyfeinberg, Gizmodo and The Daily Beast
John Sands / Knight Foundation:
Local news survey: 45% of Americans trust it “quite a lot” or more; 53% of Americans view it as balanced though 50% of Democrats trust it vs. 27% of Republicans — When it comes to trust, local news media continue to outperform their national counterparts.
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, Knight Foundation, @dangillmor, @newsalliance, @maryellenklas, The Rural Blog, @newsbyschmidt, @niemanlab and Fast Company
Joe Pompeo / Vanity Fair:
The Recount, John Heilemann and John Battelle's short-form video political news outlet, has raised ~$10M seed from investors including Jay-Z and Kevin Durant — A-List investors (Fred Wilson, Jay-Z, Robert Wolf, Kevin Durant) are pouring millions into the journalist's new business.
Discussion:
@johnbattelle, @therecount, @jheil, @thisfamilymeal, @joepompeo and Politico
Alex Weprin / Hollywood Reporter:
National Amusements has voted to approve the CBS-Viacom merger, which is now expected to close by early December; the merged company will be called ViacomCBS — National Amusements, the company controlled by the Redstone family, has voted to approve the merger.
Discussion:
Variety, The Wrap, Deadline and TVWeek.com
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Sources: NBC News Digital is expanding its staff by 20% over the next year, amounting to ~70 new jobs, and shutting down its digital video studio NBC Left Field — NBC News Digital is expanding its staff by 20% over the next year, an addition of roughly 70 jobs across multiple departments …
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
70+ female MPs release a letter supporting Meghan Markle and criticizing the “often distasteful and misleading nature” of UK newspaper stories about her — A cross-party group of female MPs have written to Meghan Markle to express solidarity over what they called …
Discussion:
The Hill, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian and @hollylynch5
Jessica Davies / Digiday:
FT says it is testing subscriber-only podcasts, deviating from its audio strategy of ad-supported open-access podcasts, hires its first global head of audio — The Financial Times has expanded its audio strategy to include subscriber-only podcasts, a first for the publisher.
Discussion:
Press Gazette, Talking Biz News and RAIN News
Michael Calderone / Politico:
The RedState reporter who published the Katie Hill photo has since promoted GOP candidates for her seat, a blurring of roles unacceptable in mainstream outlets — Shortly after Rep. Katie Hill announced her resignation from Congress on Sunday night, the RedState reporter …
Discussion:
VICE, @jenvanlaar, @politico, @stellinitweets, @mattdpearce, @joshuahol, @mlcalderone, Washington Free Beacon, The Week, New York Post, Breitbart and Talking Points Memo
Amol Rajan / BBC:
Daily Mail soft-launches Mail+, a bulletin-based digital service separate from its free Mail Online that will charge readers for some content in upcoming months — The long heralded next chapter of the Daily Mail's push into digital media will take shape this week, as consolidation across …
Discussion:
Press Gazette and @amolrajan
Jason Gurwin / The Streamable:
Sony says it will shut down its PlayStation Vue live TV subscription service on January 30 — The Streamable is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission when you sign up with our links. — This is breaking news, the story will be updated. — After much speculation …
Discussion:
Variety and Awful Announcing, more at Techmeme »