Top News:
PBS NewsHour:
Jim Lehrer, a longtime PBS news anchor who moderated a dozen presidential debates and wrote about 20 novels, has died at 85 — PBS NewsHour co-founder Jim Lehrer, a giant in journalism known for his tenacity and dedication to simply delivering the news, died Thursday at the age of 85.
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PBS NewsHour, New York Times, The Wrap, @judywoodruff, TVNewser, Newser, Radio & Television …, Mediaite, Variety, The Hill, Axios, NPR, @costareports, @yamiche, @gregorykorte, Los Angeles Times, @kalhan, Hollywood Reporter, @zeitchikwapo, @jackshafer, @joshscampbell, @dougf24, @greta, @dmoren, @claudebrodesser, @alancoxshow, @budkennedy, @briancohalloran, @pbs, @scottcharton, @erinnbcnews, @yamiche, @paulbegala, @keitholbermann, @tedstew, @paulrieckhoff, @werderedespn, @shaneharris and @poniewozik
Alex Barker / Financial Times:
Comcast's NBC and Sky to launch NBC Sky World News, an international news channel, this summer; they will open ten new bureaus worldwide and hire 100-200 staff — Comcast's NBC and Sky will this summer attempt to overturn three decades of CNN pre-eminence in international television news …
Discussion:
Press Gazette, Variety, @bristei, @christinamarker, @kamahlaje, @jim_edwards, @financialtimes and @matthewkeyslive
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Annie Palmer / CNBC:
Comcast beats Q4 expectations: profit rose 26% YoY to $3.16B on revenue of $28.39B; NBCU revenue fell 2.6% YoY to $9.2B; Sky revenue rose 0.4% YoY to $5.04B — - Comcast beat on both the top and bottom lines in its fourth-quarter results. — The company added 442,000 …
Discussion:
Variety, The Wrap, Multichannel News, Comcast Corporation, Fast Company, @cnbc, The Verge, MediaPost, Broadcasting & Cable, @richlightshed, @karlbode and The Streamable
Hamilton Nolan / Columbia Journalism Review:
CJR's new “public editor” for The Washington Post notes the newspaper's profitability, and lingering wage issues, as it blends serious stories with clickbait — It would be trite to force an Amazon metaphor onto the Washington Post in my first column just because they are both owned by the same rich guy.
Discussion:
@mathewi, @hamiltonnolan, @ckpolansky, @froomkin, @jyarow, @tcberman, @tomgara, @blippoblappo, @cjr, @mariabustillos, @kylepope and @aleksnotalex
Benjamin Mullin / Wall Street Journal:
Jim Rich, formerly EIC for the New York Daily News, has been appointed EIC of Deadspin, the G/O Media site where the entire staff resigned last fall — Jim Rich is stepping in to lead the site months after the entire staff resigned to protest the chief executive of parent G/O Media
Discussion:
Deadline, @sdkstl, @jeremystahl, @jeremymbarr, @timothypmurphy, @mattgertz, @srubenfeld, @kevinmdraper, @ashleyfeinberg, @jasonschwartz, @jeremymbarr, @benmullin, @benmullin, @adriana_lacy and @benmullin
Hanaa' Tameez / Nieman Lab:
A look at results from a test by NYT R&D's The News Provenance Project, which stored image metadata on the blockchain to help users identify faked photos — Can blockchain save journalism? The Magic 8-Ball's best answer thus far appears to be “Outlook not so good.”
Discussion:
American Press Institute, @palewire, @nytimesrd, @ibmblockchain and @rozzy
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
BBC World Service to air My World, a show to help kids over 13 spot fake news, by explaining the stories behind news — Angelina Jolie and the BBC want to give young viewers real tools to stop fake news, — Jolie will executive produce “BBC My World,” a program that explains …
Discussion:
Breitbart, Vanity Fair, The A.V. Club and New York Post
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
TikTok signs licensing deal with music rights agency Merlin for indie label music in videos and, source says, in its upcoming music streaming service, Resso — TikTok, the fast-growing user-generated video app from China's Bytedance, has been building a new music streaming service to compete …
Discussion:
Financial Times, Music Business Worldwide, @markghuneim, @ingridlunden, @ingridlunden, iMore and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Arron Banks drops part of his libel lawsuit against Carole Cadwalladr, a suit that press freedom groups say is intended to stifle public interest reporting — Prominent Brexiteer Arron Banks has dropped half of his libel case against Observer journalist Carole Cadwalladr …
Discussion:
The Guardian, @carolecadwalla, @rebecca_vincent, @carolecadwalla, @carolecadwalla, @rebecca_vincent and @carolecadwalla
The Paris Review:
Mona Simpson named publisher of The Paris Review, where she has been a member of the board of directors and the editorial committee since 2014 — The Paris Review Foundation is delighted to announce the appointment of Mona Simpson as the magazine's new publisher.
Discussion:
@bardcollege, @emilynemens, @macdowellcolony and bookforum.com
Wall Street Journal:
UN officials call for further investigation into the alleged hacking of Jeff Bezos' phone in 2018 by Saudi's MbS, targeting Bezos “principally” as WaPo's owner — Separately, federal prosecutors probe whether racy photos of Amazon boss were provided to National Enquirer by his girlfriend's brother
Discussion:
@saudiembassyusa, @jeffbezos, VICE, @dnvolz, Business Insider, GeekWire, New York Times, Telegraph, Vox, The Verge, @alexstamos, @kaitlancollins, @davidakaye, @kaitlancollins, Fortune, Beyond Search, iMore, @sheeraf, @nytben, @sam_vinograd, @davidakaye, Boing Boing, @karaswisher, @oamaz7, @marietjeschaake, @davidakaye, @globalfreemedia, @blakehounshell, @langamahesh, @bruno_j_navarro, @shivaroor, @roigfranzia, @lizsly, @bazzinyu, @rickhasen, @riskybusiness, @alexstamos, @shashj, @kimzetter, @emilybell, @alexstamos, @alexstamos, @pressfreedom, @article19org, @dnvolz, @josephfcox, @eamonjavers, @miekeeoyang, @africatechie, @ragipsoylu, @johnbattelle, @jmalsin, @mikko, @dnvolz, @rafsanchez, Vanity Fair, Fast Company and ARTICLE 19, more at Techmeme »
Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian / Axios:
In a letter to AG Barr, Republican congressman asks DOJ to compel China's state agency Xinhua to register as a foreign agent, as CGTN has already done — A Republican congressman has asked Attorney General William Barr to examine whether Chinese state news agency Xinhua has registered under …
Discussion:
@sarafischer and @repjimbanks