Top News:
Dylan Byers / NBC News:
Sources: EIC Ben Smith is leaving BuzzFeed to join NYT to write the Media Equation column made famous by David Carr — Smith will serve as the writer of the publication's “Media Equation” column, which became a must-read for media industry insiders under the David Carr, who died in 2015.
Discussion:
Washington Post, @buzzfeedben, @shani_o and @sulliview
Brian Stelter / CNN:
NPR's Michele Kelemen has been removed from Mike Pompeo's press pool for a trip to UK and Ukraine, a few days after Pompeo responded angrily to an NPR interview — New York (CNN Business)Secretary of State Mike Pompeo appears to be escalating his criticism of NPR — this time not just with words but with actions.
Discussion:
@jakesnyt, CNN, @nickschifrin, @mitchellreports, Multichannel News, NBC News, Vanity Fair, The Week, The Hill, @joaquincastrotx, New York Times, @amyreports, @sangernyt, @ewong, @mplenke, @chriscuomo, @scarylawyerguy, @samseaborn, @brianstelter, @senmarkey, @joyannreid, @senatorbennet, Reuters, @joycewhitevance, @ewong, @aaronblake, @nprinskeep, @eliselabott, @mehdirhasan, @qasimrashid, @chuckatwbhm, @emilybell, @kfile, @danbarrynyt, @ambkennedy_ret, @ilvestoomas, @ashtonpittman, @brianklaas, @jessicataylor, @marydleonard, @oliverdarcy and Newser
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Ted Johnson / Deadline:
Trump praises Pompeo for his behavior with NPR reporter Mary Louise Kelly: “That was very impressive....I think you did a good job on her, actually.” — At a White House ceremony with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump noted the presence of Pompeo and said, “That was very impressive.
Geoffrey Fowler / Washington Post:
Facebook says its Off-Facebook Activity tool, which lets users clear all the data passed onto Facebook by other apps and sites, is now available globally — The new ‘Off-Facebook Activity’ tool reminds us we're living in a reality TV program where the cameras are always on.
Discussion:
Ad Age, TechCrunch, About Facebook, USA Today, TechCrunch, The Atlantic, @rmsherman, @joshelman, @mohammadfarooq_, @ngreenberg, @profcarroll and @aral, more at Techmeme »
Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:
News startup Scroll debuts today with ad-free access to ~300 partners, including BuzzFeed News, BI, and Vox, for $2.49/mo. for first six months then $4.99/mo. — After a long period of invite-only beta testing, Scroll is officially launching today, offering ad-free access to sites like BuzzFeed News …
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, Adweek, Vox, Axios, @tryscroll, Neowin, @pinboard, The Verge, @pkafka, @arctictony, @pkafka, @mayarodale, @martinsfp, Poynter, @editrixjen, @alexjamesfitz, @arctictony, @marklittlenews, @mcwm and @nathanblawrence
The Citizen Lab:
A link to a site with NSO Group's Pegasus spyware was sent to NYT journalist Ben Hubbard by an operator tied to Saudi Arabia who also targeted Saudi dissidents — Key Findings — New York Times journalist Ben Hubbard was targeted with NSO Group's Pegasus spyware via …
Discussion:
New York Times, @nytben, The Guardian, @rondeibert, Reporters Without Borders, @davidakaye, @davidakaye, @davidakaye, @nytimes, @davidakaye, @kevincollier, @kevincollier, @kevincollier, Business Insider, @marietjeschaake, @jennycohn1, @davidgura, @agnescallamard, @selectedwisdom, @razhael, @aaschapiro, @kimzetter, @dangillmor and @stefsimanowitz
David Bauder / Associated Press:
AP held “townhall” meetings on racial sensitivity in its journalism after it was slammed for mistakenly cropping out an African climate activist on Friday — NEW YORK (AP) — A “terrible mistake” in cropping an African climate activist out of a photo sent to customers …
Dylan Byers / @dylanbyers:
Former Fox News executive producer Jennifer Williams named head of editorial video strategy for Facebook News — Scoop: Facebook has tapped former Fox News executive producer Jennifer Williams to head video strategy for Facebook News, the dedicated news tab that will launch wide later this year, a source familiar with the move tells me. https://link.nbcnews.com/...
Discussion:
NBC News, @adamhousley, @paulconstant, @lam_barrett, @pardesseleh, @moneyries, @olsencassidy, @jeniontheblock, @cliffschecter and @anthonyblsmith
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Flipboard will now feature local news coverage in 23 cities in US and Canada and start recommending stories based on IP address — Flipboard, the personalized news aggregation app used by 145 million users per month, is today launching a new feature aimed at bringing local news coverage …
Discussion:
MediaPost, Engadget and Axios, more at Techmeme »
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Facebook is investing $700K in news orgs, hosting a second Local News Summit in March, expanding its Instagram news fellowships to ~20 outlets — Facebook on Tuesday will announce a new round of investment worth $700,000 in various news organizations across the country, executives tell Axios.
ProPublica:
Craig Newmark Philanthropies donates $1M to ProPublica for its Electionland collaboration and related reporting on voting issues around the 2020 US elections — Gift from organization of craigslist founder to support national and local reporting on voting issues around 2020 U.S. elections
Discussion:
@jessicashortall
Leo Barraclough / Variety:
Meet Cute, a company that produces and distributes romantic comedy podcasts, which are published in three five-minute chapters, raises more than $3M in funding — Meet Cute, a New York-based podcast company that focuses on romantic comedies, has secured more than $3 million in funding …
Discussion:
Hot Pod News and @listenmeetcute
Nicholas Quah / Nieman Lab:
Podcast analytics group Podsights raises $1.5M; it helps advertisers track the impact of their buys on podcasts, and its clients include NYT, NPR, and Wondery — Welcome to Hot Pod, a newsletter about podcasts. This is issue 243, dated January 28, 2020. — Recap. The busyness of January continues.
Discussion:
Podsights, RAIN News and Hot Pod News
Ariel Zilber / Daily Mail:
WaPo suspends Felicia Sonmez after she tweeted a story about a rape allegation against Kobe Bryant, responded to criticism, and detailed abuse sent to her email — Felicia Sonmez (right), who covers national politics for The Washington Post, posted a link to a story about the Kobe Bryant rape case …
Discussion:
New York Times, The Outline, @rachelabramsny, Vox, @davidklion, Washingtonian, @karaswisher, @monaeltahawy, The Guardian, Variety, @melissakchan, @matthewkeyslive, @elisewho, @ajentleson, @nycsouthpaw, @chick_in_kiev, @yashar, @lollardfish, @maxwelltani, @mikeisaac, @sdkstl, @sopandeb, @jimrutenberg, @olivianuzzi and @carlasosenko
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Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
Felicia Sonmez shares her account of suspension from WaPo, says Managing Editor Tracy Grant had concerns that the tweets didn't pertain to her coverage area
Felicia Sonmez shares her account of suspension from WaPo, says Managing Editor Tracy Grant had concerns that the tweets didn't pertain to her coverage area
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Vox, Washington Post, @farhip, Vanity Fair, The Week, @tomgara, USA Today, Denver Post, New York Times, Washingtonian, Columbia Journalism Review, @mehdirhasan, Poynter, Alternet.org, The Independent, The Morning Missive, @anildash, @dceiver, KTLA, The A.V. Club, @cwarzel, @wesleylowery, @senyorreporter, PEN America, @annamerlan, @annamerlan, @juliacarriew, @irin, Deez Links, @geneweingarten, @rmc031, @aleksnotalex, @maggienyt, @poniewozik, @poniewozik, @dancow, @jscros, @libbycwatson, @ashleyfeinberg, @jscros, @jimwaterson, @lydiadepillis, @mrshickadance9, @ggreenwald, @yashar, @zachdcarter, @maxwelltani, HuffPost, Axios and @gynostar
Washington Post Guild:
Washington Post Guild issues scathing critique of the paper's suspension of Felicia Sonmez, says WaPo should let her return and provide a security detail
Washington Post Guild issues scathing critique of the paper's suspension of Felicia Sonmez, says WaPo should let her return and provide a security detail
Discussion:
The Guardian, @petersterne, @edmundlee, Washingtonian, Talking Points Memo, @lkmcgann, @moiradonegan, @megancarpentier, @meghara, @thischairrocks, @elisewho, @zoeyorkwrites, @emmaroller, @timothys, @jessicavalenti, @sarahkaplan48, @grahamstarr, @xor, @bgrueskin, @josheidelson, @marcatracy, @abeaujon, @abeaujon and @dlind