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
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
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
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