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:
@buzzfeedben, Washington Post, Variety, CNN, The Wrap, @sulliview, @perlberg, @stuartmillar159, @nickconfessore, @pfpicardi, @jimrutenberg, @jscros, @shani_o, @brianstelter, @lpolgreen, @lapresmidi, @janinegibson, @kantrowitz, @yashar, @markdistef, @kevinroose, @micahgrimes, @freedlander, @jayrosen_nyu and @sulliview
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, Axios, @tryscroll, Vox, Neowin, @pkafka, @mayarodale, The Verge, @martinsfp, @mcwm, Poynter, @editrixjen, @pinboard, @pkafka, @alexjamesfitz, @nathanblawrence, USA Today, @arctictony, @arctictony and @marklittlenews
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:
TechCrunch, About Facebook, Ad Age, USA Today, TechCrunch, The Atlantic, @ngreenberg, @profcarroll, @mohammadfarooq_, @rmsherman, @joshelman and @aral, more at Techmeme »
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, The Guardian, @nytben, @rondeibert, The Week, Reporters Without Borders, @davidakaye, @davidakaye, @davidakaye, @nytimes, Business Insider, @davidakaye, @kevincollier, @selectedwisdom, @marietjeschaake, @jennycohn1, @davidgura, @razhael, @aaschapiro, @agnescallamard, @kevincollier, @kimzetter, @dangillmor, @stefsimanowitz and @kevincollier
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.
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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
Discussion:
@jakesnyt, CNN, @nickschifrin, @mitchellreports, Multichannel News, NBC News, @whca, Vanity Fair, The Week, The Hill, New York Times, @mplenke, @amyreports, @chriscuomo, @scarylawyerguy, @sangernyt, @samseaborn, @ewong, @brianstelter, Pressing, @joyannreid, @joaquincastrotx, @senmarkey, @senatorbennet, @joycewhitevance, @ewong, @aaronblake, @nprinskeep, @eliselabott, @mehdirhasan, @qasimrashid, Newser, @chuckatwbhm, @emilybell, @kfile, @danbarrynyt, @ambkennedy_ret, @ilvestoomas, @ashtonpittman, Reuters, @brianklaas, @jessicataylor, @marydleonard and @oliverdarcy
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, @moneyries, @paulconstant, @adamhousley, @olsencassidy, @lam_barrett, @jeniontheblock, @cliffschecter, @pardesseleh and @anthonyblsmith
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 …
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 »
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
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
Knight Foundation:
CUNY Center for Community Media announces national expansion to support outlets providing coverage of underrepresented people and issues with $1.45M in funding — ORGANIZATION WILL SUPPORT MEDIA OUTLETS SERVING MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES WITH FUNDING FROM KNIGHT FOUNDATION, DEMOCRACY FUND AND FORD FOUNDATION
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.
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, The Guardian, @davidklion, Vox, Washingtonian, @karaswisher, @monaeltahawy, @melissakchan, Variety, @matthewkeyslive, @ajentleson, @elisewho, @nycsouthpaw, @lollardfish, @chick_in_kiev, @yashar, @maxwelltani, @mikeisaac, @sdkstl, @sopandeb, @jimrutenberg, @olivianuzzi, @froomkin, @notesfromhel, @stacyontheright and @petersterne
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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, @tomgara, The Week, New York Post, Washingtonian, @mehdirhasan, Poynter, Alternet.org, good morning bitches, The Independent, The Morning Missive, The A.V. Club, @anildash, New York Times, @dceiver, @cwarzel, @wesleylowery, @senyorreporter, @annamerlan, @annamerlan, Deez Links, @juliacarriew, @irin, @geneweingarten, @rmc031, @aleksnotalex, @maggienyt, @poniewozik, @poniewozik, @dancow, @jscros, @libbycwatson, @ashleyfeinberg, @jimwaterson, @jscros, @lydiadepillis, @mrshickadance9, @ggreenwald, @yashar, @zachdcarter, @maxwelltani, HuffPost, @gynostar, @carlasosenko and Axios
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