Mediagazer: Facebook's “deeply concerned” the Singaporean gov't is using its “fake news” law to ban access to a FB page, saying it goes against earlier pledge to not censor (Eileen Yu/ZDNet)

2:15 PM ET, February 18, 2020

Top News:

Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:

Bloomberg reporters say the EIC's decision to not investigate Michael Bloomberg left them vulnerable and wonder what a President Bloomberg may mean for the pub — Michael Bloomberg's rise in the polls has increased the pressure on political reporters employed by his news outlet.

Financial Times:

After meeting Zuckerberg on Facebook's proposal for harmful content regulation, commissioner overseeing EU data strategy calls it “not enough” and “too slow” — Social media company warned that it will have to accept more responsibility for illegal content

Eileen Yu / ZDNet:

Facebook's “deeply concerned” the Singaporean gov't is using its “fake news” law to ban access to a FB page, saying it goes against earlier pledge to not censor — Singapore government's use of the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) …

Discussion: @cameronwilson, @kixes and @cameronwilson, more at Techmeme »

Eileen Yu / ZDNet:

For the first time, Singapore orders Facebook to block access to a page, after the latter refused to comply with previous directives under the “fake news” law — Social media platform has been ordered to block access to the States Times Review page, after the latter's author …

Discussion: South China Morning Post

Hanaa' Tameez / Nieman Lab:

The AP StoryShare platform formalizes collaboration as newsrooms find and upload articles; 25 outlets have shared 200 stories since last month's launch — “On most days of the week, I'm competing with them.” But when the situation's right, local news outlets are using one another to augment their own resources.

Discussion: Poynter and Associated Press

Jim Waterson / The Guardian:

BBC News deputy political editor John Pienaar is leaving after almost three decades to join News UK's upcoming Times Radio to front its new drivetime program — Longtime BBC presenter to front drivetime show on Radio 4 rival station — Times Radio has hired the BBC's deputy political editor …

Discussion: The Sunday Times, The Times, @angusm1966, @wiczipedia, @damiancollins, @sarfrazmanzoor, @jimwaterson, @jimwaterson and BBC

Jim Waterson / The Guardian:
Sources: News UK's upcoming Times Radio is making lucrative offers to leading BBC presenters like Nick Robinson, promising higher salaries and editorial freedom

Discussion: Press Gazette, @jamescridland, @jimwaterson, @johnmfitzp, @jimwaterson, @jimwaterson, @leavehq, @toryscott, @markdistef, @peterkgeoghegan, @tamsin_smith, @tianran, @clareprecey and @gerrymoore101

Lucinda Southern / Digiday:

Axel Springer survey finds European publishers are seeing modest subscription gains from platforms run by Facebook, Apple, and Google — Facebook, Google and Apple now have more ways to drive subscriptions, but in Europe at least, the impact is still negligible.

Josh Kosman / New York Post:

Sources: AT&T expects regional sports networks' earnings to fall to $55M in 2020 from 2019's $115M; potential buyers' bids of ~$500M fall short of $1B expected — AT&T's auction to sell four regional sports networks appears to be faltering — the latest sign that the business …

Discussion: The Streamable, @richlightshed and @thesportsdotbiz

Freddy Mayhew / Press Gazette:

As Caroline Flack's death sparked anger at tabloid coverage, UK's Reach offered help to targeted staff and to remove links to their Twitter accounts in bylines — The death by suicide of TV presenter Caroline Flack has seen renewed anger towards tabloid newspapers over recent coverage of the Love Island host.

Discussion: Press Gazette, @jessbrammar, @jessbrammar, International Press Institute and @brianstelter

Jim Waterson / The Guardian:
Death of ex-Love Island presenter Caroline Flack re-focuses attention on British tabloids, amid calls for a “Caroline's law” against excessive media intrusion

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Redbox launches ad-supported Free Live TV, which offers a curated set of movies and TV shows organized into channels, from brands like TMZ, USA Today, NowThis — Redbox has entered the ad-supported streaming market with the launch of Redbox Free Live TV. The company, best known …

Discussion: USA Today, CNET, @andybeal, The Hill, PCMag, TechSpot and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Rachel Abrams / New York Times:

White House proposes cutting public broadcasting funds from $30M in 2021 to $0 in 2023; Republican chairman of NPR's board says public media is not in danger — Donations to the public broadcaster went up sharply after the president said it was “a very good question” to ask why it still existed.

Discussion: @ahmed, @petersagal, @nytimes, @clarajeffery and @bobbyallyn

Katie Notopoulos / BuzzFeed News:

Facebook allowing sponsored content for political campaigns with little oversight further muddies the waters, as #sponsored labels are often difficult to spot — This week, Instagram meme accounts like @fuckjerry and @tank.sinatra posted sponsored ads for former New York mayor Michael …

Discussion: @buzzfeednewsuk, @katienotopoulos, @hshaban, The Next Web, @katienotopoulos, @cernovich, @lisatozzi, @robaeprice, New York Times, Business Insider, gen yeet and @emilybell

Archived Page Info:

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Jim Waterson / The Guardian:
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Bernie Sanders' reversal on releasing health records highlights how pervasive the Trump precedent is and the dilution of mainstream media's institutional power

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