Top News:
Lian Buan / Rappler:
A court in Manila finds Rappler CEO Maria Ressa guilty of “cyber libel”, along with former researcher-writer Reynaldo Santos Jr. — The court rules only Rappler as a company is not guilty … MANILA, Philippines - The Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 46 convicted Rappler CEO …
Discussion:
CNN, World News Publishing Focus …, New York Times, The Intercept, Rappler, @rapplerdotcom, The Guardian, The Guardian, American Press Institute, @rapplerdotcom, Scott Lamb's i18n, BBC, NPR, Washington Post, @itsren, @rapplerdotcom, @f_obermaier, @rapplerdotcom, @rapplerdotcom, @marshablackburn, Newser, @policy, Techdirt, @sarahmargon, @cdeloire, @monaeltahawy, @rapplerdotcom, @theintercept, @zenjournalist, @mariaressa, @rapplerdotcom, @jamesrbuk, Poynter, @amlwhere, @senatorwong, @ava, SPJ News, @astroehlein, @melissakchan, @nilanjanaroy and Wall Street Journal
Discussion:
James Griffiths / CNN: Philippines journalist Maria Ressa found guilty of ‘cyber libel’ in latest blow to free press
Andrew Heslop / World News Publishing Focus by WAN-IFRA: World's Press Condemns Guilty Verdict for Maria Ressa in Cyber-Libel Trial
Rappler / @rapplerdotcom: We call on our media colleagues, our community, and other advocates of a free and independent press to be vigilant and vocal now more than ever. Here are some ways to support Rappler. Thank you for holding the line with us! #CourageON #HoldTheLine #DefendPressFreedom https://twitter.com/...
Peter Greste / The Guardian: Maria Ressa's conviction should matter to everyone who cares about democracy
Rebecca Ratcliffe / The Guardian: Journalist Maria Ressa found guilty of ‘cyberlibel’ in Philippines
Rappler / @rapplerdotcom: @lianbuan Judge Montesa affirmed that the update in 2014 constituted republication, which made the article fall under the Sept 2012 Cybercrime Law. Article was written May 2012, or before law, but a typo error (evasion spelled as evation) was corrected Feb 2014. | via @lianbuan https://twitter.com/...
Ren LaForme / @itsren: Ressa urged Filipinos and members of the press to persist in spite of the Rappler attacks. “We are meant to be a cautionary tale. We are meant to make you afraid,” she said. “Don't be afraid.” https://www.poynter.org/...
Rappler / @rapplerdotcom: For civic leader Samira Gutoc, the cyber libel conviction of Maria Ressa and Reynaldo Santos Jr serves as a message to both media and people to “play nice or suffer the consequences.” READ: https://rappler.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Frederik Obermaier / @f_obermaier: „The libel case is part of a broad campaign by Duterte to manipulate the country's legal system in order to persecute @mariaressa and her online news organization, @rapplerdotcom ." https://theintercept.com/...
Rappler / @rapplerdotcom: International news groups cried foul following the conviction of Rappler CEO and Executive Editor Maria Ressa and former researcher Reynaldo Santos Jr over cyber libel charges. https://www.rappler.com/...
Rappler / @rapplerdotcom: @lianbuan Malice is an element of libel; court said if the subject is a public official then there is a high standard to prove malice to convict the author. But if the subject is a private person, malice is considered presumed. Court said Rappler did not show proof otherwise. | @lianbuan https://twitter.com/...
Sen. Marsha Blackburn / @marshablackburn: In the Philippines, fighting for democracy and freedom of the press comes with grave consequences. The United States stands firmly behind you, @mariaressa. Stay strong. Never stop fighting. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@policy: We stand with @MariaRessa and journalists around the world who are being persecuted for doing their jobs and holding power to account. Governments should not impinge on the fundamental values of a #FreePress. It must end now. https://twitter.com/...
Mike Masnick / Techdirt: Philippines Spits On Free Speech, Convicts Journalist Maria Ressa For Criminal ‘Cyber Libel’
Sarah Margon / @sarahmargon: .@mariaressa after her conviction: “We are meant to be a cautionary tale. We are meant to make you afraid. So I appeal again. Not be afraid. Because it you don't use your rights, you will lose them.” https://www.cnn.com/...
Christophe Deloire / @cdeloire: This case is probably one of the most crucial ones for #pressfreedom in the entire world. The fate of @mariaressa is intimately connected to the global situation for journalists. Her freedom is not just an example. It is a corner stone. @rapplerdotcom https://twitter.com/...
Mona Eltahawy / @monaeltahawy: A free press is more necessary than ever. Full solidarity with @mariaressa, a veteran journalist whose work is courageous and vital. Support her as she fights back against a cyber libel conviction that is clearly politically motivated. #DefendPressFreedom #HoldTheLine https://twitter.com/...
Rappler / @rapplerdotcom: The Court did not accept Rappler's assertion that what was corrected was just a typo error, and faulted them for not presenting Rey Santos on the stand to testify that no substantial change was made on his article in 2014. | via @lianbuan https://twitter.com/...
@theintercept: To bring its libel case against Ressa, the Filipino government went to extraordinary lengths to manipulate the country's libel law, writes James Risen. https://theintercept.com/...
Andrew MacGregor Marshall / @zenjournalist: I stand with @mariaressa. Journalism is not a crime. https://www.rappler.com/...
Maria Ressa / @mariaressa: (4/4) So many to thank - please give me a few days to catch up. For journalists here and around the world, I can't remember a more dangerous time to be a journalist. We #CourageON because this time matters #HoldTheLine https://www.rappler.com/...
Rappler / @rapplerdotcom: Vice President Leni Robredo warned that the cyber libel conviction of Maria Ressa and Reynaldo Santos Jr could spell danger for any citizen. Despite this, she also urged Filipinos to “not be cowed into silence.” RELATED STORY: https://www.rappler.com/... https://twitter.com/...
James Ball / @jamesrbuk: This is absolutely unjust (among other things - it's a retroactive law) and a thread to press freedom everywhere. It deserves international condemnation. https://twitter.com/...
Poynter: Fact-checkers stand by Maria Ressa, Santos Jr. and Rappler in the wake of Filipino court's verdict
Ann Marie Lipinski / @amlwhere: She's right. This is more than journalism on trial. https://twitter.com/...
Senator Penny Wong / @senatorwong: This is a very concerning development in the Philippines. Accountability, transparency and media freedom are vital for democracy. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Ava DuVernay / @ava: “You could be arrested for writing something.” Philippine journalist Maria Ressa, a critic of President Duterte, was found guilty in a libel case seen as a test for press freedom in the country. https://twitter.com/...
Andrew Stroehlein / @astroehlein: Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte's has killed tens of thousands in his “war on drugs”. He gets away with it. Journalist Maria Ressa has reported the extrajudicial killings committed by police & police-linked “death squads.” She's going to jail. https://www.hrw.org/... https://twitter.com/...
Melissa Chan / @melissakchan: One more thing everyone should know about @mariaressa and her newsroom: TWO-THIRDS of them are women. That's the outlet that has spoken truth to power against Duterte's government. Here are ways for anyone in the world to support @rapplerdotcom: https://twitter.com/...
Nilanjana Roy / @nilanjanaroy: “We are at the precipice between a democracy and a dictatorship. This is it.” Terrible news. @mariaressa has been a beacon of courage and hope; this has the worst implications for press freedom in the Philippines and South Asia. https://www.aljazeera.com/... https://www.nytimes.com/...
CBS Boston:
Six former employees of eBay charged with leading a cyberstalking campaign against a couple they believed was critical of eBay in an online ecommerce newsletter — BOSTON (CBS) - Six former eBay executives and employees are facing federal charges after they allegedly led a cyberstalking campaign …
Discussion:
@tom_winter, Justice News, The Verge, CNBC, eBay Newsroom, Wall Street Journal, RAPPLER, @elamin88, @malwarejake, Vox, The Information, Fortune, @firstadopter, Business Insider, @lilsarg, @thedextriarchy, @jyarow, @zackwhittaker, @lilsarg, @shortformernie, Mashable, @helenkennedy, @zittrain, @edzitron, @oneunderscore__, Bloomberg, @karlbode, @scpatriotsc, @press4change, @rmac18, New York Post, @rupertmyers, @daviduberti, @kadhim, @b_fung, @taylorlorenz, @maureenbug, @b_fung, @caseynewton, @kadhim and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
Tom Winter / @tom_winter: NEW: Six former members of E-Bay's global security team have been charged by the FBI and federal prosecutors in Boston with cyberstalking to “stifle” the publishers of an online newsletter. They allegedly sent porn and tried to send a pig fetus to their house to harass them.
Justice News: Six Former eBay Employees Charged with Aggressive Cyberstalking Campaign Targeting Natick Couple
Adi Robertson / The Verge: Former eBay security director arrested for harassing journalist with live cockroaches
Jessica Bursztynsky / CNBC: Former eBay employees sent bloody pig mask to intimidate critics, feds allege
Sebastian Herrera / Wall Street Journal: Justice Department Charges Former eBay Staff With ‘Cyberstalking Campaign’
Elamin Abdelmahmoud / @elamin88: I was like what on earth is Ryan talking about and then I read the eBay revenge story and it is a RIDE https://www.theverge.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Jake Williams / @malwarejake: This feels like a rejected episode of @blackmirror. Unreal. https://www.theverge.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Sara Morrison / Vox: Former eBay employees allegedly used spiders and swingers to cyberstalk newsletter authors
Fortune: Cockroaches, a bloody pig mask, and a coverup. The 5 craziest allegations against former eBay officials
Tae Kim / @firstadopter: Pro tip to corporate comm. teams/senior executives: Don't cyberstalk journalists and newsletters with live cockroaches, a funeral wreath, a bloody pig mask and attempted GPS car tracking surveillance. May be over the line and lead to some bad consequences https://www.justice.gov/...
Paige Leskin / Business Insider: Former eBay executives sent a pig fetus and porn to a couple who wrote a newsletter critical …
Adi Robertson / @thedextriarchy: so it sure looks like eBay's ex-CEO left after making an ambiguously threatening directive that led a team of employees to start mailing *live cockroaches and a bloody pig mask* to a newsletter editor he hated https://www.theverge.com/...
Jay Yarow / @jyarow: I can't believe these eBay execs lost their mind over what (to me, anyway) is a pretty obscure newsletter/site. https://www.cnbc.com/...
Zack Whittaker / @zackwhittaker: Some days “WTF?!” doesn't cut it. “Six former executives and employees of eBay are facing federal charges are they allegedly led a cyberstalking campaign against a Natick couple they believed was critical of the company in an online ecommerce newsletter.” https://boston.cbslocal.com/ ...
@lilsarg: Just so everyone is clear. eBay hired a former police captain as its head of global security. He then cyberstalked a journalist as revenge for publishing criticism of eBay. If you think hiring someone with experience in law enforcement will help your stock price, think again. https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Ernie Smith / @shortformernie: Seems on brand (though deeply screwed up) for eBay executives to try to conduct a cyberstalking campaign via package delivery. https://twitter.com/...
Matt Binder / Mashable: Live roaches and a bloody pig mask: 6 eBay employees accused of threatening a couple over a newsletter
Helen Kennedy / @helenkennedy: Six top eBay execs charged with insane harassment of Mass couple who published a newsletter critical of eBay: deliveries of live spiders and cockroaches, a funeral wreath, porn mailed to their neighbors in their names, ads for sex parties at their home. https://boston.cbslocal.com/ ...
Jonathan Zittrain / @zittrain: A colleague's reaction: “Relieved to hear that ‘eBay holds its employees to high standards of conduct and ethics.’ Otherwise, this would be worrying!” https://www.theverge.com/...
Ed Zitron / @edzitron: says a lot about me that my first thought is ‘how did they get a pig fetus? did they get it mailed to them, then packaged it up and sent it on?’ https://twitter.com/...
Ben Collins / @oneunderscore__: This isn't the half of it. This couple was harassed by six eBay employees, receiving all of this stuff, for... writing an email newsletter that was *sometimes* critical of eBay. https://boston.cbslocal.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
@karlbode: ebay statement: https://www.ebayinc.com/... Kind of speaks to your corporate culture that you have six high level execs that A. thought this was a good idea and B. never ran up against any institutional guardrails or oversight until after the fact.
SCPatriot / @scpatriotsc: “...two members of eBay's exec leadership team sent or forwarded text msgs suggesting that it was time to “take down” the newsletter's editor.” Translation: More indictments coming.. @thejusticedept @potus @realdonaldtrump https://www.justice.gov/...
Jeff Ballinger / @press4change: h/t @BGPublic The employees also allegedly sent anonymous threatening messages and traveled to Massachusetts to conduct “covert surveillance” of the victims..."all because they published content company executives didn't like" #cyberstalking https://boston.cbslocal.com/ ...
Ryan Mac / @rmac18: Been offline all day but am shocked none of you freaks sent me the eBay cockroach harassment story. I am disappointed in you all https://www.theverge.com/...
Nicolas Vega / New York Post: Ex-eBay employees harassed journalist with live roaches, ‘bloody’ pig mask
Rupert Myers / @rupertmyers: 😱 Quite a headline - these sick guys seem to have gone the whole hog https://twitter.com/...
David Uberti / @daviduberti: EBay says it investigated its former CEO and fired its top flack last year over an alleged harassment campaign of two bloggers https://www.wsj.com/...
Brian Fung / @b_fung: And here's Ebay's statement, which references an internal board investigation that found then-CEO Devin Wenig had some “inappropriate” communications (???) but did not know about or authorize what's alleged in the complaint: https://www.ebayinc.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Taylor Lorenz / @taylorlorenz: eBay's security director allegedly mailed a pig fetus and live cockroaches to a journalist who had been critical of the company and the harassment was tacitly approved by the then CEO https://www.theverge.com/...
Dr Maureen Berg / @maureenbug: This “harassment” included them mailing them live spiders, like I wish that would happen to me wtf https://www.theverge.com/...
Brian Fung / @b_fung: Quite possibly the weirdest story I've seen all year https://www.justice.gov/... https://twitter.com/...
Casey Newton / @caseynewton: Anti-journalism sentiment is rampant in the country and on Twitter, and this is where it leads https://twitter.com/...
@kadhim: Yikes. The affidavit reveals more of the text exchanges between the two former eBay executives, including comments like “We are going to crush this lady” and a threat that the WSJ “is next on the list” https://pacer-documents.s3.amazonaws.co m/ ... https://twitter.com/...
David Folkenflik / NPR:
Sources describe an “internal uprising” over racial inequity at LA Times, which has one black reporter on the metro desk of nearly 90 people covering greater LA — The Los Angeles Times' top editor is scrambling to placate journalists of color after years of often-unfulfilled promises …
Discussion:
David Folkenflik / @davidfolkenflik: At the L.A. Times, a newsroom “uprising” over racial equity. Exhibit A: There is one black reporter among nearly 90 ppl on the metro desk. She was turned down for raise repeatedly despite pleas from city editor it was a “moral” issue. My NPR story: https://www.npr.org/...
Joel D. Anderson / @byjoelanderson: This graf is specific to the LA Times but could broadly apply to the journalism industry specifically and most institutions generally. They make small, mostly symbolic concessions in hopes of quelling dissent until the news cycle mercifully moves on. https://www.npr.org/... https://twitter.com/...
Joseph Hernandez / @joeybear85: All publications truly need to not just soul-search right now, but pay up. The time for “listening and learning” has long been over. https://www.npr.org/...
David Folkenflik / @davidfolkenflik: Under Pearlstine and new owner Patrick Soon-Shiong, the paper went on major hiring spree to restock newsroom. The numbers did not notably improve. The LAT has a more diverse newsroom than most major news orgs. But it falls far short in reflecting diversity of L.A. County. 4/
Matt Pearce / @mattdpearce: We just have to do better. We just have to. I stand with all my colleagues who have bravely spoken out to management, and @latguild will be presenting more demands soon. https://www.npr.org/...
David Folkenflik / @davidfolkenflik: Exec Editor Norm Pearlstine tells NPR: “I would say in the case of black journalists, that we do not have enough journalists in positions where they are able to help us tell stories that really need to be told. I've asked myself in hindsight what got us to where we are now.” 3/
Makeda Easter / @makedaeaster: black journalists only made up about 4% of the la times newsroom last year. 🙄https://www.npr.org/ ...
Gene Park / @genepark: lots of heartbreaking details about the LA Times, which i consider my favorite newspaper. for me it's tough to read about its Metpro internship program, which i applied for and was rejected from 3 times, because it was billed to me as the best career path https://www.npr.org/...
@npratc: Staffers at the “Los Angeles Times” say editors have failed to fulfill promises of racial equity at the paper including in hiring, pay and the coverage it offers readers. https://www.npr.org/...
Caille Millner / @caillemillner: If you're wondering why these stories keep popping up and keep being important, it's because these are the people who shape the way we view the world. https://www.npr.org/...
David Folkenflik / @davidfolkenflik: The rancor arises over hiring/treatment of black journalists, as well as coverage of Floyd protests. Internal slack channels have been fiery: ""We can't constantly pander to our primarily white audience with stories like this that affirm their biases" - LAT's @sonaiyak 2/
Johana Bhuiyan / @jmbooyah: “1 of the responsibilities of the job is to state the facts & tell it true...it's alienating...viewers we're trying to attract. As well as POC journalists like me who contribute so much...& then have to read stories...that oversimplify our struggles.” https://www.npr.org/...
Priya Krishnakumar / @priyakkumar: As a Metpro in '15, one of the men in this story refused to consider me for a job even though there was an opening on our team and I'd been there a year (it was “too early") — he'd worked out a similar deal with a male colleague just months before. https://www.npr.org/...
Tal Kopan / @talkopan: These stories are painful to read, but so important that we are subjecting our own industry to scrutiny it deserves, especially if we're scrutinizing the record of other industries, too. https://twitter.com/...
Lisa Armstrong / @lisaarmstrong: “The Los Angeles Times' top editor is scrambling to placate journalists of color after years of often-unfulfilled promises by the paper to make grand progress in the diversity of the newsroom's ranks.” #DEI https://www.npr.org/...
Ben Muessig / @benmuessig: For the record: This is absolutely not the business desk's thinking. Hiring a Black or Latino reporter for a tech beat — or any specialty beat — is not some kind of unique challenge. There are so many amazingly talented journalists out there https://www.npr.org/... https://twitter.com/...
Karen K. Ho / @karenkho: This paraphrase from Crawford insinuates that non-white people likely won't pay for a newspaper subscription and white readers won't like that coverage, so why bother covering the population in a way that reflects how much they now make up LA County? https://www.npr.org/... https://twitter.com/...
Steven Perlberg / Digiday:
How Quartz, sold to Japanese company Uzabase in 2018, went from a profitable high-flyer to announcing layoffs and restructuring in May — In July 2018, Uzabase co-founder Yusuke Umeda addressed a room of anxious Quartz employees. — Staffers were reeling from the news that the business publication …
Discussion:
@bendreyfuss, @sangeetaskurtz, @kerrymflynn, @mathewi, @sfiegerman, @perlberg and @fromedome
Discussion:
Sangeeta / @sangeetaskurtz: This doesn't even get into the company's cultural failings; I wonder how many younger writers, interns, assistants, and bipoc (there weren't a lot, and most of them intersected with those other categories) @perlberg spoke to about their experiences at @qz https://digiday.com/...
@kerrymflynn: “Quartz has joined a growing club of publications that seemingly got caught in the mushy middle of 2010s digital media, like Mic and Mashable. Not quite niche enough to be essential to a small group of readers, but not quite big enough to compete at scale” https://digiday.com/...
Mathew Ingram / @mathewi: As of the first quarter of 2020, net advertising sales dropped by 54.1% year-over-year. In 2019, Quartz reported a $18.4 million loss on $26.9 million in revenue https://digiday.com/... via @digiday
Seth Fiegerman / @sfiegerman: This one sentence sums up so much pain and heartache in the media industry. https://digiday.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Ben Smith / New York Times:
Class divisions in media rise to the surface as executives and stars take refuge in the Hamptons while reporters continue to deal with the pandemic and protests — Those who can afford it left the city, shining a spotlight on class divisions in the media. — EAST HAMPTON, N.Y. …
Discussion:
@ambiej, @erinoverbey, @kyweise, @mckinneykelsey, @dylanbyers, @kashhill, @sdooling, @jonquilynhill, @borzou, Always Be Watching, TVNewser, @cgasparino, @hradzka, @danlamothe, @exumam, @carolinemoss and @mgerrydoyle
Discussion:
Amber Jamieson / @ambiej: Only took @benyt 8 weeks to write the column I suggested https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Erin Overbey / @erinoverbey: I keep rereading this line “Those who don't have space to house a chef are relying on deliveries..,” from @benyt's new column on media execs' exodus to the Hamptons during the pandemic—and i know it's only a matter of time before my brain explodes...🤯 https://www.nytimes.com/...
Karen Weise / @kyweise: “The biggest story in the world came to your front door and you left — that to me is insane” @benyt and his EAST HAMPTON, N.Y. dateline did not disappoint https://www.nytimes.com/...
Kelsey Mckinney / @mckinneykelsey: I do wish this touched on the fact that so many people in our industry do not have jobs because of decisions made by these people's selfishness. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Dylan Byers / @dylanbyers: People in New York are talking about the @benyt column in all its detail.... People in L.A. are talking about this sentence, or rather, this clause: “And even as media power has shifted somewhat from New York to Los Angeles....” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Shannon Dooling / @sdooling: I'm fairly certain I'm one of few state school grads in my pub radio newsroom. Racial diversity is of the utmost importance. Including more people who grew up living paycheck-to-paycheck adds enormous value as well. Of course, we know these demographics all too often overlap. https://twitter.com/...
Jonquilyn Hill / @jonquilynhill: I've heard so many conversations re: being Black and objective in news and NONE about being wealthy and objective https://www.nytimes.com/...
Borzou Daragahi / @borzou: 'Sean Hannity has been working from the North Shore of Long Island since before the crisis, and Tucker Carlson's show is produced near his homes in Florida and Maine.' https://www.nytimes.com/...
Dan Barrett / Always Be Watching: Jeremy Piven charges only $15k to talk to him
Charles Gasparino / @cgasparino: Interesting @benyt quotes a reporter who says many in our profession supplement our incomes w trust funds: Here's mine: A $15k life insurance policy my mom left me in 1990, reduced to $10k after paying for her wake and funeral https://www.nytimes.com/...
David Hines / @hradzka: Today I learned that the NYT internal slack has a guillotine emoji. I also learned that you can use eliminationist rhetoric in NYT's internal slack and stay employed by the NYT. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Dan Lamothe / @danlamothe: This lede from @benyt is really something. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Andrew Exum / @exumam: Ben Smith was born to write the media column in the @nytimes. Media reporting sometimes amounts to nothing more than navel-gazing, but this column addresses really important questions about the way in which what's taking place in our cities has been covered during the pandemic. https://twitter.com/...
Caroline Moss / @carolinemoss: This is hilarious for a lot of reasons but I think @ambiej hits the nail on the head with her assessment of New York editors and writers who made their $$ post-2008 bouncing out the city as BIGGEST STORY OF OUR LIFETIME “came knocking on their front door” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Brian Stelter / CNN:
Memo: Voice of America Director Amanda Bennett and Deputy Director Sandy Sugawara have resigned as Trump appointee Michael Pack takes over VOA's parent agency — New York (CNN Business)Two top officials at Voice of America resigned on Monday as an appointee of President Trump prepares …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Axios, @brianstelter, @w7voa, Deadline, New York Times, @brianstelter, Mediaite, @hadas_gold, @stengel, @dabeard, @kevinmkruse, Boing Boing, @waltshaub, @waltmossberg, @sjdemas, @sulliview, @adamsteinbaugh, @ruthbenghiat, @bgrueskin, @radiofreetom, @noahpinion, @waltshaub, @arictoler, @noahbookbinder, @juliaioffe and @karaswisher
Discussion:
Washington Post: Top Voice of America editors resign amid strife with White House, arrival of new Trump-appointed director
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: Breaking: VOA director Amanda Bennett (@abennett) has resigned, per an internal memo, on the heels of Trump appointee Michael Pack taking over VOA's parent agency.
Steve Herman / @w7voa: Both @VOANews Director @abennett and Deputy Director @slsugawara have just resigned.
Ted Johnson / Deadline: Voice Of America Director, Deputy Director Resign After Donald Trump-Selected CEO Takes Over At Global Media Agency
Edward Wong / New York Times: V.O.A. Directors Resign After Bannon Ally Takes Charge of U.S. Media Agency
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: From today's internal memo: “Michael Pack swore before Congress to respect and honor the firewall that guarantees VOA's independence, which in turn plays the single most important role in the stunning trust our audiences around the world have in us...” https://www.cnn.com/...
Hadas Gold / @hadas_gold: Way back in 2018 I reported that several people at US Agency for Global Media (VOA parent agency) I spoke to said they would probably leave if/when Pack was confirmed.. I wouldn't be surprised if we see more... https://money.cnn.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Richard Stengel / @stengel: Amanda Bennett did a great job at @VOA; she's a journalist's journalist. And I echo what she told all the journalists there, keep your independence and your integrity. The world needs it now more than ever. https://www.cnn.com/...
David Beard / @dabeard: Thanks to @abennett and @slsugawara, two strong journalists who maintained America's high and mandated standards for @VOANews for as long as they could https://edition.cnn.com/... @pressfreedom
Kevin M. Kruse / @kevinmkruse: Somebody at the White House must be a big “V for Vendetta” fan. https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Xeni Jardin / Boing Boing: VOA to be run by Steve Bannon, Sebastian Gorka, and Trump CEO pick Michael Pack, so two top VOA directors just quit
Walter Shaub / @waltshaub: It took decades to build credibility. It takes a second to say goodbye. https://twitter.com/...
Walt Mossberg / @waltmossberg: If this report from the @VOANews White House bureau chief is true, then the U.S. has lost leaders of the highest integrity for its official voice, the Voice of America. I have known Amanda Bennett (@abennett) for years, and she is superb. Yet she has been targeted by the WH. https://twitter.com/...
Susan J. Demas / @sjdemas: I don't think we've really contemplated what a threat to the #1A a second Trump term poses. https://twitter.com/...
Margaret Sullivan / @sulliview: Top Voice of America editors resign amid strife with White House, arrival of new Trump-appointed director, by @farhip and @sarahellison. One of those editors is Amanda Bennett, former top editor at @PhillyInquirer https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Adam Steinbaugh / @adamsteinbaugh: The Voice Of America would like to share the good news about the effectiveness of colloidal silver https://twitter.com/...
Ruth Ben-Ghiat / @ruthbenghiat: Omg Gorka noooo. See my prior tweet about new @VOANews head being a Bannon protégée. Expect the worst right-wing hacks to get jobs there and beam their propaganda to 100s of millions every day. https://twitter.com/...
Bill Grueskin / @bgrueskin: For the record, Amanda Bennett (@abennett) is one of the most talented, principled editors in America. Her loss is the country's loss. https://twitter.com/...
Tom Nichols / @radiofreetom: I have to assume this is someone in the White House trolling the entire planet. https://twitter.com/...
@noahpinion: VOA was always U.S. govt. propaganda, but now it's going to be Trump propaganda. https://twitter.com/...
Walter Shaub / @waltshaub: This should alarm you. CDC banned VOA because Trump said it's not giving him good press. On June 4, Trump installed a Steve Bannon associate, Michael Pack, as head of VOA's parent agency. Prepare for this impartial government media outlet to become a state-sponsored Breitbart. https://twitter.com/...
Aric Toler / @arictoler: voice of gorka baby https://twitter.com/...
Noah Bookbinder / @noahbookbinder: Another front in the President's assault on independent oversight — White House criticism of Voice of America's reporting led to a CDC policy to deny interviews to VOA reporters, a loyalist is taking over VOA, and now the top two editors stepped down. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Julia Ioffe / @juliaioffe: I shouldn't laugh https://twitter.com/...
RELATED:
Voice of America:
Internal docs: CDC's media relations office was instructed to refuse interview requests from VOA, citing WH tweets accusing VOA of spreading Chinese propaganda
Internal docs: CDC's media relations office was instructed to refuse interview requests from VOA, citing WH tweets accusing VOA of spreading Chinese propaganda
Discussion:
Politico, @jameeljaffer, Voice of America, @abennett, Wall Street Journal and Committee to Protect …
Discussion:
Quint Forgey / Politico: Voice of America leaders to resign amid friction with Trump
Jameel Jaffer / @jameeljaffer: We (@knightcolumbia) sued to find out what restrictions the CDC has placed on employees who want to speak publicly about the pandemic. One of the docs we got shows that CDC's media office has blacklisted @greta and @VOANews. https://twitter.com/...
Jessica Jerreat / Voice of America: CDC Media Guidance Blacklists VOA Interview Requests
Amanda Bennett / @abennett: We expect this in the countries we broadcast to that don't have a free press, not here. #afreepressmatters @VOANews https://twitter.com/...
Lloyd Grove / The Daily Beast:
Sources detail NYT publisher A.G. Sulzberger's handling of Tom Cotton's op-ed, initially defending James Bennet before realizing the damage was too great — INSIDE THE CIVIL WAR — The 39-year-old Times boss now oversees a newspaper in crisis—and his leadership has never been under such intense scrutiny.
Discussion:
@felixsalmon, New York Times, @balajis, Fox News, @noahshachtman, @jammastergirish, @angela_walch, @prestonjbyrne, @rubinreport, @paulg, @balajis, @benedictevans, @mathewi, @simonbchen, @bridgietherease, @balajis, @jeffjarvis, @sethamandel, @profcarroll, @mlcalderone, @brianstelter, @kbandersen and @clarajeffery
Discussion:
Felix Salmon / @felixsalmon: There are certain NYT journalists, who wish to remain anonymous, who prefer the business imperatives of an ad-funded paper to those of a subscriptions-funded paper. https://www.thedailybeast.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Roger Cohen / New York Times: The Outcry Over ‘Both Sides’ Journalism
Balaji S. Srinivasan / @balajis: People say that the West today has no goals, no metrics, no sense of purpose by which to measure itself. Nonsense! The purpose of every politician, journalist, and intellectual is clearly to amass likes on Twitter. By extension this is now the purpose of Western civilization.
Joseph Wulfsohn / Fox News: NY Times publisher ‘laments’ ousting of editorial page editor over Tom Cotton op-ed
Noah Shachtman / @noahshachtman: NYT's publisher and CEO both express deep, on-the-record regret about James Bennet stepping down. Pretty clear they wanted the guy to stick around. https://www.thedailybeast.com/ ...
Girish Gupta / @jammastergirish: So it was Jim Dao—the New York Times opinion editor who accused me of working for the Venezuelan government when I pointed out a factual error in one of his pieces—who published the Cotton piece. https://twitter.com/...
Angela Walch / @angela_walch: Or, say, what if speakers at crypto conferences had a disclosed crypto affiliation by their name? Or if every crypto core dev had a disclosed funding affiliation by their name? https://twitter.com/...
Preston Byrne / @prestonjbyrne: Twitter is one off-the-platform controversy away from losing this title. As soon as the conversation goes somewhere else, Twitter loses this power. https://twitter.com/...
Dave Rubin / @rubinreport: Interesting thread. I'll add... The game is rigged and we all know it's rigged. Twitter boosts and deboosts certain accounts. It's in the Terms of Service. So the numbers being chased are fake in the first place. https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Paul Graham / @paulg: I had long suspected that the reason for the NYT's sharp leftward shift was that highly partisan articles drive subscriber signups, but this is the first confirmation I've seen from inside the business. https://www.thedailybeast.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Balaji S. Srinivasan / @balajis: Interesting thought experiment: what if every journalist had a disclosed political affiliation by their name, like politicians do? John Smith, D-NYT Jane Doe, R-WSJ The AP style guide once considered this “essential” information. https://www.ap.org/... https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Benedict Evans / @benedictevans: I don't understand. everyone says ad-funded models drive divisiveness and a subscription model has no such problems? https://www.thedailybeast.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Mathew Ingram / @mathewi: The Times has been publishing 120 opinion pieces every week? That seems like overkill https://www.thedailybeast.com/ ...
Simon Boyi Chen / @simonbchen: Neither political nor a journalist, but will proudly publicly affiliate myself with Pastafarianism https://twitter.com/...
Oedipa Maas / @bridgietherease: I love a good heavy investment in the growth of opinion https://twitter.com/...
Balaji S. Srinivasan / @balajis: Twitter is now the supreme force in Western civilization. It edits both Trump and the Times. Neither the president of the United States of America nor the publisher of the New York Times can write whatever they want if Twitter doesn't like it. https://www.thedailybeast.com/ ...
Jeff Jarvis / @jeffjarvis: Every revenue stream — every — carries conflict of interest. .@jayrosen_nyu explored the conflict inherent in a subscription-sustained Times in 2018: https://pressthink.org/... https://twitter.com/...
Seth Mandel / @sethamandel: Bari was and remains the original target. Everyone else is collateral damage https://twitter.com/...
David Carroll / @profcarroll: The commercial web was built to monetize quantity, not quality, using a magical metric that fails to measure scarcity. Everything in digital publishing runs downstream from that fundamentally flawed baked-in business imperative. https://twitter.com/...
Michael Calderone / @mlcalderone: “I really lament the loss of a talent that I respect and admire more than you could know,” AG Sulzberger said of Bennet's departure https://www.thedailybeast.com/ ...
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: “It's OK to make people angry, just don't do it by accident. In other words, it's one thing to choose to stride into controversy with eyes open, but it's quite another to stumble into it...” https://www.thedailybeast.com/ ...
Kurt Andersen / @kbandersen: I knew they'd been publishing a ton of opinion pieces, but the actual number—120 a week!—shocked me. I think at that volume, the delicate balance between diversity-of-voices and @nytimes-seal-of- approval is just impossible to maintain. https://www.thedailybeast.com/ ...
Benjamin Mullin / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: at its current pace, Quibi will sign up fewer than 2M paying subscribers by the end of its first year, well under its original target of 7.4M — Two veteran executives with contrasting styles are launching Quibi, an on-the-go streaming service, during a pandemic
Discussion:
Variety, @a_w_gordon, @thegarance, @tomgara, @katienotopoulos, @keachhagey, /Film, @brendanporath, Fortune, The A.V. Club, Forbes, @bowknowsbiz, Vanity Fair, @dylanbyers, @charlesarthur, The Streamable, The Playlist, @mdudas, @jbflint, @tianathefirst, @gemofamara, The Wrap, Business Insider, TechCrunch, @moryan, @donatobomb and @aprilaser, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
Todd Spangler / Variety: Quibi on Pace to Hit Less Than 30% of Year-One Paid Subscriber Goal (Report)
Aaron W. Gordon / @a_w_gordon: Wait a minute...is it pronounced “qui-bye?” https://www.wsj.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Garance Franke-Ruta / @thegarance: As far as I can tell Quibi is a vehicle for moving money from one group of rich people to another group of rich people for a product no one needs. https://twitter.com/...
Tom Gara / @tomgara: Quibi is burning a truly heroic amount of cash. It raised $1.75 billion from investors, expects to have spent *a billion* of it by *October* and will need to raise at least $200 million more by the middle of next year to keep going. https://www.wsj.com/...
Katie Notopoulos / @katienotopoulos: These two paragraphs are the perfect example of the most annoying part of reporting (having to include a bs corporate denial) and also the most pleasurable (writing it so that everyone knows it's bs) https://www.wsj.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@keachhagey: Hats off to Meg Whitman, who kept Jeffrey Katzenberg from naming Quibi “Omakase,” a term used to describe high-quality sushi selected by the chef. One of many great details in this @BenMullin must-read. https://www.wsj.com/... via @WSJ
Ben Pearson / /Film: Quibi Almost Had an Even Worse Name Than “Quibi”
Brendan Porath / @brendanporath: this all could have been avoided by picking up Bryson's 15 minute quarantine video https://twitter.com/...
Shannon Miller / The A.V. Club: Quibi, a billion-dollar startup, might have to raise a lot more money to stay afloat
Scott Mendelson / Forbes: Quibi: The Fatal Miscalculation That Doomed Katzenberg And Whitman's Streamer
Bowdeya Tweh / @bowknowsbiz: We've been telling y'all that @Quibi was going to have a shaky entrance into the streaming wars. Quibi is facing slower-than-expected sign ups, a looming cash crunch and some executive tensions, @BenMullin reports. https://www.wsj.com/... @WSJ
Christopher Rosen / Vanity Fair: Surprise: Quibi Is Not Doing So Great
Dylan Byers / @dylanbyers: Quibi failed because the content isn't good enough. Period. Full stop. https://twitter.com/...
Stephanie Sengwe / The Streamable: Report: Quibi Will Miss First Year Subscriber Goal by More Than 5 Million
Charles Barfield / The Playlist: Quibi Will Reportedly Spend $1 Billion By Q3 & Is Currently Seeking More Money
Joe Flint / @jbflint: I'm not saying it's going to be a short baseball season, but I I'm hearing Quibi wants the rights! Zing! Here all week folks.
Quarantiana / @tianathefirst: This provides some pretty damning insight into the rank narcissism, from billionaire creators to Hollywood airhead actors, required to create anything so financially and artistically disastrous as Quibi. https://www.wsj.com/...
Grace Robertson / @gemofamara: Someone interview the Quibi investors and ask them what on earth they were expecting. https://twitter.com/...
Business Insider: 15 Quibi insiders describe Hollywood veteran Jeffrey Katzenberg's tight control of the startup's …
Mo Ryan / @moryan: I think about how much important important journalism infrastructure/jobs & local media could have been saved by an infusion of $1.75 billion, and then I grind my teeth into dust and spontaneously explode. https://twitter.com/...
Amanda Meade / The Guardian:
In response to Australian regulator, Facebook says it will not pay for shared news links and that not having them at all would not significantly impact business — Social media giant rejects ACCC proposal, saying it could cut out news completely without any significant impact on its business
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, The Guardian, @mathewi, MediaPost, Splice, @emilybell, @alibreland, @benwhitelaw, @jimwaterson, @jbillinson, @johnbattelle, @martinsfp, @donie and Business Insider
Discussion:
Hal Crawford / Nieman Lab: Australia is trying to make Facebook and Google pay for news. Facebook Australia says it doesn't need news, actually.
Katharine Murphy / The Guardian: Most Australians say social media platforms should block misleading political ads
Mathew Ingram / @mathewi: Facebook's bottom line re the media: “News content is highly substitutable with other content for our users [and] news does not drive significant long-term value for our business” https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Gavin O'Malley / MediaPost: Facebook Rejects Request To Subsidize Australian Publishers
Hal Crawford / Splice: What's the value of news to the platforms?
Emily Bell / @emilybell: This piece is *absolutely fascinating* when read in tandem with Facebook's ‘commitment’ to - and expenditure on - journalism in the US and Europe. Could it be that the lip service paid to supporting journalism is ..just that ? (h/t @Moonalice ) https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Ali Breland / @alibreland: aha yeah, that classic rivalry between one $600 billion conglomerate and an entire industry that's been forced into endless rounds of hemorrhaging off its workforce https://theguardian.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Ben Whitelaw / @benwhitelaw: Judging by these comments, history will not look kindly upon the news execs that jumped on Google Accelerated Mobile Pages and Facebook Instant Articles. https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Jim Waterson / @jimwaterson: Australian government is trying to force Facebook and Google to pay mainstream news outlets for content. Facebook's response is they won't pay and frankly if they removed news then people would keep using the social network and probably be happier. https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Josh Billinson / @jbillinson: starting to think that facebook dot com might not actually be committed to supporting journalism https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
John Battelle / @johnbattelle: FB arguing in Australian court: “there is healthy, competitive rivalry in the relationship between digital platforms and news publishers, in that we compete for advertising revenue.” Healthy?! https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Martin Sfp Bryant / @martinsfp: As with Google, Facebook is (quite rightly, imo) saying 'no, we won't pay to publish links to news publishers' https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Donie O'Sullivan / @donie: Must be an awkward day to work on Facebook's news partnerships team... https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Isobel Asher Hamilton / Business Insider: Facebook says its business could afford to get rid of news
Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:
Interview with Fox News host Chris Wallace, often at odds with the rest of the network, on critiquing Trump, his colleagues, and more — The “Fox News Sunday” anchor opens up about his childhood, career and what he makes of his pro-Trump colleagues. — Chris Wallace is a registered Democrat who hosts …
Discussion:
@nytmedia, @samthielman, @howardmortman, @fitzfox5dc, @nytimes, @mehdirhasan, @brianstelter, The Hill, @jayrosen_nyu and Mediaite
Discussion:
@nytmedia: Chris Wallace is comfortable being a bit of an enigma. For every Trump loyalist who views him as a heretic, there is a liberal who wishes he'd denounce colleagues like Sean Hannity. (To be clear: He won't.) https://www.nytimes.com/...
Sam Thielman / @samthielman: I really wish this had dealt with the supposedly evenhanded content of Wallace's work. He persistently refers to public benefits as “entitlements” including during the 2016 debate and he's obsessed with abortion. He's not a good-faith actor. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Howard Mortman / @howardmortman: .@grynbaum writes of Chris Wallace: As NBC chief WH correspondent “he had feisty reputation, squabbling with Sam Donaldson over camera positions in briefing room” https://www.nytimes.com/... From 5/13/1988 here's WaPost photog Dayna Smith describing “altercation...thought fistfight” https://twitter.com/...
Tom Fitzgerald / @fitzfox5dc: There's a reason he's one of the most well respected journalists we have. It doesn't matter if it's on @FoxNewsSunday, moderating a Presidential debate, or writing a book. Chris Wallace is the gold standard. No flash. No B.S. and always pushing for the truth. https://twitter.com/...
@nytimes: “Look, I work at Fox. Do I agree with some of the stuff I hear? Absolutely not,” the “Fox News Sunday” anchor Chris Wallace told @grynbaum. “In the end, I have decided that what matters to me is what I am allowed to do.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Mehdi Hasan / @mehdirhasan: The problem with this otherwise decent NYT profile of Chris Wallace is its - again - failure to name the problem. Fox's primetime problem is not that it's ‘pro Trump’ but that it boosts white nationalism, & crazy conspiracism. Is Wallace ok with *that*? https://www.nytimes.com/...
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: Chris Wallace: “One of the things I loved most about coming up with the idea for the book, researching the book, writing the book, and now talking about the book, is it has nothing to do with Donald Trump.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Jay Rosen / @jayrosen_nyu: “In the end, I have decided that what matters to me is what I am allowed to do.” Chris Wallace on how he rationalizes working at Fox News. https://www.nytimes.com/... In other words, no one calls me up and tells me which guests I can book, what I can and cannot ask them, and so on.
Benedict Evans:
Analysis: while US newspaper ad revenue has collapsed since the 2008 financial crisis, newspapers have been losing marketshare of ad spend since the 1950s — There are two ways you can talk about newspapers. You can talk about the ‘third estate’, and newspapers' role in culture, politics …
Discussion:
@jeffjarvis, @jeffjarvis, @jarroddicker, @jeffjarvis, @jeffjarvis, @benedictevans, @mdudas, @jeffjarvis, @benedictevans and @pandemic_times
Discussion:
Jeff Jarvis / @jeffjarvis: .@benedictevans debunks publishers' common complaint that Google & FB took their ad revenue. Agencies say two-thirds to three quarters of their revenue came from advertisers never in newspapers; couldn't afford them. 2/
Jeff Jarvis / @jeffjarvis: .@benedictevans made this analysis of advertising as a percentage of GDP. He's interested in what marketing spend today is not considered advertising and where it came from — e.g., website hosting or Zillow fees. 3/ https://twitter.com/...
@jarroddicker: Media companies as Record Labels (cont.)— Newspapers didn't adjust their value proposition when they moved from print to digital to mobile. Attention moved but revenue models, reputation & product remained the same. They should be following the music industry. Why? /1 https://twitter.com/...
Jeff Jarvis / @jeffjarvis: Lore has it that TV advertising has not been affected by the net (yet). But @benedictevans points out that as a percentage of GDP, TV ad revenue has fallen 40%. “The economy grew and advertising didn't get its historic share of that growth.” 4/ https://twitter.com/...
Jeff Jarvis / @jeffjarvis: Here's a related chart @benedictevans posted to Twitter not in his post: newsprint consumption per newspaper employee: 6/ https://twitter.com/...
Benedict Evans / @benedictevans: @jeffjarvis Not much of a paying audience for newspaper history, so I published here https://www.ben-evans.com/...
Mike Dudas / @mdudas: Advertising as a % of GDP has really cratered in the 21st century. One has to imagine it ties to: 1) companies' ability to speak directly to customers through social, etc 2) efficiency introduced by online ads and better marketing science & measurement https://www.ben-evans.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Jeff Jarvis / @jeffjarvis: Another fucking brilliant analysis by @benedictevans, this time of newspaper advertising. Some of my favorite insights follow.... https://www.ben-evans.com/... 1/
Benedict Evans / @benedictevans: “News by the ton: 75 years of US advertising”. I made some charts about US advertising and newspapers and put words next to them. https://www.ben-evans.com/...
Ed Day / @pandemic_times: Somehow, Google and Facebook have been “stealing” advertising from Old Media since the 1950s. Zuckerberg must have a time travelling advertising sales dept. The only other explanation is people got bored with ‘whites-only’ news media, and advertisers left with them. https://twitter.com/...
Lachlan Cartwright / The Daily Beast:
Sources: Trump's niece, Mary Trump, to publish a tell-all this summer revealing she was a primary source for NYT's Pulitzer-winning deep dive into Trump's taxes — The president's niece Mary Trump is set to publish a tell-all this summer—and to reveal that she was a primary source …
Discussion:
Washington Post, @noahshachtman, The Guardian, New York Times, Breitbart, The Independent, @noahshachtman, Forbes, The Week, Vanity Fair, @palafo, The Hill and Talking Points Memo
Discussion:
Michael Kranish / Washington Post: President Trump says his family is unified. A niece's book could explode that image.
Noah Shachtman / @noahshachtman: EXCLUSIVE: The president's niece Mary Trump is set to publish a tell-all this summer—and to reveal that she was a primary source for The New York Times' investigation into Trump's taxes. https://www.thedailybeast.com/ ...
Alison Flood / The Guardian: Donald Trump's niece Mary set to publish explosive book about her family
Hannah Bleau / Breitbart: Trump's Niece to Drop Tell-All Book, Claims She Leaked Tax Information to NYT
Chris Riotta / The Independent: Trump's niece to reveal in new book how she leaked details of his ‘fraudulent’ tax schemes
Noah Shachtman / @noahshachtman: The bad blood between Trump and his niece dates back 20 years, to when Trump cut off financial and medical support for her brother's ill child. “My aunt and uncles should be ashamed of themselves,” Mary Trump said in 2000. “I'm sure they are not.” https://www.thedailybeast.com/ ...
Alexandra Sternlicht / Forbes: Trump's Niece Becomes First Relative To Speak Out Against Family In Forthcoming Tell-All Book
Kathryn Krawczyk / The Week: Why summer heat might be making the Sun Belt's coronavirus spread worse
Charlotte Klein / Vanity Fair: Trump's Niece Leaked His Tax Secrets to the New York Times; Report
Patrick LaForge / @palafo: The Times declined to comment on a report that the president's niece, Mary Trump, will claim in an upcoming book that she was a source on the paper's coverage of his tax returns. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Cristina Cabrera / Talking Points Memo: Trump's Niece Helped NYT Expose His Massive Tax Fraud Schemes