Top News:
New York Times:
A look at a pay-for-play network of ~1,300 sites and some papers that fills a local news void in the US with propaganda ordered by GOP and corporate PR groups — A nationwide operation of 1,300 local sites publishes coverage that is ordered up by Republican groups and corporate P.R. firms.
Discussion:
@daveyalba, Wall Street Journal, @jacknicas, Poynter, @seanilling, @daveyalba, @jacknicas, @nickconfessore, @nils_gilman, @jason_kint, @johnbattelle, @arjunbasu, The Rural Blog, @rottenindenmark, @fawfulfan, @markmaxwelltv, @photospice, @sandofsky, @annehelen, @terryteachout1, @mollyjongfast, @nicoleperlroth, @aaronworthing, @vindugoel, @mattyglesias, @alison__berg, @mathewi, @ehernandez, @menakadoshi, @raju, @mckaycoppins, @maxkennerly, @bryanboy, @banikarim, @ddale8, @louisathelast, @davidsirota, @slpng_giants, @therobwalton, @ericboehlert, @jonathanalter, @damemagazine, Media Nation, @daveyalba, @bypatrickgeorge, Scene and Heard, @kemc, Table For One, @jjohnsonlaw, @nandoodles, @nickconfessore, @janetadamy, @dcherring, @tvietor08, @glenbmulcahy and @eotaxprof
Discussion:
Davey Alba / @daveyalba: NEW: A network of 1,300 websites aim to fill a news void left by vanishing local papers across the U.S. It is built on propaganda ordered up by conservative advocacy groups & Republican operators, according to a year-long investigation by me and @jacknicas https://www.nytimes.com/...
Jack Nicas / @jacknicas: NEW: A network of 1,300 websites targeting small towns and cities across the U.S. is built not on traditional journalism, but rather propaganda ordered up by Republican groups and P.R. firms. A nearly yearlong investigation by @daveyalba and me: https://www.nytimes.com/...
Steve Waldman / Poynter: The new crisis of local faux news and how we can fix it
Sean Illing / @seanilling: The collapse of local news and the consequent nationalization of politics is arguably the least understood crisis in this country https://twitter.com/...
Davey Alba / @daveyalba: The network also takes advantage of many under-employed and out-of-work journalists. The journalists we spoke to who write for the network said they overlooked their doubts because the pay was steady and journalism jobs were scarce. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Jack Nicas / @jacknicas: Yesterday we told you about the nationwide pay-for-play network disguised as traditional local news outlets. Today, let's walk through one bizarre example of how this scheme works. https://twitter.com/...
Nick Confessore / @nickconfessore: You guys remember Monty Bennett, the wealthy hotel mogul and Trump supporter who got tons of Covid bailout money and then had to give it back? You'll Never Believe What Happened Next. https://twitter.com/...
Nils Gilman / @nils_gilman: Amazing reporting by @daveyalba & @jacknicas about how the collapse of local news reporting (thanks Google!) has created an opening for that space to be filled by a network of rightwing propaganda web sites that masquerade as news sites. https://twitter.com/...
Jason Kint / @jason_kint: It's worth noting Newsguard also recently dropped Breitbart by 20 points and reissued its red warning label. The site had earned a green label in 2019/2019 after fixing many of its problematic practices. That's all now lost. How did Facebook change its own view? https://twitter.com/...
John Battelle / @johnbattelle: Attention all brands dumping billions into Facebook and Google: Your media spending choices matter. https://twitter.com/...
Heather Chapman / The Rural Blog: Network of conservative websites masquerade as unbiased local news; see interactive map for local examples
Michael Hobbes / @rottenindenmark: There's no such thing as a “news desert,” only a news swamp. https://twitter.com/...
Matthew Chapman / @fawfulfan: This story is nuts. There's nothing new about partisan news sites, of course. Both sides do it. But a network of hundreds of sites dressed up as local news outlets that directly commission conservative PR on behalf of paying clients is something new and disturbing. https://twitter.com/...
Mark Maxwell / @markmaxwelltv: “While Mr. Timpone's sites generally do not post information that is outright false, the operation is rooted in deception, eschewing hallmarks of news reporting like fairness and transparency.” https://twitter.com/...
Barbaradavidson / @photospice: support local journalism ... this is what happens when we don't https://twitter.com/...
Ben Sandofsky / @sandofsky: Tired: State Run Media Wired: Billionaire Run Media https://twitter.com/...
Anne Helen Petersen / @annehelen: This is an incredibly important story. The Montana Daily Gazette doesn't seem to be part of this network but it certainly functions in the same way, spreading sensationalized far right propaganda with a name/aesthetic that convinces readers it's a legitimate local news site https://twitter.com/...
Terry Teachout / @terryteachout1: Fascinating—and troubling. https://twitter.com/...
Molly Jong-Fast / @mollyjongfast: This piece is amazing https://twitter.com/...
Nicole Perlroth / @nicoleperlroth: “The instructions were clear: Write an article calling out Sara Gideon, a Democrat running for a hotly contested U.S. Senate seat in Maine, as a hypocrite. Angela Underwood, a freelance reporter in upstate New York, took the $22 assignment.” It published in Maine Business Daily. https://twitter.com/...
@aaronworthing: In other words, with the “unbiased media” model dying because it was complete bullshit, we are returning to the prior model of journalism which involved the press being nakedly partisan and admitting it https://twitter.com/...
Vindu Goel / @vindugoel: Republicans are operating a vast network of more than 1,000 fake-news sites pretending to be legitimate local news outlets. https://twitter.com/...
Matthew Yglesias / @mattyglesias: Great piece. Also while this is pernicious it's a good idea strategically. Dems have raised a ton of money this years, but progressives don't invest much in media. https://twitter.com/...
Alison Berg / @alison__berg: I really, really like my job. I want to keep doing this job but I genuinely worry it won't exist in 20 years. https://twitter.com/...
Mathew Ingram / @mathewi: Maybe you thought all those local news “deserts” would just remain deserts, but when other journalistic lifeforms disappear, strange and desperate creatures often emerge to take their place https://twitter.com/...
Elizabeth Hernandez / @ehernandez: Supporting your local news is truly an act of democracy. https://twitter.com/...
Menaka Doshi / @menakadoshi: They look like bonafide news platforms. But they are not. Important story. https://twitter.com/...
Raju Narisetti / @raju: #newsdeserts across America are being filled by pink slime https://twitter.com/...
McKay Coppins / @mckaycoppins: As Local News Dies, a Pay-for-Play Network Rises in Its Place: “The network...is built not on traditional journalism but on propaganda ordered up by dozens of conservative think tanks, political operatives, corporate executives and [PR] professionals” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Max Kennerly / @maxkennerly: It can't be overstated how much conservative propaganda is out there. Fake “news” sites, phony “think tanks,” dubious 501(c)(3)s, the list goes on. And the primary distribution method is @Facebook, which promotes them while throttling progressive sites: https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@bryanboy: This is extremely frightening but not surprising. That country is brainwashed. https://twitter.com/...
Susie / @banikarim: we are absolutely fucked. the only way to get rid of sites like this is for them to be deplatformed & so far relying on platforms to decide which news outlets are legitimate is going ... very badly. https://twitter.com/...
Daniel Dale / @ddale8: Important story about sites that seem like ordinary local news publications but run articles “directed by political groups and corporate P.R. firms to promote a Republican candidate or a company, or to smear their rivals.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Louisa / @louisathelast: This is not new (I remember NPR reporting on it years ago), but it does seem to be ramping up. Not good https://twitter.com/...
David Sirota / @davidsirota: Basically, the media space is being rotted by increasingly grotesque & brazen corruption, and the only way to fix it is to have grassroots-funded, reader-supported news organizations. Unfortunately, building that is extremely difficult. But it is worth the effort. https://twitter.com/...
@slpng_giants: Lax oversight by Internet giants combined with social networks like @facebook prioritizing engagement over quality reporting have brought us here, where real news is being completely replaced by partisan sites doing the bidding of billionaires. Breitbart was just the start. https://twitter.com/...
Rob Walton / @therobwalton: It's almost like a large news organization, possibly based in New York, gave up on its regional chain of newspapers and let them get gobbled up by private equity ghouls who stripped them of assets and left them for dead. It's almost like that. https://twitter.com/...
Eric Boehlert / @ericboehlert: so much is depressing abt this piece. near the top? freelancers getting paid $22 for articles. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Jonathan Alter / @jonathanalter: This is a terrifying story. We need a massive non-profit investment in legit local journalism or kur democracy os done no matter what happens in the election. https://twitter.com/...
Dame / @damemagazine: An essential read. Media literacy is so critical right now. https://twitter.com/...
Dan Kennedy / Media Nation: The king of ‘pink slime’ journalism is back, this time boosting Republicans
Davey Alba / @daveyalba: The man behind the network is Brian Timpone, a Republican and a former journalist who has been obsessed with replacing the old print guard as a digital-news mogul. We traced at least $1.7M in public records to his web of companies, but there could be more https://www.nytimes.com/...
Patrick George / @bypatrickgeorge: Do you think it gets exhausting to never do anything in good faith? Like, ever? What's it like when everything you do is some experiment in electioneering and ratfucking? https://twitter.com/...
Sam Allard / Scene and Heard: “Cleveland Reporter,” “NE Ohio Times” Among 50+ Ohio News Sites Controlled by Republican Propaganda Empire
Kathleen McLaughlin / @kemc: Scary stuff. Political operatives know local newspapers are still among the most-trusted sources of information, even as they vanish. https://twitter.com/...
Alex Reimer / Table For One: Our ‘fake news’ crisis is only going to get worse
Nandini Jammi / @nandoodles: This is indeed, an end-to-end Republican operation. The ring of propaganda sites takes donations through @REVV, the GOP-backed payment processor Laura Loomer ran to after she was banned from @PayPal. https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Nick Confessore / @nickconfessore: Truly jaw-dropping work here, on the next iteration of black-box Astroturfing on the right—not just manufacturing the content but manufacturing the news outlets. https://twitter.com/...
Janet Adamy / @janetadamy: The Copper Courier in Arizona and the Decatur Times in Alabama describe themselves as startup news sites filling the local news void. In fact, they are both partisan efforts to shape the news ahead of the 2020 election. By @emilyglazer @keachhagey. https://www.wsj.com/...
Dennis Herring / @dcherring: ok, my jaw is dropped. https://twitter.com/...
Tommy Vietor / @tvietor08: The incessantly whining about liberal media bias is pretty ridiculous when you combine the reach of Fox News, right-wing publishers on Facebook, and these local conservative sites. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Glen Mulcahy / @glenbmulcahy: A must read👇🏻 What happens when local news is allowed to die. There are other business models. If EVER there was a time to create a mobile first/ by & for mobile with sound editorial its now. There must be some philanthropy fund to make it happen! @craignewmark @GoogleNewsInit https://twitter.com/...
Katie Robertson / New York Times:
Sources: NY Post's article about Hunter Biden was written mostly by Bruce Golding, who did not allow his byline to be used amid doubts in the tabloid's newsroom — Some reporters withheld their bylines and questioned the credibility of an article that made the tabloid's front page on Wednesday.
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Columbia Journalism Review, @benyt, Mediaite, Stratechery, New York Post, @harrysiegel, Newser, CNN, @kyledcheney, @alexmleo, Vanity Fair, @frankrichny, @stephgracela, @ilvestoomas, @ericpaine, The Wrap, @benyt, The Week, @yashar, Reason, @juliancastro, @nprinskeep, @brhodes, @oneunderscore__, @petersterne, The Jackal, @steveschmidtses, @greenfield64, @peterwsinger, @petersterne, @oliverdarcy, @eshap, @kylegriffin1, @bgrueskin, @glennkesslerwp, @fawfulfan, @fordm, @petersterne, @maxboot, @bgrueskin, @caseynewton, @timobrien, Poynter, @jonfavs, @nycsouthpaw, @katie_robertson, @hemantmehta, @donmoyn, Boing Boing, @cmclymer, @dnvolz, @timodc, @samesmail and Fox News, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
Ben Smith / @benyt: Incredible stuff from @katie_robertson inside the New York Post's newsroom as the bosses rammed a story through on Rudy's sayso, and over reporters' objections https://www.nytimes.com/...
Ken Meyer / Mediaite: WATCH: Trump Lashes Out at Two Reporters in Bizarre Tarmac Scrum, Calls One a ‘Criminal’ for Not Covering Hunter Biden
Ben Thompson / Stratechery: Twitter blocking NY Post's story, driven by unfair blaming of tech for the media's 2016 mistakes, undermined its role as a facilitator of information sharing
Harry Siegel / @harrysiegel: Giuliani said he chose The Post because “either nobody else would take it, or if they took it, they would spend all the time they could to try to contradict it before they put it out.” https://twitter.com/...
Alexis Benveniste / CNN: The anatomy of the New York Post's dubious Hunter Biden story
Kyle Cheney / @kyledcheney: In an effort to legitimize their reporting on Hunter Biden's email, the NY Post asked two veteran reporters to put their names on the story, per NYT. They refused. A 3rd, whose name appears on the stories, didn't learn she'd be on until it published. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Alex Leo / @alexmleo: lmao “it had to be the New York Post, anyone else would vet it” https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Charlotte Klein / Vanity Fair: New York Post Staff Reportedly Wanted Nothing to Do With That Fishy Hunter Biden Story
Frank Rich / @frankrichny: To their credit, some at @nypost refused to put their bylines on the Hunter Biden hoax, created by the felon Bannon and the Russian pawn Giuliani. But others sold their souls to promote it. https://nypost.com/...
Stephanie Grace / @stephgracela: This is not the way credible news organizations operate. https://twitter.com/...
Toomas Hendrik Ilves / @ilvestoomas: Rudy Giuliani saying the @nypost is the only newspaper in the US that would run his bizarre story and not fact-check it perhaps is not the resounding endorsement for paper he thinks it is. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Lindsey Ellefson / The Wrap: NY Post Reporter Behind Dubious Hunter Biden Story Refused to Put His Name on It (Report)
Ben Smith / @benyt: One reporter “had little to do with the reporting or writing of the article, said three people with knowledge of how it was prepared. She learned that her byline was on the story only after it was published.” Yikes. https://twitter.com/...
Peter Weber / The Week: Giuliani gave Hunter Biden story to New York Post because ‘nobody else would take it’ at face value
Yashar Ali / @yashar: Not sure whats in the Post's employment agreement but this litigation worthy conduct here https://twitter.com/...
Elizabeth Nolan Brown / Reason: Cops Clash with Protesters in America and Around the World
Julin Castro / @juliancastro: The NY Post is practicing propaganda, not journalism. https://twitter.com/...
Steve Inskeep / @nprinskeep: Pondering which paragraph is more incredible. The lead, where we learn why the reporter who wrote the NY Post story took his byline off; or the one where Giuliani says he chose the Post because another paper might have wasted time fact checking. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Ben Rhodes / @brhodes: Once again...political media is under no obligation to publish, report on, or ask candidates questions about flagrant disinformation campaigns just bc Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani, Steve Bannon, or some Russian spies want them to https://twitter.com/...
@petersterne: Props also to @katie_robertson and @nytimes, who were first to publish. It's not a great feeling to get beaten by 30 minutes after spending 30+ hours reporting something out over the weekend, but the most important thing is that the truth comes out. https://www.nytimes.com/...
David Podhaskie / The Jackal: Hunter Biden Did 9/11 — Despite the two dueling NBC and ABC Town Halls on Thursday …
Steve Schmidt / @steveschmidtses: .@ProjectLincoln @katie_robertson @reedgalen @TheRickWilson @stuartpstevens The corruption at the New York Post is astounding. The dishonesty is just breathtaking. This is an extraordinary piece of reporting by Katie Robertson. https://twitter.com/...
Jeff Greenfield / @greenfield64: This timeline suggests that Rupert Murdoch is no longer the looming presence he once was.. had to imagine he wasn't consulted on this if he were on his game.. just too embarrassing even for him to tolerate. https://twitter.com/...
Peter W. Singer / @peterwsinger: Then he should not have written it. Why is this so hard? https://twitter.com/...
@petersterne: @BGrueskin @nycsouthpaw The source's point is that it sucks to work for a publication that, in addition to generally publishing (real) local reporting, occasionally publishes outlandish right-wing propaganda. It's not that everything the Post publishes is propaganda.
Oliver Darcy / @oliverdarcy: New York Post source tells me that inside the outlet, “All this Hunter Biden shit is being done in its own bubble. It's happening on an island within an island.” Person calls situation “gross” but is happy others are applying scrutiny and “see the grift.” https://view.newsletters.cnn.com/ ...
@eshap: “Bruce Golding & another reporter refused to add bylines to the piece because of concerns over the article's credibility. @NYPost staff questioned the authenticity of the drive's contents, said 5 people aware of the tabloid's inner workings.” Golding's twitter has been deleted. https://twitter.com/...
Kyle Griffin / @kylegriffin1: One of the NY Post reporters did not have a bylined article before Wednesday, a search of its website showed. She arrived at the tabloid in April after working as an associate producer on Sean Hannity's Fox show. Her Instagram included photos with Steve Bannon and Roger Stone. https://twitter.com/...
Bill Grueskin / @bgrueskin: @nycsouthpaw Yes. Who knew this about the Post? And how could any journalist be expected to find this out?
Glenn Kessler / @glennkesslerwp: Naturally, Rudy wouldn't want a news organization to conduct actual journalism on this sketchy material, would he? https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Matthew Chapman / @fawfulfan: I'm not surprised. The New York Post is tabloidy and conservative but it's not like they have *zero* standards. They aren't Breitbart. https://twitter.com/...
Matt Ford / @fordm: This is going to be a tricky Pulitzer nomination. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@petersterne: @BGrueskin @nycsouthpaw Sure. I don't think anyone was incredulous. Everyone I talked to said they weren't surprised the Post published it. That doesn't mean they're happy about it.
Max Boot / @maxboot: The hesitation by Facebook and Twitter to promote this disinformation (which likely originated in Russia) looks better all the time. You know what looks worse? Republican caterwauling about “censorship.” Like I said in @PostOpinions: https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Bill Grueskin / @bgrueskin: @petersterne @nycsouthpaw But anyone knows that going in. It's a bargain that a reporter has to make, for whatever reason, and this incredulity is a bit much.
Casey Newton / @caseynewton: If the reporters who wrote it won't attach their name to it, why should Twitter attach a retweet button to it? https://twitter.com/...
Tim O'Brien / @timobrien: In which the latest Post story reveals...wait for it...wait for it...Biden to be a loving and dedicated father. Undoubtedly not what Giuliani imagined for this round. https://nypost.com/...
Tom Jones / Poynter: Who is Donald Trump complaining about now? NBC News' Kristen Welker, the next debate moderator
Jon Favreau / @jonfavs: I fully expected the Hunter Biden smear to fall apart. I didn't expect it to fall apart so quickly or thoroughly, including a mea culpa from the NEW YORK POST REPORTERS THEMSELVES. https://twitter.com/...
Southpaw / @nycsouthpaw: “It's upsetting. It's disappointing. It sucks to, like, work for, like, a propaganda outlet.” https://nymag.com/...
Katie Robertson / @katie_robertson: NEW: A reporter on the New York Post's Hunter Biden story refused to attach his byline to it, sources say, as the tabloid's staff question the article's credibility https://www.nytimes.com/...
Don Moynihan / @donmoyn: This is pretty damning. Bannon & Giuliani met with NY Post editors to drop their Hunter Biden story. Veteran reporters refused to allow their name to be attached to it because they did not think the story held up. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Rob Beschizza / Boing Boing: New York Post's own reporters denounce its Hunter Biden story
@dnvolz: “The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal have reported that they could not independently verify the data in the Post article, which included hedging language, referring at one point to an email “allegedly sent” to Hunter Biden.” https://twitter.com/...
Tim Miller / @timodc: Wow the reporter who actually wrote the story wouldn't put their byline on it so another reporter who did nothing was added to the byline and didn't know it until it published. https://twitter.com/...
Sam Esmail / @samesmail: Oh, so... journalism? https://twitter.com/...
RELATED:
Colby Hall / Mediaite:
Sources: Fox News was first approached by Rudy Giuliani about the Hunter Biden story but passed on it over credibility concerns — Mediaite has learned that Fox News was first approached by Rudy Giuliani to report on a tranche of files alleged to have come from Hunter Biden's unclaimed laptop left …
Discussion:
@yashar, USA Today, New York Post, Fox News, @amandacarpenter, @brettpransky, @brianstelter, @renato_mariotti, @clairecmc, @mattgertz, @caseynewton, The OSIRIS Codex, @amy_siskind, Four Freedoms, @kylegriffin1, @semperdiced, @colbyhall, @jonfavs, @oliverdarcy, The Daily Beast, Boing Boing and emptywheel
Discussion:
Yashar Ali / @yashar: New: Fox News Passed on Hunter Biden Laptop Story Over Credibility Concerns @colbyhall scoops https://www.mediaite.com/...
USA Today: A tabloid got a trove of data on Hunter Biden from Rudy Giuliani. Now, the FBI is probing a possible disinformation campaign
Brooke Singman / Fox News: Biden mum on Hunter Biden emails, alleged knowledge of son's overseas business dealings
Amanda Carpenter / @amandacarpenter: Still, their other hosts are covering it as if it's legit. https://twitter.com/...
Brett Pransky / @brettpransky: When the Seth-Rich-birtherism-tan-suit-death- panel network pretends to have standards. https://twitter.com/...
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: This makes Fox look worse, not better, since as @colbyhall notes “the network's opinion programming has covered the story and even had Giuliani on air to tout it, using the Post's reporting as its shield while blaming the rest of the media for not covering it.” https://twitter.com/...
Renato Mariotti / @renato_mariotti: When a pro-Trump story is so sketchy that it won't even meet Fox News standards, that's really saying something. https://twitter.com/...
Claire McCaskill / @clairecmc: Interesting. Murdoch says no to “story"at Fox. But yes to “story” at NYPost. Wonder how that makes the “journalists” at NYPost feel? https://twitter.com/...
Matthew Gertz / @mattgertz: 1. Fox News passes on Hunter Biden email story because it's too sketchy. 2. Rudy takes it to NYP, which publishes it amid internal revolt over it being too sketchy. 3. Fox runs more than 6.5 hours of coverage on the story in the first two days alone. https://www.mediamatters.org/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Casey Newton / @caseynewton: So Fox has to testify at the Section 230 hearing now too, right? https://twitter.com/...
David C. Benson / The OSIRIS Codex: OSIRIS Brief 0.13.0 — “File:R. Hunter Biden at Center for Strategic & International Studies.jpg” …
Amy Siskind / @amy_siskind: LOL. Fox News wouldn't run the story. So Rudy went with the NY Post. Truly the Post and the Murdochs owe the American people an apology! https://mediaite.com/a/tfnxc
Roger Senserrich / Four Freedoms: El presidente de internet
Kyle Griffin / @kylegriffin1: Mediaite: Fox News passed on the Hunter Biden story over credibility concerns. https://www.mediaite.com/...
Colby Hall / @colbyhall: Rudy Giuliani first took the Hunter Biden story to Fox News, but they wanted time to properly vet it. So he took it to the NY Post instead... https://www.mediaite.com/...
Jon Favreau / @jonfavs: Marking the first time Fox News has ever passed on anything over credibility concerns https://twitter.com/...
Oliver Darcy / @oliverdarcy: Here's what Fox's “straight news” site looks like today. If you swapped these headlines onto Breitbart, no one would be able to tell the difference. If you're still buying the whole, “Fox has an opinion arm, but they do down-the-middle news too,” I dunno what to tell you. https://twitter.com/...
Rob Beschizza / Boing Boing: Fox News passed on Hunter Biden story
Laura Wagner / VICE:
The New Yorker suspends reporter Jeffrey Toobin, sources say after he exposed himself during a Zoom call; Toobin says he thought he was off-camera — In a statement to VICE, Jeffrey Toobin apologized for the “embarrassingly stupid mistake.” — Laura Wagner — The New Yorker has suspended reporter Jeffrey Toobin.
Discussion:
@jason_koebler, New York Times, Washington Post, The Hill, Variety, Deadline, Mediaite, Fox News, The Wrap, TVNewser, @weareyourfek, Los Angeles Times, TVLine, @jonostrower, TMZ.com, @markharrisnyc, @mathewi, @thestalwart, Hollywood Reporter, The Week, @fmanjoo, @hshaban, @gaberivera, @davidlarter, @gregpinelo, @ashleyfeinberg, @ashleyfeinberg, @liz_franczak, @poniewozik, @jackmirkinson, @leshorn, @josephfcox and New York Post
Discussion:
Jason Koebler / @jason_koebler: Jeffrey Toobin suspended by New Yorker for pulling his dick out on work call, says he did not realize camera was on https://www.vice.com/...
Jeremy Barr / Washington Post: The New Yorker suspends writer Jeffrey Toobin after accidental Zoom exposure
Jordan Moreau / Variety: Jeffrey Toobin Suspended From New Yorker, Taking Leave From CNN After Allegedly Revealing Himself on Zoom Call
Ted Johnson / Deadline: Jeffrey Toobin Suspended By New Yorker Over Zoom Call Incident; Will Take Time Off From CNN
Charlie Nash / Mediaite: Jeffrey Toobin Suspended From The New Yorker For Allegedly Exposing Himself During Staff Zoom Call
Joseph Wulfsohn / Fox News: CNN analyst Jeffrey Toobin suspended by New Yorker over alleged nudity on Zoom call
A.J. Katz / TVNewser: CNN Chief Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin Taking Time Off After ‘Embarrassingly Stupid Mistake’
Foster Kamer / @weareyourfek: Jeff Toobin accidentally showing his dick on a Zoom call pales in comparison for all the things the New Yorker hasn't looked into about Toobin! https://twitter.com/... Follow me down a nice lil' thread, here.
Christi Carras / Los Angeles Times: The New Yorker suspends Jeffrey Toobin after CNN analyst exposed himself on Zoom
Michael Ausiello / TVLine: CNN's Jeffrey Toobin Taking ‘Time Off’ in Wake of ‘Embarrassing’ Zoom Gaffe
Jon Ostrower / @jonostrower: Jeffrey Toobin may single handedly save business travel.
Mark Harris / @markharrisnyc: I don't believe a Zoom call is over until I hit LEAVE, quit my browser, shut down, close the laptop lid, stick my computer in a drawer, and leave the room.
Mathew Ingram / @mathewi: The term “Zoom Dick” now trending
Joe Weisenthal / @thestalwart: $ZM +3.3% https://twitter.com/...
Alex Weprin / Hollywood Reporter: Jeffrey Toobin Suspended From The New Yorker, Taking “Time Off” From CNN Amid Investigation
Brendan Morrow / The Week: The New Yorker suspends Jeffrey Toobin after he reportedly exposed himself on Zoom
Farhad Manjoo / @fmanjoo: One of those rare scandals where “pics or it didn't happen” really seriously for the love of god does not apply
Hamza Shaban / @hshaban: A danger of relying on on/off “buttons” instead of physical switches or camera covers: “I believed I was not visible on Zoom. I thought no one on the Zoom call could see me. I thought I had muted the Zoom video” https://www.vice.com/...
Gabe Rivera / @gaberivera: A certain joke may come to mind, but rest assured it has already been tweeted: https://twitter.com/search https://twitter.com/...
David B. Larter / @davidlarter: Let this be a lesson to everyone out there. https://www.vice.com/...
Greg Pinelo / @gregpinelo: I...am just going to keep living my life. No available bandwidth. https://twitter.com/...
Ashley Feinberg / @ashleyfeinberg: honestly i can't believe it took this long before we got a zoom dick incident https://www.vice.com/...
Ashley Feinberg / @ashleyfeinberg: one question i have is, is it possible this was just an absent-minded sort of thing like when you reach for a fidget spinner
James Poniewozik / @poniewozik: Am exactly split between wanting to know more about the situation and wishing I knew far less https://www.vice.com/...
Jack Mirkinson / @jackmirkinson: nobody is a more perfect candidate for a zoom dick incident than jeffrey toobin https://www.vice.com/...
Ted Johnson / Deadline:
Trump campaign wants Thursday's debate to focus on foreign policy, protests possible rule changes like muting candidate's mics, it claims by an “unnamed person” — Donald Trump and Joe Biden are scheduled to meet again on Thursday for the second and presumably last debate …
Discussion:
@billstepien, @steveholland1, Variety, The Hill, WAVY-TV, @ronaldklain, @cortessteve, @johnjharwood, @chrislhayes, @amy_siskind, @jonfavs, @eriqgardner, @espiers, @grynbaum, @sirdukedevin, @nicolesganga, @davidplouffe, @olivianuzzi and @markos
Discussion:
Steve Holland / @steveholland1: Trump campaign demands last debate on Thursday be about foreign policy instead of announced topics. https://twitter.com/...
Morgan Chalfant / The Hill: Trump campaign demands change to final debate topics
Ronald Klain / @ronaldklain: Shorter letter: Trump doesn't want to answer questions about COVID. https://twitter.com/...
Steve Cortes / @cortessteve: Our campaign chief reprimands the highly-biased complicit crony Swamp cabal, otherwise known as the Debate Commission... https://twitter.com/...
John Harwood / @johnjharwood: hard to believe the campaign manager for a major party presidential nominee actually wrote this letter https://twitter.com/...
Chris Hayes / @chrislhayes: Shorter Stepien: PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DON'T MAKE US TALK ABOUT COVID AGAIN https://twitter.com/...
Amy Siskind / @amy_siskind: Sounds like Trump is angling for an excuse to drop out of the 3rd debate. https://twitter.com/...
Jon Favreau / @jonfavs: Trump campaign demands that the President be protected from being asked questions about the pandemic that he mismanaged. https://twitter.com/...
Eriq Gardner / @eriqgardner: Let me guess: Hunter Biden's laptop Media bias Big Tech bias Foreign policy related to Hunter Biden Moderator bias Covid-19 response (Just kidding) https://twitter.com/...
Elizabeth Spiers / @espiers: tldr; petulant whining that it's unfair for debate moderators to ask any questions about covid or the economy or anything voters care about, generally. https://twitter.com/...
Michael M. Grynbaum / @grynbaum: BIDEN campaign on Trump's debate letter: “The campaigns & the Commission agreed months ago that the debate moderator would choose the topics...As usual, the president is more concerned with the rules of a debate than he is getting a nation in crisis the help it needs.”
Devin Duke / @sirdukedevin: Remember when Trump wanted to debate Biden for four hours on Joe Rogan's show? Now they're backing out of the second debate. https://twitter.com/...
Nicole Sganga / @nicolesganga: Trump campaign manager @BillStepien has sent a letter to the @debates commission demanding the third presidential debate remain focused on foreign policy. Stepien also protests rule changes, including “granting an unnamed person the ability to shut off a candidates microphone.” https://twitter.com/...
David Plouffe / @davidplouffe: A Presidential campaign manager's job is to win the campaign. This is not that. https://twitter.com/...
Jem Aswad / Variety:
Apple launches Apple Music TV, a free 24-hour curated livestream of popular music videos, available in the US on Apple's Music and TV apps — Apple has launched Apple Music TV, a free 24-hour curated livestream of popular music videos that will also include “exclusive new music videos and premiers …
Discussion:
Jem Aswad / Variety: Apple Music TV Chief Rachel Newman Talks New Channel and Thursday's Bruce Springsteen Takeover
Katie Canales / Business Insider: Apple launched an MTV-style live-streaming channel featuring exclusive music videos and interviews
Stephanie Sengwe / The Streamable: Apple Launches “Apple Music TV” Offering Free 24-Hour Live Stream of Music Videos
Rhett Jones / Gizmodo: Apple's New Streaming Channel Is Like Old MTV
John Koetsier / Forbes: Apple Launches Music Video Channel Apple Music TV (And More)
Lance Ulanoff / @lanceulanoff: A shot across YouTube's bow. No, not MTV's because no one watches music videos there anymore, https://variety.com/...
Vijay Shekhar Sharma / @vijayshekhar: The MTV of 2020 has arrived on an iPhone screen ! 24 hours, free live streaming music videos. 📺➡️📱 https://variety.com/...
Mitchel Broussard / MacRumors: ‘Apple Music TV’ Launches in U.S. With 24/7 Live Stream of Music Videos, Live Shows, World Premieres, and More
Dwight Silverman / @dsilverman: Apple Launches ‘Apple Music TV,’ a 24-Hour Music Video Livestream https://variety.com/... via @variety In which Apple invents @MTV
Bijan Stephen / The Verge: Apple Music launches a TV channel for music videos
Patrick McGee / @patrickmcgee_: Apple just launched MuchMusic... https://twitter.com/...
Murray Stassen / Music Business Worldwide: Vevo partners with Dutch music video platform XITE to launch new Apple TV app
Tmera Hepburn / Cord Cutters News: Apple Launches 24 Hour Apple Music TV App
Sean Keane / CNET: Apple launches free 24-hour music video livestream
The Markup:
The Markup announces The Citizen Browser Project, an initiative with The NYT to analyze how the algorithms of Facebook and YouTube serve content to users — The Markup, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates how the world's most powerful institutions use technology to reshape society …
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, @themarkup, Hello World, @mikarv, @pepetapia44, @tonyromm, @antoniogm, @carolecadwalla, @mantzarlis, @rdpharr, @rozmurph, @lisatozzi, @axbom, @nabihasyed, @civic_signals, @marklittlenews, @craigsilverman, @blackamazon, @blakehounshell, @mathewi and @jayrosen_nyu, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab: Is Facebook too big to know? The Markup has a plan (and a browser) to wrap its arms around it
@themarkup: Citizen Browser is a new project that seeks to audit the black box algorithms that determine what users see on their social media feeds. Read more on this exciting project in today's newsletter: https://www.getrevue.co/... (video via @knightcolumbia) https://twitter.com/...
Julia Angwin / Hello World: Auditing the Algorithms of Disinformation
Michael Veale / @mikarv: I think it's quite disingenuous for @themarkup to call their Citizen Browser Project a ‘unique way to collect data’ when @WhoTargetsMe uses the same principle and is much older. I know content ≠ ads, but credit where credit is due. You don't need to pretend to be #1. https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Jose Tapia / @pepetapia44: Finally announced, The Citizen Browser Project—an initiative designed to audit the algorithms that social media platforms use to distribute news and narratives to different communities. The Algorithms of Disinformation | Revue https://www.getrevue.co/...
Tony Romm / @tonyromm: oh my god i am so jealous of @themarkup and i hope many people sign up and install this browser because everyone will benefit from this journalism https://themarkup.org/...
Antonio Garca Martnez / @antoniogm: “Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster.” It's ironic that when a watchdog tries to monitor FB, they replicate its worst excesses. This is the data-leaky intermediation of every sketchy app on the former FB Platform. https://themarkup.org/...
Carole Cadwalladr / @carolecadwalla: A nationally representative panel of 1,200 people is to be paid to give researchers access to their Facebook & YouTube feeds. Ridiculous that researchers have to go to such lengths but great that @JuliaAngwin's @themarkup is doing it https://themarkup.org/...
Alexios / @mantzarlis: “A nationally representative panel of 1,200 people will be paid to install the custom web browser on their desktops, which allows them to share real-time data directly from their Facebook and YouTube accounts with The Markup.” https://themarkup.org/...
Roger Pharr / @rdpharr: That is super clever. I can't wait to see what @themarkup finds! https://themarkup.org/...
Rosalie Murphy / @rozmurph: “...a custom web browser designed by The Markup to audit the algorithms that social media platforms use to determine what information they serve their users, what news and narratives are amplified or suppressed” — can't wait to see this in action https://themarkup.org/...
Lisa Tozzi / @lisatozzi: A custom web browser designed to audit the algorithms social media platforms use to determine what information they serve their users, what news and narratives are amplified or suppressed, and which online communities those users are encouraged to join. https://themarkup.org/...
Per Axbom / @axbom: The Citizen Browser Project—an initiative designed to measure how disinformation travels across social media platforms over time. https://themarkup.org/...
Nabiha Syed / @nabihasyed: Many thanks to the Trusted Elections Fund for helping this get off the ground! https://twitter.com/...
@civic_signals: What political stories are being pushed to Black voters in swing states? What groups are recommended to young voters in Texas? Exciting new tool from @themarkup that audits the algorithms that decide what we see on our social media feeds. https://themarkup.org/...
Mark Little / @marklittlenews: So much lazy commentary about big tech these days. This is the kind of data-driven reporting we really need https://twitter.com/...
Craig Silverman / @craigsilverman: some cool shit right here https://themarkup.org/...
@blackamazon: It's user side testing based on directly collected data I LOVE IT . Instead of waiting on access and hoops from plat forms I love it https://twitter.com/...
@blakehounshell: Very interesting project. Would not be surprised, though, if we see leaked code from inside the social media companies someday https://twitter.com/...
Mathew Ingram / @mathewi: Interesting project from @themarkup: The Citizen Browser, “a custom web browser designed to audit the algorithms that social media platforms use to determine what information they serve their users” https://themarkup.org/...
@sacbeeguild:
In a letter, Sacramento Bee News Guild asks McClatchy's new CEO to reconsider a proposal to tie journalists' annual performance reviews and raises to page views — We have alarming news. The owner of The Sacramento Bee is trying to tie journalists' pay to the number of clicks their stories get. We're urging the company to reconsider. Here's our letter to McClatchy's new CEO about how this could hurt our community. #NoPayForClicks 1/9 https://twitter.com/...
Discussion:
Nick Wingfield / @nickwingfield: This reminds me of a story I wrote—24 years ago!—about how clicks might corrupt journalism https://www.cnet.com/... https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@laura_nelson: This is so depressing. Paying local journalists based on how many people click on their stories is a recipe for more clickbait and less meaningful local reporting. https://twitter.com/...
Vera Bergengruen / @verambergen: This is objectively a very, very terrible idea - nowhere more so than in the shrinking (and essential) local journalism being done every day by McClatchy's newspapers with already overstretched resources. https://twitter.com/...
Catherine Sweeney / @cathjsweeney: This is how you end up with “goats in pajamas!” photo galleries and no school board coverage. Embarrassing. https://twitter.com/...
Noah Shachtman / @noahshachtman: We tried some version of this experiment at @WIRED for a while. It was bad for the company, and bad for the writers. https://twitter.com/...
Katrina Cameron / @katcameron91: Disappointed to hear about this happening at the Sac Bee. Clickable stories do not equal valuable community journalism. Support local newsrooms. https://twitter.com/...
David Folkenflik / @davidfolkenflik: McClatchy newly taken over by hedge fund Chatham Asset Management - seems to lay Sacramento journos' pay to how many clicks each draws Incentivizing click bait would literally be the model for better pay https://twitter.com/...
Ellen K. Pao / @ekp: The most frustrating thing about the internet is that people just don't seem to learn anything from its failures and keep making the same mistakes again and again https://twitter.com/...
Matthias Gafni / @mgafni: Not only does this hurt journalism, it just isn't a smart strategy if you're trying to drive $$$ subscriptions. Metrics are pretty clear that clicks aren't an indicator of what gets people to subscribe. https://twitter.com/...
Chantal Da Silva / @chantaladasilva: Undeniably true: “Pay-for-clicks encourages controversy and quantity over clarity and quality. Our job is to cut through the noise, not add to it.” https://twitter.com/...
Howard Altman / @haltman: As an editor who led the charge online back inna day, and is still keeping it going, I can say this is just spiraling down the toilet. McClatchy does great journalism. That's the way forward. If all you want are clicks, might as well just run porn. https://twitter.com/...
Will Oremus / @willoremus: “Writing for clicks” <— You hear this idea a lot from tech folks frustrated w/ the media, and while they're not wrong that business incentives can distort journalism, I think they underestimate the degree to which journalists themselves *loathe* the idea of writing for clicks. https://twitter.com/...
Brian Morrissey / @bmorrissey: Is this from a time capsule? Let me guess these business geniuses are very fond of auto play and a double rack of content ref ads. https://twitter.com/...
Don Winslow / @donwinslow: This is so dumb. This is such a dumb idea. I can't believe how dumb of an idea this is. Did I mention this is a dumb idea? This is like when that NFL player brought the gun the nightclub and accidentally shot himself in the leg. It's that dumb. https://twitter.com/...
@genepark: this is a dumb way to run a media organization and will surely lead to failure. it's not just concerning for ethical reasons. It won't work. https://twitter.com/...
John Harwood / @johnjharwood: very bad idea https://twitter.com/...
Danielle Turchiano / @danielletbd: I worked for a place that did this. It meant earning significantly less (not a living wage) for doing more work and often giving oxygen to things that shouldn't be stories. It also meant the writers were in competition with each other. It wa BS. The company ended up folding. https://twitter.com/...
Emily Gore-Censki / @emilygorcenski: One of the things you get good at when you've been a consultant/contractor for most of your career is detecting when a senior stakeholder has a profound lack of understanding of the product, the consumer, or both, and this is one of those times https://twitter.com/...
Chris Deerin / @chrisdeerin: 2007 all over again https://twitter.com/...
Online Journalism Awards:
2020 Online Journalism Awards announced: winners include South China Morning Post, The 1619 Project, Reuters, Star Tribune for coverage of George Floyd's death — Finalists for the 2020 OJAs have been announced and are listed below! Winners will be announced at virtual awards events throughout ONA20 Everywhere, Oct. 1-16.
Discussion:
@ona: OJA20 WINNER: Feature, Large Newsroom: @latimes for Rise of the Dancefluencer. https://awards.journalists.org/ ... https://twitter.com/...
@ona: OJA20 WINNER: Feature, Small Newsroom: @infoamazonia, @miamiherald, @decorrespondent, @correodelcaroni, @runrunesweb for Venezuela: The Smugglers' Paradise. https://awards.journalists.org/ ... https://twitter.com/...
@ona: OJA20 WINNER: Feature, Medium Newsroom: @seattletimes for Disappearing Daughters. https://awards.journalists.org/ ... https://twitter.com/...
@ona: OJA20 WINNER: Knight Award for Public Service: @NYTmag for The 1619 Project. https://awards.journalists.org/ ... https://twitter.com/...
@washpostpr: The Washington Post has won the @ONA award for Explanatory Reporting, Large Newsroom for our coverage of covid-19 https://awards.journalists.org/ ...
Kerry Flynn / CNN:
About 205 staffers at pubs owned by Bustle Digital Group, which includes Bustle, Romper, and Mic, announce plans to form a union with WGAE — New York (CNN Business)The staffs at publications owned by Bustle Digital Group, which includes Bustle, Romper, Mic, Nylon and Elite Daily among others …
Discussion:
@kerrymflynn: News: The staffs at publications owned by Bustle Digital Group have announced their plans to form a union with @WGAEast. The bargaining unit includes about 205 staffers I spoke to members of the organizing committee about why they're unionizing: https://www.cnn.com/...
Peter Kafka / @pkafka: You're unlikely to find a digital media owner less amenable to unions than Bryan Goldberg. (At least in public.) But! At this point many digital media owner/operators have accepted that union shops are a reality/cost of doing business. So! This is worth watching. https://twitter.com/...
@bdgunion: “'We want to make sure that everybody feels the sense of security and that there is transparency in pay, and that they can trust their work is being valued for what it is,' Abdelatif said.” #BDGUnion https://www.cnn.com/...
@kerrymflynn: When Bustle Digital Group acquired Mic in 2018, CEO Bryan Goldberg was accused of union busting. Will BDG management agree to voluntarily recognize the union? A BDG spokesperson hasn't responded to my request for comment... https://www.cnn.com/...
Ben Smith / New York Times:
Mark Burnett, the TV producer behind Survivor, Trump's The Apprentice, and The Voice, is facing his own string of flops and a cultural disconnect, for now — Mark Burnett helped turn Donald Trump into a national figure with “The Apprentice.” But since 2016, his impact “has kind of gone bust.”
Discussion:
@rstephens, @markberman, @yashar, @elongreen, @thrasherxy, @fmanjoo, @alexmleo, @rowaenthe, @felixsalmon, @chrismegerian, @nycsouthpaw and Wall Street Journal
Discussion:
Robert Stephens / @rstephens: “He objected in particular, two people present at the time said, when an MGM board member, Jason Hirschhorn, began sharply criticizing Mr. Trump in his newsletter, REDEF” Go @JasonHirschhorn !!! https://www.nytimes.com/...
Mark Berman / @markberman: did not realize that Mark Burnett's last hit television show was The Voice, which premiered almost a decade ago https://twitter.com/...
Yashar Ali / @yashar: Donald Trump Is Losing His Touch. So Is the TV Producer Who Shaped His Image. Mark Burnett helped turn Donald Trump into a national figure with “The Apprentice.” But since 2016, his impact “has kind of gone bust.” @benyt reports https://www.nytimes.com/...
Elon Green / @elongreen: getting publicly slagged by peter bart is its own humiliation https://twitter.com/...
Dr. Steven W. Thrasher / @thrasherxy: Come for the Leni Riefenstahl reference, stay for the absurd tale of how the producer who made Trump tried to produce Christian TV https://twitter.com/...
Farhad Manjoo / @fmanjoo: Here's @benyt on Mark Burnett's recent flops. I will say though that Survivor has become my family's quarantine binge show — we've watched at least 5 seasons in the last few months. There's an escapist simplicity to it. No real-world problems https://www.nytimes.com/...
Alex Leo / @alexmleo: Put this on my tombstone: “We believe this synergistic transaction will be very accretive” https://twitter.com/...
Angela Rynan Durrell / @rowaenthe: @mattdpearce @benyt Mark Burnett has been hoping he's going to skate underneath the radar, unfettered and unimpeded in his privilege and his very secure fortune. So far, he kinda has. And he shouldn't.
Felix Salmon / @felixsalmon: One way that you can tell @benyt is a digitally-native columnist: He doesn't feel the need to write to the same length each week. This week's column is literally half the length of the June 7 column, for instance. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://www.nytimes.com/...
Chris Megerian / @chrismegerian: “It seems they're not striving as much for ‘four more years’ as they are ‘Season 2.’” https://www.nytimes.com/...
CNN:
AMC starts offering private theater rentals for between $99 and $349 in most US states, excluding New York, Alaska, and Hawaii — (CNN)A crisp Benjamin Franklin can get you your own private AMC movie theater. — AMC Theatres joins a handful of cinemas letting customers rent out auditoriums …
Discussion:
Deadline, The Verge, The Playlist, TechCrunch, @davidlarter, IndieWire, WAVY-TV and New York Post
Discussion:
Anthony D'Alessandro / Deadline: ‘Tenet’ Spurs Private Watch Party Business Boom For Cinemark Theatres
Charles Barfield / The Playlist: Cinemark Has Reportedly Sold 22,000+ Private “Watch Parties” As Consumers Are Looking For Safer Ways To Enjoy New Films
Brian Heater / TechCrunch: AMC offers private theater rentals starting at $99, as cinemas continue to struggle
David B. Larter / @davidlarter: Yikes. Little too dystopian, hiding in a theater from the zombies kind of energy. https://www.cnn.com/...
Ryan Lattanzio / IndieWire: You Can Now Rent Out an AMC Theater for Just $99
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Multimedia Journalist, CA — 
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