Top News:
James Risen / The Intercept:
Snowden and Assange deserve presidential pardons, but so do the eight government officials charged by the Trump Administration in leak cases — In 2007, the Bush administration's Justice Department sent me a letter saying it was conducting a criminal investigation into …
Discussion:
Columbia Journalism Review, New York Times and The Guardian
David Folkenflik / NPR:
In the corrective episode of Caliphate, The Daily's Michael Barbaro failed to reveal that two of The Daily's producers also worked on Caliphate — Late last week, The New York Times issued one of its biggest mea culpas in years. The nation's leading newspaper returned a Peabody award …
Discussion:
@noelking, @lourdesgnavarro, @jayrosen_nyu, @laurawags, @davidfolkenflik, @bigmeaninternet, @inajaffenpr, @ahmed, Mediaite, @jason, @davidgross_man, @dylanmatt, @reblavoie, @jamespmanley, @tuckwoodstock, @davidgross_man, @danielleiat, @gaywonk, @dbrauer, @jbarro, @leah_sottile, @sarambsimon, @atrios, @nkulw, @ilyamarritz, @rauchway, @alex_zee, @froomkin, @moorehn, @rafiazakaria, @bungdan, @s_m_i, @treygraham, @nicktheandersen, @moorehn, @nicktheandersen, @dancow, @nycsouthpaw, @aliamalek, @askusmer, @alan_yu039, @raju, @andrewglazer, @ashleyfeinberg, @zackkopplin, @_richardhall, @arawnsley, @allyssapollard, @nkulw, @sarahw, @alexkotch and Fox News
Umberto Gonzalez / The Wrap:
Variety apologizes to Carey Mulligan for its “insensitive language and insinuation” after she says its review was “basically saying that I wasn't hot enough” — Variety has apologized for using “insensitive language” about Carey Mulligan in its review of her new film “Promising Young Woman.”
Sam Biddle / The Intercept:
In unsealed court docs, Facebook managers appeared to admit to major flaws in ad targeting capabilities in 2016 and wondered if they were misleading advertisers — Facebook is currently waging a PR campaign purporting to show that Apple is seriously injuring American small businesses through its iOS privacy features.
Discussion:
@samfbiddle, @hypervisible, @robinberjon, @theintercept, @swodinsky, @rlare_, @mandelaface, @can, @mblumenthal, @ddayen, @tidalmotion, @steveolson, @jasross, @samfbiddle, The Mix Tape and CNBC, more at Techmeme »
Nicole Sperling / New York Times:
As streaming platforms like Netflix have grown, political films they used to seek out, like The Dissident, on the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, are being shunned — Bryan Fogel's examination of the killing of the Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi had trouble finding a home among the companies …
Discussion:
@joshfoxfilm, @beijingpalmer, @tariqkrim, @weddady, @hikikomorphism, @gladstein, @weddady, @mcbyrne, @brooksbarnesnyt and Hollywood Reporter, more at Techmeme »
New York Times:
Profile of veteran radio host Delilah, whose daily call-in show lets listeners open up on air and has the largest audience among radio shows hosted by women — With snippets of love, loss and struggle soothed by music, she has become one of American radio's most popular — and trusted — voices.
New York Times:
Bollywood is also starting to shift to streaming with 28 major films skipping theaters this year, though they represent only a fraction of the films made yearly — India's film industry, which relied on theatrical releases, is experimenting with going straight to streaming services such as Amazon, Netflix and Disney's Hotstar.
Discussion:
@thepriyaarora, @thepriyaarora, @thepriyaarora, @thepriyaarora, @nytimesbusiness, @justinyost, @snackfight, @thepriyaarora and @thepriyaarora
Caitlin Dewey / Slate:
How cooking sites navigate tedious SEO techniques and moderate reviews to get their recipes on Google's featured carousel or on the first page of search results — Meathead Goldwyn has some long-standing beef with Google. — For the past nine years, the pitmaster and publisher of AmazingRibs.com …
Discussion:
@shitshowdotinfo, @_peter_cook, @caitlindewey and @meathead
Bloomberg:
Source: digital payments company Square has held talks to acquire music streaming service Tidal, which Jay-Z acquired for $56M in early 2015 — - Streaming music platform has struggled to keep up with Spotify — Dorsey has met with Jay-Z multiple times during the pandemic
Discussion:
Gizmodo, @stoneatwine, @pitdesi, @msg, Business Insider, @orthereaboot, @elliotturn, @shubham, @blmohr, @susanlitv, @caffeinatedinv1, @lucas_shaw, UPROXX, @seyitaylor, @traceyryniec, @alexeheath, @newsynick, Engadget, New York Post and ScreenRant
Molly Blackall / The Guardian:
Experts say UK Channel 4's deepfake video of the Queen, meant as a “warning” about fake news, makes it seem like deepfakes are more widespread than they are — Broadcaster says video, showing digitally-altered monarch reflecting on Prince Harry, intended as warning about fake news
Discussion:
CNN, Daily Mail, HuffPost, @markborkowski, Business Insider, @russellbrandom, Gizmodo, @roxannevarza, INSIDER, @hkanji, @areeqchowdhury, @mollyblackall, New York Post and Engadget
Nadezhda Tsydenova / Reuters:
Russian lawmakers pass a bill allowing authorities to block or restrict websites like YouTube if they “discriminate” against Russian media, like RT — MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's lower house of parliament voted on Wednesday to pass legislation allowing authorities to block …
Discussion:
@fatimatlis, @jason_kint and Interfax-Ukraine
Sean Illing / Vox:
A critique of complaints that “cancel culture” is a growing problem in the US — Our fights over free speech have gotten more heated precisely because speech has never been freer. — SHARE All sharing options — 2020 was an especially rancorous year, and among the many things …