Mediagazer: A look at early support for Trump from Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski and how that changed in 2017, as Scarborough now sees that support as a mistake (Erik Wemple/Washington Post)

10:40 PM ET, January 15, 2021

Top News:

Without naming Fox, James Murdoch blasts media owners who enabled “toxic politics” and says their lies have unleashed “insidious and uncontrollable” forces — Comments from Rupert's son are his strongest rebuke of industry practices since leaving the family business

The Daily Beast:

Sources: Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch are “disenchanted” with Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott and President Jay Wallace; total viewership is down 15% YoY since Dec. 28 — OUTFOXED — Amid sagging ratings, Rupert Murdoch has taken a more hands-on role at Fox, perhaps portending the end …

Discussion: @justinbaragona, @benyt, @kim, Mediaite, @benyt, @patrickmcgee_, @noahshachtman, @ericbolling, @chunks_mommy, @janemayernyer and Daily Truth Report

Alex Pasternack / Fast Company:

How Wikipedia, where neutrality is prized above all, struggled to chronicle the Capitol insurrection in real time — ‘Storming’? ‘Insurrection’? ‘Riot’? ‘Attempted coup’? On Wikipedia, where neutrality is prized above all, volunteers are still searching for the words.

Discussion: The Guardian, @krmaher, @luis_in_brief, @ariannahuff, @bkeegan, @fuzheado, @harrymccracken, The Ringer, @pasternack and @thewikipedian

Columbia Journalism Review:

On Wikipedia's 20th anniversary, the need for nuance in reporting about the project is crucial as sites like Breitbart and Russian media try to discredit it — Last year, as the election approached, we heard that the founder of 8chan had become an active Wikipedia editor.

Joe Pompeo / Vanity Fair:

Politico announces new members of its Playbook team, expanding from two writers to four: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza, and Tara Palmeri — Facing stiffer competition, a new crew of writers—Ben Shapiro not included—is promising more scoops and scene as the O.G. political tip sheet reboots …

Maxwell Tani / The Daily Beast:
Some Politico staffers raised concerns internally about the decision to allow Ben Shapiro to guest-write Playbook; editor Matt Kaminski defended the move

Discussion: @erikwemple, @erikwemple, @erikwemple, Washington Post, PRESS RUN, @benyt, @maxwelltani, @brucebartlett, @jayrosen_nyu, @paulkrugman, @surabees, @jeff_jacoby, @sirajahashmi, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Media Nut, @abdallah_fayyad, The Federalist, @glcarlstrom, @piersmorgan, @jayrosen_nyu, @benyt, @caitleg, @jrubinblogger, @elaheizadi, @marlownyc, @erikwemple, @samthielman, @arifleischer, @maxkennerly, @wexler, @nycweboy, @tonydleonardi, @andizeisler, @wajahatali, @davidsirota, @sorayamcdonald, @futterish, @elienyc, @corb_the_lesser, @jeremypgordon, @megynkelly, @soledadobrien, @holmesjosh, @willmcavoyacn, @danpfeiffer, @eugene_scott, @katiehill4ca, @imleor, @clarajeffery, @maxwelltani, @bernybelvedere, @gina_goldberg, @adotsad, @justin_higgins2, @zac_petkanas, @senhorraposa, @jamisonfoser, @karlitaliliana, @gabby_hoffman, @sarahw, @nberlat, @jon_allsop, @emorwee, @tpcarney, @casmudde, @maxwelltani, @grace_segers, @susanbordson, @onlxn, @russcanread, @alqabadai, @blackamazon, @wagatwe, @kimcrayton1, @elienyc, @sethfriederman, @espiers, @libbycwatson and @erikwemple

Leia Idliby / Mediaite:
Politico draws criticism for having Ben Shapiro serve as a guest writer of Playbook; he wrote about “the real reasons” most Republicans opposed impeachment

Discussion: @olivianuzzi, @maxwelltani, @mattnegrin, @lpdonovan, @juddlegum, @sabrinasiddiqui, @benshapiro, @seungminkim, @jakesherman, @tarapalmeri, Poynter, @dfriedman33, @alexkotch, @wajahatali, @charlesppierce, @taradublinrocks, @johniadarola, @jbouie, @pwthornton, @lollardfish, @lollardfish, @gothamgirlblue, @stevedeaceshow, @joshsternberg, @mehdirhasan, @juddlegum, @juddlegum, @danahoule, @sabrinasiddiqui, @green_footballs, @lollardfish, @meredithshiner, @slpng_giants, @froomkin, @jeffsharlet, @green_footballs, @justkelly_ok, @jonfavs, @jbouie, @katearonoff, @barry, @zachwritesstuff, @marcformarc, @theplumlinegs, @breenewsome, @soledadobrien, @mattzeitlin, @jeffhauser, @timodc, @jbarro, @mattzeitlin, @abrowngaywrites, @mattnegrin, @mattnegrin, @mattnegrin, @jonathanchait, @bridgeinit, @jbouie, @zackbeauchamp, @chrisgeidner, @shotpooter, @ryanlcooper, @zackbeauchamp, @jbouie, @tomscocca and @zackbeauchamp

Taylor Lorenz / New York Times:

As Snapchat starts competing with TikTok via its Spotlight program, some creators begin earning small fortunes and look for ways to expand — Top performers are raking in cash, as the company seeks to compete against TikTok and similar platforms. — In late November, Cam Casey …

The Information:

Sources: Apple is discussing launching a new subscription service that would charge people to listen to podcasts — Apple—long considered the sleeping giant in the podcast space—is waking up. The company, which runs the most widely used podcasting app in the industry …

Jim VandeHei / Axios:

Axios publishes a new Bill of Rights: no opinion section ever, most content free for all people, staff pledge to not take public political positions, more — Axios is expanding into local news this month, and broadening our mission to help restore trust in fact-based news with an audience Bill of Rights.

Nathan Bomey / USA Today:

Gannett CEO says the company, which passed 1M paid digital subscriptions in Q3 2020, is aiming for 10M subscribers within five years — Gannett, the owner of USA TODAY and more than 260 other daily publications, is aiming for 10 million paid digital subscriptions within five years, CEO Mike Reed said Thursday.

Discussion: @niemanlab

Amaris Castillo / Poynter:

Journalists in Washington, DC, share how they're preparing to cover the inauguration of Biden amid safety concerns, limited access, and heavy security — After the Jan. 6 insurrection and with access still unclear, some journalists are being extra cautious about safety.

Discussion: @marissa_jae, @itsren, @amariscastillo, Forbes, Politico and Washington Post

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

BBC's next chairman Richard Sharp says he is not in favor of decriminalization of UK's license fee, describing it as the “least worst” option to fund the BBC — The BBC's next chairman, ex-banker Richard Sharp, has said its coverage of Brexit was “incredibly balanced” …

Discussion: @nogoodgods and @pressgazette

Alex Kantrowitz / OneZero:

Services like Substack, Spotify, and Clubhouse are coming under scrutiny now that platforms like Facebook and YouTube have warmed to aggressive moderation — Smaller services are coming under scrutiny now that the big platforms have warmed to aggressive moderation — Glenn Greenwald was pissed.

Discussion: @kantrowitz, @kantrowitz, @abbyatwork, @dlberes, @smorgasboredom, Boing Boing and @markstenberg3, more at Techmeme »

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More News:

Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
A look at early support for Trump from Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski and how that changed in 2017, as Scarborough now sees that support as a mistake

Discussion: @erikwemple

Ted Johnson / Deadline:
DOJ announces it won't move to end or modify the 80-year-old consent decrees governing ASCAP, BMI music licensing, citing lack of consensus among stakeholders

Discussion: Variety, Los Angeles Times and Radio & Television …

Paul Bennun / KCRW:
California public radio station KCRW drops The Daily, over concerns about NYT's handling of issues surrounding Caliphate

Discussion: @kcrw, @sorayanelson, @kausmickey, @thebenbergman, @mollydacious, @awalkerinla, @akmcglinchy, KUT Radio …, @reblavoie and @nwquah

Jessica Bursztynsky / CNBC:
NBCUniversal launches NBCU Academy, a journalism training program that's set to partner with 17 academic institutions across the US with $6.5M in funding

Rebecca Klar / The Hill:
Hagens Berman files suit against Amazon alleging collusion with Big Five big publishers to fix eBook prices; they successfully sued Apple in 2011 for the same

Discussion: hbsslaw.com, AppleInsider, The Guardian, UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK and Publishers Weekly

Earlier Picks:

Todd Spangler / Variety:
Group Nine, owner of Thrillist, NowThis, and the Dodo, goes public via a SPAC to raise $200M+ to fund acquisitions; units closed up 11% Friday, at $11.10

Discussion: @xpangler, MediaPost, TechCrunch and @kerrymflynn

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:
VOA staffers circulate a petition seeking resignations of execs Robert Reilly and Elizabeth Robbins, saying they failed to be independent of political influence

Discussion: @w7voa, @johnallengay, @spj_tweets, @camjourno, @w7voa, @brianstelter, @egkaur, @reinlwapo and @farhip

Gerry Smith / Bloomberg:
A look at Judd Legum's Popular Information newsletter, which helped push companies to suspend donations to politicians who objected to election results

Discussion: @juddlegum, The World's Best Newsletter, Columbia Journalism Review, @benyt, @soledadobrien, @emrosenberg, @newsynick, @brianmrosenthal, @jesselehrich, @slpng_giants, @dictionarycom, @shitthepupsays, @rezaaslan, @simonowens and @lucas_shaw

Benjamin Mullin / Wall Street Journal:
Axios will launch AxiosHQ, its internal company communications service, starting at $10K a year with $1M already booked and Delta and AT&T among its clients

From Techmeme:

Kent Walker / The Keyword:
Google says the DOJ's “wildly overbroad proposal goes miles beyond the Court's decision”, would hurt US consumers, and jeopardize the US' global tech leadership

Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority:
Source: Google has canceled the development of a second-generation Pixel Tablet, planned for release in 2025, due to concerns that it wouldn't sell very well

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is testing a more conversational version of Siri, dubbed “LLM Siri”, with plans to release it in spring 2026 as part of iOS 19 and macOS 16

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