Top News:
Stephen Battaglio / Los Angeles Times:
Fox News cancels Lou Dobbs Tonight on the Fox Business network and is expected to part ways with the pro-Trump host; Dobbs is still under contract for now — Fox News has canceled “Lou Dobbs Tonight,” the program hosted by television's staunchest supporter of Donald Trump and of his assertions …
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New York Times:
Election tech company Smartmatic files $2.7B defamation lawsuit against the Fox Corporation, Fox News, and hosts Lou Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo, and Jeanine Pirro
Election tech company Smartmatic files $2.7B defamation lawsuit against the Fox Corporation, Fox News, and hosts Lou Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo, and Jeanine Pirro
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Andy Mills:
Audio producer Andy Mills, a creator and co-star of the NYT podcast Caliphate whose behavior has come under sustained scrutiny, has resigned — Today I'm resigning from The New York Times. Those are not words I ever wanted to write. — Growing up, I never even imagined that I would get the chance …
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The Daily Beast:
NYT says Donald McNeil Jr. is leaving the company, days after staffers complained to bosses about the handling of reports he used racist language on a trip — Multiple students who attended a Times-sponsored trip with Don McNeil in 2019 alleged that he used racist slurs throughout the journey.
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The Daily Beast:
Sources: NYT's Rukmini Callimachi has been re-assigned to cover higher education following the Caliphate scandal — The Pulitzer finalist who came to fame via her Middle East coverage is moving to a vastly different beat following the scandal over her largely debunked podcast.
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@wajahatali, @cquintanadc, @elissanadworny and @johnriordangee
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
Democrats' Sec. 230 bill is a dumpster fire of cluelessness that effectively wipes out protections for entire internet while pretending it's just a minor change — For the past few months we've been seeing a ton of terrible/ridiculous/awful/unconstitutio nal bills coming from mostly Republicans …
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Emily Birnbaum / Protocol:
Democratic senators' SAFE TECH Act will strip Section 230 immunity for any ads or posts violating civil rights, antitrust, cyberstalking, human rights laws
Democratic senators' SAFE TECH Act will strip Section 230 immunity for any ads or posts violating civil rights, antitrust, cyberstalking, human rights laws
Discussion:
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Elahe Izadi / Washington Post:
By turning their spotlight onto Marjorie Taylor Greene's abhorrent views, major outlets are turning the freshman lawmaker into a star and helping her fundraise — Marjorie Taylor Greene's backstory was no secret. — Before she became the congresswoman representing Georgia's 14th District …
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Marc Tracy / New York Times:
Journalists at the New York Daily News have formed a union under the NewsGuild of New York, asking for voluntary recognition from Tribune — The organizing effort at the century-old tabloid comes roughly 25 years after its editorial union was effectively broken.
Tim Cross / VideoWeek:
Ad tech company Magnite, formerly Rubicon Project, to acquire SpotX, a platform for connected TV and video advertising, from RTL Group for $1.17B — Supply-side platform Magnite announced this morning it has agreed a deal to acquire sell-side video platform SpotX from European media group RTL …
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@magnite, Variety, CNBC, Magnite, Ad Age, Beet.TV, @davemorgannyc, @anthonykatsur, @mediamath, @kghufran, Radio & Television …, FierceVideo, AdExchanger, LUMA Partners, Digital TV Europe and Adweek, more at Techmeme »
Todd Spangler / Variety:
UMG pulled its music catalog from video-sharing app Triller, saying Triller won't negotiate a licensing deal; Triller says it “has no use for a licensing deal” — The war of words between Ryan Kavanaugh's Triller and Universal Music Group escalated Friday, after UMG pulled …
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Washington Post:
Stephen Totilo, EIC of gaming news site Kotaku, announced his departure Friday; he plans a month-long break and then a return to games journalism — Stephen Totilo, editor in chief of gaming news site Kotaku, announced his departure Friday afternoon. — “Tomorrow, I will simply be a reader of Kotaku …
Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:
Biden will revive weekly “radio” address, to be posted on YouTube and other platforms, sometimes with him talking to guests in the informal style of podcasts — A White House seeking to advance its agenda introduces a format that includes the president speaking with handpicked citizens.
Discussion:
@djjudd, @froomkin, @green_footballs, @kat4obama, @digiphile, @grynbaum, @howardmortman, @grynbaum, @stewest and @timnaftali
Reporters Without Borders:
Twitter baselessly suspended the accounts of a South African weekly and of four journalists criticizing the decision, and attributed the error to automation — Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is shocked by Twitter's arbitrary and baseless blocking of the accounts of a prestigious South African newsweekly …
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@llopezgonzalez, @simonallison, @risj_oxford and @thecontinent_
Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge:
Snap says its TikTok competitor Spotlight had 100M MAUs in January, two months after its launch, and receives an average of 175K video submissions per day — A surprisingly successful debut — Snap says its TikTok competitor, Spotlight, had 100 million users in January 2021, just two months after it launched.
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Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC:
Snap beats with Q4 revenue of $911M, up 62% YoY, vs $857.4M est., DAUs were up 22% YoY to 265M; stock down 7%+ after hours on weak Q1 forecast
Snap beats with Q4 revenue of $911M, up 62% YoY, vs $857.4M est., DAUs were up 22% YoY to 265M; stock down 7%+ after hours on weak Q1 forecast
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@seekingalpha, The Wrap, @tgpharding, @ashkan, @charliebilello, @ashleyrcarman, Fast Company, Ad Age, Financial Times, Axios and Variety