Mediagazer: Pluto TV launches in France with 40 original channels, making it the first free ad-supported TV streaming service to launch in the country (Elsa Keslassy/Variety)

1:00 PM ET, February 8, 2021

Top News:

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Automattic's enterprise-focused WordPress VIP says it is acquiring content analytics service Parse.ly — WordPress VIP (WPVIP), the enterprise arm of WordPress.com, is acquiring Parse.ly, a content analytics platform that's used by thousands of digital publishers.

Discussion: TechCrunch, Wall Street Journal, The Enterprise Content …, @dmitryshishkin, @joemfbrown, VentureBeat, @johnmlevitt and @sarafischer, more at Techmeme »

Kurt Wagner / Bloomberg:

Sources: Twitter is building subscription products to ease its dependence on ads, including “tipping” for exclusive content and charging for TweetDeck — - Internal groups are researching options users might pay for — Social network says ‘revenue durability’ is now top priority

Discussion: The Wrap, TechCrunch, Gizmodo, Engadget, @joannastern, @kurtwagner8, The Verge, @walldo, @martinsfp, @imbeccable, @mathewi, @ryanlawler, @tonyromm, 9to5Mac, @rafat, @mattnavarra, @mattnavarra and @trengriffin, more at Techmeme »

Isaac Chotiner / New Yorker:

Interview with Marty Baron on some of the controversies during his tenure at WaPo, how the paper covered Bezos, and what he wanted to achieve in Washington DC — The soon-to-retire executive editor defends the idea of journalistic objectivity. “It's not neutrality, it's not both-sides-ism, it's not so-called balance,” he says.

Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:

Lawsuits from two election tech companies are now reining in right-wing media misinformation, after years of ad boycotts, public pressure campaigns, and outrage — Defamation cases have made waves across an uneasy right-wing media landscape, from Fox to Newsmax.

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

Discussion: Mediaite, @rolandsmartin, TVNewser, @urbanachievr, The Wrap, @mollyjongfast, The Daily Beast, @tvnewser, Washington Post, @brianstelter, CNN, @helenkennedy, @cnn, @nprweekend, @redcladloon, @michaelcohen212, @realcliffholmes, @davekeating, @iamjulesward, @dannagal, @alt_localgov, @petethorn, @moopersists, Politico, @sifill_ldf, @rolandsmartin, @hunterw, @brianstelter, @madisonsiriusxm, @mollyjongfast, @joshtpm, @senwhitehouse, Media Matters for America, @dburghart, @xochitlhinojosa, @harthanson, @chrisdjackson, @timobrien, @adamgoldmannyt, @sruhle, @jeremymbarr, New York Times, @rawstory, @eugene_scott, NPR, @sacca, @michaeldweiss, @johncardillo, @georgehahn, @katiephang, @drdenagrayson, @glcarlstrom, @helenkennedy, @kurtbardella, @senatorjen, @ynb, contextisking.com, @tedlieu, @ztpetrizzo, Forbes, TheGrio, @erikwemple, @erikwemple, @timobrien, @marcosbreton, @film_girl, @richmintz, @toddstarnes, @matchity, @russbengtson, @oliverdarcy, National Review, @jamessurowiecki, @ritholtz, @jeffjarvis, Slate, @bgrueskin, @bernybelvedere, @authorkimberley, @kitten0409, @aaronblake, @brownandbella, @gregpinelo, @green_footballs, Mother Jones, @parkermolloy, @johniadarola, @azi, @yashar, The Week, The Full Belmonte and Newser

Washington Post:

WaPo says readership of its tech coverage grew 40% in 2020 and it will add eight positions, based at its HQ and SF, growing its tech team to 27 — Added roles will be based in San Francisco and The Post's headquarters — The Washington Post today announced a significant expansion of its technology team …

Discussion: @edmundlee, @christinaasquit, @cpassariello and @kerrymflynn

Gordon Russell / The Advocate:

Louisiana AG Jeff Landry sues a reporter for The Advocate and The Times-Picayune over a public-records request she filed — Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry on Friday sued a reporter for The Advocate and The Times-Picayune over a public-records request she filed …

Hannah Murphy / Financial Times:

Sources: TikTok has briefed advertisers on new e-commerce tools launching in 2021, including letting popular users add links and earn commission — Viral video app set to unveil a suite of new online shopping tools — TikTok is planning an aggressive expansion into ecommerce in the US …

Discussion: Insider, contextisking.com, Engadget, @mshannahmurphy, Influencer Marketing Academy, Good TikTok Creative, @mattnavarra and Pandaily's Newsletter, more at Techmeme »

Ben Smith / New York Times:

Hachette Book Group last month fired Kate Hartson, one of the few mainstream editors who published Trump die-hards like Trump Jr., Lewandowski, and Pirro — Top editors at Hachette have told employees that they've learned the lessons of the Capitol siege of Jan. 6: no hate speech, no incitement to violence, no false narratives.

Discussion: Insider, Letters from an American, @mariskreizman, @cgasparino, @benyt, @dankennedy_nu, @davecullen, @changinghands, @markszaidesq, @mgroppe, @benyt, @espiers, @paulwiggins and Washington Post

Nieman Lab:

Research: journalists who see the rise in misinfo as a threat to democracy are more likely to report using practices embracing transparency than accountability — Adapting to the misinformation era, journalists emphasize transparency in their daily practices — “Fake news” is an unfortunate phrase.

Discussion: @spj_tweets, @alexptachick and @janebsinger

Financial Times:

China charges Cheng Lei, an Australian journalist who worked for a Chinese state TV channel, with leaking state secrets, six months after she was first detained — Cheng Lei worked for Chinese state television and had been held in secret for six months — Beijing has charged …

Discussion: New York Times, The Guardian, @yuanfenyang, The Indian Express, Al Jazeera, ABC, Variety, UPI and Axios

Kayleigh Barber / Digiday:

Bustle Digital Group says it has 2M total email subscribers across 14 newsletters and plans to have 10M by the end of 2021 — Right now the conversations around newsletters are revolving around which journalist recently joined Substack and which hotshot business newsletter was recently acquired.

Discussion: @thekenyeung and @bradesposito

Celine Castronuovo / The Hill:

Twitter permanently suspends the account of Jim Hoft, founder and EIC of far-right news website Gateway Pundit, for violations of its “civic integrity policy” — Twitter on Saturday issued a permanent suspension for the account run by Jim Hoft, founder and editor-in-chief …

Discussion: Mediaite, New York Post, PRESS RUN, @keithbaldrey, @bostonjoan, @antisillypirate, The Wrap, RT, theepochtimes.com, CNN, Insider and Mediaite

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Immigration Enforcement Reporter — Documented

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More News:

Elsa Keslassy / Variety:
Pluto TV launches in France with 40 original channels, making it the first free ad-supported TV streaming service to launch in the country

Jem Aswad / Variety:
UMG unveils a global agreement with TikTok, days after pulling its music catalog from TikTok-rival Triller

Discussion: Music Business Worldwide

Chris Roush / Talking Biz News:
Coindesk TV launches on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter with Joanne Po, formerly managing director of Fox News Digital, as executive producer

Discussion: Business Wire

Robert Feder:
Nexstar confirms Bill Shine is a consultant for NewsNation; sources: NewsNation news director quit because of interference by Shine and others in news decisions

Discussion: @robertfeder, @juliethuddytv, @jayrosen_nyu, @benyt and Daily Herald

Joe Pompeo / Vanity Fair:
Source: Jason Fine, editor-in-chief of Rolling Stone since 2018, is stepping down effective immediately to work as its director of content development

Discussion: @tpcarney, @vanityfair and @joepompeo

Vikas SN / The Economic Times:
VerSe Innovation, parent of news aggregator Dailyhunt and short video app Josh, raises $100M+ Series H led by Qatar Investment Authority

Discussion: TechCrunch, Livemint and Business Insider, more at Techmeme »

Travis Clark / Insider:
CinemaScore, which has conducted opening-night movie surveys using poll workers in the US for studios, is hoping to expand to serving streamers like Netflix

Earlier Picks:

Laura Hazard Owen / Nieman Lab:
Study finds debunking misinformation after exposure is more effective at improving an individual's truth discernment a week later than “prebunking” or labeling

Discussion: @firstdraftnews

Edward Wasserman / Mother Jones:
NYT's new disclosures about Neil Sheehan's deception of Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, and its framing, raise concerns about journalistic ethics

Discussion: The Media Nut, @travelfish, @jamesfallows, @goanand, @jnaureckas, @jeffjarvis, @sulliview, @benyt, @propublica, @jayrosen_nyu, @clarajeffery, @edwardwasserman, @ucbsoj, Between Rock and a Hard Place, @jeffjarvis, @bendreyfuss and @madeleinebaran

Al Jazeera:
Egypt has released Al Jazeera Arabic journalist Mahmoud Hussein from jail after more than four years in pre-trial detention

Discussion: @carriebrowntv, @stevechaosc, @iamabdi5, @declanwalsh, @kwoodsome, @abdynoor, @hasanpatel, @harunmaruf, @ajenews, @hiba_morgan, @nazaninemoshiri, @eoghancorry, The North Africa Journal, Axios, The Straits Times, Reuters, Associated Press and Sky News

Hanaa' Tameez / Nieman Lab:
A look at Subtext, a messaging service used by BuzzFeed, NPR, and others, that helps reporters form closer bonds with readers via subscriptions to their SMS

Discussion: @digidave, @spj_tweets, @meredithdclark and @michellemanafy

Alex Kantrowitz / OneZero:
Interview with Glenn Greenwald on the benefits of Substack and content moderation, including whether Joe Rogan should have hosted Alex Jones

Discussion: @mathewi, @brendenwood, @ozm, @ozm and @rasmus_kleis

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

Discussion: New York Times, Poynter, Reason, @kerrymflynn, The Startup, @megreenwell, the e. roohi weekly, @achangeoftune, @celesteheadlee, Washington Post, @sullydish, @marcatracy, @saletan, NPR, @sonipaul, @shomarq, @lauraolin, PEN America, New York Post, @msmelchen, @fmcapper, @moorehn, @moorehn, @joshuagchris, @wagatwe, @jolentag, @chick_in_kiev, @moorehn, Insider, @jolentag, @jolentag, @jolentag, @jolentag, @jolentag, @jbenton, @jessesingal, @nycsouthpaw, @joshuagchris, @thrasherxy, @meganphelps, @oberandout, @reblavoie, @longdrivesouth, @dropeik, The Guardian, @thecut, @tuckwoodstock, @tuckwoodstock, @jbarro, @jbarro, @jbarro, @wertwhile, @jbarro, @jbarro, @jeremymbarr, @edasante77, @maxnordau, @jbarro, @stevekrak, @shomarq, @shomarq, @kmele, @kmele, @bariweiss, @dylanmatt, @kmele, @juliacarriew, @genepark, @jondanziger, @bariweiss and @davidfolkenflik

From Techmeme:

Gleb Bryanski / Reuters:
Russia's finance minister says Russian companies have begun using bitcoin and other digital currencies in international payments to counter Western sanctions

Qwen:
Alibaba's Qwen unveils QvQ-72B-Preview, an experimental research model focused on “enhancing visual reasoning capabilities”, built upon Qwen2-VL-72B

Bloomberg:
Taiwan's FTC blocks Uber's $950M acquisition of Delivery Hero's Foodpanda, arguing it would decrease competition as their combined market share would be 90%+

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