Top News:
Maggie Haberman / New York Times:
The Republican National Committee says it will require candidates to pledge to not participate in debates run by the Commission on Presidential Debates — The Republican National Committee says it will require candidates to pledge to not participate in debates run by the Commission on Presidential Debates.
Discussion:
Politico, Insider, Mediaite, MediaPost, Vanity Fair, The Guardian, Washington Post, The Week, @pbump, Deadline, Rolling Stone, Forbes, @drkarlynb, @sewellchan, New York Post, Fox News, @kbandersen, NewsNation Now, NPR and Boing Boing
Stephen Battaglio / Los Angeles Times:
NBCUniversal plans to use audience data from iSpot.tv to track the Olympics and the Super Bowl next month, in addition to Nielsen, in a new multiyear agreement — NBCUniversal, the media company most critical of the audience measurement data it receives from Nielsen, is testing …
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Variety, Wall Street Journal, Adweek, Ad Age, Radio & Television …, Marketing Dive, Media Play News, @ourand_sbj, Deadline, Beet.TV, Awful Announcing and @bristei
Georg Szalai / The Hollywood Reporter:
NBCUniversal and RTL partner to cross-sell TV ad inventory in the US, Europe, and Asia — The arrangement will create opportunities for marketers across the U.S., Europe and Asia, the companies say.
Discussion:
The Drum, Variety, Digital TV Europe and Beet.TV
Peter White / Deadline:
New York Magazine's Olivia Nuzzi is writing and producing a satirical drama for AMC set in Washington, DC, teaming up with executive producer Gina Mingacci — EXCLUSIVE: Olivia Nuzzi, the Washington correspondent for New York magazine who wrote some of the wildest stories …
Discussion:
@oliverdarcy, bookforum.com, @raesanni, @bartleby_kamoi, @eoinhiggins_, @kantrowitz, @karaswisher and @olivianuzzi
Justin Hendrix / Tech Policy Press:
260+ health professionals ask Spotify to create a misinformation policy, after a discredited scientist spread COVID-19 misinformation on Joe Rogan's podcast — More than 260 doctors, nurses, scientists, health professionals and others have signed an open letter calling on the streaming media platform Spotify …
Discussion:
An Open Letter to Spotify, Rolling Stone, ScreenRant, The Wrap, The Week, TheStreet, Variety, The A.V. Club, Being Libertarian's Newsletter, Insider, @bernstein, Supercreator, Beyond Search, @drjengunter, @samadlerbell, Boing Boing, @emswami, @pharmacistmama, @tnicholsmd, @blackamazon, @justinhendrix, @benprunty, @slpng_giants, CNET, @craigsilverman, Deadline and UPROXX, more at Techmeme »
Dade Hayes / Deadline:
In a first, BET+ will be included on Xfinity TV in a deal between ViacomCBS and Comcast, which also extends carriage of Paramount+, Pluto TV, and Showtime OTT — ViacomCBS and Comcast have reached a distribution renewal that continues carriage of CBS and a roster of cable networks …
Discussion:
Variety, @fidmart85, The Wrap, Light Reading and Hollywood Reporter
Lily Hay Newman / Wired:
NSO Group spyware was found on devices owned by 35 journalists and activists in El Salvador; 23 devices belong to journalists linked to the El Faro news site — The newly disclosed campaign shows how little the company has done to curb abuses of its powerful surveillance tools.
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, Access Now, The Citizen Lab, @aaschapiro, The Guardian, Washington Post, LatAm Journalism Review, Committee to Protect …, Gizmodo, @citizenlab, @leomschwartz, @leomschwartz, @jsrailton, @jsrailton, @jsrailton, 9to5Mac, @mcandrew, @leomschwartz, @jsrailton, @frontlinehrd, @accessnow, @accessnow, @accessnow, @cpjamericas, @accessnow, @cpjamericas, @accessnow, @lilyhnewman, @mvzelenks, @munkschool, @cpjamericas, @accessnow, @cpjamericas, @cpjamericas, @cpjamericas, @cpjamericas, @hipsterelectron, @evacide, Rest of World, iMore, Wall Street Journal and New York Times
Lillian Rizzo / Wall Street Journal:
Sinclair renews its digital rights NBA deal, after signing a similar deal with the NHL in December, as it secures $600M in debt to develop its streaming service — Diamond Sports, the largest owner of regional sports networks, also renewed its digital-rights agreement with NBA, securing ability to stream games
Don Seiffert / Boston Business Journal:
136 of 253 Gannett newspapers will cease home delivery of Saturday print editions in the coming months, offering expanded access to its online edition instead — The nation's largest newspaper chain is discontinuing Saturday print editions starting March 5 at more than half of its newspapers nationwide …
Dade Hayes / Deadline:
Telemundo is launching content brand Tplus on Peacock's premium tier in the fall, with scripted, unscripted, and documentary content in English and Spanish — NBCUniversal's Telemundo Enterprises is launching content brand Tplus on Peacock this fall in sync with the company's exclusive …
Discussion:
Axios, The Streamable, Forbes and Hollywood Reporter
Laura Hazard Owen / Nieman Lab:
Researchers use simulations to show that focusing on increasing trust in reliable information and news works better than focusing on debunking misinformation — Misinformation makes up a teeny-tiny share of what most people read, and we might want to worry a little less about debunking …
Discussion:
@sacha_altay, HKS Misinformation Review, @michellemanafy, @journoresource and @rasmus_kleis
Jay Cridlin / Tampa Bay Times:
Paul Tash, Tampa Bay Times' longest-serving CEO and chairman, is retiring and will be succeeded by company president Conan Gallaty — Conan Gallaty takes over as chief executive officer and will be the fourth chairman since Nelson Poynter when Tash departs this summer. — Published Just now
Discussion:
@markpuente, @jaycridlin, @bobbuckhorn, @matt_cohen_, @amy_hollyfield, @carolynpfox and @billadairduke
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