Top News:
Michael Acton / Financial Times:
US FTC chair urges Tim Cook to review Apple News' terms and curation after a study claimed the app promoted “leftist outlets” and suppressed conservative ones — US regulator issues warning to iPhone maker about its News platform following controversy over Super Bowl half-time show
Discussion:
The Wrap, TechCrunch, Android Headlines, @brendancarrfcc, The Mac Observer, ZeroHedge News, MacRumors, @bendreyfuss, @tomcottonar, @michaeldbrown, @joellthayer, @matthewstoller, @mrddmia, @davidbozell, @adamscochran, @schneider_dc, @robertfreundlaw, @amanitafugax, @themrc, @schneider_dc, @afergusonftc, @mirandadevine, @cernovich, @andyjungtech, @greta, @adamthierer, @zacharyleelee, @franklinh3000, @cernovich, TheDesk.net, 9to5Mac, @mickeleh.bsky.social, MacTech.com, Reuters, Fox News, Deadline, The Verge, The Post Millennial, New York Post, Just The News and Fox Business, more at Techmeme »
Gene Weingarten / The Gene Pool:
An H1B visa filing list indicates Will Lewis' base salary as WaPo CEO was $3M per year in 2025, or enough to pay ~27 of the 300+ reporters who were laid off — So. — The image above was given to us by Deb Milbrath, a freelance cartoonist in Atlanta. I love it. — Here's something I don't love:
Discussion:
@hshaban
Alyssa Ray / The Wrap:
A CBS News producer quits, saying stories may now be evaluated “on whether they conform to a shifting set of ideological expectations”, causing self-censorship — “The very excellence we seek to sustain is hindered by fear and uncertainty,” the news producer writes
Discussion:
@benmullin and Barrett Media
Andrew Deck / Nieman Lab:
NYT's Zach Seward details the “Manosphere Report”, an in-house LLM-powered tool that summarizes new episodes from about 80 podcasts with largely male audiences — The daily podcast round-up is just one way the Times is adopting in-house AI transcription and summarization tools.
Vidhya Srinivasan / Google Ads & Commerce Blog:
Google is testing a new ad format in AI Mode that displays retailers selling the products a user is searching for in a Sponsored box — Historically, consumers have faced a necessary trade-off: buy quickly and risk getting it wrong, or spend hours researching to get it right.
RELATED:
Carmen Arroyo / Bloomberg:
Google told advertisers that it is integrating direct shopping into Search's AI Mode and Gemini; users can now buy items from Etsy and Wayfair within Gemini
Discussion:
Search Engine Roundtable, NBC News, PYMNTS.com, Skift, Blockchain.News and MediaNama, more at Techmeme »
Pew Research Center:
Survey: 80% of Americans say being informed about the news is essential to voting, but only 8% say people in the US have a responsibility to pay for news — In an era when many say the news finds them, there is no consensus about the importance of following the news
Alyssa Ray / The Wrap:
Disney agrees to pay $2.75M to settle California AG Rob Bonta's 2024 lawsuit alleging it violated the CCPA by failing to honor consumers' data opt-out requests — “Consumers shouldn't have to go to infinity and beyond to assert their privacy rights,” Rob Bonta says
Discussion:
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, Deadline, State of California and Bloomberg Law
Michaela Towfighi / New York Times:
Artforum EIC Tina Rivers Ryan plans to step down at the end of February; Executive Editor Rachel Wetzler and editor Daniel Wenger will be co-editors — The magazine announced that two other editors there will jointly replace Tina Rivers Ryan, who has been in the role since 2024.
The Atlantic:
A look at Kari Lake's 11 months as US Agency for Global Media de facto head, as she wasted money and blocked work to bring reliable news to repressive countries — The Arizona politician has wasted millions of dollars while blocking U.S. efforts to bring reliable news to repressive countries.
Discussion:
Mediaite, The Hill, Fortune and Joe.My.God.
Ivan L. Nagy / CJR:
Q&A with Washington Post sports reporter Les Carpenter, who chose to keep covering the Winter Olympics for the outlet after receiving his layoff news in Milan — Last Wednesday, Les Carpenter, a sports reporter for the Washington Post, was sitting next to his colleague, Rick Maese, in the press area of the Winter Games in Milan.
Discussion:
The Washington Free Beacon
Andy Sheehan / CBS News:
Local efforts to keep the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette operating appear to have stalled; one potential buyer blames owner Block's unwillingness to speak with buyers — Add CBS News on Google — In less than three months, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is scheduled to go out of business.
Discussion:
@niemanlab.org, @jayrosen.bsky.social and @cpotterpgh.bsky.social
Gary Baum / The Hollywood Reporter:
Court documents: celebs and public figures targeted by a web of reputation-smearing sites blame a publicist, a digital fixer, and a well-known Hollywood lawyer — A shadowy network of anonymous slander sites is attacking players in high-profile entertainment scandals …
Discussion:
Forbes
Correspondent - Russia, Berlin — 
Editorial Manager - MENA, Dubai — 
Digital Managing Editor, Mumbai — 
Breaking News Editor, TX — 
Money Writer - Underscored, NY — 
Multimedia News Reporter, SD — 
Copy Editor, IL — 
Associate News Editor, NY — 
Transportation/GA Reporter, CA — 
Reporter, WI — 
Reporter - Private Equity, NY — 
Sr. Immigration & Courts Reporter, IL — 
Community News Reporter, FL — 
Senior Editor, Johannesburg — 
Content Editor - Consulting, London — 
Foodie Beat Reporter, WA — 
News Reporter, CA — 
Executive Editor, SC — 
Retail & Consumer Reporter, MA — 
Managing Editor, FL — 
Executive Editor - Forbes Wine, NJ — 
Tech News Writer - Yahoo Tech — 
Data Journalist - Lifestyle, WA — 
NFL Editor - Sports Network, Remote — 
Deputy Social Media Editor, DC — 
Reporter - Beauty & Wellness, NY — 
Community Reporter, NC — 
Night Editor, CA — 
Govt. Affairs Reporter, MA — 
Reporter - Politics, CA/NY/DC — 
Tech Reporter - AI — 
Night & Weekend News Writer, Remote — 
Greater China Correspondent, Taipei — 
Writer - Mobile, NY or Remote — 
