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Sources: Sean Spicer warns staff against leaking to media in a meeting that included a check of phones, saying apps like Confide and Signal violate Records Act — The push includes random phone checks overseen by White House lawyers. — Press Secretary Sean Spicer is cracking …
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Washington Examiner, @braddjaffy, Washington Post, Mediaite, @maggienyt, The Week, @anniekarni, @ashleyrparker, @susanpage, @arimelber, The Hill, @maggienyt, New York Magazine, CNN, The Slot, RT, @sheeraf, @annericeauthor, @jayrosen_nyu, Washington Monthly, Politicus USA, @kfile, @tripgabriel, @danpfeiffer, @pwnallthethings, @erinscafe, @erinscafe, @realdanlyons, @katieglueck, @lrozen, @lpdonovan, @jeffbercovici, @davidenrich, @wakeup2politics, @mikiebarb, Mashable, Newser and Axios
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Sources: Sean Spicer had the CIA's director and a GOP official call reporters to discredit an NYT story on links between Trump's campaign aides and Russia — Exclusive: Spicer arranged CIA, GOP intelligence push-back — White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer personally picked up the phone …
Discussion:
The Guardian, @ntarnopolsky, @rvawonk, @arifleischer, Mother Jones, @noahcrothman, @davidfrum, @davidfrum, The Week, Washington Post and New York Times

Amazon Studios wins its first-ever Oscars with best foreign language film for “The Salesman” and best original screenplay for “Manchester by the Sea” — Amazon Studios won its first-ever Academy Awards on Sunday night, taking home three Oscar statues …

A frustrated Trump, used to controlling media with strategic tabloid leaks, ramps up attacks on an entrenched White House press corps and broader media — WASHINGTON — The White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, has taken to slapping journalists who write unflattering stories with an epithet …

How Robert Mercer steers politics through Facebook data and media, using Cambridge Analytica, Breitbart, the Media Research Center, aid to Leave.EU, and more — With links to Donald Trump, Steve Bannon and Nigel Farage, the rightwing US computer scientist is at the heart of a multimillion-dollar propaganda network
Discussion:
The Guardian, @pierre, @markruffalo, @_felixsimon_, @edfrenkel, @origiful, @astroehlein, @chanders, @carolecadwalla, @christopherzara, @zeynep, @_felixsimon_, @emilybell, @chanders, @chanders, @emilybell, @bryanrieger, @arron_banks, @_felixsimon_, @ndrewhung, @jayrosen_nyu, @chanders, @kreissdaniel and @jayrosen_nyu

Sources: Gretchen Carlson is in talks to join MSNBC; the former Fox News anchor settled a sexual harassment lawsuit against Roger Ailes for $20M last year — Gretchen Carlson, who settled a multi-million lawsuit late last year against former Fox News chief Roger Ailes …
Discussion:
New York Daily News, Daily Mail, The Hill, @brucebartlett and Mediaite

Profile of Tucker Carlson, who as a newly minted primetime Fox News anchor has emerged as one of the most powerful people in media — Tucker Carlson is selling me hard on the swamp. It is an unseasonably warm afternoon in late January, and we are seated at a corner table in Monocle …

Study explores how 14 publishers are experimenting to reach audiences across 16 different social platforms — Despite publishers' disillusionment with low financial returns, there is no sign of them retreating from publishing material directly onto Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and other distribution platforms.

Film4's Head of Creative Rose Garnett appointed director of BBC Films — Film4's head of creative Rose Garnett has been appointed as the director of BBC Films. — Charlotte Moore, director of BBC Content, said: “Rose will be an exciting new ambassador for BBC Films.

Actor Zach Braff, SNL fans suggest Alec Baldwin should take Donald Trump's place at this year's White House Correspondents' Dinner — Following the president's announcement that he would not be attending the event, social media was quick to suggest the ‘SNL’ Trump impersonator take his place.
Discussion:
The Hill, Washington Post, CNET, CBS New York, @realdonaldtrump, TheBlaze, The Week and Fox News Insider

YouTube has attracted little scrutiny for hosting and rewarding creators of fake news, conspiracy theories, and hate speech — David Seaman is the Pizzagate King of the Internet. — On Twitter, Seaman posts dozens of messages a day to his 66,000 followers, often about the secret cabal …
Discussion:
@slpng_giants, @brendannyhan, @craigsilverman, @bernstein and @bernstein

How anime-focused Crunchyroll turned a streaming service for a niche audience into a global powerhouse with 1M paid subscribers — Anime, has long had a devoted — if niche — fan base in the U.S. But with anime-focused streaming service Crunchyroll hitting 1 million paid subscribers this month …