Mediagazer: Q&A with Bill Simmons as he launches Ringer Films, focused on non-scripted programming; initial Ringer investor HBO to have first pass at video content (Lacey Rose/Hollywood Reporter)

9:50 AM ET, December 2, 2017

Top News:

Twitter changes course, says anti-Muslim tweets retweeted by Trump “are permitted on Twitter based on our current media policy” — We mistakenly pointed to the wrong reason we didn't take action on the videos from earlier this week. We're still looking critically at all of our current policies, and appreciate all the feedback. See our safety calendar for our plans and ship dates. http://twitter.com/...

Discussion: The Intercept, TechCrunch, CNNMoney, Washington Post, @lexialex, Bloomberg and Mashable, more at Techmeme »

Jim VandeHei / Axios:

Trump's tweets provoke a predictable media response that exhausts the public and the opposition, so “check the facts, pay attention, but ignore the pure crap” — There is a very specific — and dangerous — formula for manipulating the media and hijacking the Twitter/cable/conventional media industrial complex.

Discussion: New York Times, Vanity Fair, bookforum.com, Poynter, @amy_siskind, @keegan_hamilton, @alaynatreene, @stefwkight and @sam_baker

Ivana Kottasová / CNNMoney:
Twitter says it didn't delete anti-Muslim tweets retweeted by Trump because it makes occasional exceptions to rules so people can see every side of an issue

Discussion: @twittersafety, The Hill, Business Insider, New York Magazine, Mashable, The Verge, Forbes, PRI, CNN and The Guardian

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

NBC News launches internal review into how it handled Matt Lauer sexual harassment allegations — NBC News, under intense scrutiny since it fired “Today” anchor Matt Lauer in the wake of revelations of incidents involving him and sexual harassment under its corporate aegis …

Discussion: CNNMoney, NBC News, Variety, Washington Post, New Yorker, The A.V. Club, Business Insider, The Wrap, Law & Crime, TVWeek.com, Bloomberg, Mediaite, Deadline, Los Angeles Times, The Daily Caller, TMZ.com, Boing Boing, The Federalist, AOL, Fast Company and TVNewser

Politico:
NBC's shifting statements about Matt Lauer draw scrutiny: second statement noted that “current management” had not received complaints before Monday

Discussion: Page Six, @nypost and Washington Post

Brian Calle / LA Weekly:

LA Weekly announces new ownership team comprised of investors Brian Calle and Andy Bequer, attorneys David Welch and Steve Mehr, philanthropist Kevin Xu, others — There is a lot of talk about who owns L.A. Weekly. We've seen all the speculation. Is it a Russian oligarch? Is it some Trumpista?

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, @henryrollins, Curbed LA, @betsbarnes, @mattdpearce, @gwynnstu, @vincethepolack, @heidigroover, @epfox, @ibjiyongi, @hilmonstah, @andrewmseaman, @joliemyers, @kimbui, KTLA, Fast Company and Editor & Publisher

Pete Vernon / Columbia Journalism Review:

Q&A with journalists on reporting on extremism: be wary of manipulation, contact experts, recognize the role of the Internet, consider the targets of extremism — White supremacists chant at counter protestors at the base of a statue of Thomas Jefferson after marching through the University …

Discussion: @mlcalderone, @cwarzel, @jayrosen_nyu and @cwarzel

Gerry Smith / Bloomberg:

New York Times halves number of articles available to non-subscribers to five to grow subscriptions; first change to paywall since 2012 reflects growing demand — Users will access only five stories before being asked to pay — Move marks first change to Times online pay model since 2012

Discussion: Nieman Lab, MediaPost, The New York Observer, The Verge, Wall Street Journal, Engadget, @nickbaumann, @eva_palmer, @felixsalmon and @raju

Garett Sloane / Ad Age:

Advertisers say Facebook plans to test pre-roll video ads for Watch shows after resisting the format — Facebook plans to test pre-roll video ads at the start of Watch shows, according to advertisers who are familiar with the social network's strategy, exploring what would be a significant shift.

Discussion: Digiday, Mashable, Variety, Tubefilter, MediaPost, CNBC, Marketing Land, @shiraovide, @garettsloane and The Drum

HuffPost:

Internal email: Vox Media to drop open bar from holiday party, giving employees two drink tickets instead, amid sexual harassment fears — Employees will instead receive two drink tickets, the company said in an internal email sent out Thursday afternoon. — Amid the wave of recent sexual …

Discussion: @mikeisaac, @gabydvj, @beejoli, @morganjerkins, Washington Free Beacon, Quartz, The Daily Caller, @mcbc, @melaniehannah, @el__bohemio, @jmrivera02, @poniewozik, @robbysoave and Jezebel

Brian Stelter / CNNMoney:

Memo: Vice News fires three employees amid investigations into sexual harassment — Vice Media fired three employees on Thursday amid a probe into sexual harassment and improper workplace conduct, according to a memo obtained by CNNMoney. — Vice did not name the employees.

Lacey Rose / Hollywood Reporter:

Q&A with Bill Simmons as he launches Ringer Films, focused on non-scripted programming; initial Ringer investor HBO to have first pass at video content — The nonfiction fare will focus on sports and pop culture. — Bill Simmons is heading back to familiar territory.

Discussion: The Wrap

Laura Hazard Owen / Nieman Lab:

The Gecko Project launches as a reporting initiative for making environmental journalism about the Global South available to its residents via social media — Investigating environmental crimes in Indonesia, The Gecko Project wants “to push these things back into the places where they're reported out.”

Lucia Moses / Digiday:

David Kang, senior director of Apple News monetization and strategy since November 2016, is leaving his role for another position at the company — Publishers hoping to make money off Apple News can't be cheered by this: David Kang, who became senior director of Apple News monetization …

Discussion: Mobile Marketer

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More News:

Ricardo Bilton / Nieman Lab:
The Trace partnered with over a dozen local NBC stations to produce a year-long report, Missing Pieces, will open the data it has collected to the public

Ben Fritz / Wall Street Journal:
Disney sues Redbox over sales of digital download codes; Disney and Redbox do not have a distribution deal, codes come with retail copies of DVDs

Discussion: Deadline, Hollywood Reporter, Gizmodo, The Verge, Home Media Magazine, Variety and Engadget, more at Techmeme »

Daniel Funke / Poynter:
Q&A with executive director of Africa Check, Peter Cunliffe-Jones, on fact checking in Africa, the technologies used, partnerships, and the fact-checking awards

Katie Roof / TechCrunch:
Twitter Lite rolling out to 24 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, Middle East, Latin America, after Philippines test showed a 50% increase in tweets

Discussion: The Hill, Digital Trends, VentureBeat, Engadget, Android Police, Adweek and RAPPLER, more at Techmeme »

Sara Fischer / Axios:
iHeartRadio, with 850 stations, launches Nashville Podcast Network to appeal to Middle America and diversify podcast audience

Earlier Picks:

Michael Byrne / Motherboard:
Notre Dame study finds 73% of posts on Reddit are voted on by users that haven't clicked through to view the content

Discussion: @heyfeifer, Digital Trends, Gizmodo and Boing Boing

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Amazon Fire TV adds support for voice commands on third-party apps, including Hulu, NBC, Bravo, Showtime, Sony PlayStation Vue, and CBS All Access

Discussion: FierceCable, Digital Trends, Amazon Fire TV and GeekWire

Jack Shafer / Politico:
Project Veritas' attempted sting against the Washington Post highlights the ethical questions of using deception in reporting

Discussion: The Ringer, BuzzFeed, www.wnyc.org and @kylegriffin1

Tiffany Kary / Bloomberg:
Judge says Thiel can't stop legal probe into his role in Gawker's demise, but says Thiel can bid on remaining assets, including litigation claims against him

From Techmeme:

Sherry Qin / Wall Street Journal:
ByteDance says it has no plans to sell TikTok, responding to a report suggesting that the Chinese company is considering selling a majority stake in TikTok US

Emanuel Maiberg / 404 Media:
Apple removes three AI image generation apps from the App Store after a 404 Media probe found the apps advertised being able to create nonconsensual nude images

Dustin Volz / Wall Street Journal:
Sam Altman, Satya Nadella, Sundar Pichai, Jensen Huang, and others join a board for advising the DHS on deploying AI safely within US critical infrastructure

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