Top News:
Cara Buckley / New York Times:
Network of 300 prominent Hollywood women launch an initiative to tackle sexual harassment in Hollywood and blue collar workplaces — Driven by outrage and a resolve to correct a power imbalance that seemed intractable just months ago, 300 prominent actresses and female agents, writers …
Discussion:
PR Newswire, @jenbrockie, @ananavarro, Jezebel, @mariateresa1, @jodikantor, @amandamarcotte, @marcgunther, @vellalovell, BBC, @annetdonahue, @brianstelter, ABC News, The FADER, @emilyjashinsky, Fast Company, @shanellelittle, @jensimmons, @carmenejogo, IndieWire, @kristapley, @laurelrosenhall, Rolling Stone, Variety, Refinery29, The Wrap, @rtraister, @markharrisnyc, Mashable, Axios and Beth Bell
ProPublica:
Study shows Facebook's hate speech rules are unevenly enforced, with the company agreeing its censors made mistakes on 22 of 49 posts submitted for explanation — We asked Facebook about its handling of 49 posts that might be deemed offensive. The company acknowledged that its content reviewers had made the wrong call on 22 of them.
Zachary M. Seward / Quartz:
Snap blocked public snaps from area around its New Years Eve party in LA, reported to have cost $4M, but some posted to Instagram, including performer Drake — Snap marked the end of its first year as a public company with a huge New Year's Eve party for its employees and other guests.
Discussion:
Business Insider and TMZ.com
Hiroko Tabuchi / New York Times:
Groups skeptical of climate change are gaming Google's largely automated ad systems to promote misleading claims that reject established climate science — Groups that reject established climate science can use the search engine's advertising business to their advantage …
BBC:
Germany starts enforcing law under which social networks will face fines of up to €50M if they fail to remove hate speech, fake news, and illegal material — Germany is set to start enforcing a law that demands social media sites move quickly to remove hate speech, fake news and illegal material.
Discussion:
Newsweek, BBC, Yahoo! Finance, Engadget, @neilclark66 and @jeffjarvis
Craig Silverman / BuzzFeed:
BuzzFeed News' Media Editor Craig Silverman helped popularize the term “fake news” and watched as it became politicized by Trump and the alt right — After a yearlong battle for its meaning and ownership, “fake news” is now both an empty slogan and a deeply troubling warning sign.
Discussion:
@buzzfeednews, @lwvmiamidade, @craigsilverman, @moorehn, @jayrosen_nyu, @craigsilverman, @jason_kint and @craigsilverman
Anna Nicolaou / Financial Times:
Vevo says its 2017 revenue reached $650M, up 30% YoY; it broke even in 2017 and expects to be profitable in early 2018 — Vevo, the music video company owned by a group of leading record labels, increased its revenues by 30 per cent in 2017 thanks to swelling global audiences for high-budget pop star videos.
Alex Hern / The Guardian:
Damian Collins, the chair of the UK's fake news inquiry, has given Facebook and Twitter until Jan. 18 to hand over info about Russian disinformation campaigns — Chair of parliamentary committee gives firms a deadline to hand over information about Russian misinformation campaigns
Discussion:
@ericgarland, @thattimwalker and Press Association, more at Techmeme »
David Streitfeld / New York Times:
As the fourth-largest US bookstore chain, Book World, closes and Barnes & Noble remains the top chain, Amazon is set to take the No. 4 spot by number of outlets — APPLETON, Wis. — This fall, at a moment when retailers traditionally look forward to reaping holiday profits …
Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
NYT's Baquet responds to criticism over 2016 story that said the FBI saw no clear link between Trump and Russia, saying they would cast story differently now — It was a week before the 2016 presidential election that the New York Times wrote this headline: “Investigating Donald Trump, F.B.I. Sees No Clear Link to Russia.”
Discussion:
@mlcalderone, @mlcalderone, @talkingnewmedia, Axios, The Guardian, The A.V. Club, Mother Jones and New York Magazine
James Warren / Poynter:
Jeff Kittay, creator of the academic journal Lingua Franca, has launched a new site covering the food industry, called the New Food Economy — If you've ever wondered why cooks and line servers in cafeterias and commercial kitchens have to work with heads covered, you should.
Mary Ann Georgantopoulos / BuzzFeed:
Book editor says Jann Wenner sexually assaulted him, then gave him Rolling Stone job in '83 and fired him in '85 after editor didn't sustain sexual relationship — Jonathan Wells says it took years for him to fully process what happened between him and the publisher.
Discussion:
AOL, @mattmittenthal and The FADER