Top News:
Michael Wolff / New York Magazine:
Michael Wolff book excerpt recounts Trump's talks with media figures including Roger Ailes, who urged Trump to float rumors of a TV network, and Murdoch — One year ago: the plan to lose, and the administration's shocked first days. — Election Night: It “looked as if he had seen a ghost.”
Discussion:
Hollywood Reporter, CNN, Mediaite, Wall Street Journal, @ashleyrparker, @donaldjtrumpjr, SPLICETODAY.com, Publishers Weekly, The Wrap, Politico, Bloomberg, @jeneps, Blog Network, New York Times, Washington Post, Recode, Poynter, Poynter, Washington Post, NPR, theGrio, Talking Points Memo, CNNMoney, thecut, Reuters, HuffPost, Deadline, The Guardian, Bloomberg, CNBC, AOL, New York Times, Splinter, National Review, Axios, The Daily Beast, The Daily Caller, @johnwdean, @ashleyrparker, The Guardian, bookforum.com, BuzzFeed, The Root, Financial Times, Forbes, Mashable, TVNewser, @genepark, Gizmodo, BloombergQuint, @jenniferjjacobs, @mlcalderone, @philiprucker, @davidnather, @tackettdc, @axios, @jdawsey1, Mother Jones, @brianstelter, Vanity Fair, The New York Observer, Boing Boing, The Savage Nation, CBS Boston, Fortune, The A.V. Club, @oliverdarcy, @meghanmccain, @kendilaniannbc, @gregorykorte, @ischafer, @mlcalderone, France 24, Washington Post, @bradplumer, @mlcalderone, @ichotiner, @mlcalderone, @daviduberti, The Daily Gazette, Variety, Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times and Newser, more at Techmeme »
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John Santucci / ABC News:
Trump lawyer Charles Harder sends Steve Bannon a letter demanding he refrain from disparaging comments about Trump and his family, claims Bannon breached NDA — Lawyers on behalf of President Donald Trump sent a letter Wednesday night to former White House Chief Strategist Stephen Bannon demanding …
Discussion:
@jtsantucci, Washington Post, Bloomberg, @maggienyt, Politico, Variety, @oliverdarcy, The Guardian, New York Magazine, @jeffjohnroberts, AOL, Axios, @adamsteinbaugh, @renato_mariotti, @nbcpolitics, @dissentingj, The A.V. Club, @renato_mariotti, @mayawiley, @olivianuzzi, @maggienyt, @billkristol, @timobrien, @billkristol, The Wrap, @carolleonnig, @oliverdarcy, Mashable, Mediaite, Refinery29, Hollywood Reporter, The Daily Beast, Splinter, Mother Jones, BloombergQuint and The Daily Caller
BBC:
Reports: lawyers acting on behalf of US President Donald Trump are seeking to halt the publication of Michael Wolff's new book — Lawyers for US President Donald Trump are seeking to stop the release of a book containing explosive insights into his presidency, US media report.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Mediaite, New York Magazine, @jeffjarvis, The A.V. Club and The Savage Nation
Mike Allen / Axios:
Michael Wolff has dozens of hours of tapes of interviews with Bannon and other White House insiders, making some quotes in his new book hard to refute — Michael Wolff has tapes to back up quotes in his incendiary book — dozens of hours of them. — Among the sources he taped, I'm told …
Discussion:
Newser, thecut, AOL, Washington Post, The Daily Beast, The Guardian, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, New York Magazine and Mother Jones
Paul Farhi / Washington Post:
Second-guessing of Michael Wolff's juicy book on the Trump White House begins, fueled by some rebuttals of Wolff's reporting in the past — Among the many things he's been called — “blunt,” “pathetic,” “calculating” — the one thing Michael Wolff has never been described as is boring.
Discussion:
The Guardian, @pollsterpatrick, New York Times, Media Matters for America, Axios, New York Magazine, ABC News, Splinter, The Daily Beast, BloombergQuint, AOL, @sulliview, @nickriccardi, @chrisburynews, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, NPR, @erikwemple, @michaeldweiss, @w7voa, @oliverdarcy, @maggienyt, @martika0519, Mashable, @mlcalderone, The Root, @katyturnbc, @natesilver538, @miketscribe, @jonahnro, @jakelahut, @ashleyfeinberg, The Wrap, Politico, CNN, Mother Jones, Boing Boing, The Savage Nation, Vanity Fair and theGrio
Brian Stelter / CNNMoney:
CBS News fires political director Steve Chaggaris after investigation into allegations of inappropriate behavior — CBS News said Wednesday that it has fired its political director, Steve Chaggaris, amid allegations of “inappropriate behavior” in his past. — Chaggaris was a longtime CBS News employee.
Dan Primack / Axios:
Sources: Spotify confidentially filed IPO documents with the SEC at the end of December; indications are the company wants to list in Q1 — Music streaming giant Spotify confidentially filed IPO documents with the SEC at the end of December, Axios has learned from multiple sources.
Discussion:
Rolling Stone, Blog Network, Reuters, Music Industry Blog, BloombergQuint, Slate, Bloomberg, Talking Biz News, CNBC, Hollywood Reporter, VatorNews, CNNMoney, CNBC, RAIN News, Fortune, New York Times, GeekWire, Consequence of Sound, Business Insider, AOL, The Wrap, Variety, @chrismessina, @juddgreenstein, The Next Web, The Guardian, Mashable, The FADER, 9to5Mac, SiliconANGLE, hypebot, Music Ally, Silicon Valley Business …, SiliconANGLE, Cult of Mac and Wall Street Journal
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Recode:
Sources: TPG and Dragoneer converted Spotify debt into equity at ~$10B valuation, sold it to Tencent at ~$20B, solving Spotify's $1B debt problem ahead of IPO — Big investors TPG and Dragoneer get a nice return, and Tencent gets a piece of the streaming music company. Everybody happy?
Discussion:
Axios and Rolling Stone, more at Techmeme »
Ryan Mac / BuzzFeed:
Sources: Peter Thiel still exploring creation of a conservative cable news network to compete with Fox News, with his representatives engaging Mercer family — Peter Thiel addresses the final night of the 2016 Republican National Convention at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
Discussion:
@jeffjarvis, Business Insider, @mattwelch, The Verge, Mediaite and @mikeisaac
Greg Dool / Folio:
Time Inc. sells Essence magazine to group of investors led by Shea Moisture founder Richelieu Dennis; Michelle Ebanks will remain president and get equity stake — Time Inc. has officially sold Essence—the magazine as well as its website and events business—to a group of investors led …
Jason Schreier / Kotaku:
Editor-in-chief of gaming website IGN, Steve Butts, has been fired after an investigation into workplace misconduct, general manager says — The massive gaming website IGN has fired its editor-in-chief, Steve Butts, after an investigation into alleged workplace misconduct, the company said today.
Discussion:
Variety, Folio, The Wrap, @bobservo, @ellaguro, @spacekatgal, Polygon, @metasynthie, @kelseymsutton, @cathyyoung63 and @a_webster
Angelique Chrisafis / The Guardian:
French president proposes laws that will allow authorities to remove content or block sites publishing fake news, capping of sponsored content, during elections — French president warns democracies are under threat as he sets out plan including emergency blocks on websites
Discussion:
TechCrunch, BBC and Financial Times
Tanya Dua / Business Insider:
JPMorgan Chase created internal tool to select “safe” YouTube channels for its ads; algorithm culled list of channels where its ads can appear from 5M to 3K — - JPMorgan Chase has created an internal tool to make sure its ads don't end up next to unsavory content on YouTube.