Top News:

Twitter now says 1.4M+ US users interacted with tweets from Russia-linked accounts during 2016 election, up from 670K previously announced, has notified them — Twitter on Wednesday said it notified 1.4 million people in the US that they engaged with Kremlin-linked troll accounts during the 2016 US election.
Discussion:
@cfarivar, TechCrunch, Recode, @kantrowitz and Engadget

21st Century Fox wins 5-year contract for NFL's Thursday Night Football in deal sources say is worth $660M+/year; streaming rights to be sold in next few weeks — Thursday Night Football is changing networks once again. — The NFL announced Wednesday morning that the package will go to Fox for the next five seasons.
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SportsBusiness Daily, Variety, The New York Observer, Radio & Television …, Broadcasting & Cable, Ad Age, Forbes, TVWeek.com, TVWeek.com, Deadline, Bloomberg, Fortune, @sportslawguy, @helmandc, @nicksundberg, @richbtig, @cyleeder, CNBC, @darrenrovell, Adweek, Business Insider, ProFootballTalk, FierceCable and VideoNuze Analysis

Twitter accounts for celebrities and media figures lose followers after NYT probe into firm that sold followers and as officials call for scrutiny of practice — Federal and state authorities are investigating the sellers of artificial followers and other fraudulent social media engagement.
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Memo: The Hill bars staffers from buying Twitter followers after NYT report on Devumi selling fake followers — The Hill announced to its staffers Wednesday morning that employees are now prohibited from purchasing Twitter followers. The new rule, conveyed via an internal memo obtained by The Daily Beast …
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Ringer, @maxwelltani, @charles_gaba, @klasfeldreports, Gizmodo and MediaNama

Netflix resumed production of the sixth season of House of Cards on Tuesday, after a three-month hiatus following Kevin Spacey allegations and firing from show — Kevin Spacey is out. Diane Lane and Greg Kinnear are in. — The sixth and final season of “House of Cards” …

Alt-right personality Mike Cernovich has made a $500K bid for Gawker's assets — A leaked pitch deck shows how Cernovich would turn Gawker into a platform for his media ambitions—and, perhaps, a cudgel to get back at a site that once called him a “D-list right-winger.”
Discussion:
Freedom of the Press …, Fast Company, Wonkette, @cernovich, @katiedrumm, @jordansarge, @willsommer, @crislopezg, @tina_nguyen, Mediaite and The Wrap

Memo: Jeffrey Good, an executive editor at New England-based Pioneer Valley Newspaper group, said he was fired for advocating equal pay for female employees — Jeffrey Good, executive editor of Newspapers of New England's Pioneer Valley Newspaper group, said he's been fired for advocating equal pay for women employees.

Decline in ratings for the Grammy Awards, down 24% from 2017, shows how media consumption has moved away from long TV shows, especially for shows about music — According to the Wall Street Journal, television viewership for the 60th Grammy Awards was down 24 percent from 2017 …
Discussion:
@steverubel, @marccanter4real, Deadline, CNNMoney and Variety

BBC Director-General Tony Hall says the corporation made a “mistake” in failing to review Carrie Gracie's salary as China editor — Tony Hall appears in London's House of Commons in a public evidence session along with other top executives of the public broadcaster and former China editor Carrie Gracie.
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BBC:
Speaking to MPs, Carrie Gracie said the BBC offered her £100K in back pay and said she hadn't earned as much as male colleagues because she was “in development”
Speaking to MPs, Carrie Gracie said the BBC offered her £100K in back pay and said she hadn't earned as much as male colleagues because she was “in development”
Discussion:
The Guardian, Press Association, The Guardian, @markdistef, @jamesworldnews, @janemartinson, Chorley Citizen, Daily Mail, @christineelmer and BBC

Mark Zuckerberg says changes to show fewer viral videos reduced total time people spent on Facebook by ~50M hours every day, as MAUs reach 2.13B, up 14% YoY — The world's biggest social network is almost minting money, but Mark Zuckerberg has warned news feed changes could hurt business.
Discussion:
Variety, Recode, CNBC and @anthony, more at Techmeme »
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Memo: Vox CEO Jim Bankoff says company hit its financial targets for 2017, says hiring growth will slow in 2018, and hints at some projects being “scaled back” — Vox Media Chairman & CEO Jim Bankoff on an era where quality, scale and sustainability matter more than ever.
Discussion:
@jonsteinberg, @plante, @jason_kint, @petersontee, @hollygressley, @voxmediainc, @jeremymbarr, @petersontee, @lmoses, @gavinpurcell, @mattyglesias, @sarafischer and @charlie_l_hall

When CJR asked readers to tell their stories of harassment in the newsroom, 300+ responded - and the magazine has published each one — What's come to be known as the #MeToo movement gained momentum through a series of celebrity takedowns, starting with Harvey Weinstein, then ricocheted throughout the media and entertainment worlds.

Foreign correspondents in China are increasingly facing interference from officials, with 1 in 12 of those surveyed claiming they were manhandled or punched — One in 12 correspondents claims to have been manhandled or beaten in 2017, BBC reporter says he was punched
Discussion:
@wang_maya

Podcasters first look at Apple's Podcast Analytics data shows listeners are highly engaged, with many listening to 80-90% of shows, and prefer longer formats — The public radio producer had started a podcast as a side project in early 2017, and the exploration of her experience …
Discussion:
@justinspratt, @mims, @jeroedeb, @marcoarment, @ezraklein, @ataussig, RAIN News and Fast Company