Mediagazer: A look at 29 Facebook pages and sites of fake news publishers, which are using Instant Articles to help completely false stories load faster and earn revenue (Jane Lytvynenko/BuzzFeed)

6:20 PM ET, February 7, 2018

Top News:

Supantha Mukherjee / Reuters:

Tronc has confirmed it is selling the Los Angeles Times and a number of other newspapers to billionaire biotech investor Patrick Soon-Shiong for $500M in cash — (Reuters) - Tronc Inc (TRNC.O) said on Wednesday it would sell some newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times and the San Diego Union-Tribune …

Ken Doctor / Nieman Lab:

Analysis of LA Times deal: factors that led to sale now, speculation on Soon-Shiong 's future strategy, a look at price, and a theory on a future Gannett role — Tronc is getting a big premium for its flagship asset, and the Times is getting a return to private, local ownership.

Discussion: The New York Observer, @sduncovered, @jayrosen_nyu, @laobserved, @scribeguy, @mattdpearce, @latlands, BloombergQuint, @markjacob16, NPR, New York Times, Fortune, Politico, Mediawire, Splinter, LA Observed, @jayrosen_nyu, Variety, KTLA, NPR and Editor & Publisher

Meg James / Los Angeles Times:

Tronc forms new company, Tribune Interactive, with Ross Levinsohn as its CEO and ex-LA Times EIC Lewis D'Vorkin as its chief content officer — Biotech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong has agreed to purchase the Los Angeles Times from its parent company Tronc, restoring local ownership …

Hollywood Reporter:

Disney is developing a number of Star Wars series for its streaming service, CEO Bob Iger said during an earnings call on Tuesday — Disney CEO Bob Iger tells investors that the company is close to revealing at least one of the producing teams behind one of the projects.

Discussion: StarWars.com, Slate, The Playlist, Tubefilter, Vanity Fair, @americanstnick, Deadline, The A.V. Club, /Film, CinemaBlend, Press Association, io9 and Variety

Peter Kafka / Recode:
Streaming service ESPN Plus launching next month at $4.99/mo; sources say it won't have ESPN cable channels' content, which still requires ESPN subscription

Discussion: Adweek, Fast Company, Polygon, Pocket-lint, Forbes, The Wrap, AppAdvice.com, Mashable, TechCrunch, Slate, CNNMoney, CNBC, Associated Press, The Verge, CNBC, @spingriffey, 9to5Mac and Broadcasting & Cable, more at Techmeme »

Claire Atkinson / NBC News:

Newsweek Media Group's head of sales resigns, and a source says the company has lost “hundreds of thousands” in ad commitments since reports it bought traffic — The Newsweek Media Group is reeling. — Ed Hannigan, the company's head of sales, resigned on Tuesday.

Discussion: @jaysunsilver, @melinadelkic, @journo_christal, @linleyann, @jasonabbruzzese, @rachelcbrody, @claireatki, @sulliview, Splinter and Talking Biz News

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Snapchat says it generated $100M in revenue for Discover's publishing partners in 2017, up from $58M in 2016 and $10M in 2015 — Snapchat says it generated $100 million in revenue for content partners on Discover in 2017, up from $58 million in 2016 and $10 million in 2015.

Discussion: Recode, Wall Street Journal and @matildegiglio

Wall Street Journal:
Snapchat is launching to tool to let TV networks pipe snippets of live broadcasts directly into the app, starting this Saturday with NBC's Olympics coverage

Discussion: TechCrunch, Ad Age, The Next Web, @ctrlzee, @mathewi, @georgia_wells, @kerrymflynn, AppAdvice.com, 9to5Mac, Bloomberg and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »

Adi Robertson / The Verge:

Reddit bans r/deepfakes, which was devoted to making AI-powered porn using celebrities' faces, and updates site-wide rules regarding “involuntary pornography” — Reddit has banned the r/deepfakes subreddit that's devoted to making AI-powered porn using celebrities' faces …

Discussion: Motherboard, Engadget, Mashable, New York Magazine and reddit, more at Techmeme »

Samantha Cole / Motherboard:
Pornhub says it's banning AI-generated fake porn videos because they're “nonconsensual”, yet such “deepfake” videos are still available via site search results

Discussion: The Verge, Engadget, The Guardian, Engadget, Fast Company, The Next Web, Mashable, The Daily Dot, The Verge and Trusted Reviews, more at Techmeme »

Jane Lytvynenko / BuzzFeed:

A look at 29 Facebook pages and sites of fake news publishers, which are using Instant Articles to help completely false stories load faster and earn revenue — While some mainstream publishers are abandoning Facebook's Instant Articles, fake news sites based overseas are taking advantage of the format …

Discussion: @profcarroll, @firstdraftnews, @niemanlab, @janelytv, @craigsilverman and @craigsilverman

Craig Silverman / BuzzFeed:

Russian trolls posed as black activists on Tumblr and generated hundreds of thousands of interactions with anti-Hillary Clinton, pro-Bernie Sanders content — Tumblrs run by Russian trolls generated hundreds of thousands of interactions with anti-Hillary Clinton, pro-Bernie Sanders content.

Discussion: @donie, @craigsilverman, The Stranger …, TechCrunch, Engadget, @securedemocracy, @melissaryan, @20committee, @kylegriffin1, Business Insider, @d1gi and @profcarroll, more at Techmeme »

Keach Hagey / Wall Street Journal:

Sources: Vice Media missed its 2017 revenue target of $805M by $100M+, largely due to its Viceland TV channel; co-president Creighton unlikely to return to role — Digital media company misses revenue forecast; shareholders push company to turn a profit — Vice Media is facing uncertainty …

Discussion: @sknthla, @annehelen, @iankar_, @simonowens, Fast Company, @keachhagey, @srabil, @asharma and @raju

Anna Washenko / RAIN News:

RadioPublic launches Paid Listens, guarantees participating podcasters $20 CPM for every listen via its iOS and Android apps — Podcast company RadioPublic has adopted a new service for show creators to get paid for their work. The approach is designed for podcasts that don't have the scale …

Discussion: RadioPublic, @evoterra, @mattervc and Fast Company

Local News Lab:

Democracy Fund announces two new funds in NJ and NC totaling $2M to support local news ecosystems and seek long-term solutions for public-interest news — Democracy Fund establishes two new local funds — Local news is critical to a healthy democracy, and we believe that the future of local news is local.

Discussion: @democracyfund, @melaniesill, @jcstearns and @jcstearns

Christine Wang / CNBC:

21st Century Fox beats Q2 targets with $8B in revenue, up 5% YoY, as higher affiliate, syndication, and ad revenue boost cable revenue, up 11% YoY — Twenty-First Century Fox reported earnings and revenue that topped Wall Street expectations on Wednesday. — The stock edged slightly higher in extended trading.

Discussion: Variety, Ad Age, Broadcasting & Cable, @edmundlee, Hollywood Reporter, 21st Century Fox and /Film

Washington Post:

Executives at The Newseum plan to meet with a real estate firm Thursday to explore options including selling its building in Washington, DC, or moving locations — Two months shy of its 10th anniversary in a glass-and-steel showpiece on Washington's most prestigious thoroughfare …

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More News:

Wall Street Journal:
Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian steps down from daily duties at the company to focus on early stage VC firm he cofounded and personal life, will remain on board

more at Techmeme »

Jack Nicas / Wall Street Journal:
YouTube's recommendations engine, which drives 70%+ of its viewing time, often suggests conspiracy channels and more, even to users who don't seek them out

Discussion: New York Magazine, @trevornoren, @jacknicas, @max_read and @bradnews, more at Techmeme »

Kelly Virella / New York Times:
Q&A with NYT's Monica Drake, the first African-American woman appointed to the print masthead, on her 20 years at the Times, breaking barriers, and new projects

Discussion: @hannaingber, @ashleynmcb, @kvirella, @readercenter and @readercenter

Todd Spangler / Variety:
Viacom confirms it has acquired online video conference VidCon and will run it as a standalone subsidiary

Discussion: Tubefilter, @hankgreen, TechCrunch and Multichannel News, more at Techmeme »

Farhad Manjoo / New York Times:
The Information's Jessica Lessin and Stratechery's Ben Thompson argue differentiated content and online subscriptions form a viable model for local news outlets

Discussion: @fmanjoo, @brizzyc, @rbilton, @noahchestnut, @jbenton, @detour_detroit, @jessicalessin, @jarroddicker and @mathewi

Alexandria Neason / Columbia Journalism Review:
Profile of Tom Tryniski, who has scanned ~50M newspaper pages dating back to the 1800s from US and Canadian pubs, into his online repository Fultonhistory.com

Discussion: @michaelsocolow, @alanamhmd, @usprojectcjr, @4manreports, @megansmolenyak, Blaine T. Bettinger, @bypetevernon, @alexandrianeas, @c_chisholm, @jaanpill and @mathewi

Earlier Picks:

Press Gazette:
The main source for a UK investigative news site's story about a Westminster paedophile ring, which sparked a police probe, is charged with child porn offences

Robert Feder:
Three former editors of DNAinfo Chicago are starting a local news site with five reporters, funded by subscriptions with support from blockchain-based Civil

Discussion: Columbia Journalism Review, @byalisonbowen, @coltcabana, @repannwilliams, Kickstarter, @emily__olsen, @lillian_ruiz, @rachelholliday, @amandarivkin, @greenfieldjohn, @byalisonbowen, @amlwhere and Stephanie Graves

Alfred Lee / The Information:
Sources: in Q3 2017, Spotify made €1B in revenue, putting it on track for €4B in full year revenue, up 40% YoY, and had an operating loss between €70M and €90M

Discussion: hypebot, more at Techmeme »

Financial Times:
Study of 48K Facebook pages and 14K Twitter accounts from Oct. 2017 to Jan.: Trump backers share more extremist and phony posts than all other groups combined

Discussion: Washington Post, The Guardian, CleanTechnica, Mother Jones, The Guardian, Newsweek, The Daily Caller, New York Magazine, The Computational …, @samueloakford, Harold Capenter, @mattgarrahan, @john_hudson, @solange_lebourg, @markfollman, @stepleton6 and @niemanlab

April Simpson / Current:
NPR's Daniel Zwerdling, a veteran investigative journalist, has left the network; sources say allegations of sexual harassment were filed to HR in November

Discussion: TVWeek.com, NPR and thecut

Alex Heath / Cheddar:
Sources: Viacom is to announce another round of layoffs this week affecting dozens of staff, mostly in its sales and marketing divisions

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, FierceCable, The Wrap and Deadline

From Techmeme:

Financial Times:
Sources: the US FTC plans to investigate allegations that Microsoft is abusing its market power in productivity software to prevent customers from leaving Azure

David Pierce / The Verge:
Google releases a free Gemini app for iOS, letting users ask questions, chat via text, voice, or their camera, and use the conversational mode Gemini Live

Tony Romm / Washington Post:
Sources: the CFPB moves to place Google under formal federal supervision, an extraordinary move that may lead to regular inspections; Google fiercely resisted

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