Top News:

After claims that CNN scripted words for a Florida student for town hall, CNN releases emails showing student was asked to use a question he submitted — CNN appears to have had enough. — On Friday afternoon, the network released email correspondence between one of its producers …
Discussion:
WPLG-TV, Business Insider, @erikwemple, Deadline, The Daily Caller, @alexwitt, Slate, iMediaEthics, Washington Post, Mediaite, @jaketapper, @erikwemple, @upstreamism, @heidiprzybyla, @erikwemple, Mediaite, PolitiFact, Breitbart, Washington Examiner, @erikwemple, Mediaite, @erikwemple, @erikwemple, New York Post, True Pundit, Variety, TVNewser and CNN
RELATED:

Trump repeats claim in a tweet, and CNN refutes it for the second time, that CNN scripted a town hall question for a school shooting survivor — went after CNN over a Florida school shooting survivor's claim that he didn't participate in a CNN town hall because the network wouldn't let him ask …

Group of public radio stations is buying assets of Gothamist, LAist, DCist, and DNAInfo, funded by 2 anonymous donors; Gothamist to post new stories this spring — AFTER BILLIONAIRE JOE Ricketts announced the shuttering of local news organizations Gothamist and DNAInfo last fall …
Discussion:
www.wnyc.org, www.wnyc.org, Bwog, Mediawire, @kelseymsutton, 89.3 KPCC, @bwlogan, Wall Street Journal, 89.3 KPCC, The Wrap, RAIN News, NPR, @nycspeakercojo, Poynter, Crain's New York Business, @issielapowsky, @awolfeful, @pauldebenedetto, New York Times, Engadget, @agschneiderman, @raju, @rachelholliday, @dnaistunion, @kristenhare, Free Williamsburg, BrooklynVegan, NBC4 Washington, BloombergQuint, Technical.ly DC, The Daily Beast, HuffPost, Washington …, WTOP, Bloomberg, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, TechCrunch, The New York Observer, @marketurbanism, @abeaujon, @abeaujon, New York City, NY Patch, @melissaleu and Washingtonian

Study: Number of fact-checking projects up 3x over the last four years, with 149 projects in 53 countries; funding comes from membership, donations, syndication — A new report from the Duke Reporters' Lab offers a snapshot of the evolving fact-checking ecosystem around the world.
Discussion:
Nieman Lab

Amazon targeted in calls to drop NRA TV app, which is also on Apple TV, Roku, and Chromecast — Amazon is in the cross-hairs of a campaign to drop the National Rifle Association's NRA TV streaming service from its devices, in the wake of the deadly mass shooting last week at a Florida high school.
Discussion:
CNNMoney, The Gateway Pundit, Mediaite, Mashable, The A.V. Club, Gizmodo, Fast Company, New York Times and The New York Observer
RELATED:

YouTube removed Infowars video from The Alex Jones Channel claiming Florida student was paid actor; source: first of 3 strikes before YouTube terminates account — Shooting survivor: I'm not a crisis actor — (CNN)InfoWars, a far-right media organization run by Alex Jones and known …
Discussion:
New York Times, @cwarzel, USA Today, Fortune, @darth, @profcarroll, @nytimesbusiness, @davkat43, BetaNews, @kylegriffin1, @bruce_arthur, Hollywood Reporter, GOOD, CNET, The Next Web, Engadget, @harrymccracken, The Hill, @brendannyhan, @ericboehlert, @williamlegate, Mashable, Los Angeles Times and Wall Street Journal, more at Techmeme »

Judge dismisses coal baron Bob Murray's defamation suit against John Oliver and HBO, which was filed in response to a Last Week Tonight segment criticizing him — A West Virginia judge dismissed a coal mogul's defamation lawsuit this week against cable television host John Oliver and HBO.
Discussion:
Mashable, @billinportland, The Daily Caller, @eshap, @mike_stark, @garymwalters, The A.V. Club, Paste and Connecticut Post
Max Willens / Digiday:
Media outlets' partnerships with Scroll, Invisibly, and Brave signal return of micropayments as solution to ad-blocking, poor user experience, low revenue — With digital ad revenue harder to come by, a growing number of publishers are considering micropayments again, albeit from different angles.
RELATED:

Sources: an Australian named Aron D'Souza, who has few public ties with Peter Thiel, helped mastermind the lawsuits that led to Gawker's closure — Billionaire venture capitalist Peter Thiel did not come up with the idea to covertly fund lawsuits against Gawker Media.
Discussion:
The Atlantic, @rmac18, @moorehn, The Daily Beast, Washington Post, FOX2now.com, Business Insider, @hamiltonnolan, @ranimolla, @dansinker, @cwarzel and @rmac18
Munsif Vengattil / Reuters:
SEC filing: Snap CEO Evan Spiegel received $637.8M compensation in 2017, the third highest annual payout received by a CEO, with stock awards comprising $636.6M — Snap Inc Chief Executive Officer Evan Spiegel received $637.8 million as total compensation as the company went public last year …
Discussion:
The Wrap, BloombergQuint, TechCrunch, Vox, Vanity Fair, Bloomberg, Recode, @jessesingal, Business Insider, The Independent, Slate, The Ringer, CNNMoney, Mashable, Fortune, Fortune, Ad Age, 9to5Google, Peter O'Kelly's Reality Check, Fast Company, Gizmodo, babe and Variety

The Bay Journal, which covers Chesapeake Bay environmental issues, is suing the EPA, alleging the EPA cut the outlet's funding because of its coverage — The Thomas Point Shoal Light in the Chesapeake Bay. (Photo by Pete Milnes/United States Coast Guard)

Facebook says it will drop 20, or 10%, of its metrics for advertisers that were redundant or outdated, will label metrics not derived directly as “estimated” — Social giant will more clearly label its data and remove about 10% of its metrics that it deems irrelevant