Top News:
Andrea Chang / Los Angeles Times:
Tronc fires Lewis D'Vorkin, chief content officer of Tribune Interactive, and lays off several dozen others, including LA-based video and online content teams — Former Los Angeles Times Editor in Chief Lewis D'Vorkin was fired by Tronc Inc. on Thursday and several dozen other employees of the company were laid off.
Discussion:
New York Post, @davidfolkenflik, The Wrap, @megjameslat, @davidfolkenflik, @mattdpearce, @mattdpearce, @mattdpearce, @bgrueskin, @jason_pontin, @emilybell, @davidfolkenflik, @davidfolkenflik, @mattdpearce, @jamesqueallylat, @jackshafer, @laura_nelson, @davidfolkenflik, @robertfeder, @laura_nelson, @albertxii, @megjameslat, @pmontoro and Talking Biz News
RELATED:
Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica:
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai declines to investigate Sinclair after a dozen senators requested a probe under “news distortion” standard of the public interest test — Pai springs into action—and much faster than when Trump wanted to punish NBC. — Democratic lawmakers yesterday followed …
RELATED:
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: FCC wants more distance between Sinclair and the would-be owners of WPIX-TV and WGN-TV, is concerned it is selling the stations for below market prices — Regulator pushes back against potential buyers of TV stations Sinclair plans to unload to gain approval for the deal
Discussion:
Washington Free Beacon and Media Matters for America
Michael Calderone / Politico:
AP acknowledges killing a story in August 2017 on National Enquirer squashing a rumor about a Trump “love child”; NYT and WSJ say they also pursued story — AP acknowledges spiking and then reviving a story of how The National Enquirer paid off a Trump tipster.
Discussion:
@scottmstedman, @will_bunch, @mlcalderone, @mlcalderone, Washington Post, Mediaite and The Wrap
RELATED:
Associated Press:
Sources: National Enquirer owner paid former Trump doorman $30K for rumor that Trump had illegitimate child; contract had $1M fine if rumor disclosed elsewhere — NEW YORK (AP) — Eight months before the company that owns the National Enquirer paid $150,000 to a former Playboy Playmate …
Discussion:
@mj_lee, The Gateway Pundit, CBS Los Angeles, Washington Post, Fox News, The Wrap, Mediaite, Bob Bianchini, Slate, @jamilsmith, CNNMoney, emptywheel, Vanity Fair, ThinkProgress, @debramessing, The Daily Beast, @propublica, @newyorker, New Yorker, fox5sandiego.com, Mediaite, @newday, RADAR, @tahoesquaw1, @lrozen, @petersterne, @carolleonnig, @peterstris, New York Times, @ronanfarrow, @jasonleopold, @petersterne, @passantino, @rohded, @emmersbrown, @lalpert1, @michaelluo, @rohded and @yashar
Janko Rottgers / Variety:
Hulu offering subscribers HBO add-on for $4.99/month for a limited time; if used, after six months, price rises to $14.99/month — Hulu is giving its subscribers a deep discount on HBO just in time for the return of “Westworld” later this month: The video subscription service began selling …
Discussion:
The Verge, The New York Observer, Engadget, CNET and Seeking Alpha
Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:
Crowdtangle data for Diamond and Silk's Facebook page shows steady numbers for total interactions; original video views decline was similar to Maddow's page — On Tuesday and Wednesday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg came to Washington and testified, for the first time, in front of two Congressional committees.
Discussion:
The Hill, @facebook, @mattgertz, The Daily Beast, Media Matters for America, BuzzFeed, @yashar, TheResurgent.com, Mediaite, @dseetharaman, @kevinroose, @juddlegum, MediaPost, Washington Post, @juddlegum, @andrewkirell, @juddlegum, Diamond And Silk, @juddlegum, @maggiejordanacn, @juddlegum, @juddlegum, @facebook, @ewerickson, @juddlegum and The Verge, more at Techmeme »
Sydney Ember / New York Times:
A Colorado civic group, Together For Colorado Springs, is leading an effort to buy The Denver Post, owned by Alden Global Capital, with $10M pledged so far — A Colorado civic group is spearheading an effort to buy The Denver Post, which on Sunday excoriated its owner, a New York hedge fund …
Discussion:
Mercury News, @chaseneil, @mattdpearce, @rcfp, @jcstearns, @jimbrady, @itsjmartinelli, @mgafni, @mattdpearce, @coreyhutchins, @usprojectcjr, @coreyhutchins and Editor & Publisher
Gene Maddaus / Variety:
Disney and Redbox battle in court over Disney movie download codes Redbox resells; Redbox claims its staffers were threatened when buying Disney DVD combo packs — Disney is taking the gloves off in its battle with kiosk operator Redbox, working to make it significantly harder for Redbox to obtain DVDs of recent Disney releases.
Discussion:
Deadline, MediaPost, Media Play News and Variety
Don Thompson / Associated Press:
Carl Ferrer, Backpage.com CEO, pleads guilty to state, US charges of conspiracy, money laundering; Texas AG says the company pleaded guilty to human trafficking — https://apnews.com/42a8140a1b3c49a8a2f4 54bf79283474 — SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The chief executive of a website …
Michael Massing / American Prospect:
A look at how mainstream news outlets can avoid the mistakes of 2016 election coverage in the 2020 political season by using roving correspondents and more — As local newspapers shrink and many of the national media close local bureaus, we depend increasingly on coverage by reporters who parachute into communities.
Discussion:
@theprospect and @thegrade_
Laura Hazard Owen / Nieman Lab:
ProPublica investigative journalist Julia Angwin and data scientist Jeff Larson are leaving to launch a newsroom covering tech's impact on society — “I've long wanted to build a newsroom around this concept of pairing technical experts with journalists. So that is what this newsroom will be about."
Discussion:
@laurahazardowen, @ndiakopoulos, @palewire and @zararah
Senior Data Journalist, NY — 
Manager - Publishing Editorial, Manila — 
Oil Reporter, Singapore — 
Newsperson - State Govt. & Politics, CA — 
Business Reporter, SC — 
State Government Reporter, WA — 
Climate Crisis Columnist — 
Multimedia Journalist, CA — 
Community Engagement Mgr., DC — 
Senior California Politics Reporter, CA — 
Staff Writer - Business, NY — 
Team Editor - Opinion, ON — 
Assistant Correspondent, DC — 
Climate & Weather Reporter, MN — 
Senior Tech Editor, Remote US — 
Lead Business Reporter, TN — 
Managing Editor, WA — 
Private Credit Reporter, NY — 
Trending News Reporter, TX — 
City Correspondent, London — 
Legislative Reporter, CA — 
Reporter, PA — 
Visual Editor, Remote — 
Staff Writer, MI — 
Senior Political Reporter, DC — 
California Playbook Writer, CA — 
National Investigative Reporter, NY — 
Business & Gaming Reporter, NV — 
Coastal Climate Reporter, SC — 
Environment & Energy Reporter, CT — 
Coordinating Editor, OR — 
Editor, Remote US — 
Business Reporter, WA — 
Editor-in-Chief, AZ — 
