Top News:
Nathan Bomey / USA Today:
Elon Musk unleashes barrage of criticism aimed at “big media companies” in at least 19 tweets and says he plans to launch a site to assess journalists — Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, ripped the news media for what he described as irresponsible reporting …
Discussion:
@elonmusk, @elonmusk, @elonmusk, @meharris, @elonmusk, @natesilver538, @elonmusk, @tonyromm, @buzzfeedben, @andyjayhawk, Gizmodo, @juliachanb, @dancow, @petersterne, @karaswisher, @jedediahspurdy, @karaswisher, @petersterne, @bobvulfov, @oneunderscore__, @evacide, @monikabauerlein, @bro_pair, @aurabogado, @tracetravers3, @ashleyfeinberg, @wendi_c_thomas, @dancow, @howelloneill, @malcolmnance, @snackfight, @natesilver538, CNNMoney, @jessicahuseman, @jessicahuseman, @dancow, Bloomberg, @digiphile, @mdrndad, @trzhean, @laura_hudson, @moryan, @jessicahuseman, @jaspar, CNBC, TechCrunch and @digiphile
Lydia Wheeler / The Hill:
District court judge rules President Trump can't block people from viewing his Twitter feed, calling it a designated public forum protected by First Amendment — A federal district court judge on Wednesday ruled that President Trump — can't block people from viewing his Twitter feed over their political views.
Discussion:
Washington Post, @knightcolumbia, Adweek, The A.V. Club, USA Today, New York Times, knightcolumbia.org, Wired, ABC, Ars Technica, Stuff.co.nz, @eff, New York Times, The Wrap, MediaPost, @ibarguen, The New York Observer, The Outline, @brithume, The Verge, Common Dreams, The Next Web, @xor, TechCrunch, @knightcolumbia, @katiefallow, Washington Post, @zeynep, @jwherrman, @asharangappa_, @votevets, @eff, @klasfeldreports, @markszaidesq, @steve_vladeck, @trevortimm, @jwherrman, @jwherrman, Vanity Fair, @bowtiepolitics, Associated Press, @elizabeth_joh, @mattdpearce and @mattdpearce, more at Techmeme »
Alan Feuer / New York Times:
Sources: federal prosecutors in Manhattan expand investigation into Harvey Weinstein to include allegations that he may have violated federal stalking laws — Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have expanded a months-old investigation into financial improprieties by Harvey Weinstein …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, The A.V. Club, Gothamist, New York Daily News, The Hill, Los Angeles Times and Variety
Nicholas Thompson / Wired:
Facebook outlines new steps to combat false news: request for academic proposals to study it on Facebook, release of a 12-minute film, and news literacy program — NEWS FEED, THE algorithm that powers the core of Facebook, resembles a giant irrigation system for the world's information.
Discussion:
Mashable, Adweek, @mantzarlis, Facebook, Facebook, @facebook, Engadget, The Verge, The Daily Caller, @johnwhegeman, @issielapowsky, @dpfunke, @daveyalba, @issielapowsky, @rasmus_kleis, @nxthompson, @wired and Facebook, more at Techmeme »
Financial Times:
Activist investor Chris Hohn urges 21st Century Fox to “immediately engage” with Comcast's all-cash bid when an offer arrives, despite tax issues for Murdochs — Christopher Hohn, the activist investor behind the TCI fund, has built a 7.4 per cent stake in Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox …
Discussion:
@mateosfo, Variety and The Guardian
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Tyler Lauletta / Business Insider:
ESPN and UFC agree to a five-year deal worth $1.5B, moving UFC from Fox Sports to ESPN and ESPN+, starting in 2019 — - The move will likely introduce a new audience to the world of mixed martial arts and will give ESPN plenty of opportunities to promote its new product.
Discussion:
Variety, Broadcasting & Cable, MMA Fighting and Multichannel News
Mark Leibovich / New York Times:
Interviews with White House communications staffers Hogan Gidley and Sarah Sanders, who have linked their integrity to a president not known for accuracy — Flacks in this White House press office are getting enormous exposure — but potentially at a long-term cost to their credibility.
Discussion:
@maggienyt, @msjournalist, @jaketapper, @zachmontellaro, @ennisnyt, @katherinemiller, @csymrl, The Hill, @chueyburns and @mikedorning
BBC:
Egypt detains prominent blogger and activist Wael Abbas, and sources say he faces accusations of “disseminating false news and joining an outlawed group” — A prominent Egyptian activist and blogger known for documenting alleged abuses by the security forces has been detained, his lawyer says.
Discussion:
Al Jazeera English, Associated Press, DW.COM and Committee to Protect …
CNNMoney:
Reporters from CNN, Politico, and other news outlets have been banned from covering the EPA summit for a second day — Journalists blocked from EPA event — The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday barred journalists for the second consecutive day from attending a national summit focused …
Discussion:
Poynter, Politico, @politico, @stevesilberman, The Hill, @digiphile, @pvolpe, @cnn, @swin24, @jpetersjohnson, Brian Salvatore, @digiphile, Mediaite, @kyunglahcnn, Washington Post and Washington Post
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Joe Pompeo / Vanity Fair:
Sources: Meredith is talking with about 15 serious potential buyers for Time, Fortune, Money, and Sports Illustrated — The inside hype around Meredith's ongoing sale of Time, Sports Illustrated, Fortune, and Money is considerable—everyone is “praying” for a Jeff Bezos. But interest means nothing till the ink is dry.
Discussion:
@jeremymbarr, @joepompeo and @joepompeo
Kurt Wagner / Recode:
Snap launches a seed accelerator, called Yellow, that will invest $150K in 10 different media startups and creators starting this fall — Snap's executives, including CEO Evan Spiegel, will help the program's founders. — Snap wants to find the next big media business …
Discussion:
Variety, more at Techmeme »
Devin Coldewey / TechCrunch:
The FCC's Ajit Pai has repeatedly evaded answers and refused to respond to questions from members of Congress, 13 Democrats say in new letter seeking responses — Thirteen members of Congress have written to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai criticizing his “repeated evasive responses to our inquiries” …
Dan Primack / Axios:
Dublin-based sports betting company Paddy Power Betfair agrees to acquire FanDuel, will merge its US assets with FanDuel and invest $158M in cash — Ireland-based online gaming company Paddy Power Betfair has agreed to buy New York-based fantasy sports site FanDuel, Axios has learned from multiple sources.
Discussion:
Variety, ise.ie, @jaykapoornyc and Recode, more at Techmeme »