Top News:
Facebook:
Facebook says it removed 262 Pages, 356 accounts, three groups, and 162 Instagram accounts tied to Iran for engaging in coordinated inauthentic behavior — Today we removed multiple Pages, groups and accounts that engaged in coordinated inauthentic behavior on Facebook and Instagram.
Discussion:
CNN, Adweek, Ad Age, Gizmodo, VentureBeat, Fortune, The Wrap, The Guardian, The Hill, TechCrunch, Engadget, @martyswant, CyberScoop, The Verge, @martyswant, @jank0, Mashable and Business Insider, more at Techmeme »
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Tony Romm / Washington Post:
Twitter says it removed thousands of malicious accounts that originated in Iran, Russia, and Venezuela for spreading disinformation about the 2018 midterms — Twitter revealed Thursday that it had removed thousands of malicious accounts thought to have originated in Iran …
Discussion:
Twitter, Ad Age, PCMag India, Twitter, @yoyoel, NBC News, Recode, Reuters, @dcherring, The Week and @wiczipedia, more at Techmeme »
Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:
Hulu to launch banner ads, which will appear after viewers pause video, in Q2 2019; hopes all non-disruptive ads will comprise 50% of ad revenue within 3 years — Just to get this out of the way: Yes, Hulu is introducing an ad unit that will show up when you pause a video. But no, the ad won't be a video.
Discussion:
Digiday, Hulu, AdExchanger, The Verge, /Film, Mashable, Gizmodo, Fast Company, Adweek and 9to5Mac
Joe Pompeo / Vanity Fair:
Penske Media has bought the 49% of Rolling Stone that it didn't already own, from minority owner BandLab Technologies — Last week, Penske Media Corporation signed a deal to purchase the rest of the magazine, following a majority takeover in 2017. — Over the past few years …
Edmund Lee / New York Times:
A look at the legal grounds for Locast's existence and its role in the relationship between broadcasters and cable, satellite companies — Want to watch the Super Bowl and other network TV for free? A start-up called Locast will let you, and (so far) the big broadcasters aren't trying to stop it.
Discussion:
@edmundlee, Fast Company, The Verge, Broadcasting & Cable, @ronlieber and @mathewi
Anna Gutierrez / The Reporters Committee …:
A coalition of 28 media organizations has filed a court brief supporting a lawsuit that challenges fees for court records accessed via PACER — The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and 27 media organizations support the rights of the public and the press to have affordable access to court records.
Discussion:
New Republic, @marshamcleod_ny, @brendannyhan, @brynstole, @davidgura, @miekeeoyang, @dmhj, @egavactip, @waldojaquith, @mjs_dc, @dataeditor, @srl, @rcfp, @rcfp, @edfischman, @missryley, @deepakguptalaw, @archivieren, @ponyphaeton, @eoinhiggins_, @bradfordpearson, @cristianafarias and @digiphile
Owen Bowcott / The Guardian:
US district court rules that Syria is liable for the killing of Sunday Times correspondent Marie Colvin, awards $300M+ in damages — Syria ordered to pay $300m over death of Sunday Times journalist in ‘targeted’ shelling in 2012 — The Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad has been held liable …
Jim Waterson / The Guardian:
Evgeny Lebedev has sold ~20% of Lebedev Holdings, which has a ~90% stake in the Evening Standard, to a company in the Caymans; a Saudi investor may be the buyer — London newspaper refuses to reveal identity of new financial backer — An anonymous offshore investor has taken a 20% stake …
Discussion:
Financial Times, Press Gazette, Jon Slattery, @michaelpmdavis, @adambienkov and @professorshaw
Jeremy Littau / Wired:
Monopolistic thinking and lack of attention to the internet's role in distribution has decimated media, but foundation journalism, subs, and community can help — LAST WEEK, LAYOFFS at BuzzFeed, HuffPost, and Gannett landed like consecutive punches. The news signaled a difficult year ahead …
Discussion:
@jeremylittau, @nxthompson, @marklittlenews, @lauraelizdavis, @benwhitelaw, @mayerjoy, @tomrosenstiel, @ash_detroit, @wired, @jeremylittau and @lenfestinst
James Walker / Press Gazette:
NewsGuard, whose trustworthiness ratings are available on Chrome and Edge, improves its rating of the Daily Mail from red to green to indicate its accuracy — US news website rating tool Newsguard has changed its verdict on Mail Online after originally declaring the UK's most-read news website failed …
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, @markdistef and @niemanlab
Alex Sherman / CNBC:
Sources: CBS board wants company to grow, first through a merger with Viacom, possibly followed by Discovery acquisition; CBS hoping to find CEO by end of March — The CBS board has decided the company needs to get bigger, but merging with Viacom is not enough for Shari Redstone …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Los Angeles Times and Variety
The Bulwark:
Two writers for conservative RedState, owned by Salem Media, say they are quitting because of the site's pro-Trump stance and stifling of any Trump criticism — For more than a decade, RedState was a solid voice in the world of online conservative commentary.
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