Top News:
Jeff Bezos:
Jeff Bezos publishes letters from AMI that he says show threats to publish his nude photos unless he stops probing AMI's earlier reporting and motivations — Something unusual happened to me yesterday. Actually, for me it wasn't just unusual—it was a first. I was made an offer I couldn't refuse.
Discussion:
@jeffbezos, New York Times, Washington Post, Page Six, Deadline, Mediaite, The Wrap, Bloomberg, USA Today, @hypatiadotca, @maxwellstrachan, The Daily Beast, @felixsalmon, The Guardian, @ronanfarrow, HuffPost, @yashar, Slate, @profgalloway, @ndrew_lawrence, TechCrunch, @sonnybunch, @maxwellstrachan, @michaelsteele, The Week, @heerjeet, @dmgshuey, Boing Boing, @karaswisher, Business Insider, CNN, Vox, NPR, @popehat, Fast Company, Fortune, @kfile, @normative, The Verge, Variety, @renato_mariotti, @kbiegel, @eisingerj, @anildash, @noahshachtman, Hollywood Life, Gizmodo, @mrtsmith81, @heidilifeldman, @donnarapado, @popehat, The A.V. Club, @renato_mariotti, Splinter, @tjl, @jeffjarvis, @po8crg, @yashar, @mkarolian, @maxwellstrachan, @erikwemple, @benjaminwittes, @maggienyt, @moorehn, KTLA, @maggienyt, @mmasnick, @nycsouthpaw, @kevinmkruse, @samstein, @jenniferjjacobs, @billkristol, @nycsouthpaw, @harryh, @fritinancy, @renato_mariotti, @renato_mariotti, @borzou, @waltshaub, @renato_mariotti, @yashar, @rachelwalexande, @ksadjadpour, @renato_mariotti, @maxwellstrachan, @mrbromwich, @shiratarlo, @marklittlenews, WINK NEWS, @gaberivera, @popehat, Jezebel, @yashar, @michaelavenatti, GeekWire, @sdkstl, @popehat, @jerrydunleavy, @donie, @sulliview, @gbrockell, @danbarker, Mashable, Engadget, WPIX 11 New York and The Daily Caller, more at Techmeme »
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Washington Post:
Jill Abramson responds to plagiarism allegations, says some citations don't match with the right pages and some language is too close to sources, promises fixes — Former New York Times executive editor Jill Abramson responded Thursday to allegations that she plagiarized portions of her new book …
Discussion:
@amyjbrittain, Hmm Daily, The Daily Beast, @melodyhahm, @willsommer, Associated Press, NPR, @genepark, Mediaite, BBC, @wolfereports, @daveweigel, @davidfolkenflik, @dansinker, @mattyglesias, @mattyglesias, @carloslozadawp, @melaniesill, @thealannoble, @aaronblake, @versharma, @harrymccracken, @rickhasen, @tomzellerjr, @rafat, @dandrezner, @erikwemple, @johnmcquaid, @petridishes, Washington Post, @sulliview, @dylanmatt, @susanschorn, @brendannyhan, @jason_pontin, @marcissist, Splinter, @ianfrisch, The Wrap and Fast Company
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Mathew Ingram / Columbia Journalism Review:
While a fine line exists on what qualifies as plagiarism, it's irritating to have words borrowed for Jill Abramson's book with no apparent attribution — It's an odd feeling to have an otherwise unremarkable passage you wrote appear as an exhibit in an accusation of plagiarism …
Tamar Auber / Mediaite:
Vice News correspondent says former NYT executive editor Jill Abramson included plagiarized passages in chapters about Vice in her book, Merchants of Truth
Vice News correspondent says former NYT executive editor Jill Abramson included plagiarized passages in chapters about Vice in her book, Merchants of Truth
Discussion:
@mcmoynihan, @ianfrisch, @jillabramson, @oliverdarcy, The Hill, CNN, @ajwimsatt, American Press Institute, New York Times, @jillabramson, @normative, @mcmoynihan, @surooshalvi, NPR, @jrubinblogger, Plagiarism Today, The Wrap, @adrs, @annehelen, Vox, NB Blog, New York Magazine, @bcmerchant, @bcmerchant, Associated Press, @benmullin, TVNewser, Newser, @jakemalooley, @bobruggiero2, @hshaban, @cjsprigman, @cjsprigman, @bruce_arthur, @originalspin, @sgtjanedoe, @brianstelter, @davidfolkenflik, @marissarmoss, @radleybalko, @tressiemcphd, @samthielman, @kennethn, @ianfrisch, @ianfrisch, @citizenmurphy and @amylittlefield
Brendan Nyhan / Medium:
Research comparing 2016 and 2018 suggests Facebook's efforts to limit the reach of fake news are working, but the platform's scale remains an alluring target — After the shock of the 2016 presidential election, many Americans found psychological refuge in a simple explanation for why Donald Trump won: “fake news.”
Manish Singh / VentureBeat:
News aggregator Nuzzel sold to Scroll, which is building a news subscription service; Nuzzel founder Jonathan Abrams and COO Kent Lindstrom to leave the company — News aggregator Nuzzel has found a new home and leadership and is undergoing some product changes.
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, @arctictony, Scroll Blog, @mattmcgee, TechCrunch and 9to5Mac, more at Techmeme »
Max Willens / Digiday:
IAC's Dotdash, which owns Investopedia and the remnants of About.com, posts $131M in revenue in 2018, up 44% YoY, and expects 21% revenue growth YoY for 2019 — In a year where publishers scrambled to diversify their revenues and their business models, Dotdash posted breakout growth stemming from a course it charted a long time ago.
Discussion:
@pkafka, more at Techmeme »
Foreign Policy:
Former Fox News reporter and US Navy veteran Lea Gabrielle is named to lead the State Department agency that counters foreign propaganda and disinformation — Former Fox News correspondent and Navy veteran Lea Gabrielle to head long-troubled Global Engagement Center.
Discussion:
CNN, @dancohen3000, @maxboot, @statedept and Mediaite
Cara Lombardo / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Digital First Media, which owns ~7.5% of Gannett's stock and was rejected in a takeover attempt, has launched a proxy fight to remake Gannett's board — Digital First Media, the hedge-fund-backed newspaper chain whose takeover bid for Gannett was rejected, is preparing for a proxy fight to remake Gannett's board.
Discussion:
@cararlombardo
Gene Maddaus / Variety:
Woody Allen sues Amazon for $68M, claiming Amazon breached a four-picture deal and refused to release A Rainy Day in New York — Woody Allen filed a $68 million suit against Amazon Studios Thursday, alleging that the streamer has backed out of a multi-picture film deal due to “a 25-year old, baseless allegation.”
Discussion:
Business Insider, Hollywood Reporter, TMZ.com, Deadline, @henereyg, The Week, The A.V. Club, New York Daily News, Jezebel, Observer, The Verge, @gerryconway, @ronanfarrow, CNBC, IndieWire, The Wrap, TVWeek.com and TechCrunch
Alex Heath / Cheddar:
TikTok hires Vanessa Pappas, who was YouTube's Global Head of Creative Insights, as its first-ever General Manager for the US — TikTok, the Chinese-owned company that has quickly become one of the hottest apps in North America, has hired a veteran YouTube executive to oversee its U.S. operations.
Mark Little / Kinzen:
Kinzen, formerly Neva Labs, launches a free iOS app for aggregated news with limited channels; premium membership is $4.99/month and offers curated digests — We have something new for you to try. Something a little bit different. It's an experience we think will reward your time and attention.
Christine Schmidt / Nieman Lab:
Newsletter provider Substack is now offering support for podcasts by notifying subscribers when a podcast is published, which they can listen to via web player — “It's not paying for the newsletter or the audio file. It's the connection to the mind." — In another snippet of podcast news …
Discussion:
Audio Newsletter, Off The Chain and Fast Company
Peter Kafka / Recode:
Spotify buys podcast producer Gimlet Media, sources say for ~$230M, and Anchor, a startup which makes it easier for users to record and distribute podcasts — Daniel Ek says he wants to spend up to $500 million on acquisitions this year. — Spotify is a streaming music company that wants to become a podcast company, too.
Discussion:
@spotifynews, Poynter, Music Industry Blog, Forbes, CNBC, @anchor, @mayafish, @mignano, hypebot, MediaPost, Fortune, The Week and Digital TV Europe
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