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Jeff Bezos:
Jeff Bezos publishes letters from National Enquirer owner AMI that he says show threats to publish his nude photos unless he stops probing AMI's reporting — 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, @ronanfarrow, Bloomberg, New York Times, Columbia Journalism Review, The Guardian, Poynter, Observer, Fast Company, Variety, Financial Times, The Wrap, @ndrew_lawrence, Bloomberg, Mediaite, @hypatiadotca, @maxwellstrachan, Associated Press, @felixsalmon, @maggienyt, TechCrunch, Washington Post, TVNewser, CNN, Reason, Slate, Business Insider, The Atlantic, Vanity Fair, @yashar, Page Six, Newser, The Daily Beast, Mashable, emptywheel, The Week, Vox, HuffPost, The Verge, WIRED UK, The Hill, Adweek, Contemptor, GeekWire, @sonnybunch, KTLA, @nxthompson, New Yorker, Fortune, Recode, @karaswisher, USA Today, Associated Press, @jamilsmith, @maxwellstrachan, @profgalloway, The Intercept, Big League Politics, @dmgshuey, @popehat, @dkahanerules, @elisewho, @xeni, Citi Newsroom, @michaelsteele, @washingtonpost, @brianstelter, @pkafka, @hypatiadotca, @heerjeet, @nxthompson, VICE, @nycjim, Al Jazeera, Splinter, @mariashriver, @tjl, @yashar, @yashar, @popehat, @mmasnick, @billkristol, @kevinmkruse, @po8crg, @popehat, @popehat, @maxwellstrachan, @maggienyt, @normative, @mrbromwich, @michaelavenatti, @waltshaub, @mrtsmith81, @moorehn, @fritinancy, @renato_mariotti, @renato_mariotti, @renato_mariotti, @renato_mariotti, @renato_mariotti, @renato_mariotti, @donie, @noahshachtman, @jeffjarvis, @samstein, @maxwellstrachan, @erikwemple, @kfile, @nycsouthpaw, @jenniferjjacobs, @gaberivera, @sdkstl, @nycsouthpaw, @marklittlenews, @benjaminwittes, @heidilifeldman, @gbrockell, @yashar, @kbiegel, @shiratarlo, @anildash, @donnarapado, @ksadjadpour, @mkarolian, @borzou, @rachelwalexande, @harryh, @danbarker, @jerrydunleavy, @eisingerj, @sulliview, Deadline, The Wrap, NPR, Hollywood Life, Jezebel, WINK NEWS, Boing Boing, The A.V. Club, TMZ.com and The Japan Times, more at Techmeme »
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Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
National Enquirer's work is not any kind of journalism, not even tabloidism; it is threat of publication as a bludgeon, with a clear political agenda — The tweet from Jeffrey P. Bezos, announcing his stunning blog post, came Thursday at 5:51 p.m. — And for a few long minutes, the chattering classes shut up.
Discussion:
@bgrueskin, Bloomberg, @kitlovelace, @ninabernstein1, @will_bunch, New York Times, Business Insider and Recode
Washington Post:
AMI says it believes it acted lawfully in its Bezos reporting and characterizes its actions as “good faith negotiations” but will investigate the claims — The parent company of the National Enquirer said it would thoroughly investigate extortion claims by Amazon chief executive Jeffrey P. Bezos …
Discussion:
Variety, CNET, CNBC, @jediofgallifrey, CNBC, @oliverdarcy, TechCrunch, Los Angeles Times, Business Insider and @amandamarcotte
Allyson Chiu / Washington Post:
Ronan Farrow said he and at least one other journalist involved in stories about National Enquirer and Trump faced “blackmail” threats from AMI — Ronan Farrow said Thursday that he and “at least one other prominent journalist” who had reported on the National Enquirer …
Discussion:
New York Times, Financial Times, CNN, Fast Company, @ronanfarrow, Vanity Fair, @ronanfarrow, @noahshachtman, @johncarreyrou, @tbridis, Newser and Page Six
Bloomberg:
Sources: SDNY received information about key exchanges concerning Bezos and AMI and is reviewing it for possible immunity agreement violations — - Authorities were given publisher's missives to Amazon founder — Potential jeopardy for AMI's previous deal with prosecutors
Discussion:
New York Times, The Wrap, Business Insider and CNN
Vlad Savov / The Verge:
Twitter served as the spark and initial validator for the Bezos blog post on Medium, once again showing how instrumental Twitter is for news — Jeff Bezos' highly personal blog post last night was a bombshell in many ways: it served as a middle finger to blackmailing bullies …
Discussion:
@bborrman, @bluechoochoo, @vladsavov, @bluechoochoo, Business Insider, The Week and GeekWire, more at Techmeme »
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: in August, Mohammed bin Salman met with Vice's Shane Smith to discuss a joint venture like the one the state has with Bloomberg and the Telegraph — New link at Wall Street Journal
Discussion:
New York Times, @aaschapiro, The Daily Beast, @michaelkamon and Splinter
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 …
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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
Discussion:
Vox, New York Times, @amyjbrittain, Hmm Daily, @willsommer, @melodyhahm, Associated Press, @melissagira, @ezraklein, @juliacarriew, @genepark, NPR, @mattyglesias, @dansinker, @davidfolkenflik, @farhip, @mattyglesias, @daveweigel, @wolfereports, @aaronblake, @versharma, @rickhasen, @dandrezner, @petridishes, @dylanmatt, @tomzellerjr, @susanschorn, @brendannyhan, @jason_pontin, @harrymccracken, @marcissist, @erikwemple, @thealannoble, @melaniesill, @rafat, @carloslozadawp, @johnmcquaid, @sulliview and BBC
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
Discussion:
@mcmoynihan, @oliverdarcy, CNN, @jillabramson, @jillabramson, @mcmoynihan, The Hill, @annehelen, @surooshalvi, @jrubinblogger, Plagiarism Today and @adrs
Owen Williams / Charged:
Google touts its news initiatives, but essentially bars access to Google News for small publishers with its opaque policies and unrealistic output requirements — There's been a lot of discussion about the future of publishing over the last few years, particularly as Facebook traffic began cratering …
Discussion:
@baekdal
Chris Roush / Talking Biz News:
Capitol Forum, which focuses on M&A and government contract news, sues Bloomberg News, claiming Bloomberg is violating copyright's “hot news doctrine” and more — Capitol Forum, a Washington-based news service that focuses on mergers and acquisitions, antitrust and government contracts …
Discussion:
courthousenews.com, Thanks:@talkingbiznews
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Amazon launches Amazon Live streaming site and Amazon Live Creator iOS app for hosts from Amazon and brands to showcase available products — Amazon is taking on QVC with the launch of Amazon Live, which features live-streamed video shows from Amazon talent as well as those from brands …
Discussion:
App Store, Engadget and GeekWire, more at Techmeme »
The Moscow Times:
Report: Google pulls government-banned sites from Russian search results, blocks ~70% of sites blacklisted by Russia's communications regulator Roskomnadzor — Google has started to remove certain entries from its search results in Russia in compliance with long-standing demands from the authorities …
Discussion:
Beyond Search, more at Techmeme »
Sankalp Phartiyal / Reuters:
Facebook's measures to increase transparency before India's election, including requiring advertisers to confirm identity and location, take effect Feb. 21 — NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Facebook Inc is toughening up the rules governing political advertisements in India to create more transparency ahead …
Claire Newell / Telegraph:
UK's Telegraph to report misconduct allegations against Philip Green after he dropped his legal claim and was ordered to pay £3M, the bulk of the outlet's costs — Sir Philip Green faces a legal bill of £3 million after the High Court formally allowed him to abandon his court action …
Discussion:
Press Gazette, @telegraph, The Guardian and @chrisevans1
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.”
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