Top News:

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 »
RELATED:


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

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


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


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


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 »


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


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 …
RELATED:


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

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


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


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


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 »


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 »


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 …


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


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.”