Mediagazer: Facebook says it is exploring ways to address anti-vaccine misinformation including reducing or removing it from recommendations and demotion in search results (Sarah Frier/Bloomberg)

4:40 PM ET, February 15, 2019

Top News:

Sources: Great Hill Partners is in exclusive talks with Univision to buy Gizmodo Media Group for an undisclosed sum — Deal would include websites such as Gizmodo, Deadspin, Lifehacker and Jezebel — Great Hill Partners is in exclusive talks with Spanish-language broadcaster Univision Communications Inc …

Discussion: @onionincunion, @jeremymbarr and @jayrosen_nyu

Hollywood Reporter:
Univision reports Q4 revenue of $688.5M, down 8.9% YoY and a loss of $40.2M amid ongoing carriage dispute with Dish

Discussion: @jeremymbarr, @benmullin, Variety, Wall Street Journal and Hollywood Reporter

Sarah Frier / Bloomberg:

Facebook says it is exploring ways to address anti-vaccine misinformation including reducing or removing it from recommendations and demotion in search results — Facebook Inc., under pressure to reduce harmful, misleading and fake content, said it is exploring removing anti-vaccine information …

Discussion: @rmac18, The Daily Beast, schiff.house.gov, CNN, @jayrosen_nyu, Gizmodo, Engadget, The Week, Fast Company, Fortune, The Hill, Business Insider and The Verge

James Vincent / The Verge:

OpenAI says it won't release the dataset behind GPT-2, its new text generator algorithm that can write, translate, and summarize text, due to fears of misuse — OpenAI's researchers knew they were on to something when their language modeling program wrote a convincing essay on a topic they disagreed with.

Discussion: The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Business Insider, @enkiv2, Fast Company, Gizmodo, @techreview, @jimwaterson and The Next Web, more at Techmeme »

Kim Lyons / Columbia Journalism Review:

Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh files complaint with National Labor Review Board, claiming Post-Gazette's publisher threatened to fire staff for union activity — On Saturday night, February 9, John Robinson Block—publisher of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, one of more than a dozen news outlets owned …

Discussion: New York Times, @cjr, @cjr, CNN, @michaelafuoco, @jsilverpg, @jamieson, @pgnewsguild and @byrosenberg

Todd Spangler / Variety:

SEC filing: Spotify paid €300M to buy Gimlet Media and Anchor; Spotify told investors it expects to spend $400M-$500M in total on podcast acquisitions in 2019 — - After Machinima Shutdown, Rooster Teeth Revives ‘Inside Gaming’ and Rescues Other Machinima Shows

Discussion: TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »

Vindu Goel / New York Times:

Critics say India's proposed internet rules, which could let Indian officials compel companies to remove posts, violate constitutional free speech protections — NEW DELHI — India's government has proposed giving itself vast new powers to suppress internet content, igniting a heated battle …

Discussion: @sflcin and @histoftech

Gwilym Mumford / The Guardian:

BBC says This Week, its late night politics show hosted by Andrew Neil, will conclude this summer after 16 years on the air — Lighthearted late-night politics show will conclude in the summer when its current series ends — The BBC's long-running late-night politics show This Week …

Discussion: The Times & The Sunday Times, BBC, @mrharrycole, @mattkmoore, @hackneyabbott, @iaindale, @afneil and Guido Fawkes

Mark Di Stefano / BuzzFeed:
Sources detail the “generational shift” occurring at the BBC, as it loses four high-profile male presenters in recent months, including David Dimbleby

Discussion: @markdistef, @markdistef, @aljwhite, @tomwhx and @alexgspence

Adam Jacobson / Radio & Television Business Report:

Apollo Global Management acquires majority stake in Cox Media Group's TV arm; earlier report placed the value at $3B — DAYTON, OHIO — On January 26, RBR+TVBR overheard a conversation involving a Cox Media Group Ohio employee who noted “we should know in a couple of weeks” what their fate would be …

Discussion: Broadcasting & Cable, Bloomberg, CNBC, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, @adamrjacobson1 and @b_fung

Christine Schmidt / Nieman Lab:

Inside.com, which has raised $2.6M from SeedInvest and others, hit $1.1M in revenue in 2018 with 750K subscribers and a newsletter open rate of around 40% — Surprise: Subscribers to a nerdy bitcoin newsletter are just about as engaged as subscribers to a nerdy local newsletter.

Discussion: @jason and @niemanlab

Nobel Women's Initiative:

The Nobel Women's Initiative launches InterviewHer, a global database to connect media to women experts on conflict, peace, and security — Ottawa—February 13, 2019. — The Nobel Women's Initiative today launched InterviewHer, a global database that helps connect media to a wide range …

Garett Sloane / Ad Age:

Sources: Facebook is working with some media partners to test connecting third-party ad tech, like Google Ad Manager, to Watch — Media partners could use Google and other ad tech to control advertising on the video service — Facebook wants to be friendlier to TV networks …

Melynda Fuller / MediaPost:

Hearst Magazines names its first chief data officer, Mike Smith, in charge of ad products, digital ad operations, and data capabilities — In its latest move as a data-driven content company, Hearst Magazines has appointed Mike Smith its first Chief Data Officer. — Smith will report to Hearst Magazines President Troy Young.

Discussion: Folio

Hillel Italie / Associated Press:

NPD BookScan: Jill Abramson's Merchants of Truth sold just over 2,800 print copies in its first week of publication, following plagiarism controversy — NEW YORK (AP) — Days of relentless publicity, much of it unwanted, did not lead to many sales for Jill Abramson's “Merchants of Truth.”

Discussion: @tomgara and @maxwelltani

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Senior Data Journalist, NY — WSJ

Manager - Publishing Editorial, Manila — Reuters

Oil Reporter, Singapore — Bloomberg

Newsperson - State Govt. & Politics, CA — AP

Business Reporter, SC — Post & Courier

State Government Reporter, WA — Seattle Times

Climate Crisis Columnist — Prospect UK

Multimedia Journalist, CA — Paramount

Community Engagement Mgr., DC — Freedom Forum

Senior California Politics Reporter, CA — SFGATE

Staff Writer - Business, NY — WIRED

Team Editor - Opinion, ON — Toronto Star

Assistant Correspondent, DC — Kyodo News

Climate & Weather Reporter, MN — Star Tribune

Senior Tech Editor, Remote US — The Verge

Lead Business Reporter, TN — Daily Memphian

Managing Editor, WA — Everett Herald

Private Credit Reporter, NY — Debtwire

City Correspondent, London — Financial News

Legislative Reporter, CA — Sacramento Bee

Reporter, PA — Tribune-Review

Visual Editor, Remote — Rest of World

Staff Writer, MI — Watershed Voice

Senior Political Reporter, DC — The Lever

California Playbook Writer, CA — Politico

National Investigative Reporter, NY — HuffPost

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Lucinda Southern / Digiday:
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Jeremy Barr / Hollywood Reporter:
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Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter:
US Copyright Office has refused a copyright claim for the “Carlton Dance”, a potential blow to performers seeking rights to dance emotes in games like Fortnite

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Joe Pompeo / Vanity Fair:
Sources: Col Allan, former longtime controversial editor-in-chief of New York Post, has been working as a consultant for News Corp. for the past three weeks

Discussion: @joepompeo, @joepompeo and New York Daily News

Todd Spangler / Variety:
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Earlier Picks:

Tim Peterson / Digiday:
Sources: Snap is offering $40K to $50K per episode for original series that premiere on Snapchat, wants 10-12 episodes per series, each up to seven minutes long

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Dade Hayes / Deadline:
CBS reports Q4 revenues of $4B, up 3% YoY, missing estimates, adjusted operating income of $837M, up 10% YoY, and says it has 8M direct-to-consumer subscribers

Discussion: MediaPost, CNBC, Multichannel News, Variety, Bloomberg, The Wrap, @lucas_shaw, @lucas_shaw, @jbflint, @lucas_shaw, Broadcasting & Cable, Business Insider, Variety and CBS Corporation SEC Filings

Alexander Russo / kappanonline.org:
Since Columbine, media coverage of school shootings has improved, but issues of accuracy, follow-up, and narrow focus on gun control advocacy remain

Discussion: Columbia Journalism Review, WBUR, Poynter, Poynter, @poynter, @kristenhare, @rpetty, @samsanders and The Guardian

Robert Channick / Chicago Tribune:
The Chicago Cubs partners with Sinclair to launch a sports network that will become its exclusive TV home in 2020, ending more than 70 years of free broadcasts

Discussion: @wsj, Wall Street Journal and @chicagotribune

Al Jazeera:
Maria Ressa has been released after spending one night in NBI custody and posting bail of 100K Philippine pesos, or about $1,900

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Peter Kafka / Recode:
Apple has signed many publishers to its upcoming news service with a 50% revenue split, sources say, but that split likely won't satisfy major newspapers

Discussion: Slate, Stratechery, @rsg, Gizmodo, @slate, @siobhannyc, @jessicalessin, @dhh, @tariqkrim, American Press Institute, @joshuatopolsky, @jmcduling, @pkafka, The Loop, 9to5Mac, @stratechery, @mathewi, @donie and VentureBeat

From Techmeme:

Kent Walker / The Keyword:
Google says the DOJ's “wildly overbroad proposal goes miles beyond the Court's decision”, would hurt US consumers, and jeopardize the US' global tech leadership

Daniel Howley / Yahoo Finance:
Nvidia reports Q3 revenue up 94% YoY to $35.1B, vs. $33.2B est., Data Center revenue up 112% YoY to $30.8B, vs. $29B est., and forecasts Q4 revenue above est.

Paige Smith / Bloomberg:
CFPB will supervise tech companies offering digital wallets, like Apple Pay, Google Pay and Venmo, by treating companies with 50M+ annual transactions as banks

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