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Facebook details its first takedown of inauthentic accounts linked to the Saudi government, alongside a separate takedown of accounts linked to UAE and Egypt — Washington (CNN Business)Facebook said Thursday it had found evidence of something cyber security and national security experts …
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Facebook, Adweek, The Hill, Business Insider, @jamesrbuk and @jackshafer, more at Techmeme »


The LAT's disappointing digital subscriber numbers attest to the importance of subscriber retention, which the paper should invest in like the NYT has — When Patrick Soon-Shiong bought the Los Angeles Times out of its tronckian purgatory last year, it was an occasion to consider where it sat …
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@raju, 89.3 KPCC, American Press Institute, @bensprecher, @raju, @balajis, @vivian, @mattdpearce, 24/7 Wall St., @jayrosen_nyu, @davewiner, @xor, @samanthamatsu, @jbenton, @emilyweinstein, @juliaturner, The Wrap, Poynter, @juliaturner, @jkristufek, @sewellchan, @shelbygrad, @jmckellogg, @jayrosen_nyu, @thebenbergman and Poynter


Nexstar and Tribune Media settle with DOJ, agree to divest TV stations in 13 markets to resolve antitrust concerns over their proposed $6.4B merger — Delrahim says he has been pleased with companies' cooperation — Nexstar and Tribune have settled with the Justice Department to get their proposed $6.4 billion merger approved.
Discussion:
Reuters, @johnhendel and U.S. Department of Justice


CNN's overproduced, conflict-obsessed debates were full of cable-news alarmism and resembled prime-time game shows and reality TV, rather than democratic debate — Lately there's a strange caution in the air about the intellectual pitfalls of comparing American politics to the performing arts — or worse, to showbiz.
Discussion:
Broadcasting & Cable, Variety, @brfreed, Deadline and Mediaite
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CNN's first debate, featuring divisive questions, frustratingly short response times, and outsize attention to fringe candidates, was a lost opportunity
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@realdonaldtrump, Fox News, @jcstearns, @jayrosen_nyu, The Wrap, Slate, Poynter, wgbh.org, Columbia Journalism Review, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, @lawrence, Bloomberg, @rmc031, @jamesfallows, @lpolgreen, @deanluk, @cjr, @slate, @nymag, @fenitn, @mattgertz, @gadyepstein, @jon_allsop, @jayrosen_nyu, Slate, Mediaite, The Week, Axios, NBC News, Fortune, Washington Post, HuffPost, The Cut and Hollywood Reporter


YouTube has significantly changed its algorithm to boost what it deems “quality” children's videos following FTC probe into its use of personal data from minors — A software update that came in July, without explanation, was designed to promote “quality” children's videos
Discussion:
Business Insider, @mhbergen, The Verge, @lucas_shaw and CNET


Profile of Hu Xijin, the influential and hawkish EIC of China's Global Times, a Fox News-like tabloid, with 2M print readers and 30M monthly online visitors — BEIJING — Inside a bustling, 700-person newsroom in downtown Beijing, Hu Xijin leads a 24-hour propaganda machine that some media scholars call China's Fox News.
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@kushkatakia, @amyyqin, @hernandezjavier and @niubi


Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, the biggest name in Fortnite and one of Twitch's most popular stars, says he will move to Microsoft's Mixer full-time — Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, the biggest name in Fortnite and one of Twitch's most popular stars, is leaving the platform to stream exclusively on Mixer.
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TechCrunch, VentureBeat, CNBC, Associated Press, VICE, The Next Web, Ars Technica, Android Police, Business Insider, ScreenRant, Polygon and PAPER, more at Techmeme »


Ofcom gives BBC approval to make its content available on iPlayer for a year or more, scrapping the previous 30-day limit, to help compete against Netflix — The UK media regulator has given permission for the BBC to transform its iPlayer from a catch-up service into a Netflix-style streaming platform …
Discussion:
BBC, London Evening Standard, NME and TBI Vision, more at Techmeme »


Inside “Instabeach”, Instagram's annual invite-only party in Malibu for 500 of its top creators, which has become a who's who of young Hollywood — At 3:30 p.m. on a recent Tuesday, hundreds of Instagram influencers descended on Gladstones, an old-timey seafood restaurant perched high above Malibu's pristine beach.


Seventeen journalists discuss “aha” moments that changed the way they thought about their work — Between 2013 and 2016, I worked as a reporter for The New York Observer. It was my first full-time job in journalism, there was little oversight, and I had no assigned beat.
Discussion:
@yaffaesque and @xpatriciah


Mexico's El Monitor de Parral to temporarily halt print edition after bombing; digital edition will not publish crime stories or news with a “political slant” — El Monitor de Parral said it will continue its digital edition, but will not cover any crime stories or news with a ‘political slant’


Nylon EIC Gabrielle Korn is stepping down following the title's acquisition by Bustle; Bustle Digital EIC Emma Rosenblum will be interim editor — There's even more churn at Bryan Goldberg's Bustle as Nylon Editor-in-Chief Gabrielle Korn is exiting after five years, Media Ink has learned.