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Sources: over 250 Facebook employees have signed a letter visible on an internal forum that says letting politicians lie in ads is “a threat” to the company — In an open letter, the social network's employees said letting politicians post false claims in ads was “a threat” to the company.
Discussion:
@mikeisaac, New York Times, CNN, Mercury News, TechCrunch, @sarahfrier, Ad Age, VICE, @aoc, @peterwsinger, Business Insider, @brianstelter, @oneunderscore__, @mattlech, @davmicrot, The Next Web, @wiczipedia, @ewarren, @senblumenthal, @mikeisaac, @benioff, RAPPLER, The Verge, Wall Street Journal, Beyond Search, Fortune, The Guardian, The Wrap, The Week, The Hill, Gizmodo, Mashable, MediaPost, Engadget and Memex 1.1, more at Techmeme »

G/O Media memo to staff says “Deadspin will write only about sports” and to focus 100% of resources on sports; the site also covered politics, culture, and more — Sports—and sports alone—must be “the sole focus” of the website, new management said Monday in a memo obtained by The Daily Beast.
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Kelsey Mckinney / @mckinneykelsey:
Deadspin writer says G/O Media management removed a letter to the readers from Deadspin staff that criticised the recent addition of autoplay videos to the site
Deadspin writer says G/O Media management removed a letter to the readers from Deadspin staff that criticised the recent addition of autoplay videos to the site
Discussion:
@gmgunion, @chronotope, @williamfleitch, @katiedrumm, @barry, @mckinneykelsey, @ashleyfeinberg, Awful Announcing and Deadspin

The Recount, John Heilemann and John Battelle's short-form video political news outlet, has raised ~$10M seed from investors including Jay-Z and Kevin Durant — A-List investors (Fred Wilson, Jay-Z, Robert Wolf, Kevin Durant) are pouring millions into the journalist's new business.
Discussion:
@thisfamilymeal, @joepompeo and Politico

FT says it is testing subscriber-only podcasts, deviating from its audio strategy of ad-supported open-access podcasts, hires its first global head of audio — The Financial Times has expanded its audio strategy to include subscriber-only podcasts, a first for the publisher.
Discussion:
Talking Biz News, Press Gazette and RAIN News

Daily Mail soft-launches Mail+, a bulletin-based digital service separate from its free Mail Online that will charge readers for some content in upcoming months — The long heralded next chapter of the Daily Mail's push into digital media will take shape this week, as consolidation across …
Discussion:
Press Gazette and @amolrajan

How Ben Shapiro's massively popular right-wing site The Daily Wire gets promoted in an inauthentic, coordinated manner by 14 Facebook pages followed by millions — This is the online version of the Popular Information newsletter. You can get independent accountability journalism in your inbox every week.

The RedState reporter who published the Katie Hill photo has since promoted GOP candidates for her seat, a blurring of roles unacceptable in mainstream outlets — Shortly after Rep. Katie Hill announced her resignation from Congress on Sunday night, the RedState reporter …
Discussion:
@politico, The Week, @mattdpearce, @mlcalderone, New York Post, Breitbart, Washington Free Beacon and Talking Points Memo

Capital Gazette shooter Jarrod Ramos pleads guilty to all 23 counts, including killing five employees, in a mass shooting at the Annapolis office in June 2018 — The man who blasted his way into the Capital Gazette newsroom more than a year ago, armed with a shotgun, smoke bombs and a device …
Discussion:
Washington Post, @baltimoresun, @jamesfoleyfund, @capgaznews, The Crime Report, @capgaznews, @brianstelter, The Wrap, Axios, VICE and Metro.co.uk
Ryan Mac / @rmac18:
Judge rules that Elon Musk won't be able to depose BuzzFeed reporter Ryan Mac in the defamation case brought by cave rescuer, who will be allowed to depose Mac — A judge ruled a few hours ago that Elon Musk won't be able to depose me in the ongoing defamation lawsuit against him from cave rescuer Vernon Unsworth. A win for the free press. The case goes to trial next month and we will continue to cover it. https://twitter.com/...
Discussion:
@markdistef and @trevortimm

National Amusements has voted to approve the CBS-Viacom merger, which is now expected to close by early December; the merged company will be called ViacomCBS — National Amusements, the company controlled by the Redstone family, has voted to approve the merger.
Discussion:
Variety, TVWeek.com, The Wrap and Deadline

Amazon signs second distribution deal in France, this time with telco Free, which will include Amazon Prime Video in its €5.99 monthly plan at no extra cost — Rolling off its deal with Altice's SFR in August, Amazon has scored a distribution agreement with Free, another major French telco group.
Discussion:
TechCrunch and Engadget, more at Techmeme »

Federal judge reinstates libel lawsuit by Covington Catholic student Nicholas Sandmann against WaPo, narrowing its scope from 33 published statements to three — A federal judge reinstated part of a lawsuit against The Washington Post filed by the family of a Kentucky teenager that alleged …
Discussion:
Fox News, Washington Examiner, The Hill, Deadline, New York Post, Washington Times and Fox News

AT&T says it will spend $1.5B-$2B on HBO Max in 2020 and $1B per year in both 2021 and 2022, expects profitability in year four — AT&T is telling investors it has the intestinal fortitude to win in the streaming wars — even as its traditional TV business continues to crumble.
Discussion:
The Streamable, Axios, Fortune, @xpangler, Tubefilter, Ad Age, Business Insider and MediaPost
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Wall Street Journal:
AT&T reaches a truce with activist investor Elliott Management, agrees to regular share buybacks, new directors, no more major M&A, and more in three year plan
AT&T reaches a truce with activist investor Elliott Management, agrees to regular share buybacks, new directors, no more major M&A, and more in three year plan
Discussion:
Variety, @ptolemy_3, @shalini, @lucas_shaw, @xpangler, @reckless, The Drum, Reuters, Fox Business, CityAM, CNBC, Ars Technica, Bloomberg, The Verge, Deadline and New York Times, more at Techmeme »