Mediagazer: 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 (Michael Calderone/Politico)

11:25 AM ET, October 29, 2019

Top News:

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.

Maxwell Tani / The Daily Beast:

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.

Discussion: Poynter, The Drum, @beyondreasdoubt, @russbengtson, @revrrlewis, @icehockeystick, @lindseyadler, @_shireenahmed_, @mikemadden, @jaythenerdkid, @rowankaiser, @cdcarter13, @rossalincoln, @passionweiss, @thescibabe, @drrubidium, @tylercoates and @ashleyfeinberg

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

Discussion: @gmgunion, @chronotope, @williamfleitch, @katiedrumm, @barry, @mckinneykelsey, @ashleyfeinberg, Awful Announcing and Deadspin

Joe Pompeo / Vanity Fair:

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

Jessica Davies / Digiday:

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

Amol Rajan / BBC:

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

Judd Legum / Popular Information:

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.

Discussion: @juddlegum, @juddlegum, @slpng_giants, @jeffbercovici, @rashadrobinson, @craigsilverman, @anildash, @juddlegum, @aravosis, @kevinroose, @zeynep, @oliverdarcy, @oliverdarcy and @juddlegum, more at Techmeme »

Michael Calderone / Politico:

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

capitalgazette.com:

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

Alex Weprin / Hollywood Reporter:

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

Elsa Keslassy / Variety:

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 »

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:

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

Todd Spangler / Variety:

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

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

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 »

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Matthew De Silva / Quartz:
Spotify says 14% of MAUs listen to podcasts, podcast hours streamed grew 39% QoQ, and podcast engagement is driving increases in free to paid conversion

Discussion: Fortune, @brettbivens, Complete Music Update, CNBC, @matt, The Wrap and Spotify, more at Techmeme »

Piya Sinha-Roy / Hollywood Reporter:
Netflix says it's testing a feature to allow users to speed up or slow down content on their phones, attracting criticism from filmmakers, including Judd Apatow

Discussion: The Guardian, @juddapatow, @bradbirda113, The Verge, The Playlist, @jimwaterson, @d_kompare and @sepinwall, more at Techmeme »

Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:
NBCUniversal launches its ShoppableTV ad unit, which displays QR codes during TV shows that take viewers to ecommerce sites, across its unscripted programming

Discussion: Broadcasting & Cable and Editor & Publisher Magazine

Earlier Picks:

Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Nexstar, which owns the most US TV stations, says it will sell ads based on impressions instead of ratings, following similar announcements from NBCU and Hearst

Discussion: Broadcasting & Cable, MediaPost, Deadline, TVWeek.com and Nexstar Media Group, Inc.

Reeves Wiedeman / New York Magazine:
Deep dive inside Condé Nast amid years of drama, downsizing, and shakeups sheds light on Anna Wintour and others' struggle to revert falling influence and sales

Justine Coleman / The Hill:
WaPo drew backlash for its digital headline on an obit of ISIS's Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, calling him an “austere religious scholar”; the headline has been changed

Discussion: @kriscoratti, Fox News, Rolling Stone, Foreign Policy, USA Today, Washington Free Beacon and CNN

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Financial Times:
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says consumer electronics exempt from tariffs may be included in semiconductor tariffs likely coming in “a month or two”

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Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
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