Top News:


How ex-NYT reporter-turned-novelist Alex Berenson is capitalizing on COVID-19 skepticism, catching the eye of Elon Musk and Fox News and selling 100K+ booklets — Anger at lockdowns and mask mandates provides fertile ground for arguments about the best way to fight the virus.
Discussion:
@benyt, @benyt, @teddyschleifer, @kbandersen, @nycsouthpaw, @mike_hixenbaugh, @davepell, @hannahgais, @jbouie, @kantrowitz, @anildash, @thor_benson, @lisatozzi, @michaelroston, @ryanlcooper, @ewong, @charlesornstein, @newrepublic, @oneunderscore__, @kristoncapps, @jeffreygoldberg, @timbray, @mattzeitlin, @taylorlorenz, @cd_hooks, @kimmasters, @joshtpm and @elongreen


Sources: Disney has dramatically cut ad spending on Facebook and Instagram; Disney was Facebook's top US advertiser for H1 2020, per an estimate — Hundreds of advertisers have paused spending on social network due to concerns about hate speech, divisive content
Discussion:
Business Insider, Deadline, @jgreenblattadl, @discussingfilm, @blmohr, The A.V. Club, Decider, Variety, @jason_buck, @ethanwsj, @jason_kint, CNET, Reuters, Bloomberg and The Verge


Study by the Reuters Institute for Journalism: around 70% of journalists reporting on COVID-19 say they are suffering from some levels of psychological distress — Many reporters are struggling to cope with the emotional demands of covering the pandemic, write Meera Selva and Anthony Feinstein
Discussion:
@_sampat, @leguape, @rasmus_kleis, @meeraselva1 and @risj_oxford


Interview with Alex Trebek, longtime game show host of Jeopardy! who for many represents the inherent value of facts amid fractured ideological media bubbles — In his new memoir, the longtime “Jeopardy!” host delivers clues and facts about himself, and looks back on his life as he struggles with advanced pancreatic cancer.
Discussion:
@davecullen, @bradfordpearson, @carlquintanilla, @xanalter, @carolinelhoward, @nixian, @kairyssdal, @ericgeller, The Wrap, The Sun, Fox News, New York Post and Twelve Thirty Six


After CNN blurred the faces of US federal police in Portland, Jake Tapper says “someone misunderstood an instruction”; CNN has done similar recently — CNN aired a viral video on Sunday of U.S. secret police kidnapping people in Portland, Oregon—a tactic that White House officials …
Discussion:
New York Times, Lawfare, CNN, @janetmaslin, @paleofuture, @paleofuture and @jaketapper


Following school closures in March, Danish news startup Koncentrat launched a free, interactive, daily TV show to teach teens media literacy skills — An interactive daily show, broadcast online and regional TV, allowed 13-to-17-year-olds to talk to media experts and war correspondents from home
Discussion:
@poynter


Reuters Institute: of 100 orgs in Brazil, South Africa, Germany, UK, and US, only 18% of top editors are non-white, diverging from population demographics — In the six weeks since George Floyd's killing in Minneapolis and the resulting Black Lives Matters protests that erupted around the country …


In a letter to Congress, broadcasters associations from all 50 states, DC, and Puerto Rico push for relief aid for local media in upcoming COVID-19 bills — According to the letter, some local broadcasters have lost as much as 90 percent of their ad buys. — Associations representing …
Discussion:
National Association of Broadcasters, @thr and TV Technology


Inside Bild Zeitung, Germany's largest tabloid, from its days of attacking the left in the 1960s to its targeting of Angela Merkel today — The newspaper Bild has long poured vitriol on the country's left-wingers and ‘do gooders’. But now it has a new target: the chancellor. By Thomas Meaney
Discussion:
@nahlinse, @danieldrepper and @jep_


Fact-checkers describe pandemic misinformation, from country-specific untruths to false cures, and say they are building new tools for faster responses — The analysis offers a glimpse into the global spread of misinformation about the pandemic — In the midst of fighting misinformation about COVID-19 …
Discussion:
@factchecknet


Business journalism needs to question its assumptions about economies, examine the purpose of businesses, and orient toward solving big problems — Editor-in-chief of Quartz. — Future of Finance — New technology is upending everything in finance. — Halfway through 2020, the world is in many kinds of trouble.
Discussion:
@gnagesh, @katerinareports, @rasmus_kleis, @heatherlandy, @missanabeem, @zseward and @katherineabell


Ex-NBC Sports analyst Jeremy Roenick, who was fired in Feb. after making sexual remarks about coworkers, sues the network, claiming anti-straight discrimination — Hockey star Jeremy Roenick sued NBC Sports for wrongful termination on Friday, claiming the network discriminated …
Discussion:
Midway Minute, Barrett Sports Media, @kristinnoeline, @erinadarling, @pfpicardi, Deadspin, Fox News, @kate_kelly_esq, @adriennelaw, @austinkarp, @globechadfinn, @christianarcand, @icehockeystick, @battaglinoa, @wallachlegal, @catmsilverman, @carbombboom13, @selenastroye, @simonplittle, @arponbasu, @allanbrocka, @hemjhaveri, The Wrap, TVLine, Fear The Fin, Awful Announcing, The A.V. Club and New York Post