Top News:

Audio producer Andy Mills, a creator and co-star of the NYT podcast Caliphate whose behavior has come under sustained scrutiny, has resigned — Today I'm resigning from The New York Times. Those are not words I ever wanted to write. — Growing up, I never even imagined that I would get the chance …
Discussion:
@marcatracy, New York Times, The Wrap, @sullydish, @jbarro, @jbarro, @jbarro, @wertwhile, @jbarro, @jbarro, @jbarro, @stevekrak, @shomarq, @shomarq, @kmele, @kmele, @bariweiss, @dylanmatt, @kmele, @juliacarriew, @genepark, @jondanziger, @bariweiss and @davidfolkenflik
RELATED:


Sources: NYT's Rukmini Callimachi has been re-assigned to cover higher education following the Caliphate scandal — The Pulitzer finalist who came to fame via her Middle East coverage is moving to a vastly different beat following the scandal over her largely debunked podcast.
Discussion:
@wajahatali, @cquintanadc and @johnriordangee

Democrats' Sec. 230 bill is a dumpster fire of cluelessness that effectively wipes out protections for entire internet while pretending it's just a minor change — For the past few months we've been seeing a ton of terrible/ridiculous/awful/unconstitutio nal bills coming from mostly Republicans …
Discussion:
Washington Post, @senatorshoshana, Today In US Politics, @andrewcouts, @badsec230takes, @gizmodo, @alex, @melmall, @wexler, The Hill and CNET, more at Techmeme »
RELATED:

Democratic senators' SAFE TECH Act will strip Section 230 immunity for any ads or posts violating civil rights, antitrust, cyberstalking, human rights laws
Discussion:
Gizmodo, Techdirt, @decunningham2, @mattyglesias, @dellcam, @dellcam, @dellcam, @dellcam, @mmasnick, @issielapowsky, @glassbottommeg, @dandotlewis, @hodgesmr, @jeffjarvis, Engadget and @issielapowsky, more at Techmeme »

Memo: NYT reporter Donald McNeil Jr., accused of using racist language during a NYT-sponsored trip for high school students, has left the company — Donald McNeil has left the company, say Dean and Joe. https://twitter.com/...
Discussion:
Washington Post, @edasante77, @maxnordau, @marcatracy, Newser, Poynter and The Daily Beast


Ad tech company Magnite, formerly Rubicon Project, to acquire SpotX, a platform for connected TV and video advertising, from RTL Group for $1.17B — Supply-side platform Magnite announced this morning it has agreed a deal to acquire sell-side video platform SpotX from European media group RTL …
Discussion:
@magnite, Variety, Magnite, Radio & Television …, Beet.TV, Adweek, Digital TV Europe, @davemorgannyc, AdExchanger, @anthonykatsur, @mediamath, @kghufran, CNBC, FierceVideo and LUMA Partners, more at Techmeme »


Journalists at the New York Daily News have formed a union under the NewsGuild of New York, asking for voluntary recognition from Tribune — The organizing effort at the century-old tabloid comes roughly 25 years after its editorial union was effectively broken.


Stephen Totilo, EIC of gaming news site Kotaku, announced his departure Friday; he plans a month-long break and then a return to games journalism — Stephen Totilo, editor in chief of gaming news site Kotaku, announced his departure Friday afternoon. — “Tomorrow, I will simply be a reader of Kotaku …


Biden will revive weekly “radio” address, to be posted on YouTube and other platforms, sometimes with him talking to guests in the informal style of podcasts — A White House seeking to advance its agenda introduces a format that includes the president speaking with handpicked citizens.
Discussion:
@djjudd, @green_footballs and @froomkin


OANN is airing a three-hour “election fraud” film by MyPillow CEO with a disclaimer that it doesn't endorse any statements made about Dominion or Smartmatic — Trump-loving One America News is airing a special the touts conspiracy theories being peddled by MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell …
Discussion:
@poniewozik, Media Matters for America, Insider, @alyssam_infosec, The Hill, @mattgertz, The Week, @davidfolkenflik, @mattgertz and @existentialfish


Snap says its TikTok competitor Spotlight had 100M MAUs in January, two months after its launch, and receives an average of 175K video submissions per day — A surprisingly successful debut — Snap says its TikTok competitor, Spotlight, had 100 million users in January 2021, just two months after it launched.
Discussion:
CNN, @karissabe, contextisking.com, CNBC, @glenngabe, Marketing Dive, @verge, @megancgraham, @mattrosoff, Investor's Business Daily, Business Wire and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
RELATED:

Snap beats with Q4 revenue of $911M, up 62% YoY, vs $857.4M est., DAUs were up 22% YoY to 265M; stock down 7%+ after hours on weak Q1 forecast
Discussion:
The Wrap, @seekingalpha, @tgpharding, @ashkan, @charliebilello, @ashleyrcarman, Fast Company, Ad Age, Financial Times, Axios and Variety, more at Techmeme »


Editor & Publisher gave permission to Internet Archive to digitize its full archives, making them easily searchable, a step that other newspapers should take — My two intellectual loves are history and journalism — alternately, history and its first draft — and I'm always happy to see the two overlap.
Discussion:
@jeremycyoung, @jbenton, @media2070 and @internetarchive


Twitter baselessly suspended the accounts of a South African weekly and of four journalists criticizing the decision, and attributed the error to automation — Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is shocked by Twitter's arbitrary and baseless blocking of the accounts of a prestigious South African newsweekly …


Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty names Jamie Fly as president and CEO, who will resume leadership after being dismissed by Michael Pack in June — WASHINGTON — Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's (RFE/RL) Board of Directors has named Jamie Fly as the company's President and CEO, effective February 16, 2021.
Discussion:
@defensebaron, @davidfolkenflik, @karenkornbluh, @john_hudson, @christopherjm, @jamiemfly and @jimswiftdc