Mediagazer: VerSe Innovation, parent of news aggregator Dailyhunt and short video app Josh, raises $100M+ Series H led by Qatar Investment Authority (Vikas SN/The Economic Times)

7:40 AM ET, February 8, 2021

Top News:

Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:

Lawsuits from two election tech companies are now reining in right-wing media misinformation, after years of ad boycotts, public pressure campaigns, and outrage — Defamation cases have made waves across an uneasy right-wing media landscape, from Fox to Newsmax.

Stephen Battaglio / Los Angeles Times:

Fox News cancels Lou Dobbs Tonight on the Fox Business network and is expected to part ways with the pro-Trump host; Dobbs is still under contract for now — Fox News has canceled “Lou Dobbs Tonight,” the program hosted by television's staunchest supporter of Donald Trump and of his assertions …

Discussion: @rolandsmartin, @urbanachievr, The Daily Beast, Washington Post, @mollyjongfast, The Wrap, CNN, @brianstelter, Politico, @petethorn, @helenkennedy, @alt_localgov, @cnn, @nprweekend, @redcladloon, @michaelcohen212, @iamjulesward, @realcliffholmes, @moopersists, @davekeating, @dannagal, @brianstelter, @sifill_ldf, @rolandsmartin, @hunterw, @madisonsiriusxm, @mollyjongfast, @joshtpm, @senwhitehouse, Media Matters for America, New York Times, @dburghart, @xochitlhinojosa, @harthanson, @chrisdjackson, Mediaite, @timobrien, @adamgoldmannyt, @sruhle, @jeremymbarr, @rawstory, @eugene_scott, @sacca, @michaeldweiss, @johncardillo, NPR, contextisking.com, @georgehahn, @katiephang, @drdenagrayson, @glcarlstrom, @helenkennedy, @kurtbardella, @senatorjen, @ynb, Forbes, TheGrio, @tedlieu, @ztpetrizzo, National Review, Slate, Mother Jones, @erikwemple, @erikwemple, The Week, @timobrien, The Full Belmonte, @marcosbreton, @film_girl, @richmintz, @toddstarnes, @matchity, @russbengtson, @oliverdarcy, @jamessurowiecki, @ritholtz, @jeffjarvis, Newser, @bgrueskin, @bernybelvedere, @authorkimberley, @kitten0409, @aaronblake, @brownandbella, @gregpinelo, @green_footballs, @parkermolloy, @johniadarola, @azi, @yashar, HuffPost, Friendly Atheist, The A.V. Club, Insider, Rolling Stone, UPI, Axios, TVNewser, Variety, The Daily Beast, TVLine, Raw Story and Boing Boing

Isaac Chotiner / New Yorker:

Interview with Marty Baron on some of the controversies during his tenure at WaPo, how the paper covered Bezos, and what he wanted to achieve in Washington DC — The soon-to-retire executive editor defends the idea of journalistic objectivity. “It's not neutrality, it's not both-sides-ism, it's not so-called balance,” he says.

Gordon Russell / The Advocate:

Louisiana AG Jeff Landry sues a reporter for The Advocate and The Times-Picayune over a public-records request she filed — Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry on Friday sued a reporter for The Advocate and The Times-Picayune over a public-records request she filed …

Ben Smith / New York Times:

Hachette Book Group last month fired Kate Hartson, one of the few mainstream editors who published Trump die-hards like Trump Jr., Lewandowski, and Pirro — Top editors at Hachette have told employees that they've learned the lessons of the Capitol siege of Jan. 6: no hate speech, no incitement to violence, no false narratives.

Discussion: Washington Post, @davecullen, @changinghands, @markszaidesq, Letters from an American, @espiers and @paulwiggins

Celine Castronuovo / The Hill:

Twitter permanently suspends the account of Jim Hoft, founder and EIC of far-right news website Gateway Pundit, for violations of its “civic integrity policy” — Twitter on Saturday issued a permanent suspension for the account run by Jim Hoft, founder and editor-in-chief …

Discussion: Forbes, PRESS RUN, CNN, The Wrap, theepochtimes.com, @keithbaldrey, @bostonjoan, Insider, @antisillypirate, RT, Fox News and Mediaite

Nieman Lab:

Research: journalists who see the rise in misinfo as a threat to democracy are more likely to report using practices embracing transparency than accountability — Adapting to the misinformation era, journalists emphasize transparency in their daily practices — “Fake news” is an unfortunate phrase.

Discussion: @spj_tweets, @alexptachick, @janebsinger and @niemanlab

Andy Mills:

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 …

Vikas SN / The Economic Times:

VerSe Innovation, parent of news aggregator Dailyhunt and short video app Josh, raises $100M+ Series H led by Qatar Investment Authority — VerSe Innovation, the parent company of news aggregator Dailyhunt and short-video platform Josh, has raised more than $100 million in a Series H funding round led …

Discussion: Livemint and Business Insider

Edward Wasserman / Mother Jones:

NYT's new disclosures about Neil Sheehan's deception of Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, and its framing, raise concerns about journalistic ethics — Let our journalists help you make sense of the noise: Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter and get a recap of news that matters.

Laura Hazard Owen / Nieman Lab:

Study finds debunking misinformation after exposure is more effective at improving an individual's truth discernment a week later than “prebunking” or labeling — Debunking > prebunking. If you want someone to not believe that false or misleading headline they just read, when's the best time to correct it?

Discussion: @firstdraftnews and @niemanlab

Travis Clark / Insider:

CinemaScore, which has conducted opening-night movie surveys using poll workers in the US for studios, is hoping to expand to serving streamers like Netflix — - CinemaScore president Harold Mintz talked with Insider about how the company has adapted to the pandemic.

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