Top News:

Soon-Shiong family denies WSJ reports about plans to sell LA Times, and both Union-Tribune's COO and publisher say no plans exist to sell the San Diego paper — Los Angeles Times owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong on Friday reaffirmed his commitment to the news organization.
RELATED:

Sources: Patrick Soon-Shiong is exploring a sale of LA Times and considered transferring management of The San Diego Union-Tribune to Alden's MediaNews Group — Patrick Soon-Shiong seeks exit after less than three years at the helm, as losses mount — Billionaire biotech investor Patrick Soon-Shiong …
Discussion:
@katie_robertson, @latguild, @drpatsoonshiong, @daviddebolt, @kenbensinger, @maxwelltani, @jacobrubashkin, @brenden_tucc, @rasmus_kleis, @robenfarzad, Insider, Los Angeles Magazine, @sewellchan, @chaykak, @katie_robertson, @edmundlee, Media Nation, The Wrap, @brooklynmarie, @suhaunah, @doree, @bigblackjacobin, @edmundlee, @edmundlee, @anniesciacca, @elanazak, @jimfriedlich, @sewellchan, @ckrewson, @pottsmark, @mattdpearce, @marcosantana, @petersterne, @edmundlee, @jeffjarvis, @pauledroberts, @ggreeneva, @timmarchman, @seungminkim, @bobshrum, @johnjcook, @alex_roarty, @loisbeckett, @mollymotoole, @johnmyers, @froomkin, @benfritz, @benfritz, @karavoght, @jbenton, @sarahsholder, @hshaban, @nycsouthpaw, @kenli729, @jbflint, @jbenton, @maxwelltani, @mikeisaac, Esotouric's Secret Los Angeles, Mediaite, The Hill and Reuters

Russian investigative journalism is flourishing alongside “probiv”, the buying of data on phone calls, cell location, or air travel off Telegram or the dark web — A new wave of news outlets has used conventional, and unconventional, methods to pierce the veil of Putin's power.

Study of New Jersey's local news finds communities in the lowest income bracket are twice as likely to be news deserts as news oases — EXECUTIVE SUMMARY — The findings below are simplified for the purpose of clarity; please see the full paper for definitions and variable operationalization.
Discussion:
@sarahstonbely, @vwpickard, @cjr, Columbia Journalism Review, @nikkiusher, @ga_adamson, @fionamorgan, @vwpickard, @nancysolomon2, @joshuadarr, @kljdavis, @cjr, @niemanlab, @niemanreports, @jgksf, @centercoopmedia, @jesseholcomb, @emilybell, @mediathoughts, @cjr, @emilyroseman1, @jmhaigh, @sarahstonbely and @sarahstonbely

Fort Worth Report, a nonprofit news outlet, will launch in the spring and start with coverage of education, government accountability, and arts and culture — Fort Worth, Texas is a special place. — Cowtown, as its lovingly known among residents, is an hour west of Dallas and is a city of just under a million people.
Discussion:
@azirulnick, Poynter, @chriscobler, @spj_tweets, @niemanreports, @hanaatameez, @niemanlab, @sarahscire and Columbia Journalism Review

App Annie: Australian Broadcasting Corporation's news app was briefly the most downloaded app on the AU App Store after Facebook's news ban and is now second — Readers may be going directly to the source — The Australian Broadcast Company's ABC News app shot to the top of Apple's App Store charts …
Discussion:
@lucasofri, @matthewstoller, The New Daily, @mumbletwits, @caseynewton, @glenngabe, @jason_kint, @nathanblawrence, Vox, @neerajka, @rustyshelf, @digiphile, @javierpallero, @caseynewton, @cameronwilson, @brooklynmarie, @threatresearch, @brianboyer, @parismarx, @dhh, @karlbode, @umabp, @umabp, @jbenton, @rasmus_kleis and Known Knowns
RELATED:

Facebook's Australia ban is acute for people in places like Fiji, who rely on phone plans with cheap Facebook access as going to news websites costs more data — Media experts fear that communities reliant on the site for information will suffer significant impact

Splice, which makes tools for musicians and offers royalty-free samples, raises $55M at a ~$500M valuation, bringing its total raised to $150M — Growing up in County Cavan, Ireland, Shane Codd dreamed of performing at huge nightclubs on the Spanish island of Ibiza, the global epicenter of electronic music.
Discussion:
Music Ally and @daniburgz
Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
Defector, the employee-owned site that began after a staff walkout at Deadspin, is doing surprisingly well and is financially self-sustaining six months in — Mahatma Gandhi didn't actually say “Be the change you want to see in the world,” but if he had, he probably wouldn't have been thinking …
Discussion:
@sulliview, @ashleyfeinberg, @drewmagary, The Muffin por Mauricio …, @emmabaccellieri and @sulliview

Interview with CNBC anchor Jon Fortt on the GameStop news cycle and countering a crystallizing narrative, framing financial news for viewers, and more — On this week's Decoder, I sat down with CNBC anchor Jon Fortt to talk about GameStop, how the media covered it, what happens next for the market …
Discussion:
@reckless

MIT's student paper The Tech will no longer publish ads by individuals seeking egg donations from students of a particular race, urges others to do the same — Most ads fail to disclose the risks of egg donation process while offering vast financial compensation
Discussion:
@universalhub

Sources: Meredith, which sold Time to the Benioffs, has sent a cease-and-desist letter to try to stop Time from moving its bookazines from Meredith to Bauer — Print magazines may be a struggling business, but a recent cease-and-desist aimed at Time magazine suggests the business of churning …
Discussion:
@harrymccracken and MediaPost