Top News:


Sources: Tucker Carlson accused the NSA of spying on him after he learned US officials knew he was talking to Kremlin intermediaries to set up a Putin interview — Tucker Carlson was talking to U.S.-based Kremlin intermediaries about setting up an interview with Vladimir Putin shortly …
Discussion:
@justinbaragona, Washington Post, The Federalist, TVNewser, @normative, @davidfolkenflik, @dellcam, @bradmossesq, @kt_so_it_goes, @dellcam, @davidfolkenflik, @jonathanvswan, @dellcam, @surabees, Raw Story, @zandarvts, @fmkaplan, New York Post, Insider, The Hill, Mediaite, Overtime and The Wrap
RELATED:


FOIA docs show that a Fox News producer sent a very broad FOIA request to the NSA last week seeking evidence that officials were spying on Tucker Carlson
Discussion:
The Federalist, @justinbaragona, @katz_mum, @jasonleopold, @mikaelthalen, Raw Story and Gizmodo


Jonah Peretti says BuzzFeed “invested in news beyond where the revenue could support it” in 2014-2016, thinks commerce will make up 31% of revenue by 2024 — Jonah Peretti says he has learned from earlier ‘mistake’ and promises to grow in ‘sustainable way’
Discussion:
@lanceulanoff, @annaknicolaou, @rachaelkrishna, @jane__bradley and @martinsfp


Foreign lobbying disclosures show Saudi Arabia is funding a yet-to-be-announced digital news service with a DC studio and English-language content — - Saudi Arabia is funding a digital news platform that will feature some U.S.-based media professionals as it begins a new lobbying effort aimed at the White House and Congress.


Publicis Media launches the Once & For All Coalition, a multi-year effort aimed at getting advertisers to invest in minority-owned media — Publicis Media said it would launch a “multi-year” effort aimed at getting advertisers to invest more regularly in media outlets that cater to people …


Trump's lawsuits that claim Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube violated his First Amendment rights are just PR and fundraising tools, and likely legally doomed — One member of this class action is not like the others — Former President Donald Trump announced himself on Wednesday …
Discussion:
MSNBC, Axios, Techdirt, NBC News, The Verge, @timobrien, Fortt Knox, Reason, @barbmcquade, @zoetillman, @djrothkopf, @jackischechner, @tribelaw, @mmasnick, Input, @reckless, @kylegriffin1, Poynter, @jeffjarvis, @mmasnick, @jeffjarvis, @jeffjarvis, CNN, WWD, Media Matters for America, Washington Post, Vanity Fair and Vox, more at Techmeme »


The Trade Desk launches a demand-side dashboard, Solimar, for ad buying and a venture capital arm; its first startup investment is in Chalice Custom Algorithms — The Trade Desk's investment in Chalice is another example of the company positioning as a voice of the open internet against walled gardens.


USA Today becomes the final major national daily to launch a paywall, although breaking news remains free; Gannett's digital outlets have 90M visitors per month — When USA Today was introduced nearly 40 years ago, its short articles, copious charts and detailed weather coverage were disdained …
Discussion:
USA Today, Talking Biz News, @gannett, Digiday, @peteforsyth, @nicole_carroll, @raju, @kerrymflynn, @jaytcannon, @lindsdee, @grace_hauck, @lauraftrujillo, @josh1rivera, @jilldlawrence, @jefftayloredits, @usatoday, @swapnavenugopal, @brettmmurphy, @rlocker12, @nytimesbusiness, @robertslawrence, @marcatracy, @doliver8, @gregorynyc, @kerrymflynn, Nieman Lab, Awful Announcing, Media Nation, American Press Institute, The Hill and The Wrap


Examining differences in people's perceptions of fairness of media coverage, based on gender, age, and ethnicity in Brazil, Germany, Japan, Spain, UK, and US — Diversity is now a key priority for many newsrooms across the world. Although improving diversity has been a decades-long process …


NFL and Twitter renew their content partnership with the NFL making a full-season commitment to produce over 20 Twitter Spaces audio chats with players — The NFL and Twitter have renewed their content partnership — which dates to 2013 — and are now kicking their collaboration into live audio.
Discussion:
NFL.com, Ad Age, Awful Announcing, Adweek and Cord Cutters News, more at Techmeme »


Naomi Osaka says the press conference format should be less “subject v. object”, suggests allowing “sick days” where players are excused from press commitments — Naomi Osaka is a professional tennis player who will represent Japan in the upcoming Olympics.
Discussion:
The Sun, Japan Times, Sports Illustrated and @time


MEL Magazine will be revived after Recurrent Ventures acquires the men's health and culture outlet from Dollar Shave Club; 18 of MEL's ~24 staff will be rehired — Recurrent Ventures, a venture-equity-backed digital media company, is acquiring MEL Magazine, a men's health and culture publication, from Dollar Shave Club

An NC Superior Court judge sentenced a small-town newspaper editor to five days in jail after one of his reporters used an audio recorder during a murder trial — RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina Superior Court judge put a small-town newspaper editor behind bars last month …
Discussion:
American Press Institute, @tncrimdefense, @jannwolfe, @raleighreporter and The Hill