Top News:
Maggie Haberman / New York Times:
The Republican National Committee says it will require candidates to pledge to not participate in debates run by the Commission on Presidential Debates — The Republican National Committee says it will require candidates to pledge to not participate in debates run by the Commission on Presidential Debates.
Discussion:
Mediaite, Insider, MediaPost, The Guardian, Washington Post, The Week, Politico, Deadline, @pbump, Forbes, Rolling Stone, New York Post, @drkarlynb, @sewellchan, NewsNation Now, @kbandersen, Fox News, NPR and Boing Boing
Stephen Battaglio / Los Angeles Times:
NBCUniversal plans to use audience data from iSpot.tv to track the Olympics and the Super Bowl next month, in addition to Nielsen, in a new multiyear agreement — NBCUniversal, the media company most critical of the audience measurement data it receives from Nielsen, is testing …
Discussion:
Variety, Wall Street Journal, Adweek, Ad Age, Radio & Television …, Awful Announcing, Marketing Dive, Media Play News, @ourand_sbj, Deadline, Beet.TV and @bristei
Peter White / Deadline:
New York Magazine's Olivia Nuzzi is writing and producing a satirical drama for AMC set in Washington, DC, teaming up with executive producer Gina Mingacci — EXCLUSIVE: Olivia Nuzzi, the Washington correspondent for New York magazine who wrote some of the wildest stories …
Discussion:
@oliverdarcy, bookforum.com, @raesanni, @bartleby_kamoi, @eoinhiggins_, @kantrowitz, @karaswisher and @olivianuzzi
Lily Hay Newman / Wired:
NSO Group spyware was found on devices owned by 35 journalists and activists in El Salvador; 23 devices belong to journalists linked to the El Faro news site — The newly disclosed campaign shows how little the company has done to curb abuses of its powerful surveillance tools.
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, Access Now, The Citizen Lab, The Guardian, @aaschapiro, Committee to Protect …, LatAm Journalism Review, Washington Post, iMore, @leomschwartz, @leomschwartz, @leomschwartz, @evacide, @accessnow, @citizenlab, @mvzelenks, @accessnow, @cpjamericas, @accessnow, @cpjamericas, @jsrailton, @lilyhnewman, @jsrailton, @jsrailton, @cpjamericas, @cpjamericas, 9to5Mac, Rest of World, @mcandrew, @cpjamericas, @cpjamericas, @cpjamericas, @munkschool, @accessnow, @jsrailton, @accessnow, @frontlinehrd, @hipsterelectron, @accessnow, Wall Street Journal and New York Times
Dade Hayes / Deadline:
In a first, BET+ will be included on Xfinity TV in a deal between ViacomCBS and Comcast, which also extends carriage of Paramount+, Pluto TV, and Showtime OTT — ViacomCBS and Comcast have reached a distribution renewal that continues carriage of CBS and a roster of cable networks …
Discussion:
Variety, @fidmart85, The Wrap, Light Reading and Hollywood Reporter
Lillian Rizzo / Wall Street Journal:
Sinclair renews its digital rights NBA deal, after signing a similar deal with the NHL in December, as it secures $600M in debt to develop its streaming service — Diamond Sports, the largest owner of regional sports networks, also renewed its digital-rights agreement with NBA, securing ability to stream games
Discussion:
Sportico, Sports Business Journal, Sinclair Broadcast Group, nexttv.com, @lilliannnn and Sinclair Broadcast Group
Laura Hazard Owen / Nieman Lab:
Researchers use simulations to show that focusing on increasing trust in reliable information and news works better than focusing on debunking misinformation — Misinformation makes up a teeny-tiny share of what most people read, and we might want to worry a little less about debunking …
Discussion:
@sacha_altay, HKS Misinformation Review, @rasmus_kleis, @michellemanafy and @journoresource
Justin Hendrix / Tech Policy Press:
260+ health professionals ask Spotify to create a misinformation policy, after a discredited scientist spread COVID-19 misinformation on Joe Rogan's podcast — More than 260 doctors, nurses, scientists, health professionals and others have signed an open letter calling on the streaming media platform Spotify …
Discussion:
An Open Letter to Spotify, Rolling Stone, ScreenRant, The Wrap, Variety, The Week, TheStreet, The A.V. Club, Being Libertarian's Newsletter, Boing Boing, Insider, @bernstein, Supercreator, Beyond Search, @drjengunter, @samadlerbell, @emswami, @pharmacistmama, @tnicholsmd, @blackamazon, @justinhendrix, @benprunty, @slpng_giants, CNET, @craigsilverman, Deadline and UPROXX, more at Techmeme »
Don Seiffert / Boston Business Journal:
136 of 253 Gannett newspapers will cease home delivery of Saturday print editions in the coming months, offering expanded access to its online edition instead — The nation's largest newspaper chain is discontinuing Saturday print editions starting March 5 at more than half of its newspapers nationwide …
Dade Hayes / Deadline:
Telemundo is launching content brand Tplus on Peacock's premium tier in the fall, with scripted, unscripted, and documentary content in English and Spanish — NBCUniversal's Telemundo Enterprises is launching content brand Tplus on Peacock this fall in sync with the company's exclusive …
Discussion:
Axios, The Streamable, Forbes and Hollywood Reporter
Issie Lapowsky / Protocol:
Interview with Check My Ads Institute's Nandini Jammi and Claire Atkin on how the watchdog got started and why it targets ad exchanges to defund extremist sites — Lately, Nandini Jammi has been forwarding all of the hate mail she receives to an executive at a company most people have never heard of: Magnite.
Discussion:
Columbia Journalism Review
Jay Cridlin / Tampa Bay Times:
Paul Tash, Tampa Bay Times' longest-serving CEO and chairman, is retiring and will be succeeded by company president Conan Gallaty — Conan Gallaty takes over as chief executive officer and will be the fourth chairman since Nelson Poynter when Tash departs this summer. — Published Just now
Discussion:
@markpuente, @jaycridlin, @bobbuckhorn, @matt_cohen_, @amy_hollyfield, @carolynpfox and @billadairduke
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