Mediagazer: Source: Chinese state media agencies spend hundreds of thousands of dollars each quarter on Facebook ads to spread a positive message about China (Paul Mozur/New York Times)

6:15 AM ET, November 9, 2017

Top News:

Sources: US DoJ tells AT&T it needs to sell CNN to get Time Warner merger approval; source says “It's all about CNN”; source says AT&T plans to sue DoJ — AT&T has been told by the US Department of Justice that it needs to sell CNN, Time Warner's cable news channel …

Discussion: New York Times, CNNMoney, The Atlantic, AT&T, Vanity Fair, Slate, NPR, The Wrap, MediaFile, @richbtig, @brianstelter, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine, @srabil, Recode, @claireatki, @danprimack, Fast Company, @raju, @anthony and Mediaite, more at Techmeme »

Tae Kim / CNBC:

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson says company has “no intention” of selling CNN amid AT&T-TW merger and has not offered to sell it during process despite DoJ demand — - Sources tell CNBC the Justice Department is demanding that AT&T sell Turner Broadcasting, which includes CNN …

Discussion: @brianstelter, Forbes, Quartz, Bloomberg, Variety, The Hill, ABC News, Variety, @mattfwood, @mattyglesias, NBC News, Multichannel News, The Verge and Deadline

Peter Kafka / Recode:

When Trump's DoJ threatens to scuttle AT&T-Time Warner deal unless CNN is sold, business leaders feel the chill as well as journalists — Chilling. — What would it look like if the President of the United States punished American businesses he didn't like, or news organizations that reported things he didn't like?

Georg Szalai / Hollywood Reporter:
AT&T CFO John Stephens says the closing time for the company's $85.4B acquisition of Time Warner is now uncertain, as negotiations with DOJ continue

Discussion: Business Insider, AOL, The Hill, Reuters and CNBC

Joe Mayes / Bloomberg:

UK document: Bill O'Reilly's earlier Fox contract shielded him from getting fired over harassment allegations not proven in court — Fox director Nasser reveals contract terms to U.K. regulators — Sexual-harassment handling is weighing on Fox's bid for Sky

Discussion: Competition …, LawNewz, Washington Post, Jezebel and Mediaite

Josh Feldman / Mediaite:

Sean Hannity announces that former White House aide Sebastian Gorka has joined Fox News as a national security analyst — Sean Hannity announced on his radio show today that Sebastian Gorka has officially joined Fox News. — Gorka appeared on Hannity's radio show today and …

Discussion: @yashar, Media Matters for America and TVNewser

Matt Pressberg / The Wrap:

21st Century Fox beats Q1 estimates with $839M net income on revenue of $7B, up 8% YoY, led by affiliate revenue — Fox News continues to reel in the dough, as cable networks propelled 21st Century Fox to another strong quarter during a week when it was revealed that Rupert Murdoch's media giant held talks …

Discussion: New York Times, Fortune, Broadcasting & Cable, Variety, 21st Century Fox and CNBC

Joe Mayes / Bloomberg:
Murdoch ally Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, one of the princes arrested by Saudi authorities, has sold all of his remaining voting stock in 21st Century Fox

Discussion: The Wrap, The Guardian, Deadline and Crikey

Jane Lytvynenko / BuzzFeed:

BuzzSumo data shows InfoWars copied over 1K articles from Russia's RT without permission since May 2014 and also copied posts from CNN, Breitbart, BBC, others — The Kremlin-funded broadcaster told BuzzFeed News that InfoWars reprinted materials without permission.

Discussion: Gizmodo, UPROXX, @craigsilverman and @oliverdarcy

Joseph Cox / The Daily Beast:

Facebook says a human will review uncensored images from revenge porn prevention test in Australia, where users upload sensitive pics by messaging themselves — This week, multiple outlets reported on a Facebook pilot scheme that aims to combat revenge porn.

Discussion: Ars Technica, BetaNews, @clarajeffery, @jordanuhl, Gizmodo, Washington Post, UPROXX, The Hill, The Daily Caller and ABC, more at Techmeme »

Paul Mozur / New York Times:

Source: Chinese state media agencies spend hundreds of thousands of dollars each quarter on Facebook ads to spread a positive message about China — A propaganda video produced by Xinhua, China's state news agency, and targeted to English-speaking audiences was published on Facebook.

Discussion: Nieman Lab, @jimspellmantv, @propublica and @paulmozur, more at Techmeme »

Erin Millar / Discourse:

Canada's Discourse Media is hoping to raise $1M to expand nationally with a revamped digital site and a membership model in spring 2018 — After months of researching, listening, planning, seeking advice, and making hard decisions, on Nov. 7, I stood in front of a packed room in Toronto …

Discussion: @erinmillar, @discoursemedia, @erinmillar and The Conversation, Thanks:@jayneely

Peter Kafka / Recode:

Apple commits to at least two seasons of a show about the morning TV show industry, with Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston as stars and executive producers — Friends stars, reunited! In 2019, probably. — Apple is already making a TV show with Steven Spielberg.

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter, Slate, Ad Age, Jezebel, The Wrap, Broadcasting & Cable and New York Times

Jackie Strause / Hollywood Reporter:

Former Boston news anchor Heather Unruh says Kevin Spacey sexually assaulted her teenage son in a Nantucket restaurant in July 2016 — Heather Unruh says Spacey assaulted her “starstruck” and “straight ” 18-year-old son at a Nantucket restaurant in July 2016.

Discussion: WCVB, The Daily Caller, Broadcasting & Cable, Variety and The A.V. Club

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From Techmeme:

Alex Heath / The Verge:
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Ryan Morrison / Tom's Guide:
Microsoft researchers introduce VASA-1, an AI model that creates a realistic talking face video from a portrait photo and an audio file, in research preview

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