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Jeff Bezos:
Jeff Bezos publishes letters from National Enquirer owner AMI that he says show threats to publish his nude photos unless he stops probing AMI's reporting — Something unusual happened to me yesterday. Actually, for me it wasn't just unusual—it was a first. I was made an offer I couldn't refuse.
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AMI says it believes it acted lawfully in its Bezos reporting and characterizes its actions as “good faith negotiations” but will investigate the claims — The parent company of the National Enquirer said it would thoroughly investigate extortion claims by Amazon chief executive Jeffrey P. Bezos …
Discussion:
CNBC, @jediofgallifrey, TechCrunch, CNBC, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, @amandamarcotte and @oliverdarcy

Sources: SDNY received information about key exchanges concerning Bezos and AMI and is reviewing it for possible immunity agreement violations — - Billionaire says he won't give in to ‘extortion and blackmail’ — Magazine reported Bezos relationship as CEO announced divorce
Discussion:
@ninabernstein1, @will_bunch, CNN, Business Insider, Vanity Fair, Recode and The Week

Ronan Farrow said he and at least one other journalist involved in stories about National Enquirer and Trump faced “blackmail” threats from AMI — Ronan Farrow said Thursday that he and “at least one other prominent journalist” who had reported on the National Enquirer …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Financial Times, CNN, Mediaite, The Wrap, @ronanfarrow, @ronanfarrow, @noahshachtman, @tbridis, @johncarreyrou, Newser and Page Six

Twitter served as the spark and initial validator for the Bezos blog post on Medium, once again showing how instrumental Twitter is for news — Jeff Bezos' highly personal blog post last night was a bombshell in many ways: it served as a middle finger to blackmailing bullies …
Discussion:
New York Times, @bluechoochoo, @vladsavov, @bluechoochoo, Business Insider and GeekWire, more at Techmeme »
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: in August, Mohammed bin Salman met with Vice's Shane Smith to discuss a joint venture like the one the state has with Bloomberg and the Telegraph — New link at Wall Street Journal
Discussion:
New York Times, @aaschapiro, The Daily Beast and Splinter

While a fine line exists on what qualifies as plagiarism, it's irritating to have words borrowed for Jill Abramson's book with no apparent attribution — It's an odd feeling to have an otherwise unremarkable passage you wrote appear as an exhibit in an accusation of plagiarism …
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Jill Abramson responds to plagiarism allegations, says some citations don't match with the right pages and some language is too close to sources, promises fixes — Former New York Times executive editor Jill Abramson responded Thursday to allegations that she plagiarized portions of her new book …
Discussion:
New York Times, @amyjbrittain, Hmm Daily, @willsommer, Associated Press, @melodyhahm, @genepark, NPR, @mattyglesias, @dansinker, @davidfolkenflik, @farhip, @mattyglesias, @daveweigel, @wolfereports, @aaronblake, @versharma, @rickhasen, @dandrezner, @petridishes, @dylanmatt, @tomzellerjr, @susanschorn, @brendannyhan, @jason_pontin, @harrymccracken, @marcissist, @erikwemple, @thealannoble, @melaniesill, @rafat, BBC, @carloslozadawp, @johnmcquaid, @sulliview, Mediaite and Washington Post

Google touts its news initiatives, but essentially bars access to Google News for small publishers with its opaque policies and unrealistic output requirements — There's been a lot of discussion about the future of publishing over the last few years, particularly as Facebook traffic began cratering …
Discussion:
@baekdal

Capitol Forum, which focuses on M&A and government contract news, sues Bloomberg News, claiming Bloomberg is violating copyright's “hot news doctrine” and more — Capitol Forum, a Washington-based news service that focuses on mergers and acquisitions, antitrust and government contracts …
Discussion:
courthousenews.com, Thanks:@talkingbiznews

Research comparing 2016 and 2018 suggests Facebook's efforts to limit the reach of fake news are working, but the platform's scale remains an alluring target — After the shock of the 2016 presidential election, many Americans found psychological refuge in a simple explanation for why Donald Trump won: “fake news.”

Report: Google pulls government-banned sites from Russian search results, blocks ~70% of sites blacklisted by Russia's communications regulator Roskomnadzor — Google has started to remove certain entries from its search results in Russia in compliance with long-standing demands from the authorities …
Discussion:
Beyond Search and Meduza.io, more at Techmeme »

News Corp beats Q2 estimates with $119M in net income as revenue rises 21% YoY to $2.63B; revenue of online real estate services rose 7%, HarperCollins grew ~6% — (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch-controlled media group News Corp topped Wall Street estimates for quarterly earnings and revenue on Thursday …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, News Corp and Financial Times

UK's Telegraph to report misconduct allegations against Philip Green after he dropped his legal claim and was ordered to pay £3M, the bulk of the outlet's costs — Sir Philip Green faces a legal bill of £3 million after the High Court formally allowed him to abandon his court action …
Discussion:
Press Gazette, @telegraph, The Guardian and @chrisevans1

Facebook's measures to increase transparency before India's election, including requiring advertisers to confirm identity and location, take effect Feb. 21 — NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Facebook Inc is toughening up the rules governing political advertisements in India to create more transparency ahead …