Ownership

[Commentary]  President Donald Trump’s derision hasn’t just seeped into the public consciousness; it’s worked its way into journalists’ bloodstreams, too. Take bad economics, mix in the devaluing of journalism as a profession—both from within and without—and the downgrading of truth in American culture, and you have a recipe for despair. There’s a growing impetus for our best journalists, now and in the future, to write off the profession entirely and opt for a life that’s relatively sane.

[Commentary] Race remains a no-go topic for much of the media—which will have serious consequences for the press.

Instagram has blocked posts in Russia relating to corruption claims made by the country's most prominent opposition leader. It follows a demand by the country's internet censor that the Facebook-owned service restrict access to posts on its platform connected to allegations made by Alexei Navalny. Its response contrasts with that of Google's YouTube service. It had been ordered to block several clips before the end of Feb 14. But it has taken no such action.

A Belgian court threatened Facebook with a fine of up to 100 million euros ($125 million) if it continued to break privacy laws by tracking people on third party websites.  In a case brought by Belgium’s privacy watchdog, the court also ruled on Feb 16 that Facebook had to delete all data it had gathered illegally on Belgian citizens, including people who were not Facebook users themselves.

[Commentary] This is the dark timeline: Journalism-agnostic media investors learn news can’t “scale” and then jump ship just as soon as they’ve finished killing off both the corporate and independent legacy press businesses, leaving the fate of the industry to ungodly rich people with very idiosyncratic personal agendas. What’s happening to the press is reflective of the broader transformation of our society. Rule by supposedly benevolent technocratic elites is giving way—in large part due to the fecklessness of those technocrats—to straight plutocracy.

In April 2017, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Ajit Pai, led the charge for his agency to approve rules allowing television broadcasters to greatly increase the number of stations they own.

The Senate Commerce Committee convened a hearing for the president’s nominees to serve as Federal Trade Commissioners:

AT&T is seeking to put the head of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division on its witness list in a trial over the government’s decision to block the phone giant’s $85 billion merger with Time Warner. The company is requesting that the antitrust chief, Makan Delrahim, testify in the trial, which is scheduled to begin March 19. AT&T has also asked for internal communications between the Delrahim’s office and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, according to two people with knowledge about company’s demands.

David Kaye, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, issued a call for comments on content regulation in the digital age. The call aimed to collect information from states, companies, and civil society organizations on content regulation processes, including relevant legislative measures, internal and external policies, and the challenges and successes of these procedures.

The vice president for news for Sinclair Broadcast Group, Scott Livingston, said that he understands why some people may be concerned that the company asked top managers to contribute to the company's Political Action Committee, but he says he does not believe it is a journalistic conflict of interest.  "I do understand the concern but I don’t believe this compromises our journalistic integrity. Our local stations don’t cover the ins and outs of the broadcast regulatory reform." And, Livingston said, the political action committee is "working to save local broadcasting."