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| John Stossel |
John Stossel sues Facebook, claiming he was defamed when the platform appended fact-checking labels to two videos he posted about climate change. The complaint also names Science Feedback and Climate Feedback, two fact-checking companies that Facebook uses to determine the accuracy of posts. In one of those video posts, Stossel “explored a scientific hypothesis” that “while climate change undoubtedly contributes to forest fires, it was not the primary cause of the 2020 California fires.” Facebook then flagged the content as “misleading” and “missing context.” According to the lawsuit, “Stossel was given no meaningful avenue to contest these unilateral decisions about the truth of his journalism.” Stossel’s lawsuit seeks “general, special and compensatory damages” of at least $1 million and exemplary and punitive damages of at least $1 million. In a statement to Variety, a Facebook spokesperson said, “We believe this case is without merit and we will defend ourselves vigorously against the allegations.”
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| Lee Hill |
GBH, Boston’s public radio platform, names Lee Hill the first executive editor for GBH News. Hill is currently the executive producer for WNYC’s daily national news program The Takeaway. Before WNYC, he was a founding editor of Inside Energy, a Colorado-based journalism collaboration between NPR and PBS stations. Upon joining the GBH News team in November, Hill will oversee news content and strategy across platforms and lead the newsroom's interaction with local communities. The position of executive editor was created as part of GBH News’ digital transformation. GBH was known as WGBH until August 2020, at which point the “W” was dropped from its name to reflect an increasing focus on digital platforms. GBH News general Pam Johnston said that Hill’s “outstanding journalism credentials will add to the success of GBH News and help us find innovative ways to reach and engage our expanding audience”
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Crain Communications has acquires Green Market Report, a digital media brand that covers financial news about the cannabis industry. The acquisition will be finalized on September 30. New York-based Green Market Report was launched in 2017 by Debra Borchardt, who was a vice president at Bear Stearns before working at TheStreet.com, Women’s Wear Daily and Forbes, and Cynthia Salarizadeh, a former managing partner at KCSA Strategic Communications. It includes a network of freelance journalists and garners 150,000 monthly page views. “They focus on the financial, business and economic side of the cannabis industry, so it's a natural fit with our other business brands," said Crain Communications president and CEO KC Crain. “The combination of Crain’s experience and Green Market Report’s expertise will turn us into a leader in the industry,” Borchardt said.
McClatchy, which owns 29 daily papers across 14 states (including The Miami Herald, Sacramento Bee and Kansas City Star), launches a wave of layoffs that extends to at least 13 of those papers... The Toledo Blade, which was founded in 1835, is set to shut down on Dec. 31, unless owner Block Communications manages to find a buyer for it... A bill awaiting approval by California governor Gavin Newsom would give local newsrooms a boost. 
Fox News Media issued a pretty sparse release to announce the departure of one of its stars. “Effective today, Maria Bartiromo is no longer with FOX News Media,” it reads.
Brunswick Group partner John Simons has joined CNN as senior director of business & media. He held top jobs at Time and the Wall Street Journal.
WNET, the nation’s largest public media company, names Edward O’Keefe its next president and CEO, effective September 21. O’Keefe succeeds Neal Shapiro, who becomes president emeritus and will retire at the end of the year... The Stealth Bot Prohibition Act, which would empower news publishers and other content providers to defend themselves by mandating transparency for all bots crawling their sites, in introduced in the House by Rep. Laurel Lee (R-FL) and Rep. Valerie Foushee (D-NC)... Google gets socked by European Union regulators with a $1 billion fine for using the platform’s dominance as a search engine to illegally undercut competition.
Boston Globe Media acquires InstaTrac, a company that provides subscription-based services aimed at making government information easier to find, track, and understand... AARP names former New Republic CEO and publisher Michael Caruso as its SVP and chief content officer, unifying the organization's portfolio of media, live events and digital platforms... The Fund for American Studies, an educational nonprofit, awards its inaugural Journalism Excellence Fellowships.
