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Russia has added journalists from the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Washington Post to the list of 92 US citizens who have been permanently denied entry into the Russian Federation. A statement from Russia’s Foreign Ministry tagged all three papers as part of the “liberal globalist media outlets involved in manufacturing and spreading fake claims about Russia and its armed forces, and engaged in using propaganda to cover Washington’s hybrid war.” Among the 14 WSJ journalists on the list is its editor in chief, Emma Tucker. In addition to five Times journalists and four from the Post, US citizens such as Judi Dotson, who leads Booz Allen Hamilton’s global defense business, are also included. The Russian statement goes on to say, “We are resolved to act consistently with regard to including more individuals who are involved in anti-Russia activities on the list of persons who are denied entry to the Russian Federation in response to the outlandish sanction frenzy that the US ruling elite have worked themselves into.”
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Trump Media engaged in a little arm-twisting to help a foreign worker jump to the front of the line in the visa process, according to a report on ProPublica. The report says that the former president’s media company contacted Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) for assistance in expediting the visa application of Vladimir Novachki, who currently serves as Trump Media’s chief technology officer. The request noted that one of the reasons Novachki, previously a software developer in North Macedonia, was recruited was because American candidates for the same work were more expensive, a person involved told ProPublica—a stance seemingly at odds with Trump’s stated desire to “strengthen Buy American and Hire American Policies.” While it’s common for companies to ask members of Congress to help expedite such applications for applicants or companies based in the lawmaker’s district, Trump Media’s Sarasota, FL headquarters are about 1,500 miles from Bacon’s Nebraska district. A spokesperson for Bacon told ProPublica that Trump Media got around that hurdle by having the request come from a Trump Media employee who lived in Bacon’s district. A lawyer for Trump Media sent ProPublica a letter threatening a lawsuit over the report and accusing the outlet of intending “to publish yet another hit piece on the company that includes false, misleading, and defamatory statements.”
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The California General Assembly passed a bill on Aug. 28 requiring internet browsers and mobile operating systems to let consumers easily opt out from the sharing and selling of their private data with websites that use it for targeted advertising. The new legislation creates an “opt-out preference signal” tool that consumers could use to opt out of sharing their information by just pushing a button to activate the signal on their internet browser. By doing that, they would be sending send opt out requests to every website they visit by default. After California’s General Assembly passed the bill, the Senate also approved it, sending it back to the assembly with several amendments. If those are OKed, the bill will then go to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk.
Symbolic.ai forms a partnership with News Corp to begin using the company’s AI-native publisher platform in the newsrooms of News Corp publications to augment research, writing and publishing... Mediaite launches a newsletter that promises to give readers a summary of—media newsletters... The Fund for American Studies launches the Journalism Excellence Fellowship, a program that will provide promising young journalists the opportunity to work alongside top writers, reporters, and media professionals.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, which has roots going back to 1786, is going out of business, the paper’s owners, Block Communications, announced on Jan. 7... GQ editor Will Welch is stepping down to take on a new Paris-based role with the musician Pharrell, who is also men’s creative director at Louis Vuitton... Semafor says it has raised $30 million on a $330 million valuation, following its first profitable year. 
The Walt Disney Company and OpenAI reach an agreement that will make a set of more than 200 animated, masked and creature characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars available for use by Sora, OpenAI’s short-form generative AI video platform... CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss has moved Tony Dokoupil, a co-host at “CBS Mornings” since 2019, into the anchor’s chair for the “CBS Evening News,” following the departure of John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois... USA Today editor-in-chief Caren Bohan has left the paper.
Michael Kaminer, who was responsible for the Observer’s “Power List” for the past 13 years, has cut ties with the publication... The New York Times Company continues the march toward its goal of 15 million subscribers by the end of 2027... The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is providing more than $6 million in funding to eight organizations working to address the challenges local news and information environments face along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Conservative outlets Fox News, Newsmax and the Daily Caller are holding back from signing Pete Hegseth’s edict restricting press access in the Pentagon... CBS News sees the first executive departure of the Bari Weiss era as head of standards and practices Claudia Milne exits... Indiana University shuts down the print version of The Indiana Daily Student.
