For the Record

Daily Wire's Facebook Network:

According to Judd Legum of Popular Information, Facebook has permitted conservative commentator Ben Shapiro's Daily Wire to operate "a clandestine network of 14 large Facebook pages that purport to be independent but exclusively promote content from The Daily Wire in a coordinated fashion," including "Conservative News" and "Lady Patriots." The platform, which does not permit "inauthentic coordinated behavior," previously shut down a similar network operated by liberal activist Chris Metcalf. Shapiro recently met with CEO Mark Zuckerberg to discuss free speech and partnership opportunities.

Wintour Meets Trump:

In a new feature on Condé Nast, Reeves Wiedeman of New York magazine reported that Artistic Director Anna Wintour arranged a confidential 2017 meeting between the media company's top editors and Ivanka Trump. Wintour, a prominent Democratic fundraiser, introduced her by saying it was "brave" of Trump to attend the meeting. Wiedeman also reflected on the future of the company: "After years of drama, downsizing and intrigue, what seems to be happening most with Condé is that it is becoming — normal. Just another media company trying to get by. It's spent the past decade battling Facebook and Google and hordes of venture-capital-funded media start-ups bent on disruption that dragged everyone down in a race to the bottom."

Recount Launches:

John Heilemann and John Battelle's The Recount will emerge from beta testing this week with $10 million in funding from eight seed investors, including Jay-Z's Arrive fund, former UBS executive Robert Wolf's 32 Ventures and Ron Conway's SV Angel fund. The news organization, whose leadership includes former Viceland executive Nomi Leidner, will publish what Vanity Fair's Joe Pompeo has characterized as "bite-size 'remixes' of the day’s biggest political stories." 

Facebook Employees Sign Anti-Disinformation Letter:

More than 250 Facebook employees have signed an open letter to CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other executives protesting the social network's "recent decision to let politicians post any claims they wanted — even false ones — in ads on the site," according to Mike Isaac of the New York Times. In a recent speech at Georgetown University, Zuckerberg defended the policy, maintaining that "people having the power to express themselves at scale is a new kind of force in the world."

Capital Gazette Shooter Pleads Guilty:

Jarrod Ramos entered a guilty plea Monday in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court for assassinating five staffers at the Capital Gazette on June 28, 2019. The attack marked the single deadliest day for journalists in the United States since the September 11 attacks. Ramos, who lost a defamation suit against the paper before the attack, had earlier pleaded not criminally responsible by virtue of a mental illness that kept him from understanding the criminality of his actions. His trial was slated to begin on November 4.

Ray Jenkins (1930-2019):

1955 Public Service contributor Ray Jenkins died at his home in Baltimore Thursday from congestive heart failure. He was 89. The Columbus Ledger and Sunday Ledger-Enquirer's winning portfolio explored rampant municipal corruption (including murder) in Phenix City, Ala. Jenkins later covered the civil rights movement as editor of the Montgomery Advertiser and the Alabama Journal before serving as a special assistant for press affairs in the Carter administration under Press Secretary Jody Powell. He retired as editorial page editor of the Baltimore Evening Sun in 1991.

Astros Retract Statement to Sports Illustrated:

Houston Astros owner Jim Crane issued a formal apology and retraction of a previous statement to Sports Illustrated reporter Stephanie Apstein after the baseball team initially denied that Assistant General Manager Brandon Taubman chanted "Thank God we got [Roberto] Osuna! I’m so f------ glad we got Osuna!" in front of a group of women during the team's ALCS championship celebraion, insinuating that Apstein fabricated the incident. Osuna, a relief pitcher, completed a 75-game suspension in 2018 for violating Major League Baseball's domestic violence policy. "We were wrong and I am sorry that we initially questioned your professionalism," said Crane.

Google News Initiative Announces Grants:

The Google News Initiative announced its first round of North American grantees Friday. $30 million will be disbursed to 34 projects in 17 states and provinces, including a MaineToday Media customer data management system, a GateHouse Media audio management system and the Arizona Daily Star's local management program. The grants range from $32,250 to $300,000.

Examiner Publishes Conway Call:

Washington Examiner Editor in Chief Hugo Gurdon defended the news organization's Thursday publication of a recorded conversation between Senior Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway and reporter Caitlin Yilek in which Conway questioned a reference to her husband's ongoing criticism of the administration in a recent article. Yilek had taken the call as an off-the-record conversation with the administration official's assistant before Conway "grabbed the phone," according to Katie Shepherd of the Washington Post. Conway subsequently said that "the White House would delve into the personal lives of reporters if they wrote about her husband" before the call concluded. "Off the record conversations are agreed in good faith and in advance between people known to be participating," Gurdon said. "They are not, and never have been, blanket coverage to shield people who pull a bait and switch, peremptorily enter the conversation, and then spend ten minutes abusing, bullying and threatening a reporter. Other organizations may agree to be played for saps, but the Washington Examiner won't." 

White House Directs Federal Agencies to End Times, Post Subscriptions:

According to Andrew Restuccia of the Wall Street Journal, the White House "is planning to instruct federal agencies to not renew their subscriptions to the New York Times and the Washington Post." In an email to Restuccia, Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham asserted that "not renewing subscriptions across all federal agencies will be a significant cost saving" and "hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars will be saved." The decision was condemned by PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel, who characterized it as a "terrifying and self-defeating effort at vindictive information control that reeks of totalitarianism." Bloomberg's Jennifer Jacobs has reported that the White House will retain an online Washington Post subscription.