For the Record

White House: President Trump 'Strongly Condemns' Video Attacking Media:

The White House has asserted that President Trump "strongly condemns" a fake video that depicts him shooting members of the media and political rivals. "Re: the video played over the weekend: The @POTUS @realDonaldTrump has not yet seen the video, he will see it shortly, but based upon everything he has heard, he strongly condemns this video," Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham tweeted Monday morning. The video was shown at a conference for his supporters at the Trump National Doral Miami resort last week, according to footage obtained by Michael Schmidt and Maggie Haberman of The New York Times.

James Murdoch Buys Vice Stake:

James Murdoch has acquired a small stake in Vice Media through his Lupa Systems holding company, the Financial Times first reported Thursday. Since netting $2 billion from the sale of the majority of Fox's assets to the Walt Disney Company, Murdoch has invested in what Edmund Lee of the New York Times has characterized as "a diverse group of media businesses that looks very different from the one his father founded."

G/O Closes Splinter:

G/O Media announced Thursday that it would be shutting down Splinter, a 2-year-old news and opinion site that replaced Gawker in the company's portfolio following its divestment. Editorial Director Paul Maidment ascribed the decision to "finite resources." However, according to an email to staffers obtained by HuffPost, Maidment instructed editors not to publish any posts about the closure, belying the group's tradition of self-directed media criticism. While some staffers will be assigned to other G/O properties, seven members of the news organization's Writer's Guild of America, East bargaining unit were laid off and in the process of negotiating severance packages as of the morning of October 10.

DIA Analyst Implicated in Leak Case:

The Department of Justice has charged Defense Intelligence Agency counterterrorism analyst Henry Kyle Frese with two counts of willful transmission of national defense information to persons not entitled to receive it for allegedy sharing intelligence on unspecified foreign weapons systems with two journalists, including his significant other. "The concern is not just the loss of that information, but how other countries could use that information," said Alan E. Kohler Jr., the lead special agent for counterintelligence at the FBI's Washington Field Office. If the case goes to trial, it will be the sixth Intelligence Community-related leak prosecution of the Trump administration.

"New Gannett" Prepares for Merger:

According to NiemanLab's Ken Doctor, as many as 25,000 employees (a workforce over eight times as large as McClatchy's entire staff) may be laid off in the aftermath of the Gannett/GateHouse Media merger, which is set to close following a November 14 shareholder ratification vote. However, GateHouse executive Mike Reed (who will serve as CEO of the new corporation) has asserted that "business-side functions — from advertising to production to finance to circulation — will take the brunt of the cuts," leaving newsroom staffs mostly intact.

GroupNine Acquires PopSugar:

Discovery-backed digital publisher Group Nine has acquired lifestyle publisher PopSugar in an all-stock deal valued at $300 million. The purchase marks the third digital media deal in the past two weeks. "There are lots of complementary revenue streams," Group Nine CEO Ben Lerer said in a joint interview with PopSugar co-founders Brian and Lisa Sugar. "There is a shockingly small amount of cannibalization."

New York's WBAI Closes:

The Pacifica Foundation shut down New York freeform radio station WBAI Monday, locking out employees and volunteers at the station's Brooklyn offices. Fundraiser Gary Null speculated to New York 1 that the foundation "is setting the up station for a sale, and the license alone could yield more than $50 million." Although the station has "as a history of lockouts and strikes," the foundation has yet to comment on the closure.

Facebook Settles Advertising Suit:

According to a brief released on October 4, Facebook will pay $40 million in settlements to advertisers and their attorneys after the companies claimed that the technology platform inflated average viewing times by 150 to 900%. The plaintiffs estimate that they may have received up to $200 million in damages if the suit had gone to trial.

Shake-Up at Quartz:

Quartz co-founder Kevin Delaney has stepped down from the position in what Marc Tracy and Edmund Lee of the New York Times have characterized as "a shake-up of the company's leadership." Fellow co-founder Zach Seward will become the CEO of the company after sharing that role with Jay Lauf, while Chief Commercial Officer Katie Weber has been promoted to president. Delaney, who previously served as managing editor of the Wall Street Journal's digital unit, will continue to serve as an adviser to the news organization. 

Breitbart Embraces Impeachment Messaging:

After months of stagnating readership, Breitbart News "has gone into 24-7 campaign mode" in covering the House of Representatives' impeachment inquiry of President Trump. In addition to proffering several polls that have been retweeted by the president, Jonathan Swan of Axios reports that members of the Republican congressional leadership (including Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Minority Whip Steve Scalise) have utilized the site as a bulwark in their messaging.