When the Federal Communications Commission was vetting right-wing media conglomerate Sinclair Broadcasting Group’s $3.9 billion proposal to merge with competitor Tribune Media last year, Democrats in the House asked the agency’s inspector general to investigate whether chairman and Donald Trump appointee Ajit Pai was unfairly biased in favor of the deal. The resulting investigation has now cleared Pai, according to Reuters. Sinclair, which Politico previously reported struck a deal in 2016 with then-candidate Trump’s campaign trading access for more favorable coverage, has recently busied itself making news anchors across the country read off pro-Trump propaganda and forcing stations to run right-wing commentary. If approved, its merger with Tribune would have given it control of the latter’s 42 television stations in 33 markets as well as cable network WGN America, allowing it to reach 72 percent of households with its reactionary message. The deal ultimately … [Read more...] about FCC Clears Ajit Pai of Wrongdoing in Sinclair’s Failed Takeover of Local News
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Craigslist founder gives Mother Jones $1 million to fight fake news
The founder of Craigslist has become a big supporter of investigative journalism.Craig Newmark on Monday gave $1 million to Mother Jones in an effort to help the investigative outlet combat fake news, the Poynter Institute reported. He has reportedly also given donations to Poynter, ProPublica, the Center for Public Integrity, the Columbia Journalism Review and the school's Tow Center, Wikimedia, The Ground Truth Project and more. Newmark told Poynter that journalists are key in defending the country against the modern information warfare and disinformation campaigns aimed at interfering with elections. With that reason, he reportedly funds people and organizations with solid track records to make positive social impact.Mother Jones is a nonprofit news organization that focuses on investigative reporting. The donation will go towards the news outlet's fundraising campaign to expand coverage and its reporting capacity, according to the outlet's blog post. The campaign has received … [Read more...] about Craigslist founder gives Mother Jones $1 million to fight fake news
iOS 12 release date, news and features
The iOS 12 public beta is available today, changing your current iPhone and iPad for 2018 with features like Memoji, Group Notifications, and better overall performance.Sure, the final iOS 12 release date is weeks away, but the beta is better than iOS 11 and even full of insight into iPad Pro 2018 and Apple Watch 4. Best of all, iOS 12 is free to download, whether you wait for early September or download it today.Good news: Apple is already up to iOS 12 developer beta 9 and we've tested features like Measure, Siri Shortcuts, and created a Memoji. Our older iPhones are also faster and Grouped Notifications make the UI easier to navigate.Here's the bad news: you won't get Group FaceTime as part of the iOS 12 beta and it's not launching alongside the final software. Apple says that it has been delayed and we expect that this means it'll arrive in an iOS 12.1 update.Apple unveiled the first set of features at WWDC 2018 on June 4, but there are even more coming to your existing iPhone and … [Read more...] about iOS 12 release date, news and features
iPhone 9 release date, price, news and leaks
Apple is poised to launch a cheaper iPhone 9 in 2018, and whether or not it goes by that specific name, we expect a new all-screen iPhone closer to the iPhone 8 in price than the iPhone X.The iPhone 9 launch date is likely less than two weeks away now, and with the announcement of the new iPhone so close it's no wonder the web is rife with rumor, leaks and speculation.Of course, we do expect a new flagship phone too in the form of the iPhone 11 (or iPhone XI) with a September launch window, but anyone holding out for a more affordable device from Apple should look no further than the iPhone 9.Update: According to sources in Germany, iPhone 9 pre-orders will start on September 14 - which falls in nicely with a possible September 12 launch.We don't have any solid information at this point, but iPhone 9 rumors and leaks are pointing to a larger screen and a mix of a iPhone 8 and iPhone X features.Of course, Apple may opt to keep with its current incremental naming system for this handset, … [Read more...] about iPhone 9 release date, price, news and leaks
The Alexa-Cortana integration: Why wasn’t this bigger news?
Featured stories Microsoft: We've just messed up Russian plans to attack US 2018 midterm elections Buyer's remorse: Phones, tablets and more tech purchases we regret To build a private cloud: How Kubernetes gets friendly with Hadoop Open-source vulnerabilities which will not die: Who is to blame? A couple of things I need to say off the top here: OK, the headline sounds negative, but for me, it's more about how potentially positive/powerful the news could've been in comparison to what it ended up being. But it still can be that level of positive/powerful in the end, because this should not be the end.Also: Microsoft and Amazon start publicly testing Cortana-Alexa integration It took a year to get to this point, but at least we got here. I don't think we'll get "here" with Alexa/Google Assistant or Alexa/Siri anytime soon, which is a real shame, because the more these four assistants/companies work together on creating a common platform layer, the quicker/more secure/more … [Read more...] about The Alexa-Cortana integration: Why wasn’t this bigger news?