Top News:
Richard Sandomir / New York Times:
Bill Simmons' ESPN contract will not be renewed, Grantland said to be unaffected by departure — Bill Simmons and ESPN Are Parting Ways — Bill Simmons, who built a personal empire at ESPN and is one of America's most influential sports personalities, will leave the media giant when his contract expires in the fall.
Discussion:
@richsandomir, Washington Post, The Wrap, Deadspin, TVNewser, FishbowlNY, The Big Lead, The Big Lead, Poynter, Deadspin, Deadspin, Deadspin, USA Today, Fox Sports, Los Angeles Times, Gawker, Washington Post, @aaronmesh, Politico, Poynter, The Huffington Post, Mediaite, Multichannel News, UPROXX, @cwarzel, @danpfleegor, @niket, Quartz, @shanesmith30, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Yahoo! News, Associated Press, NY Daily News, International Business Times, New Jersey Online, New York Post, Business Insider, Business Insider, @gabrielsnyder, @mariekshan, SBNation.com, John Clay's Sidelines, @justinnxt, @benparr, @jamesabloom, Awful Announcing, @mathewi, @rachel__nichols, Mashable, CBS New York, @justinryoung, @pkafka, @hunterw and Vox
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Peter Kafka / Re/code:
Grantland Publisher David Cho Is Leaving, Too — Bill Simmons isn't the only one leaving Grantland and ESPN. — David Cho, who has been publisher of the sports + pop culture site since Simmons started it in 2011, gave his notice to ESPN last week, according to a person familiar with the site.
Discussion:
The Big Lead, UPROXX and Awful Announcing
Re/code:
Apple's new music service to push subscriptions, but could also offer a free trial and samples — Apple's New Music Service Will Push Paid Subscriptions, With Free Samples — Apple wants people to pay for its streaming music service. But that doesn't mean it won't let people listen for free, too.
Discussion:
VentureBeat, App Advice, The Next Web, AppleInsider, SlashGear, MacRumors, 9to5Mac and @caseynewton
Robert Channick / Chicago Tribune:
Tribune Publishing to buy U-T San Diego for $85 million — Tribune Publishing has entered into an agreement to buy San Diego's flagship newspaper for $85 million. The deal, confirmed Thursday evening, includes $73 million in cash and $12 million in Tribune Publishing common stock …
Cora Currier / The Intercept:
U.S. Government Designated Prominent Al Jazeera Journalist as “Member of Al Qaeda” — The U.S. government labeled a prominent journalist as a member of Al Qaeda and placed him on a watch list of suspected terrorists, according to a top-secret document that details U.S. intelligence efforts …
Discussion:
Mediaite, Engadget, Gizmodo, The Next Web, @ararmaher, Committee to Protect … and WebProNews
Tim Peterson / AdAge:
Google Says 46% of Web Video Ads Are Never Viewed — Of Unseen Ads, 76% Did Not Even Appear On Screen — Google says YouTube has a much higher viewability rate than the wider web. — 2015 Programming Roundup — Digital was supposed to fix that old adage about an advertiser knowing …
Discussion:
FishbowlNY
Michelle Castillo / Adweek:
Snapchat debuts 10-second video ads for Discover publishers that cost two cents per view — Snapchat Debuts Video Ads for 2 Cents a View — Snapchat wants companies to know its not just for millennials: Advertisers can find a home there as well. At the Daily Mail/Elite Daily Digital …
Caitlin Petre / Tow Center for Digital Journalism:
The Traffic Factories: Metrics at Chartbeat, Gawker Media, and The New York Times — A report by Tow Fellow Caitlin Petre. — PROJECT LEADER: — Acknowledgements — I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to those employees of Chartbeat, The New York Times, and Gawker Media who shared their time, insights, and experiences with me.
Discussion:
Journalism.co.uk, @sarahnemerson, TOWCenter and @antderosa
Christian Sandvig / Social Media Collective:
Facebook's news polarization study is flawed because it only counted users self-reporting their ideological affiliation — The Facebook “It's Not Our Fault” Study — Today in Science, members of the Facebook data science team released a provocative study about adult Facebook users in the US …
Discussion:
Crooked Timber, Cyborgology, Medium, @herrhorn, @mathewi, @jayrosen_nyu, Engadget, Joho the Blog, @snurb_dot_info, @digiphile and USA Today
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Adi Robertson / The Verge:
Facebook study: our News Feed algorithm makes you just 5-8% less likely to see news from the opposing political side
Facebook study: our News Feed algorithm makes you just 5-8% less likely to see news from the opposing political side
Discussion:
New York Times, Medium, @verge, @mikebutcher, Mashable, Bloomberg Business, Science, Pacific Standard, CBS News, NBC News, Guardian, Rachel Metz, BBC, Co.Exist, Gizmodo, TIME and Engadget
TechCrunch:
AOL Q1 Beats With $625.1M In Sales, EPS Of $0.34 On Back Of Ad Growth — Amid a challenging market for tech stocks this quarter, AOL today reported its most recent earnings. For the quarter that ended March 31, the company posted revenues of $625.1 million and adjusted earnings per share of $0.34.
Discussion:
Reuters, Bloomberg Business, International Business Times, CNBC, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Wall Street Journal and Business Wire
Jeremy Barr / Capital New York:
Bloomberg's anti-gun group sets up an editorial operation — Everytown for Gun Safety, the nonprofit advocacy organization co-chaired by Michael Bloomberg, is launching an adjacent news operation, scheduled to debut in June, Capital has learned. — James Burnett, who resigned from The New Republic …
Lisa Beilfuss / Wall Street Journal:
E.W. Scripps Q1 revenue up 5.3% to $214.5M, digital ad revenue up 21% to $5.3M, newspaper revenue down 7.1% to $91.5M — E.W. Scripps Loss Widens on Higher Expenses — Media company expects flat television revenue for current quarter — Media company E.W. Scripps Co. said its loss widened …
Discussion:
Associated Press