Mediagazer: Four of the first five US publishers to use Facebook's Instant Articles plan to sell their own ads and keep all of the revenue (Michael Sebastian/AdAge)

6:50 PM ET, May 15, 2015

Top News:

Richard Deitsch / SI.com:

Bill Simmons will not appear again on ESPN platforms, including Grantland — ESPN president John Skipper addresses Bill Simmons' departure … There will be no farewell columns, podcasts or television appearances for Bill Simmons on ESPN. — SI has learned that ESPN and Simmons have worked …

Discussion: New York Times, Mediaite, Variety, Business Insider, The Big Lead, UPROXX, Poynter, Bleacher Report and The Week

Matthew Kassel / The New York Observer:

17 People Who Should Write the New York Times Media Column — It's impossible to replace David Carr, the New York Times media columnist who died in February. But according to a recent report in Variety, the paper is on the lookout for a new writer and has whittled its search …

Discussion: E&, @adrianchen, @tomgara, @mccollumashley, @ceodonovan, @hadas_gold, @mathewi and @romenesko

Variety:
Sources: New York Times is considering Jonathan Mahler, David Folkenflik, and Sarah Ellison to replace David Carr as media columnist

Discussion: @sfiegerman, FishbowlNY, @hadas_gold, @agolis, @jyarow and Talking Biz News

Michael Sebastian / AdAge:

Four of the first five US publishers to use Facebook's Instant Articles plan to sell their own ads and keep all of the revenue — Publishers Willing to Give Facebook Their Articles, but Not Their Ad Sales — Branded Content Could Find a Home in Instant Articles — 2015 Programming Roundup

Jack Marshall / Wall Street Journal:

For some publishers, delegating the sale of Instant Articles ads to Facebook could make sense — With Facebook's Instant Articles, Publishers May Find 70 Cents Is Better Than a Dollar — Publishers are still digesting the details of Facebook's new “Instant Articles” initiative …

Discussion: New York Times, Poynter, @jackmarshall, @perlberg, TechCrunch and The Whip

Mathew Ingram / Fortune:
Instant Articles' friendly terms for news outlets create tougher competition for Twitter, as well as Pinterest and Snapchat

Discussion: VentureBeat, Vox, @sunilksaini01 and @vivian

Scott Roxborough / Hollywood Reporter:

At Cannes, Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos rebuffs claims that the company could undercut European film market — Netflix's Ted Sarandos Heckled at Cannes: “You Will Destroy the Film Ecosystem in Europe” — Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos came under fire …

Discussion: Variety, The Verge and Deadline

Bloomberg Business:

Netflix in talks with Jack Ma-backed Chinese media company Wasu, others, as it tries to enter the country's $5.9B online video market — Netflix Said in Talks to Enter China With Jack Ma-Backed Wasu — Netflix Inc. is in talks with a Chinese media company backed by Jack Ma …

Lloyd Grove / The Daily Beast:

A Weak Apology Won't End George Stephanopoulos' Clinton Problem — George Stephanopoulos cloaked his undisclosed Clinton Foundation donations in charity. That half-hearted apology isn't going to suffice if he wants to keep his anchor chair. — You see, Good Morning America host George Stephanopoulos …

Discussion: Politico, Broadcasting & Cable, Mediaite, USA Today, New York Magazine, New York Times, The Daily Beast, Washington Post, @instapundit, NewsBusters, Publishers Weekly, Los Angeles Times, Hot Air and Politico

Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:
Before Stephanopoulos recused himself from campaign debate, Republicans had already told ABC they didn't want him as moderator

Discussion: The Huffington Post and Mediaite

Jack Shafer / Politico:
Stephanopoulos has destroyed his journalism-cred and forgotten the political savvy he learned in Clinton's inner circle

Jacob Silverman / The Baffler:

Twitter's new features have all favored advertisers and made it more unsuitable for genuine user interaction — Tweet If You Love the Sweet Sound of Advertising — Almost all of Twitter's recent changes have favored advertisers. / Adobe — According to Wall Street, we haven't been clicking and tweeting nearly enough.

Discussion: @thebafflermag

Tom Kludt / CNNMoney:

Sources: Al Jazeera America's Ehab Al Shihabi is gone despite saying last week he would remain as COO — News executive who refused to leave is gone — The ousted boss of Al Jazeera America who declared last week that he would remain at the company as chief operating officer has not been seen …

Discussion: TVNewser, Politico, Poynter and The Wrap

Ernesto / TorrentFreak:

Anonymously run music service using “Grooveshark” name is sued by record labels, loses domains, then moves to new domain — Record Labels Sue ‘New’ Grooveshark, Seize Domains — Earlier this month the long running lawsuit between the RIAA and Grooveshark came to an end.

Discussion: The Next Web

Kevin Jagernauth / The Playlist:

Woody Allen Explains Why He Regrets His Amazon Deal, Says He Might Go Digital For Next Film — For many filmmakers, streaming services like Netflix and Amazon represent the next great creative frontier. Given healthy budgets and carte blanche, these outlets are responsible …