Top News:
Ben Popper / The Verge:
YouTube Music standalone app launches on iOS and Android; YouTube Red subscribers get offline listening and no ads — YouTube Music is here, and it's a game changer — YouTube is first and foremost a video portal, the world's largest and most popular online collection of moving images.
Discussion:
App Store, YouTube Blog, Fast Company, TechCrunch, TechCrunch, Digiday, Billboard, RAIN News, SocialTimes, Pocket-lint, AppleInsider, TmoNews, Daily Mail, SiliconBeat, New York Daily News, Reuters, Tech Insider, The Technology Chronicles, CNET, Wired, USA Today, EW.com, CNET, Re/code, CNET, Lifehacker, SlashGear, ZDNet, The Next Web, VentureBeat, hypebot, Engadget, The FADER, 9to5Google, Ars Technica, Variety, Tech Times, Wall Street Journal, Mashable, Forbes, Tubefilter, Vulture, @drew, @caseynewton and @stevekovach
Kurt Wagner / Re/code:
Snapchat Signs Up Another Publisher: The Wall Street Journal — The Wall Street Journal is going after a new audience. So, apparently, is Snapchat. — The Journal will soon be joining Snapchat's group of Discover publishers, according to multiple sources, the first major business publication …
Discussion:
WWD and Media Wire Daily
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Hulu in early talks to sell stake to Time Warner in deal valuing Hulu at $5B-$6B; Time Warner would invest cash, commit to license content — Hulu in Talks to Sell Stake to Time Warner — Deal could help streaming-video service compete with Netflix, Amazon
Discussion:
CNNMoney, The Wrap, Deadline, Business Insider, Variety, @brianstelter, The Next Web, Fortune, @shaliniwsj, @tcarmody, @shaliniwsj and The Verge
Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:
Google Play Books improves comic book reading by adding vertical scrolling mode, curated pages for discovery, on Android in coming days, iOS soon — Google Improves Comic Book Reading Experience In Play Books For Android — Google today launched an upgrade to its Google Play Books store …
Discussion:
Official Android Blog, GalleyCat, The Digital Reader, Batman News and Re/code
Robert Channick / Chicago Tribune:
Tribune Publishing approves buyouts for 7 percent of its employees … Tribune Publishing has approved buyouts for approximately 7 percent of its eligible 7,000 employees across its media portfolio, according to a Thursday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Discussion:
Fortune, Associated Press, Chicago Business, @allymarotti, @joepompeo and @romenesko
Madeline Welsh / Nieman Lab:
The New York Times hopes its first virtual reality film, The Displaced, plus mass distribution of Google Cardboard kick off greater VR adoption — The New York Times hopes its first virtual reality film, “The Displaced,” kicks off mass adoption of VR — “This is probably …
Discussion:
TOWCenter, Washington Post and Fortune
Ricardo Bilton / Digiday:
CNN's iReport to shift from users contributing photos and videos to directly sourcing them from Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter users — Defeated by social media, CNN overhauls iReport — Big platforms' media dominance is forcing traditional publishers to change many parts of how they do business …
Discussion:
Fortune
Raphael Minder / New York Times:
El País cancels column by Miguel Ángel Aguilar after he criticizes growing debt and dependence of Spanish news media — El País Columnist Says Dismissal Tied to His Criticism of Media Independence — MADRID — A veteran journalist said on Wednesday that El País …
Discussion:
The Spain Report and The Spain Report
Jack Marshall / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: publishers struggle to extract as much ad revenue from Facebook's Instant Articles as they do from their own sites; Facebook mulls changes to ad rules — Facebook Mulls Ad Changes for Instant Articles After Publisher Pushback — Publishers encountered challenges because of restrictions imposed by the social network
Discussion:
SocialTimes, Wall Street Journal, Talking New Media, The Whip, @scottthurm, Engadget, Forbes, The Digital Reader, @martinsfp, @sims and @abrams
Spotify News:
Spotify launches personalized concert recommendations near you based on your listening history, rolling out today to iPhone and Android users — Never Miss Another Show with Personalized Concert Recommendations — Looking forward to seeing your favorite bands play live but don't know when they're in town?
Discussion:
Tech Insider, Fast Company, SlashGear, Tech Times, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, hypebot, The Next Web, The Verge, routenote.com/blog, Variety and Business Insider
David Harris / Boston Business Journal:
Comcast launches Stream, its $15/month streaming service in Greater Boston; available only for Xfinity customers, and only within subscribers home — Comcast launches standalone streaming service in Boston area, but there's a catch — Comcast said Wednesday that its new $15-per-month …
Discussion:
PR Newswire, The Next Web, The Verge, FierceCable, DSLreports, Multichannel News, BetaBoston and Multichannel News
Rami Musa / Associated Press:
Libyan Center for Freedom of Press says journalist Motaz Kraif kidnapped in Tripoli — Rights group says Libyan journalist kidnapped in Tripoli — BENGHAZI, Libya (AP) — A Libyan rights group says armed men have kidnapped a Tripoli-based journalist in front of his home.