Top News:


Limited resources and paywalls limit some publishers experiments with AMP while others go all in — Diving all in or dipping a toe? How publishers are approaching Google's Accelerated Mobile Pages initiative — “Mobile web performance is bad — I challenge you find someone who disagrees with that …
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AMP is necessary because the news industry filled its sites with garbage code from ad companies, slowing load time — Google Is Going to Speed Up the Web. Is This Good? — To improve reading the news on mobile—and better compete with Facebook Instant Articles—Google today is launching AMP
Discussion:
Bloomberg Business, VentureBeat, MediaShift, Accelerated Mobile … and New York Times


Google AMP Is Less About Beating Facebook at News, More About Gobbling Up the Mobile Web
Discussion:
Adweek, SiliconBeat, @jbenton, Digital Journal, Guardian, CNET and Wired


Inside New Media Investment Group, the private equity-run chain driving consolidation with its purchases of small newspapers — New Media Emerges as Big Player for Small Newspapers — Private equity-run chain snaps up assets as a sharp drop in prices drives wave of consolidation
Discussion:
AdExchanger


Sources: Google to add Chromecast-like features to TV sets, starting with Vizio, could become available as early as spring — Google to Add Casting to TV Sets, Starting With Vizio (Exclusive) — Move could signal shift in company's living-room strategy — Google is getting ready …
Discussion:
The Next Web, Pocket-lint, The Verge, Business Insider, 9to5Google, Gizmodo and TIME


Genius hires former Gawker features editor Leah Finnegan to head News Genius in renewed push into general news — Genius hires former Gawker editor to spearhead news division — Genius has hired former Gawker editor Leah Finnegan as managing news editor, the annotation start-up announced today.
Discussion:
@leahfinnegan, @mlcalderone, @max_read and @mathewi


Google blocks 9to5Google from using its ad network, which publisher says brought in six figures/month, claiming trademark violation, wants site name changed — Google wants us to change our name from 9to5Google — Some big site news everyone! At around noon today, our ads stopped working.
Discussion:
@dannysullivan, @tomaxwell, @zackwhittaker and The Verge

New entrants like Fusion, Vox, and Gawker join the crowd of sites covering 2016 national elections — New media players seek to make their mark on the 2016 campaign — Sam Biddle wants to catch Ted Cruz with his pants down. — “My dream story would be me next to Ted Cruz at a urinal …
Discussion:
@morninggloria, @freddiedeboer and @jayrosen_nyu


Administration officials met Wednesday at Justice Department with marketing, tech, and entertainment executives, seeking help in fight with extremists online — Tech and Media Firms Called to Terrorism Meeting by White House — Obama administration officials will meet with executives …
Discussion:
The Wrap, The Hill, Variety, The Wrap and @awallenstein


Yahoo stops signing up new publishers to its ad network Yahoo Recommends as company faces uncertain future — Yahoo is pulling back on its Outbrain/Taboola competitor — The content recommendation wars have claimed another casualty: Yahoo Recommends, Yahoo's two-year-old widget …
Discussion:
WebProNews, dmwmedia.com, AdNews and @lmoses


Amazon Studios Paid Staggering $15M for Woody Allen's Next Film — EMAIL ME — The untitled movie, starring Steve Carell, Jesse Eisenberg, Blake Lively and Kristen Stewart, was acquired sight unseen — and at three times what Sony Pictures Classics paid for Allen's previous film.
Discussion:
The Verge, Engadget, Business Insider, @julia_greenberg, @camcgrady and Fortune


Radio DJ Tony Blackburn fired shortly before new sex abuse report is released on Savile era, vows legal action against BBC — Tony Blackburn sacked by BBC ahead of sex abuse report — DJ Tony Blackburn says he plans to take legal action against the BBC for ‘destroying my career and reputation’
Discussion:
@tonyblackburn, Guardian, Independent.ie, mirror and @dailymirror


Warner Bros. Acquires DramaFever from SoftBank — Warner Bros. has bought DramaFever, a streaming-video subscription service specializing in Korean TV shows and film dramas, and is eyeing the deal as paving the way to launch new over-the-top services. — WB is acquiring DramaFever …