Mediagazer: Washington Post Director of Product Joey Marburger says publication is working on “WaPo bot” a chatbot that will talk to readers, research news, and more (Garett Sloane/Digiday)

3:50 AM ET, April 7, 2016

Top News:

Kurt Wagner / Re/code:

Facebook confirms it is paying media companies to use Live Video, sources say New York Times, BuzzFeed, Huffington Post, among those getting paid — It's Not Just Celebrities — Facebook Is Paying Media Companies to Make Live Video, Too — Facebook wants big media companies like BuzzFeed …

Fidji Simo / Facebook:

Facebook overhauls Live Video with support for groups and events, reactions, comments, filters, and a global map — Introducing New Ways to Create, Share and Discover Live Video on Facebook — With Facebook Live you can use your phone to share a moment instantly with the people you care about.

Michelle Castillo / CNBC:

Yahoo's head of media, Martha Nelson, says the company is building on strengths in sports and finance verticals — How Yahoo is trying to save its media business — Amid the layoffs, Yahoo's executives insist that the paring down of its media properties is all part of a master plan.

Discussion: Re/code, Silicon Republic, CNNMoney, Investor's Business Daily, New York Magazine, Vanity Fair, Business Insider, Tech Trader Daily, @karaswisher, @kushpat3l, @jeffnash3 and Fortune

Sridhar Pappu / New York Times:

Gay Talese ends up with a dim view of social media after a Twitter storm followed his struggle to name an inspiring female writer during a talk — Gay Talese Goes Through the Twitter Wringer — On Friday, April 1, the 84-year-old writer Gay Talese made his way from New York to Boston …

Discussion: Washington Post, Rewire, @mlcalderone, @sulliview, @liamstack, @sherman4949, @nelliebowles, @luciahoff, @jswatz, @cathyyoung63, @koblin, @jodipicoult, @johnjharwood, @learmonth, BostonGlobe.com, Melville House Books, Guardian and Jezebel

Garett Sloane / Digiday:

Washington Post Director of Product Joey Marburger says publication is working on “WaPo bot” a chatbot that will talk to readers, research news, and more — Why the Washington Post is building chatbots to deliver the news — When Microsoft's Tay, the artificially intelligent bot …

Discussion: @jeremymbarr, @sprakash007, @derekwillis, @josephjames, @simonekrouwer, Editor & Publisher, Guardian, Co.Design, Adweek, VentureBeat and Re/code

Robert D. Hof / New York Times:
Brands approach messaging apps and chat bots cautiously to avoid antagonizing users

Discussion: TechCrunch

Michelle Castillo / CNBC:

Sources: NFL selected Twitter because it felt Facebook undervalued content rights, has poor monetization model — Why the NFL went to Twitter instead of Facebook — Twitter's surprising deal to stream NFL games may have been the result of a dispute between the sports league and the world's largest social network — Facebook.

Discussion: Adweek, @mattmhunter, @bobmckamey, @theseancook, @cnbc, @ericzuck, The Big Lead, What's Next Blog and Daring Fireball

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Verizon buys 24.5% stake in online-video startup AwesomenessTV for $159M, plans premium short-form mobile video service to launch with its go90 free service — Verizon to Acquire 24.5% Stake in AwesomenessTV for $159 Million — DreamWorks Animation to remain majority owner, with Hearst holding remaining 24.5% stake

Steven Perlberg / Wall Street Journal:

Dogs of Instagram now get agents and contracts as sponsors line up, with some accounts with 150K-250K followers fetching $3K per post — ‘The Dog Agency’ Fetches Ad Dollars for Popular Pooches — New talent management firm helps Instagram-famous dogs strike deals with marketers

Discussion: @sareve, @keachhagey, @m_c_klein, @mekosoff, Gizmodo, The Next Web and TIME

Mike Isaac / New York Times:

Reddit expands its blocking feature, now hides comment responses from the users you block, similar to “muting” on Twitter, as well as blocking personal messages — Reddit Steps Up Anti-Harassment Measures With New Blocking Tool — Bit by bit, Reddit — long the Internet's playground …

Discussion: The Next Web, TechCrunch, Digital Trends, The Mary Sue, @khaishingcheong, @mikeisaac, @cwarzel and @mikeisaac

Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press:

Judge gives final approval to multimillion dollar settlement in Sony Pictures class-action lawsuit filed by former employees after 2014 data breach — JUDGE APPROVES SETTLEMENT IN SONY PICTURES HACKING CASE — LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge on Wednesday approved a multimillion dollar settlement …

Discussion: Deadline and Forbes

Patrick Frater / Variety:

Alibaba Completes $4 Billion Takeover of Youku Tudou — E-commerce giant Alibaba has announced that it has completed its takeover of Chinese video streaming giant Youku Tudou. — The company revealed a “going private” transaction in November last year and Youku's shareholders approved the sale in March.

Discussion: Alizila, South China Morning Post, China Money Network, Hollywood Reporter, Seeking Alpha and Shanghaiist

Jemima Kiss / Guardian:

BBC digital expert Tony Ageh poached by New York Public Library — Technologist, who has been with the corporation for 14 years, was part of the team that created the iPlayer — Tony Ageh, one of the architects of the BBC iPlayer, is to leave the corporation after 14 years to join …

Discussion: @jemstone, FishbowlNY, @janemartinson and @charliebeckett

Brooks Barnes / New York Times:

Robert Iger's Success at Disney Makes Him a Tough Act to Follow — LOS ANGELES — On Monday night, as a stunned Hollywood scrambled to understand why Disney's heir apparent, Thomas O. Staggs, had abruptly decided to step down, the company held a lavish premiere for its “Jungle Book” movie.

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Financial Times, @nytimesbusiness, GlobalPost, Awful Announcing, Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, Wall Street Journal, Forbes and Washington Post

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Sources: the US FTC plans to investigate allegations that Microsoft is abusing its market power in productivity software to prevent customers from leaving Azure

Maxwell Zeff / TechCrunch:
OpenAI says the ChatGPT desktop app for macOS can now read code from some developer-focused apps, including VS Code, Xcode, TextEdit, Terminal, and iTerm2

David Pierce / The Verge:
Google releases a free Gemini app for iOS, letting users ask questions, chat via text, voice, or their camera, and use the conversational mode Gemini Live

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