Top News:
Janko Roettgers / Variety:
Instagram launches new “Stories” section, cloning Snapchat's Stories feature, with PewDiePie and other celebrities and social influencers onboard — Watch out, Snapchat: Instagram is gunning for you. — The Facebook-owned photo sharing service announced a major update Tuesday …
Discussion:
Instagram Blog, Recode, New York Times, SocialTimes, Broadcasting & Cable, Ad Age, Digiday, Adweek, Forbes, New York Magazine, TIME, Business Insider, GeekWire, PAPERMAG, Fortune, MacStories, 9to5Google, The Next Web, PDNPulse and 9to5Mac
Shelley Hepworth / Columbia Journalism Review:
Aron Pilhofer, The Guardian's outgoing executive editor for digital, on the paper's 50K-strong membership model, differences between US and UK media — Aron Pilhofer has had a front-row seat to the sweeping changes newsrooms have experienced at the hands of digital disruption.
Romain Dillet / TechCrunch:
Chinese mobile app and security software company Cheetah Mobile acquires France-based news aggregator startup News Republic for $57M — Chinese tech company Cheetah Mobile has acquired French startup News Republic for $57 million. News Republic is a news aggregator …
Discussion:
Subtraction.com + Feed
Jeremy Barr / Ad Age:
Following Vice's lead, digital publishers like Ozy are signing TV deals — Vox Media Says Production Process For Curbed Show Is Going Smoothly — It's no longer a question of “if,” it's a question of “when.” Digital publishers like Vox Media, BuzzFeed, Thrillist Media Group …
Discussion:
@themehulpatel
Joseph Lichterman / Nieman Lab:
NYT to publish print-only 16K-word excerpt of author Colson Whitehead's new novel, part of a plan to use fiction to incentivize sales of paper's print edition — Even as The New York Times prioritizes digital expansion, with a stated goal of reaching $800 million in digital revenue by 2020 …
Discussion:
New York Times, The New York Times Company and GalleyCat
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
LinkedIn launches Q&A videos, created by its network of 500 influencers, may extend ability to create video content to other users — LinkedIn, the social platform for people to network and look for work that's getting acquired by Microsoft for $26 billion, is taking the wraps off …
Discussion:
Fast Company, VentureBeat, @raju and Recode
Ken Yeung / VentureBeat:
Medium acquires rich media embedding API platform Embedly; financial terms not disclosed; many publishers use the platform, including NYT and The Atlantic — Medium has acquired Embedly, the provider of technology enabling both publishers and consumers to share content across the web.
Andrew Beaujon / Washingtonian:
How Atlas Obscura is building the “Nice Vice” with a nascent travel business, a potential TV show and a book due in September — One day in 2014, soon after David Plotz left his job as editor of the online magazine Slate, he took his then 13-year-old daughter, Noa, on a bike ride through Anacostia.
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, @abeaujon and @raju
Jessica Davies / Digiday:
With digital subs rising by 12.5K last year, The Times of London relaxes paywall, allows visitors access to two free stories a week in exchange for registering — The Times has a reputation for having the hardest paywall in the U.K., but it's not opposed to some open-access experimentation — as long as it results in new subscribers.
Discussion:
Press Gazette
Garett Sloane / Ad Age:
Facebook is testing giving publishers the option to run fifteen-second mid-roll video ads in Facebook Live streams — Fifteen-Second Commercial Breaks Appear During Live-Streams — Facebook has started running tests of mid-roll video ads inside live video broadcasts from top publishing partners, the company confirmed Monday.
Discussion:
@anthonymaceroni, @dennishegstad, Consumerist, TechCrunch and Variety
Trevor Timm / Columbia Journalism Review:
Donald Trump's comments on DNC hack suggest he will abuse surveillance powers if elected, a situation Edward Snowden predicted — Donald Trump shocked a lot of people on Wednesday when he suggested (maybe sarcastically, maybe not?) that he hopes Russia is hacking the emails of Hillary Clinton …
Discussion:
@justinraimondo, @trevortimm and @trevortimm
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Vice to launch Vice Nightly News, 30-minute evening news program, on HBO on September 26, will also be available on HBO Go, HBO Now streaming services — Vice Media plans to join TV's nightly news game, and is gearing up to launch a new competitor to Lester Holt, David Muir and Scott Pelley …
Discussion:
New York Times, TVNewser, TechCrunch, Adweek, FishbowlNY, Broadcasting & Cable and Fortune