Top News:
Sahil Patel / Digiday:
Interviews detail how Disney's $675M purchase of Maker Studios failed to thrive as prospects faded for YouTube multichannel networks — It wasn't one thing that transformed Maker Studios from a Disney princess to a pumpkin — there were a whole lot of many things.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Adweek, Engadget and VatorNews
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Natalie Jarvey / Hollywood Reporter:
Disney lays off 80 from digital media unit, including from Maker Studios, and plans to shrink Maker talent network, which once had 55K+ creators — Maker Studios' talent network, which at one time grew to 55,000 creators, also is being slimmed down. — Disney is laying off 80 employees across …
Hadas Gold / Politico:
The New York Times is using the Oscars to launch a multi-faceted ad campaign about “The Truth”, the paper's first TV ad push in a decade — The New York Times is taking the unusual and expensive step of advertising during the Academy Awards on Sunday, joining companies like McDonalds …
Discussion:
YouTube, @nytimes, Newser, AgencySpy, @alexweprin, Business Wire, @niemanlab, Ad Age, @dylanbyers, @alexweprin, @alexweprin, @kelseymsutton, @dylanbyers and @hadas_gold
Hadas Gold / Politico:
James O'Keefe's 2009 undercover audio recordings of CNN employees have landed with little impact, though not all hours of tape have been made available — For a few days, Project Veritas founder and conservative activist James O'Keefe has been hyping the release of what he said were hundreds …
J.D. Durkin / Mediaite:
Fox News contributor Alan Colmes, Sean Hannity's former on-air debating partner, has died at age 66 — Longtime radio and cable news broadcaster Alan Colmes is dead at the age of 66 after reportedly battling a brief illness. — Fox News moments ago reported on Colmes' death with a segment narrated …
Discussion:
Fox News Insider, Crain's New York Business, @bretbaier, Radio & Television …, Fortune, Variety, The Hill, Broadcasting & Cable, AOL, @brianstelter, Newser, FOX News Radio, @tweetbrk, @mikeemanuelfox, The Daily Caller, The Wrap, Washington Examiner, alan.com, TheBlaze, The Week, The Huffington Post, @ewerickson, @ericbolling, @lesliemarshall, @dylanbyers, @govmikehuckabee, @geraldorivera, @lisamarieboothe, @liz_wheeler, @rorycooper and @prisonplanet
Kurt Wagner / Recode:
Facebook begins testing ad breaks in partner videos, sharing 55% of ad revenue; Live videos from Pages with 2K+ followers will get an ad break option — Many publishers have trouble making money off Facebook videos — this could change that. — Facebook is ready to make money from all the videos …
Discussion:
Facebook Media, Softpedia News, Wallaroo Media, TechCrunch, Business Insider, Variety, Adweek and Engadget
David Shepardson / Reuters:
Time Warner selling Atlanta's WPCH to Meredith for $70M, a move that might mean Time Warner-AT&T deal can avoid FCC review — Time Warner Inc (TWX.N) said on Thursday it plans to sell a broadcast station in Atlanta to Meredith Corp (MDP.N) for $70 million, which could help speed the company's planned merger with AT&T Inc (T.N).
Discussion:
Fortune, TVNewsCheck, Broadcasting & Cable, Radio & Television …, Fierce Cable and Deadline
Jeff John Roberts / Fortune:
Google's Jigsaw unveils Perspective, an AI-powered tool for publishers to weed out abusive comments, available as an API for free — A research team tied to Google unveiled a new tool on Thursday that could have a profound effect on how we talk to each other online.
Discussion:
Jigsaw - Medium, Nieman Lab, Consumerist, New York Magazine, Boing Boing, Computerworld, The Verge, BetaNews, Mashable, Forbes, 9to5Google, VentureBeat, @jigsawteam, @jigsawteam, Washington Post, Softpedia News, Wired, The Drum, New York Times, Reuters, @martinsfp, BBC, @dovseidman and Yahoo
Compete:
Univision's Fusion Media Group launches Compete, a site covering e-sports and competitive gaming, operating as a Kotaku subdomain — Welcome to Compete, a joint venture between Deadspin and Kotaku dedicated to covering the best, worst, dumbest, most thrilling, most interesting, and …
Chris Roush / Talking Biz News:
News Corp CFO Bedi Singh is leaving, will be replaced by Susan Panuccio, CFO of News Corp Australia — News Corp., the parent of The Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch.com and Barron's, announced Thursday that Chief Financial Officer Bedi Singh is leaving the company.
Discussion:
Mumbrella
Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge:
FCC votes to lift transparency requirements, such as disclosing network performance and data caps, for ISPs with under 250K subscribers — The newly Republican-controlled FCC took its first steps to scale back net neutrality today by voting to lift transparency requirements from smaller internet providers.
Discussion:
Engadget, motherboard, Computerworld and Axios
Oliver Darcy / Business Insider:
Interview with an anonymous co-founder of The Reagan Battalion, the conservative Twitter account that brought down Milo Yiannopoulos — One of the mysterious men behind Reagan Battalion, an anonymous conservative Twitter account, seemed floored recalling the events of the past 72 hours.
Discussion:
@michellefields, @oliverdarcy, @oliverdarcy, @oliverdarcy, @businessinsider and @oliverdarcy