Top News:
Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:
How a false tweet about Comey from pro-Trump activist Jack Posobiec ricocheted to Breitbart, Infowars, Limbaugh, and Hannity on Fox News — WASHINGTON — Jack Posobiec had his Twitter sights set on James B. Comey. — A pro-Trump activist notorious for his amateur sleuthing into red herrings like the …
Discussion:
Medium, @sonalrshah, @dangillmor, @nickfalacci, @willardjed, @ethanjweiss, @jonkay, @danpfeiffer, @dangillmor, @jackposobiec, @davidfrum, @tglaisyer and @jwpetersnyt
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Music rights agency Merlin distributed $353M to its member indie labels, up 52% YoY, with most of the growth coming from streaming services — Thanks to streaming, Merlin sees 52 percent jump in sales — Streaming services helping indies reach global listeners
Discussion:
Billboard
Paul Bass / New Haven Independent:
Hearst buys New Haven Register and other local news outlets, reportedly for under $50M, plans to hire ten new journalists — As print-daily newsrooms continue to shrink across the nation, the New Haven Register's new corporate boss said he plans to add reporters and increase local coverage.
Discussion:
Connecticut Post, New Haven Independent, New Haven Register, WWD, MarketWatch, Associated Press and Adweek
Ramsey Tesdell / Nieman Lab:
Egyptian news site Mada Masr launches reader-funded model, with memberships ranging from $50 to $2,000/year, to maintain editorial independence, build community — “Our model is built on our specific offerings, but also the broader context of Egypt, people's purchasing power, and that of our readers abroad."
Gerry Smith / Bloomberg:
Inside BuzzFeed's video efforts as the company projects TV and movie development could make up a third of total revenue in a few years — In a room at the BuzzFeed Inc. offices in Los Angeles, past a keg of cold-brew coffee, a popcorn maker, and a cardboard cutout of a grinning Joe Biden …
Discussion:
@carlospache_co
Andrew E. Kramer / New York Times:
Assassin masqueraded as a reporter for Le Monde in Ukraine for more than a year before attempting murder during an “interview” — KIEV, Ukraine — Ukrainians have long struggled with fake news from Russia, but last week, they discovered something even more insidious: a fake journalist.
Discussion:
@clarajeffery, @maddow and @comradewong
Peter Kafka / Recode:
Apple will finally offer basic analytics for podcasts, enabling podcast creators and advertisers to get significant listener feedback for the first time — Basic analytics are (finally) coming to Apple's podcast app in an upcoming refresh. It's a big deal.
Discussion:
@marcoarment, @marcoarment, @marcoarment, @anildash and @caseynewton, more at Techmeme »
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Jason Snell / Six Colors:
Apple's Podcasts app to report to podcasters how many people are listening and where listeners stop or skip, and will enable downloads of full seasons
Apple's Podcasts app to report to podcasters how many people are listening and where listeners stop or skip, and will enable downloads of full seasons
Discussion:
Engadget, 9to5Mac, @nbashaw, MacRumors, @pkafka, @mlieber, @ericjackson, @nwquah, @matthew_bogart and @dkiesow, more at Techmeme »
Maxwell Tani / Business Insider:
GMG CEO Raju Narisetti cites revenue growth and 53 new hires as evidence of Fusion merger success, but some staffers say Gawker spirit wanes as talent leaves — The man tasked with overseeing Gizmodo Media Group after the demise of Gawker.com says he never regularly read the site in the first place.
Discussion:
@oliverdarcy, @katiedrumm, @katiedrumm, @susie_c, @rafat, @jeffjarvis and @ajs
Washpostpr / Washington Post:
The Washington Post is experimenting with audio articles using Amazon Polly, a service that converts article text into lifelike speech — The Washington Post today announced it has started experimenting with audio articles using Amazon Polly, a service that converts article text into lifelike speech.
Discussion:
GeekWire
Amy Qin / New York Times:
A large number of Chinese celebrity news blogs have shut down in recent days as media censors tighten online publishing regulations — BEIJING — Whether read openly and voraciously or behind closed doors, celebrity gossip plays an integral role in the entertainment world …
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Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Postmates acquihires Secret CEO David Byttow's startup Bold; Bold will shut down its enterprise blogging tool, plus the anonymous publishing space IO — The founder of one of Silicon Valley's most famous flameouts, anonymous social app Secret, is the new product lead for Postmates' app.
Discussion:
@joshconstine, more at Techmeme »
Hadas Gold / Politico:
Comey hearing draws nearly 20M broadcast and cable TV viewers, according to Nielsen, while Twitter says 2.7M viewers tuned into its Bloomberg stream — A congressional hearing rarely attracts much attention, but Thursday's testimony by fired FBI Director James Comey brought major ratings …
Discussion:
The Outline, Nielsen Newswire, Recode, Washington Post, Mediaite, Bloomberg Media, Newser and @sdkstl
Ricardo Baca / Columbia Journalism Review:
High Times' recent sale to a Los Angeles-based investment firm may give the magazine a chance to reinvigorate its neglected editorial operation — A display of High Times magazine covers during the High Times Cannabis Cup at Denver Mart in Denver, Colorado on April 20, 2014.