Top News:
Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat:
Google Chrome will start natively blocking ads that do not comply with Coalition for Better Ads guidelines on February 15 — In June, Google revealed that Chrome will stop showing all ads (including those owned or served by Google) on websites that display non-compliant ads “starting in early 2018.”
Discussion:
Google Developers, Variety, Fast Company, Coalition for Better Ads, TechCrunch, @jamesrbuk, 9to5Google, @larakiara and The Next Web, more at Techmeme »
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
YouTube signs new long-term agreement with Universal Music Group over music rights, royalty rates; sources say Sony Music signed new agreement with YouTube, too — New Universal, Sony agreements allow video uploads to continue — Deals establish royalty rates between YouTube, rights holders
Discussion:
Business Insider, xda-developers, The Verge, Variety, Axios and 9to5Google, more at Techmeme »
Maxwell Tani / Business Insider:
Leaked documents: before sale Mashable lost $4.2M in three months through September, was set to miss revenue targets, and relied heavily on digital advertising — - Mashable was in deep trouble financially before it sold for far below its one-time valuation of $US250 million, according to documents reviewed by Business Insider.
Discussion:
@thestalwart, @mathewi, @kmmokai, @jason_kint and Business Insider
Katherine Goldstein / Vox:
Sexual harassment and lack of institutional support has driven some female journalists out of the industry, like ex-Washington Post intern Kate Havard — “I was someone who could have gone somewhere.” — “Damn, you look hot today.” — It was 2013. Kate Havard was a reporting intern …
Discussion:
@mtdukes, @esmcintyre, @amritalamsal, @amlwhere, @masumaahuja, @debpickett, @saraashleyo, @terabithia4 and @kgeee
Jessica Davies / Digiday:
The Telegraph to focus on gaining registered readers rather than mass-reach audience numbers and invest in editorial staff, newsletters, and events — The Telegraph wants to grow its registered readers to 10 million. The goal is to shift away from valuing mass-reach audience numbers …
Discussion:
@nickhugh75, @digiday, @cpokane and @digiday
Christopher Zara / Fast Company:
PwC: the number of Americans who subscribe to cable TV is now on par with the number who subscribe to Netflix — The balance of power in pay television is shifting. In one corner, we have Netflix. In the other corer, we have everyone else. — According to a new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers …
Discussion:
Adweek
Associated Press:
Journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates deleted his Twitter account following a contentious exchange with Cornell West in which Richard Spencer became involved — NEW YORK (AP) — Ta-Nehisi Coates has had enough. The influential author and journalist has deleted his widely followed Twitter account, writing “peace, y'all.
Discussion:
Mediaite, The Hill, @adviserdavid, @waxelfoley, @dlind, @mightyocd, @jamilsmith, @asteadwesley, Hip-Hop Wired and @nhannahjones
Filip Struhárik:
Facebook's Explore Feed test led to a 52% drop in interactions for Slovakian mainstream news sites, but only a 29% drop for disinformation sites — Five things we learned when Facebook's Explore Feed destroyed our organic reach. — Two months ago, Facebook launched major “reach-killing” …
RELATED:
Facebook:
Facebook clamps down on “engagement bait”, or requests for Likes/shares, by demoting them in the News Feed; publishers will see diminished reach within weeks
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, @laurahazardowen, MediaNama, CBS San Francisco, Eric Wade, Mashable, ZDNet, Recode, BGR, xda-developers, Gizmodo, Blog Network, Fortune and The Daily Caller
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Musical.ly announces $50M Creator Fund to support users by financing college scholarships, co-development deals with individual video creators, more — Musical.ly, which makes a short-form video app popular among teens, announced that it is investing up to $50 million in a fund to support its users — or “Musers,” as it calls them.
Discussion:
Business Insider, more at Techmeme »
Benjamin Freed / Washingtonian:
Washington City Paper says staff salaries will be cut by 40% starting January 1 as owner struggles to find a buyer; staff expect pay to fall below $30K a year — Staff expect their pay to drop below $30,000 a year, which a source describes as “unlivable.” — Employees of Washington City Paper …
Discussion:
Mashable, @pblest, @segravesnbc4, @brookevandam, @erikwemple, @bryanweaverdc, @maxlinsky, @timmytyper, @mlsist, @erikwemple, @craigsilverman, @scavendish, @laura_nelson, @clarajeffery and @brfreed
Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
Chartbeat: readers spent 57,949,110 minutes reading The Atlantic's feature story “My Family's Slave” by Alex Tizon, the equivalent of 110 years — Here's the media industry's reader-engagement statistic of the year: According to web-metric firm Chartbeat, readers spent 57,949,110 minutes …
Discussion:
@1bobcohn and @caitlinfrazier
RJ Vogt / McSweeney's:
Former Myanmar Times reporter details the censorship that ruined the paper during his 15 months there — The following is a piece by RJ Vogt excerpted from McSweeney's Issue 51. In light of the distressing recent arrests of journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo in Myanmar …
Discussion:
@rjvogt31, @euanblackwrites, @ssmairs, @jershcarroll, @jonahfisherbbc, @charlesrollet1 and @pakhead
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