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How Devumi uses its 3.5M+ automated Twitter accounts, sometimes based on stolen social identities, to sell followers and retweets to 200K+ customers — Everyone wants to be popular online. — Some even pay for it. — Inside social media's black market.
Discussion:
@agschneiderman, @nickconfessore, The Verge, Refinery29, Engadget, Mediaite, @nickconfessore, Gizmodo, @twittercomms, @nickconfessore, Mashable, @rf_p0tus, @securedemocracy, @selectedwisdom, @amyspitalnick, TV Tattle, @sarahkendzior, @dangillmor, @markberman, @ianbremmer, @craigsilverman, the v2 community forums, @nonwhitehat, @nytimes, @brianstelter, @anthony and @andyroddick, more at Techmeme »


LA Times staffers fear that a secretive new management team appears to be quietly building a non-union shadow national newsroom — A mysterious new management team appears to be quietly building a non-union network. — As lunch was winding down Wednesday in the Los Angeles Times cafeteria …
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Tronc refuses to answer staff questions about Los Angeles Times Network LLC, its new content creation, distribution, and syndication entity and associated hires
Discussion:
Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Deadline, @jayrosen_nyu, @coreypein, @borzou, @scmitchp, @annakhyzy, @rickhasen, @zackstanton and @laura_nelson


A profile of Brazil's Sergio Spagnuolo and his data journalism agency, Volt Data Lab, as data journalism grows thanks to the passing of a local version of FOIA — Volt started as a passion project, rode a wave of interest in Brazil for better online data stories, and today builds data-based stories …
Discussion:
@niemanlab
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European Data Journalism Network has 15 partners who produce data-driven stories translated into six languages and distributed free to partner, non-partner orgs — Data-driven news stories produced by members of the European Data Journalism Network are translated into English, French …


A look at Berkeleyside, a local news site in Berkeley, CA, which has now raised $830K from 240 investors after launching a direct public offering in 2016 — When Lance Knobel and Tracey Taylor helped dream up a local news site for their community nine years ago, they knew coverage …


New Copyright Royalty Board ruling requires streaming services to give 15.1%, up from 10.5%, of revenue to songwriters and music publishers over next five years — (Reuters) - U.S. copyright authorities on Saturday decided to increase over the next five years the royalty payments music streaming companies …
Discussion:
NMPA, @n8brown, Music Business Worldwide, Music Week, PhoneArena, @mpinc, @nsaiofficial, Financial Times, Tennessean.com, Engadget, Billboard, Variety and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »


YouTube's new rules, allowing ads only on channels with 1000+ subscribers and 4000 watch hours, may drive away niche channels and new creators — THOMAS M. WAGNER has uploaded over 300 science fiction reviews to YouTube since 2013. He's not a major star, but his content has attracted …
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times

Small conservative magazines like the Weekly Standard, National Review and others are vital voices of debate and introspection, while often opposing Trump — President Trump has scrambled the very meaning of conservatism. Now, a small group of intellectual publications are enjoying a golden age.

NBC News is using an off-site, 12-person experimental video unit, Left Field, to work on new storytelling forms like VR in an effort to attract younger viewers — “We know a great deal about how to make linear television and we've been doing it a very long time, but there is a generation …
Discussion:
@springer, @niemanlab, @niemanlab and @niemanlab


Twitter says Russian-linked bots retweeted @realDonaldTrump 469,537 times and @HillaryClinton 47,846 times in weeks prior to election from Sep. 1 to Nov. 15 — Russian-linked accounts spurred 50,000 retweets of Clinton — Information comes in response to questions from Congress
Discussion:
CNNMoney, @anthony, @selina_y_wang, AOL and The Hill, more at Techmeme »


Germany reportedly may allow Turkey to make previously banned arms deal in exchange for release of journalist Deniz Yucel, imprisoned in Turkey for 11 months — Along with increased pressure and threats from unfriendly governments, journalists in some parts of the world face the prospect of becoming bargaining chips.
Discussion:
@boothwilliam and Spiegel Online


Fox News' dismissal of New York Times' scoop on Trump's attempt to fire Mueller illustrates the growing distance between Fox and the rest of the media — For a moment last night, the winter chill was replaced with memories of May. The New York Times's was responsible for the time warp …
Discussion:
The Independent, Politico and @jray05