Top News:
CNNMoney:
Brands like Nike, Expedia, Acer suspend ads on Infowars' YouTube channels when contacted by CNN; some wonder why YouTube filters failed to block ads on Infowars — Facebook, YouTube fail to blunt conspiracy theories — Some of the biggest brands in the U.S. had ads running on the YouTube channels …
Discussion:
The Hill, Motherboard, @kylegriffin1, Mediaite, Gizmodo and The Daily Caller
Ricardo Bilton / Nieman Lab:
BuzzSumo study of 100M articles posted in 2017 shows social sharing halved since 2015 and Google sites drove 2x more referrals to publishers than social media — Publishers may be getting dinged — and in some cases destroyed — by Facebook's move to decrease the amount of publisher content …
Discussion:
BuzzSumo, @skgreen, @torystarr3, Search Engine Journal and Social Media Today, more at Techmeme »
Craig Silverman / BuzzFeed:
Some sites change domain names, a practice known as domain hopping, to avoid ad agency blacklists and losing traffic as a result of Facebook's algorithm changes — Domain hopping is one way publishers are combatting declining traffic from Facebook while also staying one step ahead of advertising blacklists.
Discussion:
@adam22
RELATED:
Max Willens / Digiday:
Publishers like ViralNova, 9gag, Bored Panda, Diply see engagement drop precipitously after Facebook algorithm changes; Distractify saw traffic decline 78% YoY — LittleThings shut down after Facebook's algorithm change cut its organic reach by 75 percent, but it's not the only social publisher that's …
Cara Buckley / New York Times:
E! producer Aileen Gram-Moreno says she was fired for allowing a clip that criticized the network over gender pay disparity to air during Golden Globes show — With accusations of sexual harassment dogging its star host, Ryan Seacrest, and celebrities reportedly planning to steer clear …
Brian Stelter / CNNMoney:
The Weinstein Company avoids bankruptcy through a $500M takeover led by Maria Contreras-Sweet; deal includes up to $90M in compensation for Weinstein accusers — Weinstein empire unravels amid scandal — The Weinstein Company's bankruptcy talk has been replaced by deal talk.
Discussion:
@heatherwcda, @dealfatigue, Glamour, Variety, The Week, Hollywood Reporter, Washington Post, /Film, The A.V. Club, New York Times, Reuters, Wall Street Journal, Deadline, The Daily Caller, Fortune, Vulture, New York Business Journal, The Week, New York Post, New York Post, New York Daily News, City A.M., TIME, EW.com, BBC, USA Today, FierceCable, @agschneiderman, The Daily Beast, Fortune, The Guardian, Financial Times, Rolling Stone, ABC News, NPR, Deadline, TVWeek.com, Los Angeles Times and Bloomberg
Andy Bechtel / The Editor's Desk:
Interview with Lisa Tozzi, global news director at BuzzFeed News, about curating breaking news, headline writing, and advice for journalism students — Lisa Tozzi is global news director at BuzzFeed News, a position she has held since 2013. She previously worked at The New York Times …
Rick Gladstone / New York Times:
World's longest-imprisoned journalist, Yusuf Ruzimuradov, has been freed in Uzbekistan after spending 19 years in jail — Uzbekistan has freed a reporter who was incarcerated for nearly two decades on sedition charges, the longest-known prison term served by a journalist, human rights advocates said Friday.
Discussion:
Human Rights Watch, pulse.ng, The Express Tribune, @nytimesworld and Committee to Protect …
Shan Wang / Nieman Lab:
Interview with Anna Veduta, one of two people running the English-language version of Latvia-based Meduza, an independent Russian news site — The English edition of the three-year-old Russian news site now gets an average of 100,000 monthly unique visitors and can count among its readers everyone …
Discussion:
Meduza.io and New York Times
Pew Research Center:
Study: in the US, 78% of 18-24 year olds use Snapchat, 71% use Instagram, 45% use Twitter; nearly 75% of US adults and 94% of 18-24 year olds use YouTube — A majority of Americans use Facebook and YouTube, but young adults are especially heavy users of Snapchat and Instagram
Discussion:
Forbes, Social Media Today, The Verge and Pew Research Center, more at Techmeme »
Paul Mozur / New York Times:
China is prosecuting a citizen who shared a critical message on WhatsApp; message was likely obtained by hacking a phone or via spy in a WhatsApp group — SHANGHAI — Within its digital borders, China has long censored what its people read and say online. Now, it is increasingly going beyond …
Discussion:
@nytimesbusiness, @theresaafallon, @ehundman, @peterinexile, @dgtam86, @scs_disputes, @niubi, @paulmozur, @emilyywu, @nytimes and @politicalshort, more at Techmeme »
Kristopher Tapley / Variety:
Jennifer Lawrence and Jodie Foster to present best actress Oscar, replacing Casey Affleck who withdrew after sexual harassment accusations — Breaking with tradition in the midst of an awards season that has come to colloquially become known as “the year of the woman,” …
Discussion:
Refinery29, IndieWire, The A.V. Club and Mashable