Top News:
Shan Wang / Nieman Lab:
Medium abruptly ends feature that let publishers use the platform to collect revenue from their own subscriptions, affecting 21 publishers — “Could we have a better metaphor for the way Silicon Valley considers local journalism?" fumed the owner of one of these remaining publications.
Bloomberg:
House Democrats release 3,519 Facebook ads from Russia-linked accounts, spanning 2015 to 2017, showing a coordinated campaign to sow distrust in US politics — - House Intelligence Committee Democrats publish 3,519 ads — Posts targeted specific groups to inflame civil discord
Discussion:
NBC News, Facebook, Financial Times, Variety, Associated Press, Wired, USA Today, @facebook, @nbcnews, @oneunderscore__ and @sarahfrier, more at Techmeme »
Paul Sawers / VentureBeat:
Spotify announces a hateful content and conduct policy to distance itself from controversial artists and introduces AudioWatch tool to scan its back catalog — Spotify has announced a new hate content and hateful conduct policy as it looks to distance itself from controversial music artists …
Discussion:
newsroom.spotify.com, Ad Age, Bloomberg, Fast Company, Washington Post, Associated Press, @buzzfeedben, The Verge, @danrys, @mtfiii, The Muse and @pitchfork, more at Techmeme »
Brianne O'Brien / BuzzFeed:
BuzzFeed to launch a new Saturday podcast, The News, where BuzzFeed staffers add context to news — Don't get lost in the chaos. Join BuzzFeed News reporters and editors every Saturday for news that's smart, not stuffy. — We get it. — With the news alerts constantly blowing up our phones …
Simon Dumenco / Ad Age:
The Onion's Clickhole launches Resistancehole to parody the Trump “resistance” the same way Patriothole, started last year, parodies the conservative right — Do you oppose President Trump? And do you have a sense of humor about your opposition? (Or do you not have a sense of humor about it but don't realize it?)
Discussion:
ClickHole and @jenniferm_q
Cynthia Littleton / Variety:
AMC Networks' Q1 revenue grew 2.9% YoY to $741M with a 10.8% gain in content licensing and distribution revenue that offset a 8.8% drop in ad sales — AMC Networks delivered strong gains in revenue and earnings per share in the first quarter as gains from content licensing pacts offset a 9% slump in ad sales.
Discussion:
The Wrap, Multichannel News, AMC Networks Inc. and Deadline
David Shepardson / Reuters:
FCC says that the Obama-era net neutrality rules from 2015 will end on June 11; Senate to vote as early as next week on whether to reject the FCC repeal — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Communications Commission said in a notice Thursday that landmark 2015 U.S. open-internet rules will cease on June 11.
Discussion:
The Hill, 9to5Mac and Fortune, more at Techmeme »
Jeffery C. Mays / New York Times:
NYC council member wants to prioritize Freedom of Information requests from professional media, but one expert says the plan could hurt journalists — Ritchie Torres is looking for allies in his new role as head of the City Council investigations committee: journalists.
Discussion:
@nyclu and @shanegoldmacher
Matt Labunka / Facebook:
Facebook Live will now let publishers crosspost live video across pages, use persistent stream keys for easier setup, says live rewind is coming soon — Today we are rolling out several new features that are focused on making it easier for publishers to go live on Facebook.
Discussion:
Tubefilter and Marketing Land
Barry Schwartz / Search Engine Land:
Gannett reaches deal to buy search marketing company WordStream for $130M in cash plus up to $20M in earnout through 2020 if revenue goals are met — WordStream, the paid search software company that helps advertisers manage their PPC campaigns, has been acquired by the Gannett Company for $150 million.
Discussion:
MediaPost, Business Wire, WordStream, @adammedros and Editor & Publisher, more at Techmeme »
Corinne Ramey / Wall Street Journal:
A look at Wikipedia's Arbitration Committee, its own internal “Supreme Court” with 15 jurists, which adjudicates the most serious disputes arising on the site — Online committee called ArbCom tries to keep the peace at internet encyclopedia; 'I don't understand why passions run so high here.'
Discussion:
@alephblog, @harrisonstephen, @pdberger, @zzzooey and @saraheneedleman, more at Techmeme »
Shan Wang / Nieman Lab:
A look at the redesigned Google News: a “For You” briefing including local sources, Newscasts similar to Twitter Moments, headlines, and “subscribe” buttons — Google announced a shiny new iteration of the Google News app on Tuesday as part of its I/O developer conference …
Discussion:
@googlenews, @ericnewton1, Android Authority, @faduda and The Verge
Kerry Flynn / Digiday:
Inside this week's Snapchat Summit for 13 creators in Venice Beach, where they met Evan Spiegel, learned about product plans, and shared ideas — Shortly after Cyrene Quiamco arrived at her hotel in the Venice neighborhood in Los Angeles, from her home in Little Rock, Arkansas …
Discussion:
@kerrymflynn and @digiday