Top News:


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.


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, Adweek, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Variety, Associated Press, Wired, @firstdraftnews, @facebook, @sarahfrier, @nbcnews, USA Today and @oneunderscore__, more at Techmeme »


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, The Hill, New York Times, Associated Press, @buzzfeedben, @danrys, @mtfiii, The Muse, @pitchfork and The Verge, more at Techmeme »


IAB report: online advertising exceeded total spent on broadcast and cable TV in 2017, reaching $88B, a 21% increase from 2016; mobile rose 36% YoY to $49.9B — Online advertising reached $88 billion last year, a 21 percent increase from 2016 and a new high, according to the latest IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report.


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


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 …
Discussion:
@janelytv


Sources: Facebook Watch is proposing annual budgets from $5M to $10M for daily news programming and $1M to $2M for weekly shows, based on per-episode costs — As Facebook looks to recruit news publishers for daily and weekly shows for Facebook Watch, the company is proposing a wide range …


Broadway's version of To Kill a Mockingbird is back on after two lawsuits over the Aaron Sorkin adaptation were settled Thursday — Atticus Finch is coming to Broadway. — A blistering pair of federal lawsuits over a $7 million stage adaptation of “To Kill a Mockingbird” were settled on Thursday …
Discussion:
Hollywood Reporter and BroadwayWorld.com


A look at the declining relevance of ESPN's public editor job, which it has ended, saying it “outlived its usefulness” and citing similar moves by NYT and WaPo — ESPNBy Matt Yoder on 05/10/201805/10/2018 — Once upon a time, the regular ESPN ombudsman column was a must-read for anyone passionate about sports media.
Discussion:
Poynter, @poynter, Deadspin, HuffPost, iMediaEthics and ESPN Front Row


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:
MediaPost, Techdirt, 9to5Mac and Fortune, more at Techmeme »


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, Broadcasting & Cable, AMC Networks Inc. and Deadline


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 »