Top News:
Brett Popplewell / The Walrus:
Behind Torstar's strategy to send StarMetro readers to TheStar.com, where it will likely begin hypertargeting those most likely to pay for its planned paywall — Can Canada's most storied daily convince readers that its brand of journalism is worth paying for?
Discussion:
@srchiose and @sunlorrie
Jack Shafer / Politico:
Alden's management of the Denver Post foreshadows the death of newspapers as owners extract value by sucking the marrow rather than by investing or selling — It's with a spasm of profits. — For a preview of the newspaper industry's coming death, turn your gaze to Colorado …
Discussion:
Media Nation, @darrendcarroll, @charliemagne, @focusontheidea, @joeheim, @lyncherator, @tripgabriel, @ruthoutspoken, @jasonblevins, @raju and Denver Westword
Paris Martineau / The Outline:
CrowdTangle data over four months shows Facebook's News Feed algo change had little effect on engagement on pages of mainstream publishers like CNN and Fox News — Publishers are doing... fine? — Paris Martineau — Facebook's January 12 announcement that it would begin to deprioritize news …
Discussion:
@mantzarlis and @pcunliffejones
Michael Calderone / Politico:
A look at The Fourth Estate, Showtime's documentary on The New York Times during Trump's first year, directed by Liz Garbus and premiering May 27 — When New York Times reporter Jeremy Peters meets attendees at the Conservative Political Action Conference, in the first episode …
Discussion:
@politico and @lizgarbus
Alexis C. Madrigal / The Atlantic:
Facebook exec says company will build an API for machine-readable access to info on ads in political-ad archive, but researchers worry that may not be enough — Time and again, when facing criticism about Facebook's role in elections, the company's executives have promised to provide maximal transparency …
Discussion:
@profcarroll and @yayitsrob
Marcela Kunova / Journalism.co.uk:
Al Jazeera develops InterviewJS, an open source tool that turns Q&As into interactive messaging where the reader asks the interviewee pre-selected questions — This free tool allows readers to ‘interact’ with an interviewee making the content and reading experience more engaging
Freia Nahser / Global Editors Network:
Q&A with The Guardian's Anna Bateson, chief customer officer, on asking readers for funding, the importance of Google and Facebook, and preparing for the GDPR — In a conversation with the Global Editors Network, Anna Bateson, chief customer officer at the Guardian talks about the Guardian's reader …
Thanks:@geninnovate
Benjamin Mullin / Wall Street Journal:
Luminary Media raises $40M; sources say it plans to launch subscription service for premium podcasts, has begun to strike licensing deals with podcast creators — The newly created venture has raised $40 million from New Enterprise Associates and others to enter the rapidly expanding realm of podcasting and audio. SL
Christine Schmidt / Nieman Lab:
Zetland, a Danish subscription news outlet with 10K members, has been testing news via audio and found 60% of members prefer listening over reading — “We're definitely not a short-form news outlet. When we launched, we thought it would be late evening media, something where you would crash on the sofa and read our stories."
Discussion:
@martinsfp
Stella Bugbee / The Cut:
Anna Wintour's effort to rehabilitate the reputation of Harvey Weinstein's estranged wife, designer Georgina Chapman, is a way to seek forgiveness for herself — Anna Wintour is our Fashion Pope, the infallible ruler of Vogue, fashion's Vatican. Both because of her reputation …
Discussion:
@toddthaler, Racked, @gregorg, @lpolgreen, New York Times, Fortune, @janinegibson, @victoriaspies, @edmundlee, @askmrmickey and @ruthannharnisch
Amy X. Wang / Rolling Stone:
Apple Music says it removed R. Kelly's music from featured playlists weeks ago while Pandora currently does not promote the singer's music — Three streaming services have now removed the R&B singer's music from curated playlists — Spotify caused a mighty stir yesterday when it announced that …
Discussion:
The Ringer, The Daily Beast, Fortune, Engadget and 9to5Mac, more at Techmeme »
Ann-Christine Diaz / Creativity Online:
HBO joins The Atlantic's Question Your Answers series, a collection of short films designed to foster civil discourse and help expand the magazine's reach — The campaign broadens with support and talent from the broadcaster — Editor's Pick — Actor Jeffrey Wright ("The Hunger Games" …