Top News:


The staged murder of Babchenko did serious damage to journalism when it's already under attack by rulers who increasingly call investigations “fake news” — MOSCOW — The heartbreaking “assassination” of Arkady Babchenko — in fact a sting set up by the Ukrainian Security Service …
Discussion:
Committee to Protect …, @zidanism and @annanemtsova
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Committee to Protect Journalists expresses relief Arkady Babchenko is alive, calls on Ukrainian officials to say why they used extreme tactic of staging murder
Discussion:
The Guardian, American Press Institute, VICE News, Associated Press, ABC News, @asluhn, @christopherjm, The Daily Caller and @hadas_gold

Reporters Without Borders condemns faking of Babchenko's murder: “It was distressing and regrettable that the Security Service of Ukraine played with the truth”
Discussion:
Jon Slattery, @fromtga, @ulielischkies, New York Post, The Moscow Times, @miriamelder, @johnmcquaid, Mediaite, @ap, BBC, @staska, @be_herrero, @christopherjm and @jcstearns


Pew Research study of US teen internet usage finds 85% say they use YouTube, 72% use Instagram, 69% use Snapchat, while only 51% say they use Facebook — YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat are the most popular online platforms among teens. Fully 95% of teens have access to a smartphone, and 45% say they are online ‘almost constantly’
Discussion:
VideoInk, VentureBeat, The Wrap, Adweek, Deadline, MediaPost, Washington Post, CNET, The Verge and Mashable, more at Techmeme »


The Evening Standard denies allegations of payment in exchange for favorable coverage of brands like Uber, saying that all commercial content will be labeled — The Evening Standard (ES) has explicitly denied allegations that it has accepted millions of pounds from brands like Uber in return for …
Discussion:
@adambanksdotcom
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Early data after GDPR shows Google and Facebook are drawing ad money by gathering users' consent for targeted ads at far higher rates than competing services — Digital ad giants are gathering individuals' consent for targeted ads at far higher rates than many competing online-ad services, early data show
Discussion:
Ad Age, MediaPost, Fast Company, @profcarroll, @kimmaicutler and Fortune, more at Techmeme »


DoubleClick announces advertisers can now buy ad inventory programmatically from Google Play Music, Spotify, SoundCloud, TuneIn, and soon Pandora — Advertisers can buy digital audio ad inventory programmatically on Spotify, TuneIn, SoundCloud and Google Play Music.
Discussion:
DoubleClick Advertiser Blog, Ad Age, MediaPost and The Drum


Telegram CEO Pavel Durov says Apple has been rejecting its app updates globally since Russia banned Telegram in April — Encrypted messaging app Telegram is feeling the squeeze out of Russia, where regulators are not letting up in their ongoing attempts to block the app because its publishers refuse …
Discussion:
VentureBeat, Fortune, Engadget, New York Times, Business Insider, MacRumors, 9to5Mac, @ingridlunden and Fast Company, more at Techmeme »


Profile of NewsDigest, a popular news app in Japan, which employs no journalists and generates stories using a combination of AI and social media — - Japan millennial made newsroom using artificial intelligence — NewsDigest is one of most popular news apps in Japan


New York Media, Pop Sugar, and Rolling Stone join Concert, a digital ad marketplace founded by Vox Media and NBCU — Vox Media claims Concert will reach nearly 90% of internet users — Concert, the digital ad marketplace founded by Vox Media and NBCUniversal, is further expanding …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Business Insider and AdExchanger


Sources: eight staffers are leaving American Vogue as part of the ongoing cuts at Condé Nast — Eight people are exiting Condé Nast's flagship fashion title, as part of a wider reorganisation, BoF has learned. … NEW YORK, United States — American Vogue is making …
Discussion:
New York Post and Folio


NPR will shutter five of its blogs on June 5; their content will be grouped by topic pages to simplify the user experience and increase newsroom collaboration — Very few people these days are going to the landing pages for NPR blogs such as The Two-Way (for breaking news) or Parallels …
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, @raju and @gabrieljr


Publishers in India give scant coverage to Cobrapost claims that outlets were willing to skew news for pay; Times of India says it was operating “reverse sting” — It is a potential scandal that claims to strike at a key pillar of Indian democracy - the freedom of the press …


CEO Daniel Ek talks about Spotify's content policy, its direct-listing IPO, and removing R. Kelly's music from its playlists, at Code Conference — Spotify CEO Daniel Ek admitted his company fumbled the deployment of a new content policy that sparked considerable controversy within the music industry.


The Skimm launches a one-to-one texting service for subscribers, with editorial team answering questions on specific topics within a time window — “People are always on their phones, but this isn't 'Let's just start shooting them info over text.' When you integrate into somebody's routine …
Discussion:
@getprpl, @laurahazardowen, @ryanvailbrown and @mattervc