Top News:
Benjamin Mullin / Wall Street Journal:
Source: Mic Network has agreed to sell to Bustle Digital Group for about $5M, a fraction of Mic's valuation of $100M based on its investment round in April 2017 — Struggling digital publisher lays off most of its staff ahead of sale — Digital publisher Mic Network Inc. has agreed …
Discussion:
New York Post, @benmullin, @mikeisaac, The Wrap, Variety, @mikkipedia, Adweek, @mattdpearce, @mattdpearce, @benmullin, @mikkipedia, @daviduberti, @ahylton26, @mathewi, @davidsrudin, @rafat, @dfnssr, @zzzzaaaacccchhh, @maxwellstrachan, @clarajeffery, @karnythia, @shaig, @dmedin11, @angryblacklady, @awolfeful, @alexisohanian, @sophiekleeman, @ptrmsk, @kelseymsutton, @johndiesattheen, @emilybell, MediaPost, @rafat, @chrstphr_woody, @shanedkavanaugh, @yashar, @noahshachtman and @kylepope
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Peter Kafka / Recode:
Mic has laid off a majority of its 100-person staff ahead of Bustle acquisition; publisher Cory Haik has already left, sources say the cofounders will remain — The publisher is trying to sell the remainder of the company to Bustle Digital Group. — Mic is laying off the majority off …
Discussion:
@levinejonathan, Nieman Lab, Columbia Journalism Review, @kelseymsutton, The Information, @kelseymsutton, @cityofthetown, @zzzzaaaacccchhh, Gothamist, @chappelltracker, @mathewi, Fast Company, The Hill, @thomaspagemcbee, @s_m_i, Variety, @chronotope, @journalistslike, @playoffs_dr_lic, HuffPost, @alexsteigrad, @amyharvard_, @madderka, @susanarendt, Splinter, @lukeoneil47, @jessicalessin, @jamilsmith, Adweek, @maghielse, @wblau, CNN, @lukeoneil47, @tribranchvo, @joshsternberg, @kifleswing, @ingridostby, @saschasegan, @kelseymsutton, @jamesfdennin and Recode
Alex Hern / The Guardian:
Facebook will exempt ads from eligible news outlets from its political ad archive in the UK, a policy it plans to extend to the US and Brazil pending UK tests — Social network to act against ‘dark adverts’ with compulsory disclaimers saying who paid — Every political advert on Facebook …
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
A Nielsen report says US viewers spend nearly 8B hours per month streaming content via connected devices like Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV — With the rise of streaming services and the trend toward cord cutting, the way U.S. consumers are watching video is also changing.
Discussion:
Nielsen and MediaPost, more at Techmeme »
Joshua Berlinger / CNN:
Independent news site Rappler and its founder, Maria Ressa, have been formally indicted on tax evasion charges by Philippine courts — Journalists are more important than ever — (CNN)Philippines news website Rappler and its chief executive have been indicted on tax evasion charges …
Discussion:
Committee to Protect …, @karaswisher, @icfj, @rapplerdotcom and RAPPLER
Gabe Rivera / Techmeme News:
Techmeme now publishing paid and free “Leaderboards” showing the most influential reporters around a specific news topic — Today Techmeme has begun publishing Topic Leaderboards, which list the top authors and publications covering 24 topic areas such as cloud computing, autonomous vehicles …
Discussion:
@shiraovide, @jjvincent, @seldo, @mkakav, @martinsfp, @jank0, @gaberivera, @gaberivera, @gaberivera, @gaberivera, @mgsiegler and @kingkool68, more at Techmeme »
Mark Sweney / The Guardian:
Unionized Financial Times journalists passed a vote of no confidence in the FT's CEO, John Ridding, citing lack of transparency, high executive pay — NUJ chapel passes vote saying Ridding has not acknowledged or addressed serious concerns — Journalists at the Financial Times have passed …
Discussion:
Talking Biz News
Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
Though Fox rebuked its personalities for appearing in campaign rallies and providing interviewees with scripts, it's unclear if it has formal ethics standards — There are ethical standards at Fox News, we're told. — But just what they are, or how they're enforced, is an enduring mystery.
Discussion:
@dabeard, @sulliview, @greta, @ehananoki, @sulliview, @mattgertz, @jessicagolds, @bwestley, @politico, @clydehaberman, @dmihalopoulos and @drvox
Julia Alexander / The Verge:
YouTube begins rolling out Stories, which last for seven days on its mobile app and can be viewed by everyone, to accounts with over 10,000 subscribers — Amid some concern from the community — YouTube is expanding its Instagram-like Stories capability to more creators today …
Discussion:
YouTube Creator Blog, @zachyzz, @loudmouthjulia, Mashable, Engadget and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »
Rafat Ali:
Among the worst effects of the democratization of publishing is the perception that it is easy to be in media, whether it's building companies or careers — I have usually held unpopular views well enough, so I will go for it: it *should* be hard. Starting something in media, building in …
Discussion:
@clarajeffery, @sdkstl and @rafat
Jonathan Bach / Statesman Journal:
Oregon's Salem Weekly, an alternative bi-weekly newspaper launched in 2004, has closed effective immediately — Salem Weekly, an alternative bi-weekly newspaper, has closed “effective immediately” after more than a dozen years in business, according to a letter to readers.
Discussion:
@jonathanmbach, @raju and @angry_owl_salem
Dave Jamieson / HuffPost:
Employees at Mashable and PCMag ask owner Ziff Davis to voluntarily recognize their union, which would become part of the NewsGuild of New York — Seeking more stability and job protections, staffers have asked owner Ziff Davis to recognize their union and start bargaining for a contract.
Discussion:
@promawhatup, @jason00cohen and @alexisthenedd