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, Digiday, @jeremysliew, @mikeisaac, @mikkipedia, @benmullin, Variety, @mathewi, @davidsrudin, @mattdpearce, @dfnssr, @abu_zafar, @clarajeffery, @karnythia, @dmedin11, @angryblacklady, @awolfeful, @sophiekleeman, @mikkipedia, @ptrmsk, @kelseymsutton, @daviduberti, @ahylton26, @chrstphr_woody, @shanedkavanaugh, @mattdpearce, @yashar, @trengriffin, @noahshachtman, @jeremysliew, @johndiesattheen, The Wrap, Adweek, @rafat, @zzzzaaaacccchhh, @maxwellstrachan, @shaig, @alexisohanian, @emilybell, @rafat, @kylepope and MediaPost
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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:
@dabeard, @levinejonathan, Nieman Lab, Columbia Journalism Review, @kelseymsutton, @kelseymsutton, @chronotope, Crain's New York Business, @cityofthetown, @zzzzaaaacccchhh, @niemanlab, @journalistslike, @amyharvard_, @levinejonathan, @wblau, @alexsteigrad, @s_m_i, @playoffs_dr_lic, @thomaspagemcbee, @jamilsmith, @jessicalessin, @susanarendt, @maghielse, @mathewi, @chappelltracker, @madderka, @lukeoneil47, Fast Company, Variety, The Hill, Adweek, HuffPost, Splinter, Gothamist, CNN, @lukeoneil47, @tribranchvo, @joshsternberg, @kifleswing, @ingridostby, @saschasegan, @kelseymsutton, @jamesfdennin, The Information and Recode
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, MediaPost and @jonsteinberg, more at Techmeme »
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 …
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:
Press Gazette and Talking Biz News
Sahil Patel / Digiday:
Food52 becomes the ninth food channel on free video streaming service Xumo; distribution is free as publishers provide content and collect ad revenue — Food52 is looking to establish a presence on over-the-top streaming video environments. — The commerce-driven food publisher is launching …
Matt Taibbi / Rolling Stone:
Opinion: As Facebook clamps down on fake news, Russian trolls and Nazis, it has also banned innocent people, proving it can't be trusted to regulate itself — In its effort to clamp down on fake news, Russian trolls and Nazis, the social media giant has also started banning innocent people …
Discussion:
@normative, @ben_mathes, @syksyrasanen, @hollywood_dave, @rjeskow, @bryanalexander, @mtaibbi, @mtracey, @denniscearl, @mtracey and @rspolitics
David Skok / Nieman Lab:
Canada's $595M journalism aid package will distort the market unless it supports subscriptions smartly, creates an impact fund, factors in the CBC, and more — I anguished over whether to weigh in on the Canadian government's new $595 million government-aid package for journalism, because it's deeply personal for me.
Discussion:
@iangarrickmason, @niemanlab, @niemanlab and National Post
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
Felicia Sonmez / Washington Post:
The CEO of the US Agency for Global Media, which oversees VOA and other US government media, apologizes for a Radio Martí show that attacked George Soros — The head of a U.S. government agency has apologized to George Soros and his Open Society Foundations for the airing of a program …
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 »
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