Top News:
Madison Malone Kircher / New York Magazine:
Q&A with a Michigan college student who has made 692 quizzes for BuzzFeed as a hobby, becoming the 2nd-highest traffic driver for the site's quizzes worldwide — Rachel McMahon is a teen from Michigan you almost certainly haven't heard of before this week.
Discussion:
New York Magazine, @willoremus, @mattdpearce, @mathewi, @auntbeckyrose, @laurawags, @sarahlkaufman, @nymag, @choire, @4evrmalone, @austin_walker, @jakeswearingen, @lrhogan, @reckless, @4evrmalone, BuzzFeed and CNN
RELATED:
Will Oremus / Slate:
The global layoffs at BuzzFeed, once a successful beacon in a shrinking industry, mark an end of innocence for the outlet and for staffers with big social reach — BuzzFeed's layoffs were painful for its staffers—and fatal to its self-mythology. — There's a phenomenon familiar …
Julia Alexander / The Verge:
Report: Apple told studios and networks to be ready for a launch of Apple's streaming service by mid-April, the same month investors see a Disney+ preview — Studios were reportedly told to be ready by mid-April — Little is known about Apple's standalone streaming service, aside from the mountain of original content that's coming.
Discussion:
Recode, The Information, PCMag India, @pkafka, @shiraovide, @jtoonkel, The Wrap, @shiraovide, @mcwm, Multichannel News and /Film, more at Techmeme »
Anthony Crupi / Ad Age:
Nielsen C3 primetime ratings for ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox dropped 11% YoY for Q4 2018 in the 18-49 age group, with a 27% drop in the same period since 2016 — The big four networks have seen many of their demographically desirable viewers disappear — As younger viewers continue …
Cynthia Littleton / Variety:
As Disney completes merger with Fox and prepares for Disney+, uncertainty remains about integration, programming, and the executives who will lead the shift — Bob Iger has repeatedly called it the “highest priority” of the Walt Disney Co. — The launch of Disney Plus has become the talk …
Discussion:
The Information, Business Insider, The A.V. Club, @cityofthetown, /Film and The Playlist
Jon Lafayette / Broadcasting & Cable:
Conviva: streaming TV hours rose 89% YoY in 2018 with a 165% increase in Q4; connected TVs accounted for 56% of all streamed views in 2018, up from 47% in 2017 — Quality increases, but viewers are less patient — The amount of video being streamed showed strong growth in 2018 …
Discussion:
MediaPost
Radio & Television Business Report:
Pandora shareholders approve Sirius XM's purchase of the company; Sirius CEO Jim Meyer will lead Pandora and Sirius XM combined, Pandora's Roger Lynch to leave — The shareholders of Pandora Media have spoken, and they are OK with a purchase of the streaming audio pioneer …
Discussion:
Variety, Pandora and TechCrunch
Michael Potuck / 9to5Mac:
Apple says Apple News has 85M monthly active users and Apple Music has 50M paid subscribers, a growth of around 10M for Music since April 2018 — During Apple's Q1 2019 earnings call today, Tim Cook shared an update on how some of the company's Services have been growing including details on Apple News …
Discussion:
One Man & His Blog, more at Techmeme »
Adam Becker / Undark:
Inference, a “quarterly review of science” started in 2014 and funded entirely by Peter Thiel, publishes scientific articles alongside junk science — The newish ‘quarterly review of science’ sometimes muddies the waters between science and political ideology. It is funded by Peter Thiel.
Discussion:
@cshperspectives, @bobbierman and Boing Boing
Christoph Droesser / Columbia Journalism Review:
A look at Germany's BPK, a media institution that hosts government press briefings three times a week, where journalists are not at the whim of politicians — It's a familiar scene: roughly a hundred journalists cram into the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House …
Jennifer Creery / Hong Kong Free Press HKFP:
FCCC report on press freedom in China: 55% believe government interference has risen, with notable crackdowns in Xinjiang and visa denials for negative coverage — Over half of foreign correspondents say reporting conditions in China deteriorated last year, according to the Foreign Correspondents' Club …
Discussion:
Reuters and @nvanderklippe
Kim Masters / Hollywood Reporter:
Lawmakers are asking Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin about his ties to media investor Len Blavatnik, whose Access Industries owns Warner Music Group — After the Treasury Secretary lifts sanctions on companies linked to an oligarch, Democrats seek information over Mnuchin's sale of a stake …
Discussion:
ABC News, @kenvogel, Vanity Fair, @kenvogel and New York Times
James Walker / Press Gazette:
University of Kent academics stand by their study, financed by News UK and disputed by BBC Radio 5, that found that the station didn't meet Ofcom standards — Journalism academics have defended research claiming BBC Radio 5 Live did not meet Ofcom targets for news and current affairs output …
Discussion:
The Times & The Sunday Times