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 and CNN
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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 …
James Walker / Press Gazette:
BuzzFeed proposes cutting 17 of BuzzFeed UK's 37 editorial staff, with most losses to the Buzz section covering pop culture
Discussion:
@markdistef, BuzzFeed, New York Magazine, @mattdpearce, @dylanmatt, @rachelysanders, @maggyvaneijk, @kimberleydadds, @mjs_dc, @patblanchfield, @sunapology, @charles_kinbote, @williamsjon, @tolly_t, @maggyvaneijk, @rossalynwarren, @jamesrbuk, @maxseddon, @danieldrepper, @simonchilds13, PerthNow and Sydney Morning Herald
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 …
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:
The Information, Recode, The Wrap, @pkafka, @shiraovide, @jtoonkel, @shiraovide, @mcwm, TechCrunch, /Film and Multichannel News, more at Techmeme »
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, /Film, The Playlist, The A.V. Club and @cityofthetown
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
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
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 »
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:
TechCrunch, Pandora and Variety
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 …
Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:
Study finds major US newspapers hiked home delivery prices more than 2x between 2008 and 2016, but about two-thirds of print readers remained loyal — Once print advertising collapsed, newspapers hiked prices to get more money from readers. If they hadn't, they'd employ even fewer journalists and be in even worse shape today.
Discussion:
@kenherts, @gerryfsmith, @emilybell, @irischyi, @irischyi, @irischyi, Journalism Studies and Editor & Publisher
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, @kenvogel, Vanity Fair and New York Times
Joseph Cox / Motherboard:
Internal docs and sources describe how Facebook educates moderators about political issues and potential “PR fires” that are particular to different elections — Internal Facebook documents obtained by Motherboard show specific steps and strategies taken by the company …
Discussion:
@tonyajoriley, Facebook, The Hill and Fortune
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