Top News:
Alex Sherman / CNBC:
Sources: CBS board wants company to grow, first through a merger with Viacom, possibly followed by Discovery acquisition; CBS hoping to find CEO by end of March — The CBS board has decided the company needs to get bigger, but merging with Viacom is not enough for Shari Redstone …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Los Angeles Times and Variety
Rafi Schwartz / Splinter:
Leaked audio from a BuzzFeed all-hands staff meeting indicates CEO Jonah Peretti acknowledged the layoff process was “terrible” and criticized company leaks — With BuzzFeed's latest round of mass layoffs over, CEO Jonah Peretti hosted an all-hands meeting on Wednesday …
Discussion:
@mlcalderone, @skiscontent, @libbycwatson, @jasonshevrin and New York Magazine
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Max Willens / Digiday:
How BuzzFeed is reorganizing and charting a path to a sustainable business, according to sources and a memo CEO Jonah Peretti sent to employees Tuesday night
Discussion:
New York Times, @freeblackgirl, @parkermolloy, @dansinker, @leighgiangreco, @caulfieldcm, @jackmirkinson, @mathewi, @digiday, @bgrueskin, Observer, @mattdpearce and Slate
Athena Jones / CNN:
New York AG finds selling fake followers and likes or using stolen IDs on social media is illegal in case against Devumi, which served actors, musicians, others — New York (CNN Business)A company that brought in millions of dollars in revenue by creating fake social media posts and comments …
Khaoula Ghanem / Vogue Arabia:
Wired Middle East, licensed to Vogue Arabia-publisher Nervora, to launch as a dual-language site in the spring, with print special issues starting in fall 2019 — Today, Condé Nast International and Nervora, the Dubai-based publisher of Vogue Arabia, announced that they are extending …
David Bauder / Associated Press:
Reporters at Insider were told to take a break from tweeting and reading TweetDeck for a week; other journalists have panned and defended the value of Twitter — NEW YORK (AP) — If Twitter is the town square for journalists, some are ready to step away. — That's happening this week …
Discussion:
New York Times, @paulapoindexter, @megkinnardap, @aallan, @politicohen_, @daphnehk, @adam_myrick, @jeffjarvis, @mathewi and Fox News
James Walker / Press Gazette:
NewsGuard, whose trustworthiness ratings are available on Chrome and Edge, improves its rating of the Daily Mail from red to green to indicate its accuracy — US news website rating tool Newsguard has changed its verdict on Mail Online after originally declaring the UK's most-read news website failed …
Jared Newman / Fast Company:
Free ad-supported streaming services are on the rise as consumers reach subscription overload and premium services move away from licensed video — People who pooh-pooh the cord-cutting phenomenon love to argue that the cost of streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu really adds up …
Discussion:
Forbes, TechCrunch, Light Reading, MediaPost and Multichannel News
Janko Roettgers / Variety:
Ultraviolet, the cloud movie locker that launched in 2011 with support from major Hollywood studios, is shutting down on July 31 — Ultraviolet, a cloud movie locker once hailed as Hollywood's best bet to get consumers hooked on digital movies, is shuttering.
Discussion:
PCMag India, 9to5Mac, @jank0, @jank0, @jank0 and The Verge, more at Techmeme »
Joy Press / Vanity Fair:
Interview with HBO execs and creators, including Chairman Richard Plepler and programming chief Casey Bloys, on the networks' original programming plans — At HBO's 2018 post-Emmys party in West Hollywood, Richard Plepler, the network's chairman and C.E.O., orbited the Pacific Design Center like a spinning top of schmooze.
Discussion:
Business Insider
Keith J. Kelly / New York Post:
New York Media recognizes the New York Magazine Union, with about 180 full-time and part-time staff across Vulture, Intelligencer, the Cut, and more — New York magazine's editorial employees have unionized amid stalled talks to sell the iconic title and its popular web sites.
Discussion:
@nymagunion and @nyguild
David Cohen / Adweek:
Reddit launches cost-per-click ads following a months-long beta with 50+ advertisers, saying it's Reddit's first foray into performance-driven ad bidding — They announced their new initiative on Wednesday — Reddit is making what it calls its first foray into performance-driven ad bidding …
Discussion:
MediaPost, Marketing Land, Ad Age, The Drum and AdExchanger
Camille Fassett / Freedom of the Press Foundation:
Trump's government shutdown ground transparency to a halt by slowing or stopping the processing of FOIA requests at federal agencies — During President Trump's shutdown of parts of the federal government over a border wall, transparency was declared a nonessential part of the government's operations …
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