Top News:


Memo: in 2018, BuzzFeed generated $100M+ from business lines that didn't exist in 2017; Facebook video platform revenue grew from $500K in Q1 to $3M in Q4 2018 — - BuzzFeed CEO Says Company Is Generating Over $200 Million Annually From Businesses That Didn't Exist Two Years Ago
Discussion:
Team Warren, Business Insider, Nieman Lab, Digiday, BuzzFeed, @xpangler and @rafat, more at Techmeme »

Former DOJ lead spokesperson Sarah Isgur, who CNN said would be hired as a political editor, says on Twitter that she will be a CNN political analyst instead — It's been a great vacation but I am back on twitter! And news: I will go to CNN as a Political Analyst instead. Will start next month on air and on line. See y'all soon!
Discussion:
@hshaban, @rob_flaherty, @normornstein, @scout_finch, @farhip, @oliverdarcy, @brianstelter and @jvenook


Australian court case puts media outlets on notice that they could face large compensation claims, after The Age was found liable for a reporter's PTSD — A landmark ruling by an Australian court is expected to have international consequences for newsrooms, with media companies on notice …
Discussion:
Nieman Lab and NEWS.com.au


White House Communications Director Bill Shine has resigned to serve as senior adviser on Trump's re-election campaign — Bill Shine, the former Fox News executive who joined the White House staff last summer to manage President Trump's communications operation, has resigned and will move …
Discussion:
TVNewser, Bloomberg, Mediaite, Ad Age, The Wrap, New York Magazine, @clarajeffery, @timobrien, @timobrien, The Week, Boing Boing, CNN, KNSD-TV, Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Fortune, @maggienyt, The Daily Beast, @poniewozik, @karenyourish, @acosta, Newsy, Splinter and Washington Post


Q&A with Barstool Sports CEO Erika Nardini on Miel Brudow's fight with the site after it posted Brudow's video without credit: “we really botched” the response — On Monday, writer and performer Miel Bredouw took to Twitter to disclose publicly how her content had been misappropriated …
Discussion:
Deadspin, @onlxn, @rezac1 and The Daily Beast


Disney CEO Bob Iger says streaming service Disney+ will include the entire Disney film library soon after launch this year, essentially ending Disney's “vault” — Exclusivity and availability is a tremendous advantage — Disney+, the company's upcoming streaming service …
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Vulture, MTV, CNBC, Polygon, Engadget, Fast Company, Jezebel, MacRumors, @heyjonanderson, @kimscorcher, @drewmcweeny, @ceilidhann, @loudmouthjulia, @tasharobinson, @scalzi, @jank0, Ars Technica, 9to5Mac and Cord Cutters News

Facebook's shift to more private sharing will make misinformation harder to track and raises questions about the company's liability for its diffusion — On Wednesday, in what seemed like a major shift, Mark Zuckerberg wrote that he wants to reorient Facebook around private, encrypted …
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, New York Times, @zeynep, The Guardian, American Press Institute, New York Times, New York Times, MIT Technology Review, @alexstamos, The Verge, Stratechery, @jayrosen_nyu, @evanselinger, Parse.ly, @jason_kint, Techdirt, The Verge, @sivavaid, @sivavaid, @jessefelder, @willoremus, @_maditla, @jayrosen_nyu, Memex 1.1, Wired, Wired, ClickZ, WIRED UK, Business Insider and The Week, more at Techmeme »


Serial Box, a digital publisher of serialized fiction that publishes stories in text and audio formats, raises $4.5M in seed funding, led by Boat Rocker Media — Serial Box, a startup bringing back the tradition of serialized fiction, has raised $4.5 million in seed funding.


In memo, Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara apologizes for “personal actions” that embarrassed company and staff after leaked texts show entanglement with actress — “I deeply regret that I have made mistakes in my personal life that have caused pain and embarrassment to the people I love the most.
Discussion:
The Wrap, Variety, Deadline, Fast Company and @katiekilkenny7


Infinite Dial survey: ~90M people are monthly podcast listeners, up 6% YoY; weekly podcast listeners rose 5% to 62M, 70% of Americans are familiar with podcasts — The number of podcast listeners has increased sharply this year, according to a new report. — More than half the people …
Discussion:
Marketing Land, @awealthofcs, Boing Boing and Radio World


DHS' inspector general is probing whether officials violated policies by creating a list of journalists and activists to be questioned at the southern border — WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security's inspector general is investigating whether immigration officials violated policies …
RELATED:

Leaked documents show the US government is closely monitoring journalists and immigration advocates tied to the 2018 migrant caravan
Discussion:
Committee to Protect …, SPJ News, On the Media, @brooklynmarie, @repmikelevin, @senblumenthal, @fightfortheftr, @aclu, @samsanders, American Press Institute, NPR, The Week, Broadcasting & Cable, Poynter, Techdirt, Reporters Without Borders, @jamilsmith, @mattdpearce, @mattdpearce, @otraletra, @katierogers, The Reporters Committee …, VICE News, Fortune, Politico, Mediaite and CNN


Alfonso Ribeiro withdraws his lawsuit against Epic Games over dance-move emotes in Fortnite after US Copyright Office refused “Carlton Dance” copyright claim — Fresh Prince star Alfonso Ribeiro has dropped a lawsuit against the makers of Fortnite over the videogame's use of the …


Spotify, Google, Pandora, and Amazon have filed to appeal a copyright ruling that increases payouts to songwriters by 44%; sources: Apple not planning to appeal — Amazon is filing a separate appeal against the ruling, which would increase writer rates by nearly 50%.
Discussion:
RAIN News, @drewberinger, MacRumors, Radio & Television …, 9to5Mac, Engadget, Fortune and Music Ally, more at Techmeme »