Top News:
Tiffany Hsu / New York Times:
Amazon has delisted two books that claimed to hold cures for autism, following a letter from Rep. Schiff criticizing anti-vaccine misinformation on the platform — Amazon has removed the online listings for two books that claim to contain cures for autism, a move that follows recent efforts …
Discussion:
NBC News, @tcarmody, @allicatmeowmeow, @boblonsberry, Melville House Books, CBS News, CNBC, Observer and Adweek, more at Techmeme »
Maxwell Tani / The Daily Beast:
Internal emails: First Look Media plans to let go ~4% of staff; Laura Poitras said the move cuts the research team, which has overseen the Snowden archive — Laura Poitras—the Citizenfour director and award-winning filmmaker who helped start The Intercept's parent company First Look Media …
Discussion:
@maxwelltani, @yashalevine, The Daily Beast, @dangillmor, @ggreenwald and @maxblumenthal
Janko Roettgers / Variety:
Google is shutting down its Spotlight Stories VR film studio, part of Google's ATAP group, according to an email from the studio's executive producer — Google is shutting down its Spotlight Stories immersive entertainment unit, according to an email sent out by Spotlight Stories executive producer Karen Dufilho Wednesday evening.
Discussion:
The Verge, @russellholly, TechCrunch, @jank0 and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
Lynette Rice / EW.com:
People magazine's editor in chief, Jess Cagle, is stepping down after five years at its helm and 32 years at Time Inc. — “I've decided it's time to do some other things while I'm still young — or at least alive," he wrote in a staff memo. “It's also time for me to live in Los Angeles full …
Ryan Faughnder / Los Angeles Times:
Gary Barber and Lantern Entertainment have formed new studio Spyglass Media Group, which will own and oversee Weinstein Company assets bought by Lantern in 2018 — Former Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Chief Executive Gary Barber has a new job. — The veteran South African-born executive …
Gaurav Shukla / NDTV Gadgets 360:
YouTube Music, YouTube Music Premium, and YouTube Premium launch in India, joining Google Play Music and Google Play Movies as well as Spotify — YouTube Music (ad-supported), YouTube Music Premium (ad-free), YouTube Premium (ad-free) have been launched in India.
Discussion:
Official Google India Blog, Music Business Worldwide, TechCrunch and Music Ally
Jeremy Barr / Hollywood Reporter:
Disclosures of Trump staffers give a glimpse of opaque Fox News contributor salaries: for eight people, salaries averaged ~$141,000; John Bolton earned $569,423 — At least 10 members of the Trump administration have served as on-air contributors for the network.
Discussion:
@mattgertz, @vabvox, @spencerdailey, @mollyjongfast, @dandrezner, @brendannyhan, @davidjoachim and Mediaite
Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat:
Google says it removed 2.3B bad ads in 2018, down 28% from 2017 and terminated ~1M bad advertiser accounts, including ~734K publishers and app developers — Around this time of year, Google shares how many “bad ads” it killed the year before. And every year, the number grows. But not this time.
Discussion:
Adweek, TechCrunch and The Keyword, more at Techmeme »
Mary Pflum / NBC News:
After the AT&T/Time Warner merger, signs point to the end of the Turner media brand, even after AT&T executives told Ted Turner his legacy would live on — This latest casualty of the AT&T/Time Warner media merger comes a year after top executives flew to Atlanta to meet in person …
Discussion:
Variety
Stuart Dredge / Music Ally:
Spotify files an anti-trust complaint against Apple with the European Commission, claiming App Store rules limit choice and stifle competition — Spotify is filing a complaint against Apple with the European Commission, accusing the latter company of anticompetitive behaviour in the way it manages …
Nikhil Inamdar / Quartz:
How Narendra Modi, who did not address a single press conference in his first term, turned many of India's media outlets into nationalist propaganda — The long-simmering crisis of credibility in the Indian news media reached a boiling point in the weeks following the deadly terrorist attack in Pulwama, Jammu & Kashmir last month.
The Atlantic:
Adrienne LaFrance, top editor of TheAtlantic.com since 2017, is named executive editor of The Atlantic; Swati Sharma and Sarah Yager are named managing editors — Swati Sharma and Sarah Yager are promoted to managing editors. — Adrienne LaFrance, who has been the top editor …
Discussion:
@adriennelaf, @yayitsrob, @elanazak, @swatigauri, @katiezez, @wajahatali, CNN and @theatlanticpr