Top News:
EU Press Room:
The European Commission has fined Google €1.49B for “abusive practices in online advertising” and breaching EU antitrust rules — The European Commission has fined Google €1.49 billion for breaching EU antitrust rules. Google has abused its market dominance by imposing …
Discussion:
The Keyword, New York Times, Washington Post, MediaPost, Ad Age, Multichannel News, Adweek, The Wrap, Al Jazeera, XDA Developers, The Register, Fast Company, Search Engine Land, VentureBeat, Business Insider, Politico, @ruskin147, The Verge, Gizmodo, @stevesi, @googleeurope, BGR, The Next Web, @eu_commission, Engadget, 9to5Google, @rasmus_kleis, @ecosia, The Daily Caller and MIT Technology Review, more at Techmeme »
Brooks Barnes / New York Times:
Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox closed just after midnight ET and analysts say the ripple effects of the deal may not become clear for years — LOS ANGELES — “Everything the light touches is our kingdom.” — It's a line from Disney's “The Lion King,” spoken by Mufasa to young Simba as they sit atop Pride Rock.
Discussion:
Hollywood Reporter, Multichannel News, Hollywood Reporter, Bloomberg, Vanity Fair and The Week
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Cynthia Littleton / Variety:
Memo: Bob Iger talks about Fox acquisition, says “challenging” work lies ahead and that some businesses will be “impacted more” than others by the deal — Bob Iger marked the historic occasion of Disney's purchase of 21st Century Fox with a lengthy memo to staffers …
Discussion:
Business Insider and The Week
Emma Sandler / Digiday:
Instagram adds in-app shopping to let users buy from 20 beauty and fashion brands including Kylie Cosmetics, Nike, and Huda Beauty — Shopping on Instagram is about to change forever. — On March 19, the social platform announced in a blog post it was launching a beta shopping program …
New York Times:
Facebook announces that it would stop allowing ad targeting to race, gender, and age groups in the housing, jobs, or credit categories by the end of the year — After years of criticism, Facebook announced on Tuesday that it would stop allowing advertisers in key categories to show …
Discussion:
@nytimestech, @revodavid, @karolcummins, @ddayen, Gizmodo and Mother Jones, more at Techmeme »
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Sara Fischer / Axios:
Facebook settles with ACLU over allegedly discriminatory ads for employment, housing, and credit, paying ~$5M and making changes to prevent discrimination
Discussion:
@mmasnick, Facebook, The Atlantic, TechCrunch, Ad Age, Financial Times, @byrosenberg, ProPublica, @sencortezmasto, @metrosolomon, @raju, @senblumenthal, @cristianafarias, @digiphile, @emilybell, @civilrightsorg, MediaPost, @cmcilwain, @reprokhanna, @alixtrot, @facebook, @lwmurphy, @profcarroll, @zackwhittaker, @propublica, @ktbenner, @leslieproll, @profcarroll, @lizzadwoskin, ACLU, The Real Deal New York, The Register and The Guardian, more at Techmeme »
Zac Hall / 9to5Mac:
Apple says it will support three media literacy programs in the US and Europe that aim to combat fake news and train young people to seek reliable news sources — Just days before Apple's big March 25th event where it will unveil a new subscription news service, the company has revealed plans …
Vibhuti Sharma / Reuters:
Nextar Media Group said on Wednesday it would sell 11 television stations to Tegna and eight to E.W. Scripps for about $1.32B in cash — (Reuters) - Nextar Media Group said on Wednesday it would sell 11 television stations to Tegna Inc and eight to E.W. Scripps Co for about $1.32 billion in cash.
Edward-Isaac Dovere / The Atlantic:
David Sirota, hired March 11 by Bernie Sanders, informally advised Sanders for months while attacking opponents on Twitter and in The Guardian through December — Shortly before he gave speeches launching his 2020 campaign earlier this month, Bernie Sanders emailed his supporters …
Discussion:
@jnmulholland, @isaacdovere, @erikwemple, @aaronblake, @isaacdovere, @blanarph, @isaacdovere, @mattbors, @mattbors, @coreypein, Politico, @wccubbison, @mattbinder, @lachlan, @erikwemple, @erikwemple, @scottbix, @davidsirota, @davidsirota, @isaacdovere, @adamparkhomenko, @jillfilipovic, @regwag2003, @zackstanton, @colinkalmbacher, @mattyglesias, @coreypein, @tripgabriel, @hotlinejosh, @micahuetricht, @jonmurray, @willmcavoyacn, @laurarbelin, @mattyglesias, Contemptor, Denver Westword and The Week
Freddy Mayhew / Press Gazette:
Jimmy Leach, formerly head of digital communications for 10 Downing Street, has been named editor-in-chief of HuffPost UK; Jess Brammar named executive editor — Former Number Ten digital communications boss Jimmy Leach has been named as the next Huffpost UK editor-in-chief …
Discussion:
@bureaulocal, @lpolgreen, @nadine_writes, @jessbrammar and @jimwaterson
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Deloitte Digital Media Trends: 47% US consumers are frustrated by subscriptions, 75% prefer pay TV with fewer ads, 82% say companies don't protect user data — - ‘Subscription Fatigue’: Nearly Half of U.S. Consumers Frustrated by Streaming Explosion, Study Finds
Discussion:
American Press Institute, @karlbode, USA Today, Deloitte Insights, Los Angeles Times, @macemoneta, @rafat, Dark Horizons, BGR, TechCrunch, VentureBeat and RAIN News
Jacca / RouteNote Blog:
Anghami, a music streaming service in the MENA region with ~70M registered users, 2M+ artists, and 1B streams/month, announces it will begin offering podcasts — Music streaming is becoming bigger in the MENA region and native streamers Anghami are betting on podcasts being the next big thing.
Discussion:
ZAWYA, Startup MGZN, ArabianBusiness.com, Music Business Worldwide and RAIN News
Allison Braden / Columbia Journalism Review:
In Baltimore, Charlotte, Los Angeles, and Pittsburgh, ex-writers of alt-weeklies are starting publications, focusing on advocacy reporting and overlooked topics — Just 35 days after the publisher of Creative Loafing Charlotte laid off the alt-weekly's seven full-time employees …
Discussion:
@baltbeat, @lafrancois_j, @joshuamckerrow, @allisonbraden, @pitkin_ryan and @baltbeat
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Jim Waterson / The Guardian:
The BBC's Newsnight becomes one of its first current affairs shows to be presented and edited entirely by women, as Emily Maitlis is confirmed as lead presenter — Emma Barnett and Kirsty Wark complete current affairs show's first female lineup — Emily Maitlis has been confirmed …
Discussion:
@angelafwrites
Josh Feldman / Mediaite:
Meet The Press host Chuck Todd said Trump teamed up with Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro to attack the free press during their joint press conference — Chuck Todd said on Tuesday's MTP Daily that the joint press conference with President Donald Trump and Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro “left me a bit speechless.”
Joan E. Solsman / CNET:
Comcast says it is launching a new service on Thursday but declined to specify what it will be, with some speculation that it's a smart-home hub for TVs — With Google's game streaming service unveiled Tuesday and Apple's TV streaming service reveal expected Monday, Comcast is hopping on the bandwagon …
Norberto Santana Jr / Voice of OC:
Around 33 newsrooms in California, including The LA Times and the Orange County Register, join forces to report on recently released police misconduct files — Voice of OC today joins nearly three dozen newsrooms across California - including outlets like the Los Angeles Times …
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times and @raju
Dade Hayes / Deadline:
Disney and Fox announce the per-share value of 21st Century Fox at the merger is $51.572626 as the deal becomes official — UPDATE: At 12:02AM ET, one of the most consequential mergers in Hollywood history became official. The Walt Disney Co. has acquired about two-thirds of 21st Century Fox …
Discussion:
The Walt Disney Company and TVWeek.com
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