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, Observer, Washington Post, The Wrap, MediaPost, NPR, Breitbart, Ad Age, Broadcasting & Cable, Adweek, The Register, Al Jazeera, XDA Developers, @ruskin147, Business Insider, The Verge, Gizmodo, @stevesi, @googleeurope, BGR, The Next Web, @eu_commission, Engadget, 9to5Google, @rasmus_kleis, VentureBeat, Politico, Search Engine Land, @ecosia, Fast Company and MIT Technology Review, more at Techmeme »
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Google launches two new fact-checking tools for journalists and says 50 partners are working with Subscribe With Google, including The Washington Post and FT — The Google News Initiative launched in 2018 to tackle “fake news” and create products that support journalists and the broader industry.
Discussion:
Digiday, The Keyword, The Keyword and Fortune
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, FierceVideo, @thr, Bloomberg 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 …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Recode, Instagram, @bmorrissey, @charlie_boss, @lmjwd, @travelsofadam, @mosheisaacian, @sheeraf, @warjesseagle, @jenninematthias, @diontweetz, @amrishrau, MediaNama and Android Police
New York Times:
Facebook announces that it will stop allowing ad targeting of 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 their messages …
Discussion:
@nytimestech, @karolcummins, @ddayen, @revodavid, 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, New York Post, The Atlantic, TechCrunch, Ad Age, @byrosenberg, Financial Times, @sencortezmasto, @metrosolomon, @raju, @senblumenthal, @cristianafarias, @digiphile, @emilybell, @civilrightsorg, ProPublica, @cmcilwain, @reprokhanna, @alixtrot, @facebook, @lwmurphy, @profcarroll, @zackwhittaker, @propublica, @ktbenner, @leslieproll, @profcarroll, @lizzadwoskin, ACLU, The Real Deal New York, The Register and The Guardian
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:
USA Today, Deloitte Insights, Los Angeles Times, @karlbode, @macemoneta, @rafat, Dark Horizons, BGR, TechCrunch, VentureBeat and RAIN News
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:
Nieman Lab, Sacramento Bee, @garveymcvg, @raju, Los Angeles Times, LAist and Orange County Register
Jeremy Barr / Hollywood Reporter:
Diamond & Silk, who host a weekly show on Fox News streaming platform Fox Nation, appeared in a recent Trump re-election campaign video — The duo are not shy about their support for the president, but it's unusual for a cable news company's hosts to appear in a campaign video.
Discussion:
Media Matters for America, CNN, Washington Post and @mollyjongfast
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:
@jessbrammar, @bureaulocal, @jimwaterson, @lpolgreen and @nadine_writes
Vibhuti Sharma / Reuters:
Nexstar Media Group said it will 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.
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 …
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
Lucia Moses / Business Insider:
Sources: the NYT and Washington Post have not signed up to Apple's news subscription app, WSJ is still in talks; some publishers bound by Texture contract — - Apple is expected to unveil a new all-you-can-read news subscription service along with other services at a big event next week.
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
RELATED:
Variety:
21st Century Fox and “New” Fox are now standalone entities, with Fox adding four new board members including Chase Carey and former House Speaker Paul Ryan
Discussion:
Multichannel News, 21st Century Fox, Vanity Fair, @neontaster, @mkraju, @comfortablysmug, @demwrite, @charles_gaba, @skantrow, @angrierwhstaff, @imillhiser, @juddlegum, @mollyjongfast, @sahilkapur, @brianstelter, Dark Horizons, Broadcasting & Cable, IGN, Politico, NBC News, /Film, Mediaite and MediaPost
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