Top News:
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, 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 — The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), has reached a historic settlement with Facebook over advertising practices that allegedly discriminated against minorities.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Ad Age, Facebook, Financial Times, ProPublica, @byrosenberg, ACLU, @facebook, @cmcilwain, @propublica, @lizzadwoskin, @senblumenthal, @zackwhittaker, @reprokhanna, @ktbenner, @digiphile, @lwmurphy, @emilybell, @profcarroll, @leslieproll, @civilrightsorg, @profcarroll, @alixtrot, The Real Deal New York, The Register, ABC News and The Guardian, more at Techmeme »
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, VentureBeat, MediaNama and Android Police, more at Techmeme »
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:
@isaacdovere, @jnmulholland, @erikwemple, Politico, @aaronblake, @isaacdovere, @lachlan, @laurarbelin, @isaacdovere, @colinkalmbacher, @mattyglesias, @scottbix, @coreypein, @isaacdovere, @micahuetricht, @mattbinder, @jillfilipovic, @erikwemple, @mattyglesias, @tripgabriel, @regwag2003, @davidsirota, @mattbors, @davidsirota, @hotlinejosh, @wccubbison, @mattbors, @adamparkhomenko, @erikwemple, @willmcavoyacn, @coreypein, @jonmurray, @zackstanton, Contemptor and The Week
Charlie Warzel / New York Times:
Instead of focusing only on moderation, the debate around New Zealand massacre should look at how platforms incentivize and provide infrastructure for extremism — It's time for a real conversation about the infrastructure and incentives that Big Tech provides far-right extremists.
Discussion:
@cwarzel, Washington Post, @cwarzel, MediaNama, @blackamazon, @itsneal, @okobojidan, @kurtwagner8, @nickstatt, @digitalshields, @ysabelgerrard, @alexkoppelman, @fabiochiusi, @blackamazon, CNET, @bostonjoan, @lucas_shaw, @alanmillernlp, Recode, @drewharwell, The Guardian, @mollywood, @lizthegrey, @amaramarasingam and @annemariebridy, more at Techmeme »
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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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:
21st Century Fox, Vanity Fair, @neontaster, @mkraju, @comfortablysmug, @demwrite, @charles_gaba, @skantrow, @angrierwhstaff, @imillhiser, @juddlegum, @mollyjongfast, @sahilkapur, @brianstelter, IGN, Multichannel News, Politico, Dark Horizons, NBC News, /Film, Mediaite, MediaPost and Broadcasting & Cable
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:
@lafrancois_j, @pitkin_ryan, @allisonbraden and @baltbeat
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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 …
Discussion:
Apple, @waltmossberg, @waltmossberg, @waltmossberg, Engadget, MacRumors and CNET, more at Techmeme »
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, ArabianBusiness.com, Startup MGZN, Music Business Worldwide and RAIN News
Jim Waterson / The Guardian:
The BBC's Tony Hall is proposing to launch a charity, the Local Democracy Foundation, to fund local news reporting in conjunction with tech companies — Local Democracy Foundation will bring ‘sea change in local public interest journalism’ — The BBC is proposing to launch a new charity …
Discussion:
@pollycurtis and @jimwaterson
Dani Deahl / The Verge:
Some music publishers sue fitness startup Peloton, seeking $150M+ in damages, saying Peloton has used music in workout videos since 2014 without proper licenses — Several members of the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) have collectively filed a lawsuit against fitness startup Peloton today …
Discussion:
Fortune, Engadget, Reuters, @chriscollie, @reckless, @gigibsohn, CNBC, The Wrap and Variety
Garett Sloane / Ad Age:
Snapchat has started brokering deals between influencers and brands, with a focus on those creating AR content, in a bid to retain creators using its platform — Right around Cyrene Quiamco's 30th birthday, Snapchat came through with a gift: a brand hookup.
Discussion:
Digiday
Jackie Wattles / CNN:
Filings show Tim Armstrong, who left Oath in December, received $30M in 2018 and was given an additional $6.5M severance package and ~$23.6M in stock awards — New York (CNN Business)The former head of Verizon's ailing digital media division is set to walk away with a multimillion dollar golden parachute.
Discussion:
Gizmodo
Lukas I. Alpert / Wall Street Journal:
The LA Times currently has 150K digital-only subscribers, up 50% since June 2018, but new owner Patrick Soon-Shiong says it must aim for 5M paying subscribers — To turn the Los Angeles Times around and secure its future, its new owner says it must build a digital-subscriber base …
Discussion:
@laura_nelson, @palewire, @bobbierman, @michellelegro, @coreypein and @lenfestinst
Juliegrace Brufke / The Hill:
Rep. Devin Nunes is suing Twitter and some of its users for defamation, alleging Twitter is shadow banning conservatives, seeks $250M+ in damages — House Intelligence Committee ranking member and former chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) is suing Twitter and a number of its users for more than $250 million.
Jaclyn Peiser / New York Times:
Former New York Times food writer Mark Bittman is launching Salty, a publication covering “practical” stories about food, on Medium — Mark Bittman wants you to know he's not dead. — Since his departure from The New York Times in 2015 to join a food start up …
Discussion:
CNN, @bryanrwalsh, @tomsietsema, @laurie_david, @marleneparrish, @timothyawise, @chronotope, @samsifton, @nytimesbusiness, @adamerace and Mark Bittman
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Medium:
Medium is once again seeking writers and editors to launch new publications on its platform, offering temporary contracts which may or may not be renewed
Discussion:
@rafat, @choire, @laurahazardowen, @jfruh, @studyhallxyz, @mattbors, @mccanner, MediaPost, @lubchansky, @jayasax, @amyvernon, @acsifferlin, @siobhannyc, @rafat, @ryanvailbrown, @davewiner and @felixsalmon
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Climate Crisis Columnist — 
Multimedia Journalist, CA — 
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Climate & Weather Reporter, MN — 
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