Top News:
Peter Kafka / Recode:
Bustle Digital Group, which owns Mic and Gawker, is buying The Outline, founded in 2016 by Josh Topolsky, who says he will continue to run the site — More digital media mergers: Josh Topolsky is going to work for Bryan Goldberg. — In the past year, Bustle Digital Group bought Gawker …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, @gaberivera, @pkafka, @alexrkonrad, @ashleyfeinberg, @cd_hooks, @markreadings, @adrjeffries, @erik_hayden, @pkafka, @rafat, @jbenton, @jeremymbarr, @agolis, @jackmarshall, Variety and Business Insider
Laura Hazard Owen / Nieman Lab:
De Correspondent EIC Rob Wijnberg talks about messaging after the outlet said it would not open a US newsroom following its fundraiser for a version in English — “Keep in mind that, especially in a campaign like this, tons of people talk about what we're trying to do.
Discussion:
@mathewi, @tomgara, @dicktofel, @niemanlab, MediaPost, @elongreen, @jamesrbuk, @ylichterman, @dansinker, Fast Company, @jbenton, @dansinker, @ylichterman, @mattbors, @nbj914, @robwijnberg and @ejpfauth
Nick Brown / Reuters:
US Census Bureau has asked Google, Facebook, and Twitter for help protecting upcoming 2020 count from disinformation campaigns designed to dissuade participants — NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Census Bureau has asked tech giants Google, Facebook and Twitter to help it fend off “fake news” …
Discussion:
@nickpbrown, CNET, Fortune and The Hill
Ken Doctor / Nieman Lab:
Patrick Soon-Shiong details his long term plans for The LA Times including fixing editorial and updating the business model, at a short term cost of ~$50M — It's a few years behind its East Coast brethren in New York and Washington. But tens of millions in new investment and ambitious digital plans …
Discussion:
Poynter, @mattdpearce, @ckrewson, @nbj914 and @johnbranchnyt
Scientific American:
Research shows that as local newspapers disappear and people rely more on national, conflict-focused sources of political news, split-ticket voting goes down — Study finds newspaper closures are linked to partisanship — Last month, staffers at The Daily Camera in Boulder, Colorado …
Discussion:
@manshipschool, @dkiesow, @bgrueskin and @joshuadarr
Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge:
Spotify says it will begin to personalize some of its human-curated playlists — Spotify is starting to algorithmically personalize some of its curated playlists, making a major change to how people discover music on the streaming service. — Spotify is already known for having …
Discussion:
Spotify, @jprmercado, @jacobschulman, @askmikewarner, @cjkmerriman, @lucyblairpet, CNET and RAIN News, more at Techmeme »
Jack Neff / Ad Age:
MRC releases its draft version of cross-media audience measurement standards for video, opens a 60-day public comment period, expects final version by Q3 2019 — Ratings for individual commercials and duration-adjusted views part of MRC draft — The Media Rating Council has issued …
Discussion:
Media Rating Council and MediaPost
Gene Maddaus / Variety:
Judge dismisses lawsuit against BuzzFeed from Michael Leidig of Central European News, saying Leidig failed to show anything in an article about him was false — BuzzFeed won a long-running legal battle on Wednesday against Michael Leidig, whom the news site had described in a 2015 story the “King of Bullsh- News.”
Wayne Friedman / MediaPost:
Video Advertising Bureau report says addressable TV spending in the US is expected to rise 33% to $3.37B in 2020, as the audience has grown 27% to 162.2M — U.S. addressable TV spending is expected to rise 33% next year to $3.37 billion from $2.54 billion in 2019, according to the Video Advertising Bureau.
BBC:
BBC has apologized and agreed to pay damages to Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko over story claiming $400K was paid to Michael Cohen to extend meeting — The BBC has apologised and agreed to pay damages to Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko. — The apology relates to an incorrect report claiming …
Cynthia Littleton / Variety:
Veteran TV executive Jana Bennett has joined Silicon Valley-based Ozy Media as a senior adviser, tasked with expanding its TV production and podcast operations — History and TLC alum Jana Bennett has signed on with Ozy Media to help the Silicon Valley-based digital content firm expand its TV production and podcast operations.
Discussion:
@ozy and Realscreen
Murray Stassen / Music Business Worldwide:
Downtown Music Holdings, parent of Downtown Music Publishing and Songtrust, is buying AVL Digital Group, parent of CD Baby; sources estimate the deal at ~$200M — The fierce battle to dominate the independent music distribution sector just got a new major player.
Discussion:
Variety, Music Ally and Billboard