Mediagazer: Google Home and Assistant-powered speakers get a free ad-supported version of YouTube Music with limited functionality, in 16 countries including the US and UK (YouTube Blog)

5:05 PM ET, April 18, 2019

Top News:

Sources: National Enquirer and two sister publications are being sold for $100M to James Cohen, CEO of Hudson News, known for its airport newsstands — The supermarket tabloid, along with two sister publications, will be purchased by the head of the travel retailer known for its airport newsstands …

Discussion: PR Newswire, New York Times, Adweek, Wall Street Journal, Folio, CNN, The Wrap, Bloomberg, Breitbart, @ilyamarritz, NBC News and @christinawilkie, Thanks:@beet_tv

Nathan Ingraham / Engadget:

Google and Amazon end their streaming video spat: YouTube will come to Fire TV and Prime Video will work with Chromecast and Android TV — Google and Amazon haven't historically been the best of friends, at least when it comes to their respective streaming video services.

Discussion: Amazon.com, Inc., TechCrunch, Variety, The Wrap and MediaPost, more at Techmeme »

Robert Silverman / The Daily Beast:

A marketer discovered Barstool Sports used his cartoon monster on Snapchat, tried to barter for promotion instead of payment, then filed a DMCA takedown request — Another content creator was forced to file a DMCA takedown request after Barstool swiped its content.

Discussion: @charliemagne, @bobsaietta, @michellemanafy, @bobsaietta, @bobsaietta and Deadspin

Ken Doctor / Nieman Lab:

Both newspaper chains and digital media face a liquidity crisis as M&A talks continue; Bustle's Bryan Goldberg compares media to Florida real estate in 2010 — Newspaper company CEOs will be the first to tell you a new round of consolidation won't solve their problems.

Discussion: American Press Institute, @niemanlab, @gvnordheim, @sashachavkin, USA Today and Washington Post

Alex Hern / The Guardian:

Facebook permanently bans far-right individuals and groups, like the British National Party, the English Defence League, and Britain First — Number of organisations and individuals permanently banned for being ‘dangerous’ — Facebook has permanently banned a number of far-right organisations …

Discussion: @rcolvile, @tom_watson, The Verge, Engadget and @carljackmiller, more at Techmeme »

Jason Guerrasio / Business Insider:

Leaked internal data: MoviePass subscribers have dropped from 3M+ in June 2018 to about 225,000 now; subscription models at AMC and Cinemark are having success — - MoviePass has dropped from over 3 million subscribers to about 225,000, according to internal data obtained by Business Insider.

Discussion: Variety, Observer, @jakebythesouth, The Playlist and IndieWire

Eli Rosenberg / Washington Post:

A NYT story on Bernie Sanders and a think tank prompted criticism of NYT reporters on Twitter and questions about their interview of the think tank leader's mom — The relationship between Bernie Sanders supporters and the Hillary Clinton camp was famously bitter during the 2016 presidential campaign …

Discussion: Nieman Lab, @davidegreenwald, @mertzdiner, @mattbc, @regwag2003, @regwag2003, @molly_knight, @alyssamastro44, @_waleedshahid, @jess_mc, @jestei, @neeratanden, @jbenton, The Daily Beast, @kirstenpowers and Politico

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:

US ranked 48th in the World Press Freedom Index, a third year of decline, entering the ranks of countries whose treatment of journalists is “problematic” — For the third time in three years, the United States' standing in an annual index of press freedom declined …

Discussion: CNBC, @franksesno, @penamerican, CNN and The Guardian

YouTube Blog:

Google Home and Assistant-powered speakers get a free ad-supported version of YouTube Music with limited functionality, in 16 countries including the US and UK — Listening to music on your Google Home speaker right out-of-the-box seems too good to be true, right? It's not!

Discussion: RAIN News, VentureBeat, TechCrunch, Thurrott, Android Police, CNET, Engadget, The Verge and 9to5Google, more at Techmeme »

Jem Aswad / Variety:

Amazon Music launches an ad-supported tier for Alexa-enabled devices in the US, allowing users to listen to Amazon Music's top playlists and stations for free — Amazon Music today basically soft-launched its free streaming tier, in which U.S. customers of its Alexa voice assistant …

Discussion: Day One, VentureBeat, TechCrunch and 9to5Mac, more at Techmeme »

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

A senior exec at an ML company that has worked with Sky News says AI can help newsrooms become more efficient, automating tasks like transcription — Journalists have “nothing to fear” from artificial intelligence, according to a leading media technology expert who has worked with Sky News.

Brett Samuels / The Hill:

WH Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told Mueller investigators that her comments to media saying FBI agents lost confidence in Comey were “not founded on anything” — White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders acknowledged to investigators with special counsel Robert Mueller's team …

Discussion: Multichannel News, Mediaite, Multichannel News, The Cut, HuffPost and Mother Jones

Paul Mozur / New York Times:

The NYT's Shanghai-based technology reporter Paul Mozur says he was constantly followed by Chinese authorities while on assignment in Kashgar — Times Insider explains who we are and what we do, and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together.

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More News:

Christine Schmidt / Nieman Lab:
WaPo's publication of the Starr Report online, days after the outlet launched its digital politics section, was an early example of the efficacy of online news

Discussion: USA Today

Keith J. Kelly / New York Post:
Money magazine will end its print edition after the June issue and become online-only following a failed sale attempt by Meredith

Discussion: Talking Biz News

Sara Fischer / Axios:
Facebook adds fact-checking partners: CheckYourFact.com, a for-profit unit of The Daily Caller, and Sciencefeedback.co, a not-for-profit focused on science

Discussion: The Guardian, Media Matters for America, The Wrap, @joshshepperd, @anildash, @oneunderscore__ and @tonyajoriley

Lesley Goldberg / Hollywood Reporter:
Sources: filming for DC Universe's Swamp Thing is cut to 10 episodes from the original 13 as parent company WarnerMedia plans its own, larger streaming platform

Discussion: /Film, @srbissette, Wilmington Star News, @thomasp0003, @yjwiki, Engadget, io9, WECT-TV and Bleeding Cool

Earlier Picks:

David Ng / Los Angeles Times:
WGA says it is suing the four main talent agencies in Los Angeles Superior Court, claiming the widespread use of packaging fees violates state and federal laws

Discussion: Variety, @mattdpearce, @laura_nelson, @megjameslat, New York Times and Broadcasting & Cable

Greg Dool / Folio:
After a turbulent 2018, Newsweek has partnered with Poynter's Craig Newmark Center for Ethics and Leadership, as it attempts to restore its credibility

Discussion: @newsweek, @kenli729 and Poynter

Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
In covering the Mueller report, which is being released Thursday, journalists must learn from the mistakes of last month and resist urges to simplify the story

Discussion: New York Times, USA Today, Slate, Just Security, @sulliview, @ericuman, @smpagwu, CNN, ABC News, @dangillmor, @wjcarter, Mother Jones, The Guardian, @stphnfwlr, @klasfeldreports, @vivian, @sulliview and Mediaite

From Techmeme:

Foo Yun Chee / Reuters:
Sources: EU may accept Apple's proposal to open its NFC payments tech to rivals, and may close its antitrust probe in May, letting Apple avoid hefty fines

Gaby Del Valle / The Verge:
The US Senate reauthorizes FISA's Section 702; some communication service providers had threatened to stop cooperating with the US government in case of a lapse

George Steer / Financial Times:
Nvidia closed down 10% on Friday, falling the most since March 2020 and losing more than $200B of its market value, as investors pull back from AI bets

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