Top News:
Jon Allsop / Columbia Journalism Review:
Survey of news media employment between January and June 2019: thousands laid off or offered buyouts; the industry is on course for its worst year since 2009 — Between January and May this year, approximately 3,000 people working in the news industry were laid off or offered a buyout.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Nieman Lab, @skooks, @harronwawker, @film_girl, @chick_in_kiev, @paul_bowers, The Rural Blog, @mattgertz, Poynter, @lamarwhitejr and American Press Institute
Aidan McLaughlin / Mediaite:
IJR, launched in 2013 by former Republican operative Alex Skatell, lays off four staffers as it prepares to transition to nonprofit status in the fall — Independent Journal Review, a millennial-focused website that soared in popularity during the 2016 election for its viral news with a conservative bent …
Discussion:
@davejorgenson, @malshelbourne and @scottmgreer
Seb Joseph / Digiday:
Sources: WPP to stop participating in Accenture-supervised ad pitches starting in 2020, as WPP says Accenture could use the data to undercut its pitch price — A spat between WPP and Accenture is turning ugly. The agency group is refusing to share its media data with Accenture for a media audit …
Discussion:
@tinafegent and @digiday
Travis Yeh / Facebook:
Facebook updates News Feed ranking algorithm to reduce the distribution of sensational health claims or promotion of products with health-related claims — People come together on Facebook to talk about, advocate for, and connect around things like nutrition, fitness and health issues.
Paul Farhi / Washington Post:
Breitbart News has continued to lose advertisers and traffic, bottoming out at 4.6M unique visitors in May, down from 17.3M at the start of 2017, per Comscore — In January 2017, Breitbart.com was flying high. Donald Trump, the candidate it had backed during the 2016 campaign, was sworn in as president.
Discussion:
@slpng_giants, @kurtbardella, @mlcalderone, @chuckrossdc and @thesarcasmshow
John Koblin / New York Times:
Talk shows have struggled on Netflix, which has canceled three so far, because the format is based on timeliness and on creating a habit in viewers — Netflix upended the entertainment business by successfully moving into nearly every genre — scripted dramas, comedies, stand-up specials …
Discussion:
@gavinpurcell, @gavinpurcell, @koblin, @gavinpurcell, @gavinpurcell, @gavinpurcell, @nytimesbusiness, @gilbertcruz and @gavinpurcell
Ken Dilanian / NBC News:
Study finds gains in Trump's standing in polls in 2016 closely correlated with high levels of social media activity by the Internet Research Agency — The study does not prove Russian interference swung the election to Trump. But it did find Trump's poll numbers improved when Russian trolls were active.
Discussion:
firstmonday.org, CNN, Boing Boing and Reason
Lucinda Southern / Digiday:
A look at the measures WSJ has implemented to fight deepfakes, including forming a 21-person team for detecting them and holding training sessions for staff — To combat the growing threat of spreading misinformation ahead of the U.S. 2020 general election, The Wall Street Journal has formed …
Discussion:
Talking Biz News
Todd Spangler / Variety:
NBC News Now hires former Fox and WSJ reporter Alison Morris as its first full-time anchor, after launching the free streaming service in May — NBC News Now, five weeks after the free streaming service's launch, has a full-time anchor: Alison Morris, who most recently was with Fox Corp.'s Fox 5 in New York.
Discussion:
TVWeek.com, Deadline, Talking Biz News and TVNewser
Andrew Murfett / LinkedIn:
David Haskell, editor of New York magazine, talks about publishing E. Jean Carroll's story, why he redid his first cover a week after it hit newsstands, more — David Haskell joined New York magazine in 2007, and quickly began to climb the rungs of the seminal publication.
Discussion:
@amurfett, Thanks:@chipcutter
Brian Barrett / Wired:
Loss of ebooks bought in Microsoft's book section is a reminder that digital rights management is defective by design as goods don't really belong to the buyer — YOUR ITUNES MOVIES, your Kindle books—they're not really yours. You don't own them. You've just bought a license that allows …
Discussion:
@jeratthemovies, @vermontgmg, @michellemanafy, @williambibbiani, Techdirt, BGR and CNET
Julia Alexander / The Verge:
Twitch streamers are struggling to understand the precedent set by a mere two-week ban of popular streamer Dr Disrespect for streaming in a public bathroom — 'Twitch is saying there's no real consequences' — There was no question that Dr Disrespect's ban from Twitch would be temporary …
Discussion:
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