Top News:
Axios:
WordPress.com owner Automattic says it will buy Tumblr from Verizon, take on ~200 staffers, and keep the porn ban; source says Automattic paid less than $10M — Verizon is set to sell the social network Tumblr to Automattic Inc, the owner of online publishing tool Wordpress.
Discussion:
@danprimack, Tumblr, @danprimack, The Verge, American Press Institute, TechCrunch, TechCrunch, @marcoarment, Wall Street Journal, Ad Age, The Guardian, Marketing Land, The Week, @jacknicas, @danprimack, @anthony, @mathewi, @danprimack, @shiraovide, @alicegoldfuss, @ericajoy, @stevekovach, BetaNews, @beigeshiba, The Next Web, @stevekovach, @hello_tailor, @karlbode, @markarms, @blackamazon, @brooklynmarie, @workforfood, @loudmouthjulia, @hunterwalk, @reckless, @mcmansionhell, @stephgwhiteside, @nycsouthpaw, @mathewi, @jnadeau, @juliaferraioli, @mikeisaac, @chillmage, @whatthebit, @gaberivera, @yashar, @mmasnick, @dansinker, @__apf__, @chronotope, @photomatt, @bluechoochoo, @numbersmuncher, Fortune, Engadget, Adweek, Boing Boing, The Wrap, Variety, Business Insider, Polygon, Silicon Republic, 9to5Mac, Gizmodo, Fast Company, CNET and Consequence of Sound, more at Techmeme »
CNN:
Washington Post executive editor responds to Bernie Sanders' suggestion that Bezos influences coverage, calling it a “conspiracy theory” — (CNN)The executive editor of The Washington Post hit back at Sen. Bernie Sanders' suggestion that the paper's coverage of the presidential candidate …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Poynter, Fox News, @rmc031, @b_fung and @sulliview
Tom Ley / Deadspin:
The editorial staff of The Ringer announces it has formed a union with WGA East and seeks voluntary recognition from management — Your browser does not support HTML5 video tag.Click here to view original GIF — The editorial staff of The Ringer announced this morning that they have formed a union with the WGA East.
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, digitalwritersunion.org, @ringerunion, @ringerunion, @kevinmdraper, @rodger, @jasonschreier, @yourmandevine, @jbenton, @latguild, @onlxn and @haleymlotek
Peter Kafka / Vox:
A combined CBS and Viacom will still not be big enough to compete with Netflix, Apple, and Disney, and will have to become a buyer of smaller companies — Shari Redstone controls both Viacom and CBS, and has wanted to merge them for years. Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Viacom — CBS and Viacom are merging.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, @ranimolla, Washington Post, @taralach, CNN and @pkafka
New York Times:
How YouTube radicalized Brazil, diverting users to conspiracy and far-right channels, elevating Bolsonaro's party, and possibly creating a public health crisis — NITERÓI, Brazil — When Matheus Dominguez was 16, YouTube recommended a video that changed his life.
RELATED:
Lucinda Southern / Digiday:
Report: UK to give Ofcom new legal powers to penalize video-sharing platforms that fail to establish robust age verification checks and parental controls — European politicians have been tightening the screws on U.S. tech platforms on multiple fronts. Now, a European-wide directive …
Discussion:
Press Gazette, Telegraph, BBC and The Independent
Sean Craig / CANADALAND:
Sources: Postmedia, Canada's largest newspaper company, has directed all of its papers, to shift to the political right and become more reliably conservative — It was not out of the ordinary at Postmedia, Canada's largest newspaper chain, for editors to have their knuckles rapped for failing …
Discussion:
@canadaland, @canadaland, @garossino, @jessebrown, @mattythehammer, @jayrosen_nyu, @dimitrilascaris, @goldsbie, @film_girl, @canadaland, @canadaland, @bruce_arthur and @jayrosen_nyu
New York Times:
How some of Kashmir's journalists keep publishing despite India's lockdown of online communications and imposition of travel restrictions — SRINAGAR, Kashmir — Ever since Kashmir's autonomy was suddenly revoked last week, Raja Mohi-ud-din, an editor at one of the few Kashmiri newspapers still operating …
Discussion:
@mayalau
Ashley Carman / The Verge:
Spotify for Podcasters comes out of beta, giving podcasters valuable listener data like age, gender, location, music taste, and episode listening duration — Spotify for Podcasters comes out of beta today — Spotify is going to give podcasters listener data they can't get anywhere else.
Discussion:
Spotify, @mims and @ashleyrcarman, more at Techmeme »
Emily Bell / Columbia Journalism Review:
Facebook's licensing of content from news outlets for its upcoming news tab signifies a change in strategy that history shows it may eventually lose interest in — Facebook's announcement this week—that it plans to syndicate news stories on its app—has set off a train of “What does it mean for journalism?” questions.
Discussion:
@bgrueskin and @fhuysmans
Lucinda Southern / Digiday:
FT says 27 polls it ran since March to increase retention in FirstFT, its newsletter with 100K+ subs, drove the highest click-through rates of all other links — The Financial Times has started incorporating polls into its email newsletters in an effort to encourage readers to interact …
Lily Kuo / The Guardian:
Chinese state media outlets went from near silence and blanket censorship on the protests in Hong Kong to actively pushing propaganda, over the past two months — China's media used to ignore the turmoil. Now the state is waging a campaign that could pave the way for intervention
Discussion:
Politico, PEN America and Reuters