Top News:
Kali Hays / WWD:
Media holding company Attention Capital buys Sophia Amoruso's Girlboss, which was valued at $13M in 2018; Amoruso will remain CEO — It's the first acquisition for recently founded Attention and the start of a new phase for Girlboss. — Girlboss founder and ceo Sophia Amoruso at the 2018 Girlboss Rally.
Discussion:
Ad Age, Fast Company, TechCrunch and Variety
CNBC:
Vox Media to end contracts of hundreds of freelancers to comply with CA's new AB5 law, which will forbid non-employees from submitting over 35 articles a year — - Hundreds of Vox Media freelancers will lose their jobs in the coming months. — Vox Media is preparing for a California law …
Discussion:
SBNation.com, New York Times, Hollywood Reporter, Los Angeles Times, @ag_conservative, @cjmcginnis, @notwokieleaks, @nbj914, @geekgirldiva, @lonestarball, @laurawags, @ericboehlert, @matthewkeyslive, @markos, @nowyousieme, @nowyousieme, @gilesferrell, @joemullinax, @jenniferleechan, @pellybottoms_up, @joshuakusnick, Golden State Of Mind, Awful Announcing, Mavs Moneyball and The Wrap
Sara Jerde / Adweek:
Bustle Digital Group launches Input, a consumer tech news site, with no advertisers and a custom CMS that it says will be used across its brands by June 2020 — Why BDG thinks its new CMS will draw readers and entice advertisers — Bustle Digital Group has a reputation of swooping …
Discussion:
WWD, @jasonwagenheim, @adweek, @joshsternberg, @joshsternberg, @ryanvailbrown, @snazzyq, Input and Boing Boing
Mónica Marie Zorrilla / Adweek:
Stuart Emmrich, who spent ~17 years as The New York Times' Styles editor, named editor of Vogue.com, a newly created role that reports to Anna Wintour — He will oversee digital content and report directly to Anna Wintour — Condé Nast said today it has named Stuart Emmrich as Vogue.com's first editor.
Discussion:
@stuartemmrich, The Cut, Fashionista and WWD
Joe Flint / Wall Street Journal:
Netflix shares detailed overseas subscriber numbers for the first time in a filing, and says 90% of total subscriber growth came from outside the US since 2017 — Streaming service is disclosing detailed subscriber information by region for operations outside of the U.S. for the first time
Discussion:
Variety, @wsj, @xpangler, Reuters, CNET, MarketWatch, Los Angeles Business Journal, The Wrap, The Streamable, Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, MediaPost, Bloomberg and Financial Times, more at Techmeme »
Emily Bell / The Guardian:
Local news, with its ever-shrinking resources, cannot adequately counter “phantom local news” sites, which are set up to repeat talking points or disinformation — Local news is often trusted more than national news but it is highly vulnerable to online disinformation
Tom Balmforth / Reuters:
Maria Butina, who was convicted of being a foreign agent in the US and deported to Moscow, has been hired by RT to host an online show — MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian woman jailed in the United States for working as a foreign agent and deported to Moscow has been hired by Russia's state-funded RT television …
Tiffany Hsu / New York Times:
Even as Netflix resists ads, it's finding ways to work with brands, such as partnerships, where no money changes hands, that aim to create interest in its shows — Tide Pod shout-outs onscreen. Flirtatious exchanges with companies on Twitter. Netflix may not run ads, but it has become a coveted marketing platform.
Discussion:
@nytimesbusiness, @nytmedia, @jrreed and @tiffkhsu
Davey Alba / New York Times:
Campaign staff and researchers say almost all political campaigns, including presidential ones, lack teams for spotting and pushing back on disinformation — Few politicians have teams to spot false statements about them online, or to fight back before it spreads.
Discussion:
@digiphile, @justicedems, @cindyotis_, @athay11, @daveyalba, @tiffanycli, @daveyalba and @daveyalba, more at Techmeme »
Agence France-Presse:
Reporters Without Borders: 49 journalists killed in 2019, the lowest death toll since 2003; ~389 imprisoned, up 12% YoY; and 57 are being held hostage — Belfast residents pass a mural featuring murdered journalist Lyra McKee, whose death sparked a new round of political talks chaired by the British and Irish Governments, in May 2019
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Instagram expands its fact checking efforts by hiding false content behind warnings, except for politicians, and removing it from Explore and hashtag pages — Instagram is giving politicians the same free reign to spread misinformation as its parent company Facebook.
Discussion:
Instagram, @jasonabbruzzese, @blakersdozen, Adweek and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
Patrick Frater / Variety:
UK's Cineworld agrees to buy Canadian cinema operator Cineplex for $1.65B, would become largest North American operator combined with its 2017 Regal purchase — U.K.-based movie theater chain Cineworld is to acquire Cineplex, Canada's leading cinema chain.
Discussion:
MobileSyrup, Canadian Press, Reuters, BNN, Daily Hive, Telegraph, Telegraph, Financial Times, CTVNews, Barron's Online, Screen, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Times and Deadline