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Microsoft's Bing appears to return an alarming amount of disinformation for user queries, far more than Google does, based on a test of 13 queries — Bing's importance in the information landscape of the U.S. shouldn't be overlooked. While its share of the search market in the U.S. might …
Discussion:
The Keyword, @alexstamos, @whatthebit, @mathewi, @brendannyhan, @majorhayden, @welhai, Search Engine Land and Softpedia News


Ad exchange Rubicon Project agrees to merge with video advertising management platform Telaria, to better compete with Google and Facebook — - Public ad tech companies Telaria and Rubicon Project have agreed to merge as they try to make a stronger play in the growth of connected television …


Albania approves a set of anti-defamation laws which critics see as an attempt to muzzle the media and give the nation's top media regulator too much power — Albania's Parliament approved a controversial set of government-proposed anti-defamation laws on Wednesday, which critics say grant …
Discussion:
Reuters, Committee to Protect …, Associated Press, Balkan Insight, Albanian Daily News, The Shift News and @penamerica


NBC News forms a team to report on US election security issues, led by SVP Janelle Rodriguez, and has created a dedicated landing page called Vote Watch — NBC News has created a new editorial team to report on issues related to U.S. election security and voting called “Vote Watch.”
Discussion:
@ajvicens, @cynthiamcfadden, @ajvicens, @byjacobward, @oset and @nbcnewspr


Jury finds Cox Communications liable for its customers' piracy of 10,000+ musical works, awards $1B to Sony Music, EMI, Universal, and Warner Music — Cox Communications was found liable for piracy infringement of more than 10,000 musical works by a U.S. District Court jury in Virgina on Thursday …
Discussion:
Variety, The Verge, TorrentFreak, @mmasnick, @future_of_music, @marcjacobsonpc, @eriqgardner, Hollywood Reporter, Axios and The Wrap


Sources: Apple executives met with MGM representatives and the Pac-12 Conference this year to find ways to broaden the appeal of Apple TV app and TV+ — Tech giant is considering ways to broaden the appeal of its Apple TV app and TV+ service that launched with nine original programs
Discussion:
@stevekopack, @sportstvratings, @lamonicabuzz, @trippmickle, @edmundlee, @jyarow, Awful Announcing, The Streamable, CNET, TheStreet and 9to5Mac


NY governor signs a bill prompting a study of opportunities for female and minority TV writers and directors and providing $5M to spur more diversity in hiring — New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the state's Television Diversity Tax Credit Bill into law on Thursday.
Discussion:
Multichannel News, Variety and Deadline


The Atlantic's feature on Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which was read for 30M+ “total engaged minutes”, is #1 in Chartbeat's Most Engaging Stories of 2019 — Chartbeat, the digital publisher data and analytics company, has revealed its annual list of most engaging stories of the year.
Discussion:
Chartbeat Blog


Sources: Facebook is pursuing rights to music videos from record labels to boost interest in Watch, has already begun testing music videos in Thailand and India — Facebook Inc. is pursuing rights to music videos from major record labels, programming that could boost interest in its Watch video service …
Discussion:
CNET and Engadget, more at Techmeme »


A summary of NYT reporters' favorite tech tools, based on three years of the Tech We're Using column: smartphones, encrypted communication, and spare batteries — After three years and more than 130 columns, the smartphone was tops. There were also some deliberate Luddites among us.


Cooper Hefner joins the US Air Force, putting on hold his earlier plans to launch a media company separate from Playboy — Hugh Hefner's son Cooper has joined the Air Force. — The youngest child of the late Playboy founder departed for basic training Tuesday, his wife, “Harry Potter” actress Scarlett Byrne, posted on Instagram.
Discussion:
Fox News, @whatthebit and @noonanjo

Research and publishing orgs pen letter against proposed policy to mandate free distribution of peer-reviewed journal articles reporting on govt-funded research — More than 135 scientific research and publishing organizations join together in opposition to proposed Administration policy …
Discussion:
@raphaelwimmer, @fredericjacobs, @sigchi, @peaceea, @gkalinkat, @sxbegle, @ginasue, @mathewi, @cfiesler, @schock, @peterpur, @wilbanks, @acm_president, @libskrat, @andreawiggins, @syardi, @andreawiggins, @heycori, @jeffbigham, @msphelps, @guyvdb, @jeffbigham, @syardi, @terrainsvagues, @petersuber, @brembs, @annemariebridy, Bookseller News, Publishers Weekly and Personanondata