Top News:
Benjamin Mullin / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Google is in talks with publishers about paying a licensing fee for content that would be in a premium news product — The search giant is in talks with some publishers about paying a fee for content that would be part of a premium news product — Alphabet Inc.'s Google is in talks …
Discussion:
Fast Company, @joshsternberg, @davewiner, @davewiner, @davewiner, @dylanbyers, @jason_kint, Engadget, @buzzfeedben, @thekenyeung, @benmullin and @pkafka, more at Techmeme »
Makena Kelly / The Verge:
Facebook says it will allow influencers to produce sponsored content for US politicians and political campaigns, if the posts are clearly identified as ads — Bloomberg's bad memes might just be the beginning — Facebook will allow influencers to produce sponsored content for political campaigns …
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Michael Grothaus / Fast Company:
eMarketer: political ad spending for the 2020 election will reach $6.89B, up 63.3% compared to 2016, with the majority of spending going to TV and Facebook — What's interesting is the majority of spending goes to just two sources: television and Facebook. What do the two have in common?
Taylor Lorenz / New York Times:
The Bloomberg campaign is working with Meme 2020, whose lead strategist is the CEO of Jerry Media, to create sponsored posts on influential Instagram accounts
The Bloomberg campaign is working with Meme 2020, whose lead strategist is the CEO of Jerry Media, to create sponsored posts on influential Instagram accounts
Discussion:
New York Times, Axios, SPLICETODAY.com, Wired, The Verge, Vox, @jessreports, The Wrap, Protocol, @luckytran, Lefsetz Letter, @taylorlorenz, THEFUTURE, The Hill, @caro, @digiphile, @crislopezg, @taylorlorenz, @nbcpolitics, @ranimolla, @leedevito, @jessreports, @joshkadden, @kslane, @jessreports, @derektmead, @jessreports, @rachelholliday, @vivekprabhu1, @pant_leg, Vanity Fair, @anildash, New York Post, Engadget, Gothamist, @adamjohnsonnyc, @taylorlorenz, @oneunderscore__, Mediaite, Gizmodo, Breitbart, VICE, The A.V. Club, Mashable, The Next Web, The Week and Boing Boing, more at Techmeme »
Dade Hayes / Deadline:
Roku reports Q4 revenue of $411M, up 49% YoY, net loss of $15.7M down from a profit of $6.8M YoY; active accounts up 4.6M QoQ to 36.9M; stock up 5%+ after hours — Roku beat Wall Street estimates for the fourth quarter, hitting new highs in active accounts and revenue per user …
Craig McCarthy / New York Post:
NYC police subpoenaed Twitter records of NY Post's Tina Moore while investigating leaks, then withdrew the subpoena after Post lawyers contacted the department — In an apparent effort to tamp down on leaks, the NYPD subpoenaed a New York Post reporter's Twitter data …
Vivian Wang / New York Times:
Chen Qiushi and Fang Bin, two prominent video bloggers chronicling the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, have disappeared — Two video bloggers whose dispatches from the heart of the outbreak showed fear, grief and dissatisfaction with the government have gone silent.
Discussion:
@quicktake and The Desk
Jem Aswad / Variety:
Universal Music Group is planning an IPO “for early 2023 at the latest”, according to Vivendi's earnings report — Buried in Vivendi's earnings report released today is the blockbuster news that its subsidiary Universal Music Group is planning an IPO within the next three years.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, @alexweprin, Music Business Worldwide and Hollywood Reporter
Corey Dickstein / Stars & Stripes:
Pentagon acknowledges that its budget proposal would completely cut its $15.6M subsidy to Stars and Stripes, making up about half the publication's annual funds — WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Thursday defended the Pentagon's effort to strip Stars and Stripes …
Discussion:
Columbia Journalism Review, @strychninelove, @starsandstripes and @patporter76
Coral N. Negrón Almodóvar / Committee to Protect …:
Puerto Rico's new Open Data Law and Transparency Law contain broad wording that gives government officials much leeway to refuse information requests — In July 2019, anti-government protesters gathered on the streets of Puerto Rico, motivated in part by the work of investigative journalists …
Discussion:
@digiphile, @michaelcdeibert and @davidbegnaud
Sahil Patel / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Instagram is considering increased funding of up to seven figures for multiple shows on IGTV, as it tests an ad product and a revenue-sharing program — The Facebook-owned company looks to pay more for videos on its IGTV app, though no formal funding program is in place
Discussion:
@thekenyeung, more at Techmeme »
Maggie Haberman / New York Times:
Former WH Communications Director Hope Hicks is returning to the White House, leaving Fox to become “counselor to the president” and report to Jared Kushner — President Trump's former communications director will return as an aide to Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and senior adviser.
Discussion:
The Hill, CNN, @waltshaub, @sarahhuckabee, @kurtbardella, @ivankatrump, @dfriedman33, @nedprice, @mlcalderone, CNN, Slate, Deseret News, Washington Post, Vanity Fair, VICE, Talking Points Memo, National Review, Raw Story, The Stranger, The Wrap, Mediaite, Breitbart, The Week, ABC News and New York Post
RELATED:
Ted Johnson / Deadline:
Sean Spicer to host Spicer & Co., a daily news show on Newsmax TV, starting on March 3
Sean Spicer to host Spicer & Co., a daily news show on Newsmax TV, starting on March 3
Discussion:
Mediaite, The Wrap, TVNewser, @garylegum and Broadcasting & Cable
Kevin G. Hall / McClatchy Washington Bureau:
McClatchy files for bankruptcy, ending family control; it hopes to shed much of its pension obligations and eliminate ~60% of its debt — McClatchy Co. filed for bankruptcy Thursday, a move that will end family control of America's second largest local news company and hand it to creditors …
Discussion:
@mlcalderone, Washington Post, Nieman Lab, Mediaite, @pkafka, @jeffjarvis, @sulliview, New York Times, Understandably, McClatchy Co, Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, @jillgeisler, @pkafka, @judywoodruff, @obrien, @obrien, @obrien, @obrien, @obrien, @obrien, @obrien, @obrien, @obrien, @obrien, @jmarkockerbloom, @scalzi, @kristen_the_ok, @jimhandman, @rwpusa, @willmanso, @will_bunch, @jbenton, @jbenton, @jbenton, @jbenton, The Desk, @katebevan, @katiephang, @jrreed, Los Angeles Times, @shiplives, @w7voa, @jeffjarvis, @facttank, @pewresearch, @mathewi, @underoak, @vickiringer, @dbrauer, Poynter, @ivanthek, @migold, @rj_baird, @dankennedy_nu, @melaniesill, @cahnemily, Breitbart, Bloomberg, The NewsGuild - CWA, Rehak/Stuebing Mostly Media, Talking Biz News, MediaPost, USA Today, The Hill, CNN, Associated Press, Axios, The Wrap, Bloomberg Law and Nasdaq, more at Techmeme »
Monojoy Bhattacharjee / What's New in Publishing:
Ad Age report: since 2007, internet media jobs have risen from 8.6% of all media jobs to 36.4%, while newspaper jobs have fallen from 38.8% to 17.1% — AdAge's Marketing Fact Pack 2020 projects that the US online ad spend will rise to about 60% of all advertising outlay by 2022.
Discussion:
@ricmac