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
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
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:
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