Top News:
Maxwell Tani / The Daily Beast:
HuffPost EIC Lydia Polgreen is stepping down and joining Gimlet Media as head of content “later this spring” — MOVING ON — HuffPost Editor in Chief Lydia Polgreen is leaving the news outlet to join podcasting company Gimlet Media as the head of content, The Daily Beast has confirmed.
Discussion:
@lpolgreen, The Wrap, New York Times, RAIN News, Variety, @_jackriley, @karaswisher, @katepalms, @s_m_i, @paigelav, @neha_mathews_, @howardfineman, @gerryfsmith, @davidfolkenflik, @aterkel, @jessbrammar, @bernstein, @jamesrbuk, @bellwak and @yashar
Sharareh Drury / Hollywood Reporter:
Hachette drops Woody Allen's memoir following a staff walkout on Thursday, says it will return all rights to the author — “At HBG we take our relationships with authors very seriously, and do not cancel books lightly," the publishing company said in a statement.
Discussion:
Mediaite, The Playlist, Mashable, The Guardian, New York Times and Business Insider
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Dominic Patten / Deadline:
Dozens of Hachette Book Group staffers stage a walkout over an imprint's plans to publish Woody Allen's memoir, in solidarity with Ronan and Dylan Farrow
Dozens of Hachette Book Group staffers stage a walkout over an imprint's plans to publish Woody Allen's memoir, in solidarity with Ronan and Dylan Farrow
Discussion:
Publishers Weekly, Page Six, Vanity Fair, NPR, @publisherswkly, @kieleraymond, @ceciliatan, @pronounced_ing, @dongwon, @maddiecalls, @levine_alison, @ponderosa121, @levine_alison, @kbeccaandrews, @clarajeffery, Publishers Weekly, @rereadsclosely, @mcsnugz, Vox, Vanity Fair, IndieWire, EW.com, Hollywood Reporter, Jezebel and Slate
Julia Alexander / The Verge:
Quibi will offer a free 90-day trial for users who sign up before it launches on April 6 with 50 shows and movies; Quibi will cost $4.99 with ads, $7.99 without — Longer than what Disney Plus current offers — Quibi is finally almost here, and in an effort to entice people …
Discussion:
Variety, CNET, @great_katzby and @great_katzby, more at Techmeme »
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Karlene Lukovitz / MediaPost:
Quibi partners with Canadian telecom Bell, which will promote the streamer and produce a daily news program and sports update — Upcoming short-form, mobile video service Quibi and Bell, Canada's largest telecommunications company, have inked a deal making Bell the streaming platform's …
Discussion:
Canadian Press
Reuters:
Sources: Gray Television makes an ~$8.5B bid for Tegna, including debt; Tegna has also attracted attention from Apollo Global Management; Tegna stock up 22%+ — (Reuters) - U.S. regional TV station operator Gray Television Inc (GTN.N) has made an offer to acquire larger peer Tegna Inc …
Discussion:
MediaPost, Broadcasting & Cable, Poynter, The Streamable, TV Technology, The Wrap and Deadline
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Thrillist President Ocean MacAdams, who joined the company in 2017, is leaving; Chief Content Officer Meghan Kirsch will head the company — Ocean MacAdams has departed Group Nine Media's Thrillist, the lifestyle digital media brand covering food, drink, travel and entertainment, after two and half years, Variety has learned.
Washington Post:
Study: 86K+ Facebook pages ran at least one political ad that was not properly disclosed, and ~20K ads had been purchased by “likely inauthentic communities” — The Facebook ad purchased by a page called “Angry Buckeyes” in December seemed ordinary at first …
Discussion:
@rowlsmanthorpe, @jason_kint, The Verge, @deborahblum, Politico, @tonyromm and @justinhendrix, more at Techmeme »
Alex Emmons / The Intercept:
Sen. Wyden and Rep. Khanna introduce bill narrowing the scope of the Espionage Act so journalists can't be prosecuted for soliciting and publishing information — Almost a year after the Trump administration unsealed an indictment against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange …
Discussion:
The Reporters Committee …
Rick Edmonds / Poynter:
The News Leaders Association, formed by merging the American Society of News Editors and Associated Press Media Editors, postpones 2020 meeting to spring 2021 — The News Leaders Association — formed by the merger of two newspaper editors' associations — has canceled its 2020 annual conference …
Discussion:
@rickedmonds
Keith J. Kelly / New York Post:
Sources: Meredith is shutting down a studio behind an upcoming Apple+ show, laying off 10 staff; it will no longer produce or license shows to outside clients — A Meredith video production unit behind a new Apple+ show called “Home,” set to debut next month, is shutting down.
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Twitter expands its rules around hateful conduct to include language that dehumanizes people on the basis of their age, disability, or disease — Last year, Twitter expanded its rules around hate speech to include dehumanizing speech against religious groups.
Discussion:
Twitter, One Man & His Blog, Breitbart, MediaNama, @digiphile, @bubola, @terrortola, @whatthebit, @_cingraham, Adweek, Mashable, The Verge, Boing Boing and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Pex, a royalty attribution startup that scans social networks for rightsholders' content, buys Dubset, which IDs tracks on DJ sets so artists can get paid — Social networks are in for a rude copyright awakening. A new European Union law called Article 17 essentially eradicates safe harbor …
Discussion:
Music Business Worldwide, @larrysmiller and Music Week