Top News:
Gerry Smith / Bloomberg:
SensorTower: HBO Max has seen just 90,000 downloads of its mobile app on its first day, compared to 4M for Disney+ and 300,000 for Quibi on their first days — - Disney+ had 4 million first-day downloads; Quibi over 300,000 — AT&T's WarnerMedia disputes figure, says it's happy with debut
Discussion:
@shiraovide, @shiraovide, @craigsilverman, @davewelike, @gabeduverge, @newsynick, @richlightshed and Too Much TV Newsletter
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Jefferson Graham / USA Today:
HBO Max launches without being on Roku and Amazon, the two most popular streaming platforms
HBO Max launches without being on Roku and Amazon, the two most popular streaming platforms
Discussion:
TechCrunch, The Streamable, New York Times, Multichannel News, Variety, Fortune, The Streamable, Wall Street Journal, Business Insider, CNN, Fast Company, @lord0fthunder, @mccanner, TVLine, @mattbelloni, @jbflint, @jbflint, @sherman4949, @pkafka, @frankpallotta, @pkafka, TechCrunch, @jeffersongraham, CNET, ZDNet, Variety, Mashable, Variety, CNBC, CordCutters and CNBC
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Apple acquires Martin Scorsese's next film, Killers of the Flower Moon, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro — ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ to be labeled an Apple Original Film — Apple Inc. has nabbed director Martin Scorsese's next film, “Killers of the Flower Moon …
Discussion:
Deadline, The Streamable, Variety, /Film, Variety, Vanity Fair, @lpolgreen, @great_katzby, CordCutters, @sarthakgh, @mgsiegler, @levie, @frankpallotta, @lucas_shaw, Hollywood Reporter, Collider and 9to5Mac
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Julia Alexander / The Verge:
Apple's acquisition of Fraggle Rock's past TV seasons ahead of a reboot on TV+ signals a strategy shift for the service that had relied on original content
Apple's acquisition of Fraggle Rock's past TV seasons ahead of a reboot on TV+ signals a strategy shift for the service that had relied on original content
Discussion:
Vulture, @alexweprin, @appletv, @martinsfp, @donobot, @pitts_man, @loudmouthjulia, @sugithvarughese, @therealdoneast, Decider, 9to5Mac and The Streamable
Ludovic Blecher / The Keyword:
Google grants between $5K and $30K to 5,300+ small and medium local newsrooms around the world through its Journalism Emergency Relief Fund — COVID-19 has upended the news industry, hitting local news particularly hard with job losses, furloughs, cutbacks and even closure.
Discussion:
Press Gazette, @googlenewsinit, @dw_grant, @googlenewsinit, @mathewi and @googleeurope
Craig Silverman / BuzzFeed News:
The Drudge Report has been linking to an obscure site filled with plagiarized content from NYT and others, sending ~8M pageviews to the site since November — On Tuesday, New York Times columnist Kara Swisher revealed that a widower sent a personal letter to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey asking …
Discussion:
@craigsilverman, @mattlaslo, @gettingsome, @jasonfalter, @jason_kint, Upland Workshop, @dangillmor, @simonowens, @karaswisher and @craigsilverman
Janeen Jones / Center for Public Integrity:
Center for Public Integrity names Matt DeRienzo as editor in chief; DeRienzo has been editor of the New Haven Register and executive director of LION Publishers — The veteran in nonprofit and local journalism has transformed newsrooms. — Washington, D.C. — Matt DeRienzo …
Discussion:
@bobmoorenews, @publicintegrity, @zubakskees and @ckrewson
Kathryn Hopkins / WWD:
Hearst is offering free PSA ads to advertisers in Harper's Bazaar, Elle, and Marie Claire, which will also help thicken issues at a time when ads are falling — More than 80 brands have participated, including Chanel, Gucci, Cartier, Carolina Herrera and Unilever.
Discussion:
@media_evan
Sarah Scire / Nieman Lab:
Indiegraf, with funding via Google News Initiative and Facebook Journalism Project, launches as a network of local news sites sharing resources in Canada — What would a newspaper chain look like if it were reimagined for a group of digital, subscriber-funded publications?
Discussion:
@kallipearl, @dw_grant, @quillpearson, @niemanlab, @jayrosen_nyu, Columbia Journalism Review, @indiegrafmedia, @indiegrafmedia, PR Newswire and JSource
RFE / Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty:
Russian journalist Ilya Azar of Novaya Gazeta sentenced to 15 days in jail after a protest, and six other journalists who protested in his support were detained — MOSCOW — A Moscow district court has sentenced a prominent Russian journalist to 15 days in jail, while police detained several …
Discussion:
BBC, @osce_rfom, Meduza.io, openDemocracy and @commissionerhr
Mike Fleming Jr / Deadline:
Memo: Amazon Studios co-head of movies, Ted Hope, is leaving to return to his role as a producer, and will enter a multi-year first-look deal with the company — EXCLUSIVE: Big move over at Amazon Studios. Ted Hope has decided to exit as Co-Head of Movies to go back to his origins as a producer.
New York Times:
Wirecutter moves to nytimes.com but says its editorial team will continue to work independently from The Times — At Wirecutter, we pride ourselves on conducting rigorous and thoughtful real-world testing to help make our readers' lives better. One of the most important aspects of our work …
Discussion:
Talking Biz News
Bloomberg:
After Twitter adds a label to his misleading tweets, Trump says Republicans will “strongly regulate” social media platforms or “close them down” — - Attack comes after Twitter fact-checked, labeled Trump tweet — Tech companies have faced criticism from conservatives of bias
Discussion:
@realdonaldtrump, New Yorker, Fox News, @marcorubio, @realdonaldtrump, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, @zittrain, Adweek, New York Times, Business Insider, @theplumlinegs, @justinbaragona, DNyuz, Redstate, Mediaite, New York Post, @danpfeiffer, @eff, @davidcorndc, @tedlieu, @wexler, The Atlantic, @revrrlewis, @sethabramson, @jonfavs, @rabiasquared, @brianstelter, @mgsiegler, Techdirt, National Review, @benjaminharvey, @timaeppel, @oliverdarcy and @oliverdarcy, more at Techmeme »
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Ryan Broderick / BuzzFeed News:
After Twitter labeled Trump's tweets, Trump, his campaign, and Fox News target Twitter's Site Integrity lead Yoel Roth; Roth works on manipulation and bots
After Twitter labeled Trump's tweets, Trump, his campaign, and Fox News target Twitter's Site Integrity lead Yoel Roth; Roth works on manipulation and bots
Discussion:
@jack, CNN, Mediaite, New York Times, New York Times, @adamsteinbaugh, Popular Information, NBC News, Raw Story, Protocol, DNyuz, Protocol, @jameeljaffer, @nytimes, @axios, @morningmika, @kylegriffin1, @tpcarney, @clairecmc, @kattykay_, @theplumlinegs, @therecount, @maggienyt, @timodc, @hshaban, @jengranholm, Engadget and The Verge, more at Techmeme »
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
YouTube launches Video Chapters, letting creators add timestamps to their videos, for all users across iOS, Android, and desktop — If you've ever found yourself scrubbing your way through a long YouTube video to get to the “good” part, you'll appreciate the new feature YouTube is launching today: Video Chapters.
Discussion:
The Verge, more at Techmeme »
Eric Newcomer / Bloomberg:
A look at leftist podcasts, like Chapo Trap House, which generates $2M in Patreon subscriptions annually from 36K subscribers, in the wake of Sanders' loss — Chapo Trap House—one of the most popular podcasts of the American far left—took a sharp turn after a devastating Super Tuesday for its preferred candidate, Bernie Sanders.
Discussion:
@ericnewcomer, @ericnewcomer, @ryanlcooper and @charlesflehman
Taylor Lorenz / New York Times:
Behind the rise of TikTok “cults”, like Step Chickens, which revolve around a single creator and borrow tactics from “comment raid” groups on other platforms — Fandoms are forming around a new kind of influencer: the charismatic cult leader.
Discussion:
The Convivial Society, Nuggies, Business Insider and Gizmodo
Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:
Stringr, a marketplace connecting news outlets with videographers that provide footage, raises $5.75M from Thomson Reuters and others — Stringr, a video-focused startup that says it can help news organizations adapt to the challenges of COVID-19, is announcing that it's raised $5.75 million in new funding.