Top News:
Andy Mills:
Audio producer Andy Mills, a creator and co-star of the NYT podcast Caliphate whose behavior has come under sustained scrutiny, has resigned — Today I'm resigning from The New York Times. Those are not words I ever wanted to write. — Growing up, I never even imagined that I would get the chance …
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@marcatracy, The Wrap, @sullydish, @jbarro, @stevekrak, @shomarq, @shomarq, @kmele, @kmele, @bariweiss, @dylanmatt, @kmele, @juliacarriew, @genepark, @jondanziger, @bariweiss and @davidfolkenflik
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The Daily Beast:
Sources: NYT's Rukmini Callimachi has been re-assigned to cover higher education following the Caliphate scandal — The Pulitzer finalist who came to fame via her Middle East coverage is moving to a vastly different beat following the scandal over her largely debunked podcast.
Discussion:
@wajahatali, @cquintanadc and @johnriordangee
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
Democrats' Sec. 230 bill is a dumpster fire of cluelessness that effectively wipes out protections for entire internet while pretending it's just a minor change — from the what-the-fuck-is-this-I-don't- even... dept — For the past few months we've been seeing a ton of terrible/ridiculous …
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Emily Birnbaum / Protocol:
Democratic senators' SAFE TECH Act will strip Section 230 immunity for any ads and posts violating civil rights, antitrust, cyberstalking, human rights laws
Democratic senators' SAFE TECH Act will strip Section 230 immunity for any ads and posts violating civil rights, antitrust, cyberstalking, human rights laws
Discussion:
Gizmodo, @decunningham2, @mattyglesias, @dellcam, @dellcam, @dellcam, @dellcam, @mmasnick, @jeffjarvis, @issielapowsky, @glassbottommeg, @dandotlewis, @hodgesmr, Engadget and @issielapowsky, more at Techmeme »
Tim Cross / VideoWeek:
Ad tech company Magnite, formerly Rubicon Project, to acquire SpotX, a platform for connected TV and video advertising, from RTL Group for $1.17B — Supply-side platform Magnite announced this morning it has agreed a deal to acquire sell-side video platform SpotX from European media group RTL …
Discussion:
@magnite, Variety, Magnite, Radio & Television …, Beet.TV, Adweek, Digital TV Europe, @davemorgannyc, AdExchanger, @anthonykatsur, @mediamath, @kghufran, CNBC, FierceVideo and LUMA Partners, more at Techmeme »
Marc Tracy / New York Times:
Journalists at the New York Daily News have formed a union under the NewsGuild of New York, asking for voluntary recognition from Tribune — The organizing effort at the century-old tabloid comes roughly 25 years after its editorial union was effectively broken.
Washington Post:
Stephen Totilo, EIC of gaming news site Kotaku, announced his departure Friday; he plans a month-long break and then a return to games journalism — Stephen Totilo, editor in chief of gaming news site Kotaku, announced his departure Friday afternoon. — “Tomorrow, I will simply be a reader of Kotaku …
Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge:
Snap says its TikTok competitor Spotlight had 100M MAUs in January, two months after its launch, and receives an average of 175K video submissions per day — A surprisingly successful debut — Snap says its TikTok competitor, Spotlight, had 100 million users in January 2021, just two months after it launched.
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Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC:
Snap beats with Q4 revenue of $911M, up 62% YoY, vs $857.4M est., DAUs were up 22% YoY to 265M; stock down 7%+ after hours on weak Q1 forecast
Snap beats with Q4 revenue of $911M, up 62% YoY, vs $857.4M est., DAUs were up 22% YoY to 265M; stock down 7%+ after hours on weak Q1 forecast
Discussion:
The Wrap, @seekingalpha, @tgpharding, @ashkan, @charliebilello, @ashleyrcarman, Fast Company, Ad Age, Financial Times, Axios and Variety, more at Techmeme »
Marc Tracy / @marcatracy:
Memo: NYT reporter Donald McNeil Jr., accused of using racist language during a NYT-sponsored trip for high school students, has left the company — Donald McNeil has left the company, say Dean and Joe. https://twitter.com/...
Discussion:
@marcatracy
Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:
Editor & Publisher gave permission to Internet Archive to digitize its full archives, making them easily searchable, a step that other newspapers should take — My two intellectual loves are history and journalism — alternately, history and its first draft — and I'm always happy to see the two overlap.
Discussion:
@internetarchive, @jbenton, @jeremycyoung and @media2070
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty:
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty names Jamie Fly as president and CEO, who will resume leadership after being dismissed by Michael Pack in June — WASHINGTON — Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's (RFE/RL) Board of Directors has named Jamie Fly as the company's President and CEO, effective February 16, 2021.
Discussion:
@defensebaron, @davidfolkenflik, @karenkornbluh, @john_hudson, @christopherjm, @jamiemfly and @jimswiftdc
Reporters Without Borders:
Twitter baselessly suspended the accounts of a South African weekly and of four journalists criticizing the decision, and attributed the error to automation — Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is shocked by Twitter's arbitrary and baseless blocking of the accounts of a prestigious South African newsweekly …
New York Times:
Election tech company Smartmatic files $2.7B defamation lawsuit against the Fox Corporation, Fox News, and hosts Lou Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo, and Jeanine Pirro — Smartmatic accused Rupert Murdoch's network of promoting a false narrative about the 2020 election that damaged the company.
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Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:
Biden will revive weekly “radio” address, to be posted on YouTube and other platforms, sometimes with him talking to guests in the informal style of podcasts — A White House seeking to advance its agenda introduces a format that includes the president speaking with handpicked citizens.
Micah Singleton / Billboard:
Sources: SoundCloud is preparing to introduce a new payment system that would allow users to pay artists directly — The company is close to announcing an alternative streaming payout plan. — SoundCloud is preparing to introduce a new payment system that would allow fans to pay artists directly …
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@martinsfp and Music Business Worldwide, more at Techmeme »