Top News:
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 …
Discussion:
Washington Post, @senatorshoshana, Today In US Politics, @andrewcouts, @badsec230takes, @gizmodo, @alex, @melmall, @wexler, CNET and The Hill, more at Techmeme »
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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
Discussion:
Gizmodo, @decunningham2, @mattyglesias, @dellcam, @dellcam, @dellcam, @dellcam, @mmasnick, @jeffjarvis, Engadget, @issielapowsky, @glassbottommeg, @dandotlewis, @hodgesmr and @issielapowsky, 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.
Discussion:
@nydnunion, @kateefeldman, @saragregory, @royalpratt, @marcatracy, nyguild.org, @saragregory, @grace_2e, @awinston and The NewsGuild - CWA
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 …, Adweek, Beet.TV, AdExchanger, CNBC, Digital TV Europe, @davemorgannyc, @anthonykatsur, @mediamath, FierceVideo and LUMA Partners, more at Techmeme »
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
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.
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Washington Post, CNN, Washington Post, Variety, NPR, Poynter, @markszaidesq, @noahpinion, MediaPost, The American Independent, @darickr, @jonathanwpeters, Wall Street Journal, @jamessurowiecki, @hassankanu, @alanhuntermtv, National Review, @zoetillman, @richsignorelli, @markruffalo, @frankpallotta, @brianstelter, @brianstelter, The Verge, Media Matters for America, Bloomberg, TVNewsCheck, Axios, Mediaite, The Wrap, Insider, CNBC and Boing Boing, more at Techmeme »
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.
Discussion:
CNN, @karissabe, contextisking.com, CNBC, Marketing Dive, @verge, @megancgraham, @mattrosoff, Investor's Business Daily, Business Wire and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
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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
Discussion:
The Wrap, @tgpharding, @ashkan, @charliebilello, @ashleyrcarman, Fast Company, Ad Age, Financial Times, Axios and Variety, more at Techmeme »
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 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:
@davidfolkenflik, @karenkornbluh, @john_hudson, @christopherjm and @jamiemfly
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 …
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 …
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 …
Discussion:
@martinsfp and Music Business Worldwide
Chris Stokel-Walker / WIRED UK:
TikTok's launch on Android TVs in France, Germany, and the UK yesterday is part of its push to diversify its audience and bring its stars into the mainstream — The app's arrival on smart TVs is part of a plan to diversify its audience - and bring its stars further into the mainstream
Discussion:
Android Police, @stokel, @psythor, @brendangahan and @evafogdk, more at Techmeme »
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