Mediagazer: Alden's audacious lie that it ensures “sustainability of robust local journalism” is evidence of its unsuitability as a newspaper owner (Margaret Sullivan/Washington Post)

9:00 AM ET, February 18, 2021

Top News:

William Easton / About Facebook:

Ahead of proposed media law, Facebook says it's banning Australians from sharing/viewing news and all users from sharing from and viewing Australian news Pages — In response to Australia's proposed new Media Bargaining law, Facebook will restrict publishers and people in Australia from sharing …

Discussion: CNN, @dylanbyers, The Guardian, MediaPost, Journalism.co.uk, Insider, Reuters, @joshfrydenberg, @matthewstoller, news.com.au, @mikeisaac, Sydney Morning Herald, Ad Age, @caseynewton, @mattburgess1, Columbia Journalism Review, Foreign Policy, CNBC, MacRumors, The Verge, Gizmodo, @mikeisaac, @jamesrbuk, @jordanlperkins, Digital Marketing …, RNZ, @davidleyonhjelm, Press Gazette, @caitoz, @daphnehk, @jayrosen_nyu, @katecrawford, @deniseshrivell, @emilybell, @mja_editor, @normative, Hollywood Reporter, @a_d_morgan, @mariabustillos, ZDNet, @timmarchman, @damiancollins, @profgalloway, @pt, Digiday, @gaberivera, @timmarchman, @juhasaarinen, @amyremeikis, @belindajones68, @_claireconnelly, @itsbouquet, @kashhill, @jeffjarvis, What's New in Publishing, @shannonpareil, @jonahstein, @mikarv, @jeffreyatucker, @jakefmooney, @caitoz, @erratarob, @bdsams, ABC, @walthickey, @profgalloway, @mathewi, @andrewlawton, @emilybell, @carlfranzen, @markdistef, @karaswisher, @froomkin, @pkafka, @jonkeegan, @stevekopack, @kirstinestewart, @joshgnosis, @kantrowitz, @w7voa, @markdistef, @sarafischer, @issielapowsky, @mathewi, @caseynewton, @caseynewton and The Pick and Roll, more at Techmeme »

Campbell Brown / Facebook:

Facebook News Partnerships VP: Australia's planned law “fails to recognize ... the fundamental nature of the relationship between our platform and publishers” — Today we made an incredibly difficult decision to restrict the availability of news on Facebook in Australia.

Casey Newton / Platformer:

Banning Australian news makes sense for Facebook and may prompt people to visit news sites directly; Google's payoffs, though, will invite global shakedowns — Yesterday, I wrote that Australia's News Media Bargaining Code threatened to splinter the internet.

Reuters and Associated Press:

Facebook says it generated ~5.1B free referrals to Australian publishers worth ~AU$407M last year, as Australia's Media Bargaining law passes the House — - Facebook will no longer allow people in Australia to read or share news — The move is a response to the country's proposed Media Bargaining law

Discussion: @andrewbrownau, Insider, ABC, news.com.au, New York Post, @carolecadwalla, @caseybriggs, @joshgnosis, @emilybell, @slpng_giants, @withmeaa, @joshgnosis, @mrkrudd, The Indian Express, @caseybriggs and @acookiecrumbles

Nicholas McElroy / ABC:

Australian authorities in public health, weather, and other areas say Facebook has removed posts from their feeds following Facebook's news ban — Facebook has restricted access to news in Australia, and so far the tech giant seems to have taken a pretty broad definition of news. — Key points:

Damien Cave / New York Times:

Australia's concentrated media industry, dominated by News Corp, is aligned with the prime minister and has sought compensation from tech companies for years — Pathbreaking legislation showed that even a small nation can get the tech giant to bend. But the United States seems unlikely to follow.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Press Gazette, @mlothianmclean, @davidglynnejon1, @dvanboom, @rasmus_kleis, @jessedamiani, @aaschapiro and @deccanherald

News Corp:

News Corp announces a multi-year, global partnership with Google to provide content from its news sites “in return for significant payments by Google” — Long-term Deal Involves Payment For Premium Content For Google News Showcase; — Will Yield Substantial Benefits For Journalism And Society

Brian Flood / Fox News:

Rush Limbaugh has died at the age of 70 after a battle with lung cancer — Limbaugh's death, following Stage IV lung cancer diagnosis, announced by family — Fox News Flash top headlines for February 17 — Rush Limbaugh, the monumentally influential media icon who transformed talk radio …

Discussion: @richlowry, @pastpunditry, New York Times, @jessbravin, New York Times, @ichotiner, @drjeffreypjones, HuffPost, NPR, CNN, Vox, @brianros1, Slate, @johnjcook, Trending Politics, Axios, The Week, The Daily Beast, ABC News, @maxwelltani, Daimnation! Direct, @jessicavalenti, @kayleighmcenany, @jbouie, @glennbeck, @mattoswaltva, @sentomcotton, @joelpollak, @bessbell, @atrupar, @govkristinoem, @tressiemcphd, @karaswisher, The Wrap, @ichotiner, @titonka, @melaniatrump, @capeannsky, @richlowry, @maragay, @froomkin, @sarahljaffe, @davidklion, @juliaioffe, @karaswisher, @froomkin, @froomkin, @christnnitemare, @ichotiner, Breitbart, @jbouie, @davidcayj, @kevinmkruse, Conquest of the Useless, @watchdogdiva, @kevinmkruse, @jayrosen_nyu, @tpm, @adamgoldmannyt, @austin_walker, The Sun, @bosnerdley, @greenfield64, @franklin_graham, @johnastoehr, @janicedean, @senrickscott, @60minutes, @brianstelter, @atrupar, @heerjeet, @jamespmorrison, @davidfolkenflik, @pastpunditry, @pastpunditry, @pastpunditry and @pastpunditry

Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:

Alden's audacious lie that it ensures “sustainability of robust local journalism” is evidence of its unsuitability as a newspaper owner — When Alden Global Capital announced Tuesday that it was positioned to buy the Chicago Tribune and several other major newspapers, its statement might have sounded promising.

Discussion: Vanity Fair, @larryryckman, @sulliview, Cup of Coffee, @davidaxelrod, @dangillmor, @maghielse, @amlwhere, @nicdawes, @briokc, @melissajpeltier, @meredithshiner, @clearing_fog, @marlengarcia777 and @toddlighty

Marc Tracy / New York Times:

Profile of Stewart Bainum, who set up a nonprofit to buy The Baltimore Sun; filing shows price of $65M for The Sun and other papers under nonbinding term sheet — Stewart Bainum, a hotel magnate and former politician, has swooped in with a plan to run it and other papers in Maryland as part of a nonprofit.

Discussion: @davidmwessel, @peterfranchot, @jayrosen_nyu, @ckrewson, @marcatracy, @pwoodreporter, @luciana_f_lopez, @jayrosen_nyu, @jayrosen_nyu, @jayrosen_nyu, @jayrosen_nyu, @jayrosen_nyu and @jayrosen_nyu

ProPublica:

ProPublica says Richard Tofel, its founding general manager and president since 2013, will retire from the company when a successor is found — ProPublica announced today that Richard Tofel, its founding general manager and president since 2013, will retire from the company when a successor is in place …

Discussion: @dicktofel, @dancow, @kenwardjr, @michaelluo, @jeffjarvis, @kleinmatic, @carolineylchen, @celrae, @jonathanalter, @dlind, @ibarguen, @nicdawes, @jbenton, @mollydeaguiar, @pressgazette and @ariana_tobin

Ashley Carman / The Verge:

Recent deals like the iHeart Media's purchase of Triton Digital suggest that ad tech, not exclusive content, will be the key to long-term success in podcasting — iHeart Media acquires Triton Digital for $230 million — iHeartMedia, the company behind podcasts like Stuff You Should Know and hundreds …

Discussion: Valdosta Daily Times, @scottmonty, @mattnavarra, @cedfunches, @ashleyrcarman and @reckless

Anne Steele / Wall Street Journal:
iHeartMedia to acquire Triton Digital, which provides audio advertising analytics and measurement services, from Scripps for $230M

Discussion: RAIN News

Bloomberg:

YouTube says YouTube Kids app now has 35M weekly users and launches new tools for creators to make money from their fans, including an applause feature — - Company says feature called Shorts still in testing stage — Google unit also introduces new revenue tools for creators

more at Techmeme »

Darrell Etherington / TechCrunch:
YouTube says it will expand Shorts, its TikTok rival in beta in India, to the US in coming weeks, announces plans for 2021 including expanding in-video shopping

Discussion: Mashable, musically.com, Gizmodo, @mattnavarra, Digital TV Europe, @fwiz, @vidiq, @reneritchie and @rkyncl

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