Mediagazer: Facebook says that on Thursday it will lift the ban on political and social issue ads in the US, imposed after the November election (Sara Fischer/Axios)

7:35 PM ET, March 3, 2021

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Sara Fischer / Axios:

Facebook says that on Thursday it will lift the ban on political and social issue ads in the US, imposed after the November election — Facebook will finally allow advertisers to resume running political and social issue ads in the U.S. on Thursday, according to a company update.

Discussion: Facebook, Ad Age, Adweek, The Wrap, Financial Times, @mshannahmurphy, @sarafischer, @drewharwell, @sarafischer, @b_fung and CNBC, more at Techmeme »

Brent Lang / Variety:

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Ken Klippenstein / The Intercept:

DOJ document: the Trump administration referred a record number of leaks for criminal investigation in a crackdown meant to instill fear of talking to the press — The Trump administration referred a record number of classified leaks for criminal investigation, totaling at least 334 …

Discussion: @matthewacole, @kenklippenstein and @kenklippenstein

New York Times:

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Discussion: @tminsberg, @melsil, Front Office Sports and Sportico.com

Christopher Palmeri / Bloomberg:

Filing: ad sales at Disney's DTC businesses like Hulu and ESPN+ rose 47% to $882M last quarter and sales at ABC grew 5% to $984M — - Online ad revenue grew 47% last quarter, with broadcast up 5% — Company has been consolidating teams to create a one-stop shop

Discussion: MediaPost

BuzzFeed News:

NYT's David Brooks draws a salary for work on an Aspen Institute project funded by Facebook, Jeff Bezos' father, and others, without disclosure in his columns — New York Times columnist David Brooks is drawing a second salary for his work on an Aspen Institute project funded by Facebook …

Discussion: @craigsilverman, @jscros, @jscros, @pareene, @craigsilverman, @craigsilverman, @craigsilverman, @craigsilverman and @eriksherman

Scott Roxborough / Hollywood Reporter:

Disney to sell its 50% stake in Europe's largest children's channel Super RTL to RTL Group, which will pivot to become an online-first broadcaster — The entertainment giant held 50 percent of Europe's largest children's channel, but is shifting its focus to its streaming platform Disney+.

Discussion: Variety, Digital TV Europe, Kidscreen, Broadband TV News and C21Media

Kristen Hare / Poynter:

Two professors documented the pandemic's effects on local newsrooms, working with press associations to gather histories in seven states in the center of the US — Last year, two journalism professors started an oral history project to document the work of local newsrooms in mid-America.

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Samantha Hissong / Rolling Stone:

Kings of Leon to be one of the first bands to debut an album as part of an NFT package, with tokens unlocking perks like limited-edition vinyl and concert seats — The band's revolutionary tokens will unlock special perks like limited-edition vinyl and front row seats to future concerts

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Rob Shaw / Sportico.com:

Facebook exec explains why the company didn't secure rights to extend live sports deals like NFL this year, promoting a free-to-air distribution model instead — We're speeding towards a pivotal moment in the future of sports business. COVID-19 has devastated core revenue streams such as ticket …

Discussion: @robshawsports, @pkafka, @nllcommish, @zonozi, @richlightshed, @pkafka, @soshnick and @pkafka

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