Top News:
Archie Bland / The Guardian:
Emails: BuzzFeed is shutting down HuffPost UK's news operation and video desk, except for its politics team, affecting 16 of 29 journalists — Exclusive: Owner BuzzFeed's move leaves more than half of editorial staff at risk — BuzzFeed has told the UK staff of its recently acquired HuffPost website …
Discussion:
@archiebland, @nadine_writes, @jenwilliamsmen, @joncstone, @seyiakiwowo, @healthuntodeath, @ianmartin, @ziaweise, The Independent, @howardfineman, @claireshrugged, @jessicaelgot, @jane__bradley, @markdistef, @thattimwalker, @sarahljaffe, @charliehtweets, @horton_official, @mehdirhasan, @joejsmiddleton, @timharford, @liamthorpecho, @hkesvani, @pregnantscrewed and @jamesrbuk
Lauren Feiner / CNBC:
As House holds hearing on tech and news, Microsoft accuses Google of making publishers depend on it and Google claims Microsoft just wants to undercut a rival — - Microsoft and Google sparred over their practices and treatment of news outlets in a battle between antitrust targets of past and present.
Discussion:
The Keyword, Wall Street Journal, Ars Technica, The Information, The Register, The Verge, MediaPost, @jason_kint, @walterolkowski, @cnbc, @ceciliakang, The Verge, AppleInsider, @b_fung, @suka_hiroaki, @mshannahmurphy, The Hill, Reuters, Ad Age, Microsoft On the Issues, @theregister, GeekWire, @johnwilander and ZDNet, more at Techmeme »
Jason Gurwin / The Streamable:
Netflix is running a test cracking down on password sharing, prompting some users to get their own account if they don't live with the owner of the account — Earlier this week, some Netflix subscribers began to notice that it might be a bit harder to “borrow” someone's password.
Discussion:
GammaWire, The Verge, BBC, CNBC, Wired, Sky News, Variety, nexttv.com, ScreenRant, @thr, @loudmouthjulia, @tomwarren, CBS Philly, Fortune, The Muffin por Mauricio …, ZDNet, @luca, @chris_notcapn, @thr, The Daily Dot, Chicago Sun-Times, Hollywood Reporter, Cord Cutters News, 90 Second News, @edzitron, @film_girl, @film_girl, IGN India, @lanceulanoff, @sherman4949, @jyarow, @tzm_tmt, Boing Boing, @richlightshed, AppleInsider, Los Angeles Times, io9, Mashable, Washington Post, WGN-TV, MacRumors, /Film, Fast Company, 9to5Mac, The Wrap, Insider, The Desk and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
Hamish McKenzie / Substack Blog:
How Substack Pro works: Year One, some writers get pay similar to salaries, Substack gets 85% of revenue; Year Two, writers keep 90% of revenue, no minimum pay — When we started Substack in mid-2017, the future for writers was frightening. The news industry was rapidly contracting, eliminating countless journalism jobs.
Discussion:
@hamishmckenzie, @film_girl, @roseveleth, @sadydoyle, @ktmboyle, @britnidlc, @alex, @athertonkd, @bijanstephen, @hondanhon, @lmatsakis, Things That Have Caught …, @zunguzungu, @athertonkd, @grimkim, @tyschalter, @roseveleth, @ryanlcooper, @zunguzungu, @paulskallas, @graceonfootball, @baekdal, @sadydoyle, @zunguzungu, @zunguzungu, @roseveleth, @mikeisaac, @fka_tabs, @rickpaulas, @athertonkd, @atrubek, @alex, @athertonkd, @zunguzungu, @ericnewcomer, @hondanhon, @notd_io, @ninocipri, @athertonkd, @athertonkd, @andrewchen, @hondanhon, @fattymph, @hondanhon, @roseveleth, @hondanhon, @fka_tabs and @noyokono
Dan Abrams / Mediaite:
Media and politics news site Mediaite is launching a paywall that allows 10 free articles per month; subscriptions will cost $4.99 per month or $44.99 per year — As you may know, Mediaite is one of the few major websites in the country that is personally funded (and not by a wildly wealthy banker …
Discussion:
@dorseyshaw
Georg Szalai / Hollywood Reporter:
AT&T says it plans to launch HBO Max international and AVOD in June and expects HBO Max and HBO subscribers worldwide to reach 120-150M by 2025 — That is up from AT&T's previous forecast of 75-90 million. — AT&T Corp. said Friday that it now expects to reach 120-15 million HBO Max …
Discussion:
Variety, Adweek, Ad Age, Observer, The Streamable, @loudmouthjulia, @xpangler, MediaPost, @loudmouthjulia, Adweek, @natjarv, @loudmouthjulia, @erichaywood, Bloomberg, @jbflint and Cord Cutters News
Todd Spangler / Variety:
A SPAC led by ex-Disney execs Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs, Forest Road Acquisition Corp. II, raised $350M in an IPO to focus on tech, media, telecoms companies — A special-purpose acquisition corporation targeting tech, media and telecom firms led by two former senior Disney execs …
Ashley Gold / Axios:
YouTube says it has taken down 30,000 videos that made false or misleading claims about COVID-19 vaccines over the last six months — YouTube has taken down more than 30,000 videos that made misleading or false claims about COVID-19 vaccines over the last six months, YouTube spokesperson Elena Hernandez …
Discussion:
@evelyndouek, Breitbart, @cendemtech, @niemanlab, Slashdot and Engadget
Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg / Wall Street Journal:
In a letter to GOP Senators, Amazon says it removed a book because of its policy not to sell books that frame LGBTQ+ identity as a mental illness — Company states policy in response to inquiry by several Republican senators over recent removal of book by conservative author
Discussion:
@lucas_shaw, Insider, New York Post, Forbes, @jack_turban, @ryantand, The Week, @evelyndouek, Breitbart, The Wrap, The Daily Signal and CNET, more at Techmeme »
Jake Kanter / Deadline:
Daily Mail owner demands ViacomCBS remove images of its headlines, which were “taken out of context or deliberately edited”, from Meghan and Harry interview — Associated Newspapers, the owner of UK tabloid the Daily Mail, has written to ViacomCBS demanding the removal of …
Discussion:
Variety, @markdistef, @richardpbacon, @snigskitchen, Press Gazette, @pkafka, Hollywood Reporter and The Wrap
Jo Piazza / Town & Country:
Profile of Amber Venz Box, who says influencers working with her shopping app LikeToKnowIt and marketing service RewardStyle sold $8B+ in products by 2020's end — How Amber Venz Box and her ‘Harvard of Influencing’ taught social media stars how to monetize their brands and got everyone else to spend billions on Instagram.
Discussion:
@erikmaza, @taylorlorenz, @arielbogle and Insider
Sarah Sluis / AdExchanger:
Google is further integrating the Publisher Provided Identifier into its Ad Manager, aiding publishers' first-party tracking in lieu of third-party cookies — The PPID's technical setup works like this: the publisher will create a unique ID for users, based on a first-party cookie or a log-in ID.
Discussion:
Adswerve, Press Gazette, @ashk4n, @chronotope, @sarahsluis, @aripap, @jbrouet, Privacy News Online …, Michael Tsai, The Keyword and IAB Tech Lab