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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 …
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@archiebland, @nadine_writes, @jenwilliamsmen, @howardfineman, @claireshrugged, @liamthorpecho, @mehdirhasan, @pregnantscrewed, @markdistef, @thattimwalker, @joncstone, @healthuntodeath, @hkesvani, @seyiakiwowo, @ianmartin, @ziaweise, @jessicaelgot, @jane__bradley, @sarahljaffe, @charliehtweets, @horton_official, @joejsmiddleton, @timharford, @jamesrbuk and The Independent


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.
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The Keyword, Ars Technica, Wall Street Journal, @sam_l_shead, @jason_kint, @cnbc, The Register, @mshannahmurphy, @theregister, The Information, Wall Street Journal, @walterolkowski, @johnwilander, @ceciliakang, @b_fung, @suka_hiroaki, GeekWire, MediaPost, The Verge, AppleInsider, ZDNet, Reuters, Microsoft On the Issues, Ad Age and The Hill, more at Techmeme »


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.
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@hamishmckenzie, @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, @film_girl and @noyokono


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 …


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 …
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Variety, Adweek, Ad Age, Observer, The Streamable, @natjarv, @xpangler, @erichaywood, @loudmouthjulia, @loudmouthjulia, @jbflint, @loudmouthjulia, IGN, MediaPost, Bloomberg and Engadget


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 …
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@dorseyshaw


Roku has hired several former Quibi executives as it prepares to roll out content from Quibi's library of 75+ shows to The Roku Channel — Former Quibi senior content executives Colin Davis and Brian Tannenbaum are among those who have joined Roku. — Two months after acquiring the Quibi library …
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Realscreen


McKinsey report: Hollywood is leaving $10B/year on the table by ignoring racial inequities in film and TV and should set concrete goals to increase diversity — A McKinsey report that combined previous research and new interviews argues that concrete steps like company bonuses tied to improved representation can lead to change.
Discussion:
@andrewlavallee, Insider, Mediaite, CNBC, Variety, Bloomberg and Vanity Fair


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 …
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@cendemtech, @evelyndouek, Breitbart, @niemanlab and Engadget


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
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@lucas_shaw, Insider, The Daily Signal, @evelyndouek, New York Post, @jack_turban, @ryantand, The Wrap, Forbes, Breitbart, The Week and CNET


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 …
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@richardpbacon, @snigskitchen, @markdistef, @pkafka, Variety, Hollywood Reporter and Press Gazette


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:
@arielbogle, @erikmaza, @taylorlorenz and Insider