Top News:
Victoria Lewis / WPTV:
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has barred local media from attending the signing of a voting restriction bill; the event is a “Fox News exclusive” — (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
Discussion:
@stevebousquet, Media Matters for America, The Hill, Washington Post, Mediaite, Mother Jones, @jonathanchait, ABC News, CNN, VICE, @maggienyt, @ariberman, @timothypmurphy, @wptv and @jamessurowiecki
Issie Lapowsky / Protocol:
Q&A: Facebook Oversight Board director Thomas Hughes on upholding Trump's ban, why the Board isn't a PR stunt, Facebook refusing to answer its questions, more — Following months of speculation, Facebook's Oversight Board issued a quasi-decision Wednesday in the case of former President Donald Trump's account.
Discussion:
New York Times, New Yorker and TVNewsCheck, more at Techmeme »
RELATED:
Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
The Oversight Board's decision on Trump's Facebook ban failed to send a clear message that a powerful public official can't use Facebook to endanger the public — In more than 1,400 posts from Jan. 1, 2020 and Jan. 6, 2021, Donald Trump used Facebook to spread false information with devastating consequences for the country.
Discussion:
New York Times, CNN, CNET, Poynter, @juliettekayyem, New York Times, Columbia Journalism Review, @motherjones, @karaswisher, @jason_kint, @eff, @mikefancher, @glakier, @pramilajayapal, @senblumenthal, @jeffjarvis, @jeffjarvis, @karaswisher, @jeffjarvis, @jeffjarvis, @the_eco_thought, @mmasnick, @freedomhouse, @benshapiro, @scottwalker, @johnbiggs, @sulliview, Mother Jones, Bloomberg, Free Press, CNBC, Techdirt, Los Angeles Times and Politico, more at Techmeme »
Oversight Board:
Facebook Oversight Board upholds Trump's suspension, but asks Facebook to review the decision within six months to determine a penalty consistent with its rules — The Board has upheld Facebook's decision on January 7, 2021, to restrict then-President Donald Trump's access to posting content on his Facebook page and Instagram account.
Discussion:
@oversightboard, Lawfare, About Facebook, Digiday, Washington Post, Fast Company, Wall Street Journal, @issielapowsky, @nick_clegg, Vox, @cnbc, CNBC, @hawleymo, The Atlantic, Financial Times, Vox, The Banter, CNBC, NPR, @latimes, The Message Box, New York Times, Today's Edition Newsletter, Quartz, The Wrap, Insider, @thelastword, @johnlegere, @usatoday, Mediaite, @cnbc, USA Today, Politico, @jaketapper, @karaswisher, @caseynewton, @repadamschiff, @can, Mother Jones, @mikeisaac, New York Times, @slpng_giants, @jayrosen_nyu, @base10, @arusbridger, @jeffbercovici, @digiphile, @jimsciutto, @garettsloane, @brandyzadrozny, @dylanbyers, @stevedeaceshow, @kurtwagner8, @jonathanvswan, @jonathanvswan, @goangelo, @kurtwagner8, @naacp, @tonyromm, @jeffjarvis, @jeffbercovici, @kurtwagner8, @mtracey, @chrislu44, @samuelstolton, @owenthomas, @blakereid, @adamserwer, @jeffjarvis, @jeffjarvis, @dylanbyers, @chriswelch, @donie, @meridithmcgraw, @mikeisaac, @frankpallone, @oliverdarcy, @robertmooreitv, @jess, @jason_pontin, @mikeisaac, @mikeisaac, @ceciliakang, @bplewis, @jason_pontin, @cwarzel, @alexhern, @shiraovide, @broderick, @sarafischer, @yashar, @jamesrbuk, @zaleskiluke, @silvermanjacob, @joannastern, @lawrencehurley, @keithedwards, @eschulze, @brianstelter, Vanity Fair, FiveThirtyEight, @ceciliakang, @jason_kint, Gizmodo, The Daily Beast, TechCrunch, Mediaite, Bloomberg, CyberDisobedience, Brookings, Axios, The Guardian, Reuters, MIT Technology Review, Protocol, Los Angeles Times, Gizmodo, The Guardian, Wall Street Journal, MediaNama, The Verge and Just Jared, more at Techmeme »
Politico:
After teasing a new social media platform, Trump debuts a new section on his website that's effectively a blog
After teasing a new social media platform, Trump debuts a new section on his website that's effectively a blog
Discussion:
Mediaite, New York Times, New York Post, Washington Post, @jasonmillerindc, The Week, @cwarzel, Fox News, @mmasnick, @mrctv, @scottnover, ScreenRant, @kellymakena, @tomwarren, @kimzetter, @pierce, @mikeisaac, Today in Tabs, @domeniconpr, @alistaircoleman, @rumpfshaker, @julespolonetsky, @yossigestetner, @ttagaris, @timobrien, @dandrezner, @heytammybruce, @protocol, @melissaryan, @frankluntz, @atrupar, @howelloneill, @howelloneill, @bgrueskin, @howelloneill, @jason_a_w, @hshaban, @brandyzadrozny, @pbump, @pbump, @seungminkim, Poynter, Wide World of News, Techdirt and CNN, more at Techmeme »
Benjamin Mullin / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: the Athletic is no longer in merger talks with Axios, sees the NYT as the leading merger contender, and had ~$80M in revenue in 2020 with 600 staff — Publisher's talks with Axios are no longer active; New York Times Co. seen as leading contender for tie-up
Discussion:
@mathewi, @niubi, @subjectburst, @alexweprin, @rafat, @jasonschwartz and @anthony
Georg Szalai / The Hollywood Reporter:
ViacomCBS Q1: 36M streaming subscribers, up 6M since Q4; streaming revenue grew 65% YoY to $816M; net earnings up 79% YoY to $899M, affiliate revenue of $2.08B — The entertainment giant, led by CEO Bob Bakish, reported higher first-quarter advertising revenue as its latest financials exceeded Wall Street expectations.
Discussion:
Variety, The Streamable, Variety, The Streamable, The Wrap, Light Reading, Hollywood Reporter, @alexweprin, @brenbrenchie, Deadline, @thr, @loudmouthjulia and TV Technology
Melissa Guerrero / New York Times:
NYT hires its first editorial director of Games, Everdeen Mason, responsible for growing the audience and ensuring puzzles reflect and cultivate diverse voices — Everdeen Mason, The Times's first editorial director of Games, wants to keep challenging current players while reaching new ones.
Discussion:
Axios, @adrienneshih, @nytimeswordplay, @jennaescribe and New York Times
Joe Flint / Wall Street Journal:
Fox says it will acquire right-leaning sports outlet Outkick Media, founded by Clay Travis, who has extensive Fox ties through radio and cable appearances — Deal announced as Fox reports a 6.5% drop in revenue for the March quarter — Fox Corp. said it agreed to acquire Outkick Media …
Discussion:
Variety, @claytravis, @claytravis, OutKick, Awful Announcing and The Wrap
RELATED:
Christopher Palmeri / Bloomberg:
Fox Corporation beats analyst estimates with Q3 revenue of $3.22B, down about 6.5% YoY; ad sales for the unit including Fox News fell almost 7% to $283M
Fox Corporation beats analyst estimates with Q3 revenue of $3.22B, down about 6.5% YoY; ad sales for the unit including Fox News fell almost 7% to $283M
Discussion:
@bristei, @bristei, Variety, The Wrap, @newsynick, @bristei, @bristei, @bristei, @bristei, @bristei, @maynereport, Fox Corporation and Radio & Television …
Jemima Kelly / Financial Times:
Substack adds Sections so writers can set up and manage multiple newsletters or podcasts within one main publication, facilitating the creation of newsrooms — Substack, the $650m Andreessen Horowitz-backed newsletter platform that journalists like to moan talk incessantly about on Twitter, is introducing a new feature.
Discussion:
@siruihua, @jemimajoanna and blog.substack.com
Benedict Evans:
The novels and anti-vax books on Amazon's “Children Vaccination & Immunization” bestseller list point to poor indexing and content moderation issues — Of Amazon's top 50 best-sellers in “Children's Vaccination & Immunisation”, close to 20 are by anti-vaccine polemicists, and 5 are novels about fictional pandemics.
Discussion:
@benedictevans, @benedictevans and @jackshafer
Jessica M. Goldstein / Washingtonian:
Profile of White House Press Sec Jen Psaki, whose measured, warm approach is winning over a press corps used to Trump-era anarchy and Obama-era fratty cruelty — Half of America is smitten with Jen Psaki, while a swath of the White House press corps sounds quite taken with how polite she is.
Joan E. Solsman / CNET:
In a pitch to advertisers, Twitter unveils a slate of new video programming, working with partners including Refinery29, MLB, NBCUniversal News, NHL, and WNBA — Twitter's latest live and on-demand shows join others distributed on its social platform free with ads.
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, The Streamable, @alexgiess, @jenp and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »