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 This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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, @therecount, @issielapowsky, New Yorker and TVNewsCheck, more at Techmeme »
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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, Tangle, CNET, @juliettekayyem, Poynter, 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, Substack, 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
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
Discussion:
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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:
New York Times, Mediaite, New York Post, Washington Post, The Week, @jasonmillerindc, @cwarzel, @mmasnick, @mrctv, @scottnover, ScreenRant, @kellymakena, @tomwarren, @kimzetter, @pierce, @mikeisaac, @domeniconpr, Today in Tabs, @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 »
Sara Fischer / Axios:
A record 44% of the NYT's 301K new digital subscribers in Q1 were to non-news products like cooking, games, and audio — The New York Times on Wednesday said it added 301,000 new digital-only subscribers last quarter, its slowest quarter for digital subscriber growth in over a year.
Discussion:
CNN, @jayrosen_nyu, @kerrymflynn, @rmantri, @carlquintanilla and New York Times
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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:
@adrienneshih, @nytimeswordplay and @jennaescribe
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:
Awful Announcing, The Hill, OutKick, @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, The Streamable, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, The A.V. Club, Light Reading, @alexweprin, @brenbrenchie, The Wrap, Deadline, @thr and @loudmouthjulia
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
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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 …
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.
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:
The Verge, @siruihua, @jemimajoanna, Sub Pub and blog.substack.com
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 »