Top News:
Ben Thompson / Stratechery:
Stratechery's Ben Thompson announces a service called Passport to let creators manage their subscriptions and communicate with subscribers — Seven years ago, when I initially launched the paid Daily Update, there weren't really any tools designed for independent subscription businesses …
Discussion:
@stratechery, @trengriffin, @alecellin, @sarthakgh, @vgr, @caseynewton, @mathewi, @edwinwee, @alex, @tomcritchlow and @steven_aquino, more at Techmeme »
David Mack / BuzzFeed News:
Former Treasury official is sentenced to 6 months in prison after admitting she leaked documents to BuzzFeed News; the docs formed the basis of the FinCEN Files — A former Treasury Department official was sentenced to six months in prison on Thursday after she admitted …
Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC:
Twitter launches its subscription service Twitter Blue on iOS in Canada and Australia for CAD$3.49 and A$4.49/month, with Undo Tweet, Bookmark Folders, more — - Twitter Blue is designed for power users who are willing to pay a monthly fee for exclusive features.
Discussion:
Twitter, New York Times, Variety, CNN, Protocol, The Verge, The Information, @minsingular, Social Media Today, Reuters, @sinamonchild, @jyarow, BBC, @profgalloway, BNN, @ebonyteach, @fourverts, globalnews.ca, USA Today, @samuelaadams, Hypebot, @manishm, @b52malmet, @angelafritz, @fredericl, Bloomberg, @exavierpope, @remztheawesome, @mlozada, @danmassoud, @mep and Gizmodo Australia, more at Techmeme »
Casey Newton / Platformer:
Trump shutting down his blog shows the significance of social media platforms' amplification mechanics and how they give free and huge reach to the worst actors — What a failed blog tells us about the power of Twitter — Last month, after months of hyping up a forthcoming “social media platform” …
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Alex Heath / The Verge:
Sources: Facebook plans to end its controversial policy that shields politicians from the content moderation rules that apply to other users — Going forward politicians will be treated more like everyone else — Facebook plans to end its controversial policy that shields politicians …
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
HBO Max head Andy Forssell says news and sports may require new formats on the service and WarnerMedia is weighing whether CNN content can be part of HBO Max — News and sports programming are a significant factor in keeping consumers tethered to cable and satellite subscriptions in an era rife …
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Pershing Square Tontine Holding, a SPAC that began trading last year, is close to taking Universal Music Group public, valuing Universal at about $40B — Prospective deal puts a valuation on the world's largest music business at $42 billion with debt
Columbia Journalism Review:
30+ newsrooms have signed a Climate Emergency Statement recognizing the need for better climate coverage, but some outlets fear the phrase sounds like activism — TV newsman Bill Moyers likes to tell the story of how Edward R. Murrow, the pre-eminent US broadcast journalist of his time …
Discussion:
@jeffgoodell, @yayitsrob, @mythilisk, @robaeprice, @jayrosen_nyu, @coveringclimate, @wormmaps, @domdifurio, @luckytran, @angelmendoza___, @alexsteffen and @coveringclimate
Taraneh Azar / Poynter:
Visual journalists must rethink their ethical obligations to protesters, who are vulnerable groups, and need to ask for consent to photograph and publish images — In the age of viral media and punitive surveillance, visual journalists have an ethical obligation to minimize harm when covering protests.
Discussion:
@ericmstahl, @morisy, @curtwoodward, @mathewi, @professorbock, @ericmstahl and @donaldrwinslow
Ron Miller / TechCrunch:
IDG, owner of PCWorld, Macworld, and IDC, to be acquired by Blackstone for $1.3B — It's been a busy week for private equity with Cloudera, Stack Overflow and FireEye coming off the board on Tuesday and Wednesday. Today Blackstone bought media and data company IDG for $1.3 billion.
Discussion:
The Boston Globe and Business Wire, more at Techmeme »
Hanaa' Tameez / Nieman Lab:
WaPo diversifies its opinion section with the launch of Voices Across America, featuring local writers, and will launch an opinion-based podcast Please Go On — Fans of The Washington Post's opinion section will get to experience a wider range of viewpoints starting this month.
Discussion:
@niemanlab, @maxboot and @jameshohmann
John Gapper / Financial Times:
How James Daunt helped save UK bookstore chain Waterstones by making each store unique and what he's doing to revitalize Barnes & Noble — On a bright Tuesday in April, the car parks at Fosse Park, an out-of-town shopping centre south of Leicester, are packed.
Discussion:
@hindolsengupta, @benedictevans and @financialtimes
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