Top News:
Taylor Lorenz / Washington Post:
Biden administration is working with Gen Z For Change, a nonprofit advocacy group, to brief top TikTok stars about the war in Ukraine — On Thursday afternoon, 30 top TikTok stars gathered on a Zoom call to receive key information about the war unfolding in Ukraine.
Discussion:
@taylorlorenz, @washingtonpost, @bymikebaker, Slate, @amaramarasingam, @sarahkendzior, Breitbart, @maxseddon, @taylorlorenz, @ttuberville, @emilybell, @gadyepstein, @hkesvani, @versharma, @rflaherty46, Mediaite, @jeffjarvis, @adamjohnsonnyc, @kevinroose, @danboeckner, @dancohen3000, @mattxred, @katzonearth, @greg_jenner, @taylorlorenz, Tubefilter, Insider, Input, The Week, New York Post, Engadget, Fox News, SoundCloud and Consequence, more at Techmeme »
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David Gilbert / VICE:
Investigation finds a campaign coordinated in a secret Telegram channel to pay Russian TikTok influencers to post videos pushing pro-Kremlin narratives — An investigation by VICE News uncovered a coordinated campaign to pay Russian TikTok influencers to post videos pushing pro-Kremlin narratives.
Discussion:
Media Matters for America, Media Manipulation Casebook, @janelytv, @willoremus, @taylorlorenz, @razhael, @jeffjarvis, @paullewis, @tobydoyhowell, @fabiochiusi, @egavactip, @sarthakgh, @emilydreyfuss, @daithaigilbert, @slpng_giants, Engadget, @cbcsteve, @bostonjoan and Insider, more at Techmeme »
Tatiana Siegel / Rolling Stone:
Texts, emails, and interviews document the deep ties among Jeff Zucker, Allison Gollust, and Andrew Cuomo, and Zucker and Trump's earlier relationship — Texts, email exchanges, and 36 sources tell the true story behind the downfall of TV's ultimate operator
Discussion:
@wilkowmajority, @shanegoldmacher, @dangillmor, @joncampbellny, @khushbuoshea, @davidsirota, @mattgertz, @soledadobrien, @nicolefcarr, @rollingstone, @jbflint, @noahshachtman, @sorayamcdonald, @cherijacobus, A Stack of Information, @californiapanda, @joeconchatv, @mattgertz, @lesliemac, Fox News, @noahshachtman, @rollingstone, FTVLive and New York Post
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Brian Steinberg / Variety:
CNN+ is launching March 29 — People who are interested in CNN Plus finally have a date when they can add it to their streaming repertoire. The WarnerMedia-owned cable-news outlet intends to launch the subscription broadband service on March 29. — The detail — perhaps the last piece …
Discussion:
CNN, Digital Trends, TV Technology, @jameshercher, Fierce Video, The Daily Beast, Gizmodo, SlashFilm, @sherman4949, @_alastair, @cahnemily, @sarafischer, @owillis, CNET, Next TV, The Hill, Cord Cutters News, Engadget, Mediaite, The Streamable, Hollywood Reporter, The Verge, Media Play News, TVNewser, Deadline, The Wrap and Barrett Media
Adam B. Vary / Variety:
CEO Bob Chapek says Disney will pause Florida political donations and apologizes to LGBTQ staff for not being a stronger ally in debate on “Don't Say Gay” bill — After weeks of internal strife and external controversy surrounding the Walt Disney Company's lack of public response to the …
Discussion:
@scottgustin, @stevekopack, @juddlegum, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, @emtothea, @tomandlorenzo, @davezatz, @amandawtwong, @elkmovie, @philjimeneznyc, @theradr, @sawafaerie, @kyletblaine, @variety, @variety, @wutangkids, @waltdisneyco, @lazyfishyart, IGN, UPI, @sherman4949, @anim_heroine, @nashriskin, @elielcruz, @marwilliamson, @mousterpiece, @sarahkateellis, Deadline, Variety, @josh_snares, @melissainjax, SlashFilm, @ericboehlert, Orange County Register, Gizmodo, The A.V. Club, Skift, New York Post, The Hill, The Week, UPROXX, Polygon, Mediaite, Rolling Stone, The Verge, Los Angeles Times, CNBC, Wired, The Wrap, Hollywood Reporter and IndieWire
Jillian Deutsch / Bloomberg:
Russia moves to designate Meta as an “extremist organization”; source says WhatsApp won't be affected as it is a means of communication — Russian prosecutors have asked a court to ban Meta Platforms Inc.'s Facebook and Instagram as “extremist,” Interfax reported, the latest move in a growing crackdown on social networks.
Discussion:
@nickclegg, New York Magazine, Protocol, Fast Company, @jesselehrich, @abierkhatib, @markscott82, @chadloder, @donie, @rmac18, @etbrooking, @brianfishman, @donie, @donie, @rmac18, @karissabe, Vanity Fair, The Tech Rebel, @kevinrothrock, NPR, Metro.co.uk and Radio Free Europe/Radio …, more at Techmeme »
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Josef Adalian / Vulture:
Netflix CFO says “never say never” to ads as HBO Max and Disney+ start experimenting with them: the model of low-cost, ad-free streaming was never going to last — Lots of factors played a role in Netflix becoming the world's biggest TV platform within the space of a decade …
Discussion:
@soniasaraiya, @jonrog1, @tvmojoe, @r0bwatson, Deadline and Hollywood Reporter
Victoria Song / The Verge:
Mark Bernstein, a prominent Russian Wikipedia editor, is detained in Belarus for “distributing fake anti-Russian information” after being doxxed on Telegram — The editor was doxxed on Telegram prior to the arrest — The Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption of Belarus …
Discussion:
Engadget, @david_hewson, @russellbrandom, @audioblahblah and @vicmsong, more at Techmeme »
Wall Street Journal:
In yet more fragmentation of sports broadcasting rights, NBCUniversal's Peacock is finalizing a MLB deal for exclusive streaming rights to 18 early Sunday games — Exclusive arrangement would involve package of 18 games, some starting as early as 11:30 a.m. ET
Rick Edmonds / Poynter:
Bloomberg Media had 370K digital subscribers at the end of 2021, up from 250K the year before, and 316K print subscribers; total revenue rose 48% YoY — Attribute its success to fighting the digital wars on many fronts at once and building a sound guiding strategy and patiently sticking to it.
Financial Times:
EU and the UK open an antitrust probe into Google and Meta's Jedi Blue deal on online ads; EU is also probing whether Google acted without Meta's knowledge — Europe's competition chief Margrethe Vestager tells FT that ‘Jedi Blue’ deal represents ‘giant problem’ in industry
Kipp Jones / Mediaite:
OANN owner Herring Networks sues DirecTV and its parent AT&T for breach of contract, alleging “liberal organizations” pressured AT&T to drop OANN from lineup — Far-right One America News is suing DirecTV and its parent company AT&T for breach of contract …
Discussion:
Newsweek, The Wrap, Gizmodo, The Daily Beast and Dallas Morning News