Top News:
Jim Waterson / Guardian:
Ofcom revokes RT's broadcast license in the UK, citing new Russian laws that criminalized journalistic output, and says it conducted 29 investigations into RT — British media regulator says it does not consider RT ‘to be fit and proper to hold a UK licence’
Discussion:
Ofcom, Mediaite, Financial Times, BBC, CNN, World Politics Review, The Guardian, @jimwaterson, @s_m_marandi, @nadinedorries, @jimwaterson, @rasmus_kleis, C21Media, @ofcom, @brian_whit, Broadband TV News, @markscott82, @jimwaterson, TheJournal.ie, @mrbrendancox, Reuters, @neilclark66, Digital TV Europe, @medialens, Variety, Al Jazeera, Deadline, Hollywood Reporter and Politico
Benedict Evans:
As Amazon's ad revenue passes YouTube's and US pay TV subscriptions drop, ad budgets will shift further to targetable spots and other customer-acquisition tools — About five years ago, a revenue line buried in the back of Amazon's accounts started to get quite big.
Discussion:
Protocol, Next TV, @benedictevans and @tcarmody
Janko Roettgers / Protocol:
Startups like Wurl, Amagi, and Frequency, which enable distribution and ads for free ad-supported streaming channels, say their business is booming — Cord cutting isn't just changing the way we watch TV; it's also fundamentally transforming how television networks are operating.
Discussion:
@karynelevy and @jank0
Sam Schechner / Wall Street Journal:
Experts say banning Telegram, a popular destination for unfiltered news to an estimated 40M+ users in Russia, is technically difficult and may prompt a backlash — The social media and chat app has become an increasingly popular destination for unfiltered news, pro-Kremlin propaganda and everything in between
Discussion:
Reuters, Protocol, @ggreenwald, 9to5Mac and @caseynewton, more at Techmeme »
Kathryn VanArendonk / Vulture:
Q&A with Baby-sitters Club's creator on Netflix canceling the show, the opacity of Netflix metrics, how global appeal influences cancelations, and more — “I don't know what they wanted that they didn't get.” Rachel Shukert is talking about her series The Baby-Sitters Club …
Discussion:
We Have Notes …, @farrahsafiakhan, ScreenRant, @exfatalist, @bigmeaninternet, @doomquasar, @supriyadwivedi, @hhavrilesky, @mjschulman, @klcpegher, @redlianak, @sarahmaclean, @imleor, @elainelow, @darren_mooney, Polygon, @rob_sheridan, @mikehawthorne, @ilanacubana, @runwithskizzers, @aysrick, @scobie, Vulture, @kateyrich and The A.V. Club
William Turvill / Press Gazette:
AAM: US magazine circulation on Apple News+ rose 150% YoY on average in H2 2021; People, the most popular, had 213K users opening an edition on average, up 220% — America's largest magazines saw their Apple News+ ‘circulations’ increase by an average 150% year-on-year in the second half of 2021 …
Discussion:
@pedrodias
Sara Guaglione / Digiday:
Dow Jones, FT, The Economist, and WaPo have lifted their paywalls in Russia and Ukraine, where readership, albeit small, has grown significantly — Some news organizations are lifting their paywalls and creating new channels to make information on the war in Ukraine freely available to readers there and in Russia.
Wall Street Journal:
Gambling regulators in Nevada and Indiana are investigating Barstool Sports and Penn National in the wake of sexual misconduct accusations against Dave Portnoy — Gambling regulators in two states are looking into both companies amid sexual-misconduct allegations against Barstool's founder
Discussion:
Barrett Media, Daily Mail, @katherinesayre, Awful Announcing and insideradio.com
Aisha Majid / Press Gazette:
Analysis: the number of advertised journalism jobs in the UK rose 79% from February 2019 to February 2022; the average salary in February 2022 was £35,244 — New Press Gazette analysis suggests of UK journalism jobs data finds the number of vacancies and size of salaries paid are increasing.
Discussion:
@pressgazette
Drew Harwell / Washington Post:
Western media including the BBC, Deutsche Welle, NYT, and WaPo are using Tor, Telegram, and shortwave radio as they try to pierce Russia's propaganda bubble — An international resistance of computer programmers and volunteer “information warriors” is racing to pierce Kremlin propaganda …
Discussion:
@rferlpress, @drewharwell, @geoffreyfowler, @washingtonpost, @mpolymer, @w7voa and Raw Story
Alex Weprin / Hollywood Reporter:
Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel received a pay package in 2021 that topped $308M, mostly from a one-time stock grant worth $293.7M as the company went through an IPO — With most of that compensation tied up in stock that may or may not vest, the company says his realized pay was closer to $67 million.
Discussion:
@kimmasters, @alexweprin, Deadline, The Wrap and Variety
Josh Gerstein / Politico:
In Felicia Sonmez' discrimination suit against The Washington Post, lawyers for the outlet invoke an anti-SLAPP law as they seek dismissal of the case — The Washington Post is wielding a law aimed at protecting free and open debate on public controversies to throw out a lawsuit brought …
Discussion:
@joshgerstein, @beijingpalmer and @froomkin
Leah Nylen / Politico:
Sources: the FTC will not challenge Amazon's MGM Studios acquisition as Lina Khan decided not to call for a vote, anticipating opposition from GOP commissioners — The Federal Trade Commission will not challenge Amazon's acquisition of MGM Studios after the agency's commissioners split on bringing a suit …
Discussion:
Protocol, MediaPost, @business, @ryangrim, @parismarx, @eriqgardner, Bloomberg, The Information, NPR, Input, Gizmodo, Variety, WHDH-TV and Vanity Fair, more at Techmeme »
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Jennifer Maas / Variety:
Amazon finalizes its $8.5B acquisition of MGM, two days after the deal received clearance from the EU's antitrust regulator
Amazon finalizes its $8.5B acquisition of MGM, two days after the deal received clearance from the EU's antitrust regulator
Discussion:
About Amazon, Quartz, Hollywood Reporter, Wired, Newslit Daily, @variety, @truefactsstated, @jeremylittau, Transistori, @dsnynewscast, @jacobqknight, @leojtravis10, @willmckinley, Wall Street Journal, @barbaracrampton, @henereyg, @richlightshed, @colinhantsco, Deadline, Nerdist, The A.V. Club, The Verge, New York Post, The Streamable, TechCrunch, Bloomberg, The Hollywood Reporter, IndieWire and Consequence
Dan Kennedy / Media Nation:
Gannett closes at least 19 print weekly newspapers in Eastern Massachusetts and merges nine weeklies into four — Gannett is closing at least 19 print weekly newspapers serving at least 26 communities in Eastern Massachusetts, according to notices posted on those papers' websites.
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