Top News:
Samuel Stolton / Politico:
EU lawmakers reach a provisional agreement on the DMA, which will mandate messaging service interoperability, prohibit self-preferencing practices, and more — EU officials have agreed on landmark rules clamping down on anti-competitive abuses by the world's largest technology platforms …
The Guardian:
The UK's The Sun posted a £51M loss and £318.6M revenue in 2021; its publisher NGN spent £49M on legal fees tied to phone-hacking in the year to June 27, 2021 — Covid and advertising shifts hurt profits, as News Group Newspapers seeks to end ongoing managed hearings
Discussion:
@taintlessred, @fbpe_h, @profdaveandress, @jimwaterson, @_embo and @jamesrbuk
Anton Troianovski / New York Times:
At least four Russian state TV employees have resigned over the invasion of Ukraine; 62% of Russians relied on state TV for news in 2021, down from 90% in 2014 — At least four state television employees have publicly resigned, citing regret for their roles in promoting false narratives about Ukraine.
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, @kenvogel, @dabeard, Politico, @clarajeffery, @kenroth and @cliffordlevy
Jim Waterson / The Guardian:
The UK picks Michael Grade, a Conservative House of Lord member who had senior posts at the BBC, ITV, and Channel 4, as Ofcom chair; MPs will likely approve him — Choice of veteran broadcasting executive appears to bring chaotic recruitment saga to an end
Discussion:
@radioriley, @arusbridger, @martinsfp, @briancathcart, @mikegapes, @bbclaurak, @bbclaurak, @ruskin147, @webdevlaw, @jimwaterson and @bbclaurak
Tarpley Hitt / Gawker:
How unclear guidelines at The Cut for staffers who want to produce sponsored content for outside clients has led to tensions and one firing — A few weeks ago, a subset of journalists were duking it out over the word “brand,” and specifically whether writers should have one.
Discussion:
@tarpleyhitt, @om, @taylorlorenz, @chavielieber, @noahyoo, @blackamazon, @flipping_pages, @taylorlorenz, @samadlerbell, @jamesrbuk, @taylorlorenz, @taylorlorenz, @lapresmidi, @taylorlorenz and @karenkho
Jeremy Barr / Washington Post:
BuzzFeed News offers voluntary buyouts to 36 of its ~100 journalists, and its interim EIC says the outlet won't be able to do as many long-term investigations — When BuzzFeed decided in 2012 to branch out from the cat videos, viral listicles and “OMG!” headlines that had put it on the map …
Discussion:
@andrewbuncombe, @beebrookshire and nyguild.org
Kellen Browning / New York Times:
Netflix says it is buying Boss Fight Entertainment, a mobile game developer with 130 employees; it is Netflix's third studio purchase since last summer — The acquisition is the company's third since it announced plans to move into video games last summer.
Discussion:
About Netflix, Variety, @dvfletcher, @ashkan, CNET, @kellen_browning, @aagave, @bossfightent, @zenofdesign and The Verge, more at Techmeme »
Greg Burns / Medill Local News Initiative:
The Baltimore Banner, the nonprofit startup funded by hotel magnate Stewart Bainum, plans to launch in June and aims for 100K subscribers within four years — Nonprofit start-up charts course for local-news donors — While many other local media organizations operate out of basements …
Discussion:
@timafranklin, @lenfestinst, @lenfestinst, American Press Institute and localnewsinitiative …
Simon Owens / Simon Owens's Media Newsletter:
A look at Complexly, an educational media company run by YouTube stars Hank and John Green that has 55.2M social media followers and 5B+ views on YouTube — Welcome! I'm Simon Owens and this is my media newsletter. You can subscribe by clicking on this handy little button: — Let's jump right into it...
Discussion:
@janefriedman, @kendallbaker, @ashkan, @michellemanafy and @simonowens
MIT Technology Review:
A look at Intrepid Response, an app Minnesota police used to collect data on journalists at protests and share it across agencies — In April of last year, a freelance photojournalist named J.D. Duggan was covering a protest in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis, when things took a disturbing turn.
Discussion:
@coreyhutchins, @andrewmannix, @safetyalertsmn, @mat, @ifjglobal, @safetyalertsmn, @_elsaferreira_, @iwillleavenow and @safetyalertsmn
Naomi Andu / The Objective:
Inside the turmoil at the nonprofit Texas Observer, where only 4 editorial staffers remain from the 13 there in September, after resignations and one firing — Inserted between the pages of the Texas Observer's Nov./Dec. edition, mailed to readers two months late, was a letter explaining …
Adam Jacobson / Radio & Television Business Report:
Townsquare Media signs a deal to buy Cherry Creek Broadcasting for $18.75M; Townsquare will have 356 local radio stations in 74 markets after the deal closes — Cherry Creek Broadcasting, a small- to-midsize market radio, digital marketing and events company serving markets in the western U.S. …
Discussion:
insideradio.com, insideradio.com, Digital Music News, PR Newswire and Barrett Media