Top News:
Washington Post:
Meta paid a GOP consulting firm to run a campaign against TikTok in the US, including placing op-eds and letters to the editor in regional news outlets — Facebook parent company Meta is paying one of the biggest Republican consulting firms in the country to orchestrate a nationwide campaign seeking to turn the public against TikTok.
Discussion:
Variety, @taylorlorenz, @taylorlorenz, @craigsilverman, @willoremus, The Verge, The Guardian, @choire, New York Post, @profcarroll, @mattwaite, @mikerugnetta, @tamoorh, Protocol, Engadget, iMore, @adamblickstein, @davidsirota, @katienotopoulos, @annienavar, Businesshala News, @jason_kint, @jasonpjason, @kashhill, @blacknell, @taylorlorenz, @nkulw, @taylorlorenz, @chadachavez, @ryanlcooper, @dcherring, @genepark, @stevekovach, @justinhendrix, @drewharwell, @jamesrbuk, @tiffanycampbell, @stokel, @blmohr, @yaeleisenstat, @alexweprin and @citizenmurphy, more at Techmeme »
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Spotify expands Blend, which lets two friends merge their tastes in a playlist, to up to 10 users and selected artists, including BTS and Charli XCX — Spotify's popular playlist creation tool, Blend, is getting its biggest update since its offiical launch last year.
Christopher Ingraham / The Why Axis:
CBS News presenting Mick Mulvaney as an impartial news analyst without disclosing his serious conflicts of interest is the latest example of its GOP bias — Why is trust in the media so low? We may never know. — This morning a CBS News contributor went on air to discuss a wealth tax proposal …
RELATED:
Ted Johnson / Deadline:
CBS News hires Mick Mulvaney, who served as Donald Trump's acting chief of staff from January 2019 to March 2020, as a contributor to provide political analysis
Discussion:
@cbsnews, Los Angeles Times, Media Matters for America, @ehananoki, @_cingraham, @funder, @mattgertz, FTVLive, @latimes, @patcaldwell, @shadowingdc, @sfpelosi, @mlcalderone, @mattgertz, @mattgertz, @mehdirhasan, @kevinmkruse, @jaywillis, @petestrzok, @brooklynmarie, @brooklynmarie, @keitholbermann, @mattgertz, @fpwellman, @hasanthehun, @mattgertz, @atrupar, @karlbode, @svdate, @mattgertz, Mediaite, The Flashpoint and The Hill
Axios:
Lee Enterprises quietly laid off at least eight employees, including top editors, across five newsrooms in the past two months, following Alden's takeover bid — Lee Enterprises has been quietly laying off top editors and other staff across its local papers.
Discussion:
American Press Institute, @kerrymflynn, @michellemanafy, @karripeifer, @sarafischer, @coreyhutchins and @kerrymflynn
Rachel Sanders / The Nation:
A eulogy for the young, VC-funded, vital newsroom at BuzzFeed News some 10 years ago, and a reflection on the newsroom's disenchantment with BuzzFeed's IPO — Much of the News staff has been written off as dead weight on the payroll. What, after all, is a Pulitzer worth on a balance sheet?
Discussion:
Columbia Journalism Review, @rachelysanders, The Daily Beast, @pfpicardi, @thrasherxy, @rachelysanders, @loopemma, @theinsneider, @catharinemsmith, @karlbode, @lolacoaster, @frittaker, @sokneeoh, @anushkapatil, @annehelen, @bri_sacks, @jsource, @liahaberman, @okamoto__, @stevekandell, @sallyt, @brandonetc, @laurenstrapa, @tanyachen, @blackamazon, @mshannabrooks, @hayesbrown, @carlquintanilla, @frannydink, New York Post, Gawker, The NewsGuild and nyguild.org
Naman Ramachandran / Variety:
BBC sets a goal of 25% of its staff coming from low socio-economic backgrounds by 2027 and says it will need to find £285M in annual savings by 2027/28 — U.K. broadcaster BBC has revealed ambitions of a more representative workforce as part of its Annual Plan that was published on Wednesday.
Discussion:
@paulxharris and Deadline
Sarah Stonbely / Center for Cooperative Media:
Study of collaborations between newsrooms and civil society organizations examines frequent topics, including corruption and climate, ethical concerns, more — New research analyzes 155 journalism-civil society collaborations — By now the idea of collaborative journalism has become widely known and …
Discussion:
@centercoopmedia and @jeffjarvis
Nick Vivarelli / Variety:
Italy extends the 90-day window between theatrical release and streaming to all films, expanding from only Italian films with government subsidies — The announcement was made by Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini during a Rome confab on the state of the country's film industry held …
Joseph Cox / VICE:
Scammers are advertising access to Facebook's Media Partner Portal, used by media and PR agencies to resolve issues, to allegedly get users verified — Alleged “ghost agencies” advertise their privileged access to the “Facebook Media Partner Portal” for sale to scammers. — Joseph Cox
Discussion:
@josephfcox, more at Techmeme »
Kim Masters / The Hollywood Reporter:
Sources detail Disney employees' unease about Bob Chapek's leadership, after his handling of Florida's “Don't Say Gay” bill; Chapek's contract ends in 11 months — Amid a staff revolt over his handling of Florida's “Don't Say Gay” bill, insiders speculate how long he might last on the job: “There's a lack of awareness.”
Scroll.in:
India stopped Washington Post columnist Rana Ayyub from attending journalism events abroad, claiming she laundered the COVID-19 relief money she crowdfunded — In February, media reports had claimed that the Enforcement Directorate had attached Ayyub's bank deposits in connection with a money-laundering case.
Discussion:
@ranaayyub, The Wire, @julieposetti, @therealnaomib, @lfrayer, @brhodes, @sharmasupriya, @razarumi, @arobertsjourno, @suhasinih, @globalfreemedia, @thewire_in, @kooyjan, @davidakaye, @kalpana1947, @mg2411, @yasmeenserhan, @jasonintrator, @paulmasonnews, @zainaerhaim, @brankobrkic, @nicdawes, @nighatdad, @mitalisaran, @svaradarajan and @carolecadwalla
Erron Kelly / VentureBeat:
Anzu, which offers in-game ad services, raises $20M led by NBCUniversal and HTC, bringing its total funding to $37M — It's been a bit of a banger month for Anzu.io, the world's most advanced in-game advertising platform. The very end of February had Anzu announcing a content focused partnership with NBCUniversal.
Discussion:
Axios and Insider, more at Techmeme »
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