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:
@taylorlorenz, TMZ.com, Insider, TechCrunch, The Wrap, Observer, Variety, @craigsilverman, @willoremus, @taylorlorenz, Protocol, Fortune, WKRG-TV, @choire, @rmac18, The Verge, The Guardian, @profcarroll, @mattwaite, @mikerugnetta, @tamoorh, New York Post, Engadget, Businesshala News, iMore, @annienavar, @dcherring, @nkulw, @taylorlorenz, @jasonpjason, @blacknell, @genepark, @stevekovach, @justinhendrix, @drewharwell, @jamesrbuk, @tiffanycampbell, @kashhill, @chadachavez, @stokel, @ryanlcooper, @blmohr, @yaeleisenstat, @jason_kint, @alexweprin, @adamblickstein, @citizenmurphy, @davidsirota, @taylorlorenz, @katienotopoulos and Boing Boing, more at Techmeme »
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:
@kerrymflynn, American Press Institute, The Rural Blog, @karripeifer, @michellemanafy, @sarafischer, @coreyhutchins and @kerrymflynn
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:
Press Gazette, @paulxharris and Deadline
James Cridland / Podnews:
A leaked YouTube presentation for podcast publishers shows it is working on new metrics for “audio-first creators”, monetization through audio ads, and more — - Exclusive: YouTube is planning tighter integration, monetisation and analytics for podcasts
Discussion:
Simon Owens's Media Newsletter, @stephenrobles, @matt, @davidtvrdon, @evoterra and Awful Announcing, 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.
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 …
Tony Silber / MediaPost:
Bonsai, the Toronto-based e-commerce platform used by BuzzFeed, Vox Media, Refinery29, and others, raises a $21M Series A led by Framework Venture Partners — Bonsai, the Toronto-based ecommerce platform used by BuzzFeed, Vox Media, Refinery 29 and others, announced today it has raised $21 million …
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
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
Wayne Friedman / MediaPost:
Nielsen: Fox News' total daily viewers grew 22% YoY to 1.6M in Q1, the only cable news network to gain viewers in the quarter; MSNBC fell 48% and CNN fell 52% — Driven by the surge of interest in live breaking news of Russia invading Ukraine, and compared to the unusual declines of a year ago …
Discussion:
TVNewser
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Sources blame Netflix's struggles in India on hiring executives who insist on micromanaging projects while lacking strong ties to the country's movie industry — Two-and-a-half years after it launched in India, Netflix Inc. had its first big hit. Based on a sprawling novel …
Discussion:
@felixgillette, @lucas_shaw and @deepakmohoni
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.”
Discussion:
@sethabramovitch, @awallenstein and @kimmasters
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