Top News:
Chicago Sun Times:
The Chicago Sun-Times, which became a nonprofit newsroom in January 2022, drops its paywall and launches a donation-based digital membership program — We're dropping our paywall and making it free to read the news — but we're still counting on your support.
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, @sarahscire, @jayrosen_nyu, @royalpratt, @chrisabraham, @amzam, @jennkho, @christinajedra, @kathryndill, @muckrakery, @reemadamin, @chitownadvocate, @thenewsan, @plussone and @vwpickard
Katie Robertson / New York Times:
Publications owned by Alden Global Capital plan to stop endorsing US candidates in presidential, senate, and gubernatorial elections in their opinion pages — The change will be announced in an editorial set to run in the company's newspapers as early as Friday.
Discussion:
@kantrowitz, @petrellareports, @giacomonyt, @joshsternberg, @awinston, @scottbrodbeck, @mcbyrne, @azi, @rorycooper, @michaelelsenroo, @gintautasd, @whet, @dcwoodruff, @dcwoodruff, @tmorris504, @jonmurray, @alykatzz, @alykatzz, @budkennedy, @katie_robertson, @samjmintz, New Jersey Online and Nieman Lab
Blake Brittain / Reuters:
Shopify settles a lawsuit with five major education publishers that claimed the platform ignored notices of users selling pirated textbooks and other materials — Shopify Inc has settled allegations by a group of major educational publishers that the Canadian e-commerce company enables piracy …
Discussion:
Plagiarism Today, more at Techmeme »
Salvador Rodriguez / Wall Street Journal:
Internal ByteDance report: revenue grew nearly 80% YoY to $61.7B in 2021 but operating losses more than tripled YoY from $2.14B to $7.15B due to growth spending — Social-media giant saw its operating losses more than triple last year to above $7 billion — TikTok parent ByteDance Ltd. saw …
Discussion:
Tubefilter and @dkiesow, more at Techmeme »
Bloomberg:
Sources: the Kremlin told some state media to start admitting failings in the Ukraine invasion, worried that its upbeat propaganda was fueling people's doubts — With its troops losing ground almost daily, the Kremlin has told some of its state media to start admitting some of the failings …
Discussion:
Insider, @gavinbwilde, @pramoctavy, @danielpflatley, Truth About Threats, @biannagolodryga, @jm_mcgrath, @arisroussinos, @maxseddon and @kevinrothrock
Tiffany Hsu / New York Times:
Pew: 6% of US adults regularly get news on BitChute, Gab, Gettr, Parler, Rumble, Telegram, or Truth Social, but no one site drew over 2% of those seeking news — The appeal of platforms like Parler, Truth Social and Telegram is another symptom of the partisan divide in media, according to the Pew Research Center.
Discussion:
Pew Research Center, MediaPost, @asmitch, @arictoler, @digiphile, Adweek, @pewresearch, @pewresearch, @devonheinen, @pewresearch and @pewresearch, more at Techmeme »
K.J. Yossman / Variety:
Prince Harry, Elton John, and others sue the Daily Mail publisher Associated Newspapers for allegedly hiring people to bug homes, access bank accounts, and more — Prince Harry has launched yet another lawsuit against Associated Newspapers, the publisher of British tabloids the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday.
Discussion:
Reuters, The Daily Beast, Financial Times, Forbes, Sydney Morning Herald, The Guardian, TMZ.com, E! Online, @bbcdaniels, @clancynewyork, @jimwaterson, @jimwaterson, @jimwaterson, The Hollywood Reporter, @jimwaterson, ITV News, Press Gazette, @bbcdaniels, @baronessbruck, @bbcdaniels, @bbcdaniels, SheKnows, Deadline and Consequence
Jeremy Barr / Washington Post:
Media outlets are increasingly asking social media users for images of natural disasters; Reuters has a dedicated Twitter account for the pursuit of photos — When Beth Booker posted a photo of her mother's house flooded by Hurricane Ian last week, messages of concern and sympathy came pouring in.
Discussion:
arwynedjdm's Blog, @amyargetsinger, @katharinevogel and @johnupton
Joe Flint / Wall Street Journal:
Paramount programming executive David Nevins plans to leave at the end of 2022; the former Showtime CEO also held top positions at CBS, Viacom, and Paramount+ — 'I'm going to really think through my options before I make a move,' Mr. Nevins said of future plans
Jason Gurwin / The Streamable:
Philo, a live TV streaming service offering 60+ channels for $25/month, rolls out the first version of its app for Samsung smart TV models released since 2018 — Philo, the skinny bundle streamer that includes more than 60 popular television channels for $25 per month, is becoming more accessible for Smart TV users.
Discussion:
Philo Blog and Next TV
William Turvill / Press Gazette:
Sources: Facebook's two-year-old UK News tab is curated mostly by freelancers from Axel Springer's Upday who are paid £200-£350 per day and can't work elsewhere — The Facebook News tab was launched in Britain with much fanfare last year as part of a $1bn global programme from the tech giant to support publishers.
Discussion:
@wturvill, @dcnorg, @jason_kint and @earleyedition
Taylor Lorenz / Washington Post:
Former reality TV star Bethenny Frankel sues TikTok, saying the platform failed to crack down on scam ads that used her videos to promote counterfeit products — The lawsuit highlights another gap in regulation of an online industry that has grown rapidly in recent years
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, @craigsilverman, @taylorlorenz, Insider, @taylorlorenz, @pbump, @taylorlorenz and Page Six