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Sources: WVPB dismissing reporter Amelia Knisely came after years of pressure on the station by Governor Jim Justice's administration and some state legislators — Late last fall, West Virginia Public Broadcasting's Amelia Ferrell Knisely reported one story after another about allegations …
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The Rural Blog, @gregoryholman, @digiphile, @digiphile, @ruralj, @maustermuhle, @skylarjordan, @carisacollins, @digiphile, @tphunter, @michaelcdeibert, @wvdemocrats, @davidfolkenflik, @davidfolkenflik, @historicalnoone, @ericeyre, @davemistich, @hannahallam, @davemistich, @stphnfwlr, @omunderdal and @dangillmor@mastodon.social


A look back at Spotify betting hundreds of millions of dollars on podcasts, which CFO Paul Vogel says were a “big drag on our business in 2022” — By 2021, Spotify had paid to sign some of the biggest names in podcasting, and it was ready to start squeezing its competitors.
Discussion:
@tomgara, @bendwalsh, @semafor, @future_of_music, On my Om, @saywhatagain, @jodyavirgan, @joshlandon, Complete Music Update, @sonnybunch, @katienotopoulos, @jbillinson, @kendallbaker, @jbillinson, @pkafka, @eaamalyon, @lukasmikelionis, @sarthakgh and Music Business Worldwide, more at Techmeme »


How a slowing digital ad market, Apple's ATT changes, tech companies' internal turmoil, weak content moderation, and more are contributing to a junk ad epidemic — Scrolling past ads has rarely been enjoyable. But in recent months, people say the experience seems so much worse.
Discussion:
@kantrowitz, @jason_kint, @sub8u, @swodinsky, @davidhagmann, @freezydorito, @deaneckles, @deftlyinane and @pmanchanda_
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Meta's ad targeting restrictions and Amazon's ad product investments are leading brands to shift their budgets to Amazon; Amazon's ad unit grew 19% YoY in Q4
Discussion:
Financial Times, @glenngabe, @carnage4life, @lorakolodny, @kjgillenwater, The Indian Express and ADI Newsletter, more at Techmeme »


Cambodian PM Hun Sen orders the shutdown of the Voice of Democracy, one of the country's last independent outlets, intensifying a long-running media crackdown — The leader, Hun Sen, was not satisfied with an apology he received from the outlet after it wrote about his son, a lieutenant general.


Paramount Global says Showtime co-presidents Jana Winograde and Gary Levine are stepping down and the Showtime team will merge with MTV Entertainment Studios — That didn't take long at all: Just after revealing that Showtime co-presidents Jana Winograde and Gary Levine are stepping …
Discussion:
The Wrap, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, Deadline, @keithkurson, IndieWire and UPI


In a staff email, Insider UK discloses the minimum salaries for each newsroom role; the lowest-paid journalists make £35K+ and the highest-paid make £60K+ — The lowest editorial salaries at Insider UK start at £35,000. — Insider has disclosed to its UK journalists …
Discussion:
@pressgazette, @pressgazette and @elenacresci


NBCUniversal confirms that new Xfinity customers will not receive Peacock Premium for free as of April 2023; existing customers will start paying on June 26 — Earlier this month, Peacock ended its free tier for new subscribers, now another major change is happening at the Comcast streaming service.
Discussion:
Awful Announcing, Variety, CNET, Light Reading, @tvgrimreaper, The Verge, @sepinwall, Media Play News and Deadline


An advertising joint venture by Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefonica, and Vodafone to rival Meta and Google wins unconditional EU antitrust approval — Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE), Orange (ORAN.PA), Telefonica (TEF.MC) and Vodafone (VOD.L) on Friday secured unconditional EU antitrust approval …
Discussion:
European Commission, @astaniscia86, Media Voices, TechCrunch, The Register, @robertjbateman, @wolfiechristl, Newsroom Orange Groupe and Adweek


Staff memo: Bloomberg Media CEO M. Scott Haven says the outlet's 2022 revenue grew 16% YoY and its paywall is on course to reach 500K+ subscribers in H1 2023 — Bloomberg Media CEO M. Scott Havens sent the following memo to Bloomberg Media employees: — To our Bloomberg Media teammates around the world,


Yamiche Alcindor, who has moderated PBS' Washington Week since May 2021, is stepping down to concentrate on her work at NBC and on her forthcoming book — Alcindor “has now decided to conclude her tenure with the program as she focuses full-time on her work at NBC and on her forthcoming book …

Sources: Naguib Sawiris, the Egyptian billionaire who sold Euronews in 2021, plans to debut a Dubai-based global business news outlet in late 2023 or early 2024 — The American Super Bowl, kicking off shortly, is also Madison Avenue's Super Bowl. And one of the biggest advertisers' goal …
Discussion:
The Present Age, New York Post and @semaforben


Publishers worry that Microsoft's and Google's search chatbots, which summarize key info from articles, may undermine their businesses and spread misinformation — Microsoft's new search interface can serve up key information from articles, removing the need to click—and potentially undermining publisher business models.
Discussion:
Toolkits, Wall Street Journal, @CodexArcanum@hachyderm.io, Poynter, Hania's Substack, CNET and Fortune, more at Techmeme »