Top News:
David Folkenflik / NPR:
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 …
Discussion:
The Rural Blog, @gregoryholman, @digiphile, @davidfolkenflik, @davidfolkenflik, @digiphile, @ruralj, @michaelcdeibert, @digiphile, @maustermuhle, @skylarjordan, @carisacollins, @tphunter, @wvdemocrats, @historicalnoone, @ericeyre, @davemistich, @hannahallam, @davemistich, @stphnfwlr, @omunderdal and @dangillmor@mastodon.social
Max Tani / Semafor:
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, @future_of_music, @semafor, On my Om, @saywhatagain, @eaamalyon, @jodyavirgan, @joshlandon, Complete Music Update, @sonnybunch, @katienotopoulos, @jbillinson, @kendallbaker, @jbillinson, @pkafka, @lukasmikelionis, @sarthakgh and Music Business Worldwide, more at Techmeme »
Tiffany Hsu / New York Times:
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, @sub8u, @swodinsky, @davidhagmann, @freezydorito, @deaneckles, @deftlyinane and @pmanchanda_
RELATED:
Jonathan Vanian / CNBC:
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 — - Facebook's more limited targeted capabilities coupled with Amazon's investment in ads products is leading a growing number of brands to shift their ad budgets.
Discussion:
Financial Times, @glenngabe, @carnage4life, @lorakolodny, @kjgillenwater, The Indian Express and ADI Newsletter, more at Techmeme »
Seth Mydans / New York Times:
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.
Jennifer Maas / Variety:
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:
Deadline, The Wrap, Deadline, @keithkurson, The Hollywood Reporter, IndieWire and UPI
Bron Maher / Press Gazette:
In a staff email, Insider UK discloses the minimum salaries for each role; the lowest-paid journalists make at least £35K and highest paid make at least £60K — The lowest editorial salaries at Insider UK start at £35,000. — Insider has disclosed to its UK journalists …
Discussion:
@elenacresci, @pressgazette and @pressgazette
Charlotte Van Campenhout / Reuters:
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, Media Voices, @astaniscia86, TechCrunch, The Register, @robertjbateman, @wolfiechristl, Newsroom Orange Groupe and Adweek
Jason Gurwin / The Streamable:
NBCUniversal confirms that new Xfinity customers will not receive Peacock Premium for free, starting in April; existing customers will pay starting 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
Semafor:
Sources: Naguib Sawiris, the Egyptian billionaire who sold Euronews in 2021, plans a Dubai-based global business news outlet later in 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:
New York Post and @semaforben
Wired:
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, Fortune and The Drum, more at Techmeme »
Kat Tenbarge / NBC News:
Sex educators, adult stars, and sex workers complain about Instagram, saying Meta's moderation has gotten more punitive and less predictable since SESTA-FOSTA — Cherie DeVille lives in perpetual fear of losing her 3.7 million Instagram followers. — DeVille is a well-known porn star who also has an OnlyFans account.
Discussion:
@kattenbarge, @kattenbarge, @ambermac and @cheriedeville, more at Techmeme »