Top News:
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Sources: Netflix's ad-supported tier reached ~1M MAUs in the US after its second month, and the company fulfilled its forecasted deliveries to advertisers — Good afternoon from Los Angeles. It's good to be home and I hope your March Madness bracket is doing better than mine.
Max Tani / Semafor:
Source: Vice Media Executive Chairman Shane Smith sold $100M+ of his shares in Vice, ~25% of the outlet's current value, during a $500M fundraising deal in 2014 — After Vice raised $500 million in 2014, its CEO and co-founder Shane Smith remarked to a friend that he'd become “post-economic.”
Discussion:
@semaforben, @katierosman, @willystaley, @maxwelltani, @kimzetter, @edmundlee, @scottnover, @mediaevan, @tomgara, @anthony and @wobburner
Inside Higher Ed:
A group of librarians argue the Internet Archive is a library, saying that the four major publishers' lawsuit threatens the development of digital collections — A lawsuit against the Internet Archive threatens the most significant specialized library to emerge in decades, say a group of current and former university librarians.
Discussion:
Battle for Libraries, Publishers Weekly, @rushkoff, Wall Street Journal, @internetarchive, MediaNama, @fightfortheftr, @matthewkeyslive, @_budgie, @yeenie_mcbeenie, @nazlinbhimani, @fightfortheftr, @matthewkeyslive, Semafor, Beyond Search, @fireh9lly, @g0ro4, @write4research, @rickypo, @neoncaffeine, @neglectedbooks, @tjstiles_author, @internetarchive, @freedomofpress, @aem76us, @mathewi, @library_futures, @library_futures, @whanamura, @dovesandletters, @insidehighered, @markgraham, @politicsanded, @waybackmachine, KUAR and Reclaim The Net, more at Techmeme »
RELATED:
Carol E. Lee / NBC News:
Source: in his upcoming testimony to Congress on March 23, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew plans to reveal TikTok has 150M MAUs in the US, up from 100M in August 2020 — When TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testifies before Congress on Thursday, he plans to unveil new internal data that suggests …
Discussion:
Washington Post, TechCrunch, MediaPost, @annmarie, Politico, @marshacollier, @annalysagayle, Digital Music News and Insider, more at Techmeme »
A.O. Scott / New York Times:
Q&A with NYT's A.O. Scott after 2,293 film reviews over 23+ years on ambivalence toward movies, the review process, review regrets, and the poor state of cinema — A.O. Scott conducts his own exit interview as he moves to a new post after more than two decades of reviewing films.
Discussion:
@davidmwessel, Screen Rant and The Week
Adam Gabbatt / The Guardian:
How losing the Dominion lawsuit after damaging disclosures could affect Fox News: shareholder litigation, endangering Rupert Murdoch's control of Fox, and more — Beyond the defamation case, Fox News must reckon with an alienated audience and its waning hold over the GOP
Discussion:
@gpaddymanning, Forbes, Insider and FTVLive
Wendy Lee / Los Angeles Times:
NPR host Jesse Thorn's media company Maximum Fun to become a cooperative owned by its 16+ workers, a novel business model in the podcast industry — Jesse Thorn has built a sizable audience with his podcast business Maximum Fun. His NPR interview show, “Bullseye With Jesse Thorn,” …
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Axios, @devindra and @kerrymflynn
The Guardian:
The BBC urges its staff to delete TikTok from their work phones due to “data privacy and security” concerns, unless there is “a justified business reason” — Move comes after UK government bans app on government devices over fears of data being accessed by Chinese state
Discussion:
Press Gazette, @mattnavarra, AppleInsider, Music Business Worldwide, Wall Street Journal, BBC, Deadline, @stokel, @benedictrogers, @smlabto, The Hill, @joetidy, @yoda, New York Post, @zsk and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »
Nilay Patel / The Verge:
Q&A with Barnes & Noble CEO James Daunt on rescuing the company by halving its central workforce, how his business differs from Amazon's, book bans, and more — CEO James Daunt explains how Barnes & Noble is different than Amazon. … In this installment of our Centennial Series …
Michael Savage / The Guardian:
Opinium poll: Gary Lineker's suspension pushed BBC News' net trust score in the UK down to +14%, below ITV News' +23%; 26% think the BBC is generally neutral — Poll finds ITV news is more trusted source of information and trust in BBC has slipped — The BBC has slipped behind ITV …
Discussion:
@aaronbastani, @angelaeagle, @jolyonmaugham, @prfchrispainter, @nargiswalker, @garyfoskett, @thestephenralph and @waringphilip
Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal:
The NYT and its union are yet to reach a deal on wages and benefits after 50+ bargaining sessions in two years, leading veteran reporters to call for a mediator — Publisher calls lack of progress in negotiations troubling as staffers air frustrations in Slack
Discussion:
@wsj, @jeffjarvis, @wrapfogel and @jtoonkel
Melanie Goodfellow / Deadline:
Saudi Arabia launches a $233M program offering financial support to local and international film companies making content for its burgeoning cinema industry — Saudi Cultural Development Fund has officially launched its Film Sector Financing Program, offering financial support to local …