Top News:
Cristiano Lima-Strong / Washington Post:
The US House passes a bipartisan TikTok bill that forces a sale or ban of the app; the legislation faces an uncertain Senate path without a companion measure — The swift rebuke shifts attention to the Senate, where the bill faces significant political barriers and constitutional concerns
Discussion:
@tiktokpolicy, Associated Press, The Daily Dot, New York Post, The Verge, The Information, @tiktokpolicy, Adam Goldberg on LinkedIn, New York Times, Music Ally, @business, @reuters, @kateclarktweets, CBS News, MediaPost, @emilybell, The Hill, @axiospro, Semafor, @bostonjoan, @howardmortman, @sachalouise, @mattdizwhitlock, @jacobhelberg, @jingjing_li, @boblatta, @conorsen, @ally_sammarco, @mtracey, @reppfluger, @adamkovac, @govgianforte, @jonhaidt, @cspan, @jwherrman, @jakesherman, @tomselliott, @repthomasmassie, @atrupar, @committeeonccp, @davetroy, @jakesherman, @matthewstoller, @jakesherman, @alexbarinka, @jason_kint, @matthewstoller, @mikeisaac, @senmarkey, @carnage4life, @senmarcorubio, @repspanberger, @igorbobic, @sahilkapur, @repmtg, Engadget, @willoremus, @sahilkapur, @mkraju, @carnage4life, @mikeisaac, Mediaite, @repjeffduncan, @repmcgovern, @randpaul, @stephenkentx, @repjames, @aoc, @repdanbishop, Rolling Stone, Digital Music News, Business Insider, @parismarx@mastodon.online, The Drum, WSPA-TV, Cherie Thacker on LinkedIn, NPR, Forbes, W Media Research, Fox News, The Hill, CNN, TMZ.com, GSMArena.com, Across Illinois, IL Patch, NBC News, Yahoo News, The Independent, The Information, USA Today, PCMag, Music Business Worldwide, Ars Technica, 9to5Mac, Washington Post, Rolling Stone, The Verge, The Wrap, Engadget, Polygon, @darnell@one.darnell.one, @willoremus@mastodon.social, Axios, Financial Times, Digiday, TechCrunch, Variety, UPI, iMore, The Daily Beast, Reuters, Chico Enterprise-Record and Ars OpenForum, more at Techmeme »
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The Information:
ByteDance investors, reassessing what the company's value would be without TikTok, estimate that TikTok lost several billion dollars in 2023 on revenue of ~$20B — TikTok, facing a growing threat of a U.S. ban, has been a global juggernaut over the past few years, drawing more than a billion monthly users …
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, @zitron.bsky.social and Contxto, more at Techmeme »
Financial Times:
How the UK Conservative party establishment fought to frustrate RedBird's UAE-backed Telegraph bid; sources say Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch had a key role — Rishi Sunak's ‘hand was forced’ as PM acts to change law to stop foreign states from buying media groups
Discussion:
The Wrap, New York Times, @sarahleah1, Reuters, Spectator, Mediaite, The Media Leader and The Guardian
Jeff Horwitz / Wall Street Journal:
Meta plans to shut down CrowdTangle in August 2024, to be replaced by Meta Content Library for academic and nonprofit researchers, but not most news outlets — CrowdTangle, a source for embarrassing articles about Facebook and Instagram, has been used to track conspiracy theories, viral content
Discussion:
Quartz and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
Wes Davis / The Verge:
Meta will be “forced” to remove news from its platforms in Illinois if the state passes a bill requiring Meta, Google, and others to pay local news outlets — A new Illinois bill called the Journalism Preservation Act (SB 3591) that's currently sitting in the state's Senate …
Chris Kornelis / New York Times:
Gerald M. Levin, the former Time Warner CEO who oversaw the AOL merger, widely considered the worst corporate merger in US history, died on March 13 at age 84 — He was called a visionary in cable television, but his foray into the world of the internet, in a marriage with AOL, proved disastrous.
Discussion:
Next TV, Wall Street Journal, @stevecase, Washington Post, @jbflint, @billshapiro@threads.net, TIME, @edmundlee@threads.net, @nemalki, @nemalki, @ernie.tedium.co, @jamisonfoser.bsky.social, @nemalki, @editorialiste, Advanced Television, @miketrose@threads.net, @nytimes, @karaswisher@threads.net, @ernie.tedium.co, @nemalki, @timjhanrahan, @msn, @business, @washingtonpost, @wsjbusiness, @kifcap, @nemalki, Deadline, Variety, The Wrap, @paleofuture.bsky.social, @mrwaltershapiro.bsky.social, The Hollywood Reporter and @mettlinger.bsky.social, more at Techmeme »
Reuters:
UN report: Israel violated international law by firing at a group of “clearly identifiable journalists” on October 13, killing Reuters reporter Issam Abdallah — An Israeli tank killed Reuters reporter Issam Abdallah in Lebanon last year by firing two 120 mm rounds at a group of …
Discussion:
Talking Biz News
Max Tani / Semafor:
Sources: Don Lemon had not technically inked an X contract before Elon Musk killed the deal; Lemon plans to post his interview with Musk on March 18 on YouTube — The Scoop — Elon Musk and Don Lemon are escalating towards what could be a bitter contract dispute after X's owner abruptly terminated …
Discussion:
The Desk, Fortune, The Hill, Poynter, Mediaite, Newser, @juwanthewriter, @semaforben, @semaforben, @nick_field90, New York Post, New York Times, Business Insider, Deadline, CNN, The Daily Beast, Fox News, Fast Company, CBS News, @kurtwag8@threads.net, @brianstelter@threads.net, @annmlipton@esq.social, Los Angeles Times, MediaPost, The Guardian, Quartz, TMZ.com and Bloomberg
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Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Don Lemon says Elon Musk canceled The Don Lemon Show's partnership with X, hours after taping an interview with Musk on March 8 for the show's debut episode
Discussion:
@elonmusk, @karaswisher, Adweek, Don Lemon on Instagram, Fox News, @xbusiness, Forbes, Axios, The Verge, Business Insider, Mediaite, @kurtwagner8, @kurtwagner8, @brianstelter, @charlesarthur, @karaswisher, @brianstelter, @kurtbardella, @dylanbyers, @karaswisher, @karaswisher, TMZ.com, Us Weekly, Rolling Stone, Engadget, The Daily Dot, CNN, @helenkennedy.bsky.social, Variety, HuffPost, Newser, @crumbler@threads.net, Page Six, UPROXX, Wall Street Journal, @pkafka@threads.net, Vibe, TechCrunch, Deadline, Reuters, The Daily Beast, New York Post, @GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social, The Wrap, Consequence, TVLine, NewsNation, The Wrap and @donlemon
Russ Crupnick / MusicWatch:
US paid music subscribers hit a record 109M in 2023, rising to 136M including SiriusXM and Amazon Prime Music; seven of every 10 US millennials pay to subscribe — MusicWatch Annual Music Study points to continued health of the US music market, a record number of paid subscribers, and increased spend on recorded music.
Discussion:
Inside Radio, @billyyfantis, Billboard and Digital Music News, more at Techmeme »
Spencer Soper / Bloomberg:
Amazon says “a tiny fraction” of sellers paid for ads for products users couldn't buy and pledges a fix; Amazon offered a $15K refund to a seller seeking $300K — The company has pledged to reimburse sellers for the mistake and make fixes to its lucrative advertising operation.
Discussion:
Engadget and Business Insider
Trishla Ostwal / Adweek:
Sources: Google's Search Generative Experience could cut organic search traffic to publishers by 20% to 60%; Google says “it's premature to estimate” the impact — Search Generative Experience could upend over 60% of publishers' total organic traffic
Discussion:
Digital Content Next, @outonalumb, @baldur@toot.cafe, @edzitron, @kthomasulland, @alexeheath, @trishlaostwal and @edzitron, more at Techmeme »
Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
Filing: Paramount Global has agreed to sell its 13% stake in Indian media house Viacom18 to Reliance for $517M, raising Reliance's stake to 70.49% — Mukesh Ambani's Reliance is buying Paramount Global's 13% stake in Viacom18 for $517 million as Asia's richest man broadens his entertainment business …
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