Mediagazer: American Library Association report says book challenges reached a record high on 4,240 in 2023, up from 2,571 in 2022 (Alexandra Alter/New York Times)

Top News:

The TikTok bill likely will spur a battle over the First Amendment and national security if it becomes law; TikTok's CEO vows to use the company's legal rights — The forced-sale measure has reinvigorated a debate over speech, national security and government power.

Discussion: NPR, Techdirt, @tiktokpolicy, New York Magazine, @taylorlorenz@mastodon.social, Media Nation, BGR, Los Angeles Times, Observer, Gizmodo, @drewharwell@mastodon.social, New York Post, Electronic Frontier Foundation, 9to5Mac, Music Ally, New York Times and Engadget, more at Techmeme »

Taylor Lorenz / Washington Post:

Small-business owners and activists who rely on TikTok say the US House measure forcing a sale or ban would damage their livelihoods and harm their communities — Small-business owners, community advocates and educators spoke out Wednesday after the House overwhelmingly approved a measure to ban the popular app

Discussion: @taylorlorenz, @taylorlorenz, Daniel Smith, MBA on LinkedIn, @dlberes, @taylorlorenz, Essence, @attorneynora, @dlberes, Free Press, NewsNation, @jeffjarvis@mastodon.social and MediaPost, more at Techmeme »

Alexandra Alter / New York Times:

American Library Association report says book challenges reached a record high on 4,240 in 2023, up from 2,571 in 2022 — Book challenges around the country reached the highest levels ever recorded by a library organization. — After several years of rising book bans …

Discussion: News and Press Center, The Hollywood Reporter, UPI, Publishers Weekly and Axios

Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:

Sports Illustrated's operators told staff the magazine would end its print edition after May; the message runs counter to owner Authentic Brands' earlier stance — Its operators made a newsroom announcement, but the outcome is uncertain since the owner has signaled it wants the magazine to endure.

Discussion: Front Office Sports, Awful Announcing, New York Post, Barrett Media and Awful Announcing

Steven Monacelli / Nieman Lab:

Advantage Informatics, which has a contract with Gannett to provide “advertorial content”, has deep ties to “pink slime” sites from Brian Timpone's Metric Media — An executive from a company associated with Metric Media was hired to teach journalism, but the story doesn't end there.

Discussion: @stevanzetti, @stevanzetti, @emilybell, @jmhaigh, @stevanzetti, @stevanzetti, @stevanzetti, @stevanzetti, @stevanzetti and Ashir Badami on LinkedIn

Wired:

Interviews with 60+ people, including current and ex-Reddit employees and moderators, document Reddit's history, attempts to imitate Clubhouse and Twitch, more — An army of more than 60,000 unpaid moderators has unprecedented power over Reddit. The company's future hinges on whether they can coexist with Wall Street's expectations.

Discussion: @katiedrumm, @peard33, Paresh Dave on LinkedIn and Columbia Journalism Review, more at Techmeme »

Chris Roush / Talking Biz News:

Memo: The Wall Street Journal names Elena Cherney as senior editor, leading the Standards and Ethics team and championing press freedom and free speech — Wall Street Journal editor in chief Emma Tucker sent out the following on Thursday: — Dear all, — I am delighted to announce …

Discussion: @katie_robertson

Emma Roth / The Verge:

In an email to the European Commission, Spotify says Apple is holding up an iPhone app update that adds pricing information and links to subscriptions — In an email to the European Commission obtained by The Verge, Spotify writes that Apple has “neither acknowledged nor responded to Spotify's submission” …

Discussion: iMore, Digital Music News, @carnage4life@mas.to, 9to5Mac and AppleInsider, more at Techmeme »

Nick Vivarelli / Variety:

An Iranian court clears Oscar-winning director Asghar Farhadi of accusations of plagiarism from a former student for his 2021 film A Hero — Two-time Oscar-winning director Asghar Farhadi has been fully cleared by an Iranian court of allegations of plagiarism pertaining to his film “A Hero” …

Discussion: The Hollywood Reporter, Agence France-Presse, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, The Hindu and The Wrap

Steve Knopper / Billboard:

Universal Music changed Pandora royalty payments from a 50% split via SoundExchange to often-smaller splits paid directly by UMG, hurting newer artists' revenue — The company is the only major label so far to change accounting for Pandora royalties since it introduced on-demand streaming.

Jon Allsop / Columbia Journalism Review:

Q&A with Ukraine's Media Development Foundation executives on increased news desertification in wartime, trouble hiring personnel and diversifying revenue, more — Two years ago last month, Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The consequences for the latter country's press …

Discussion: @jon_allsop, @ifjglobal and Andrey Boborykin on LinkedIn

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Pornhub blocks access to users in Texas, after a federal appeals court upheld a Texas law last week requiring porn sites to institute age-verification measures — Pornhub and other affiliated adult websites have blocked access to users in Texas, amid a legal battle with the Lone Star State's attorney general …

Discussion: Boing Boing, Pornhub, Engadget, UPI, @lovelydedinside, Los Angeles Blade, New York Daily News, TechCrunch, The Verge, TMZ.com, Gizmodo, The Hill, FOX 7 Austin, Reclaim The Net, hovering through waking dreams, Contxto and Fox News, more at Techmeme »