Top News:
New York Times:
Uri Berliner's essay about NPR reignited criticism of the outlet on social media, especially by conservatives, and spurred vehement pushback from some staffers — An essay from an editor at the broadcaster has generated a firestorm of criticism about the network on social media, especially among conservatives.
Discussion:
The Verge, @jpederzane, @shannonpareil@threads.net, @brianmannadk, @brianmannadk, @titonka, @shannonpareil@threads.net, @brianmannadk, @emilybellnyc@threads.net, @anildash@threads.net, @micah_loewinger@threads.net, @lpolgreen@threads.net, Fox News, New York Magazine, @jbouie@threads.net, @jbouie@threads.net, @matt.bachand@threads.net, @greenloopstore@threads.net, @digiphile@threads.net, @digiphile@threads.net, @digiphile@threads.net, @jenniferschulzechi …, @dankennedy_nu@threads.net, @maxkennerly.bsky.social, The Hill, Media Nation, CNN, MediaPost, Mediaite, NPR, Inside Radio, New York Post and Newser
Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal:
A look at the internal upheaval at the NYT around sensitive subjects and management's push to emphasize neutrality and independence, including through probes — After internal upheaval over coverage of sensitive topics like the Israel-Gaza war, management renews emphasis on independence and neutrality
Discussion:
@jeffjarvis and @jeffjarvis@mastodon.social
Brian Hiatt / Rolling Stone:
A look at Udio, which was founded by four former DeepMind employees in December 2023 and launched a product on April 11 that generates songs from text prompts — Weeks after AI-music generator Suno went viral, a new rival, Udio, is here, backed by tech and music heavyweights.
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Appfigures: short drama apps, like ReelShort, collectively made $146M in Q1 2024, up from $1.8M in Q1 2023; Reelshort made $52M in Q1 and DramaBox made $35M — Was Quibi just ahead of its time? Quibi founder Jeffrey Katzenberg ultimately blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for the failure …
Discussion:
Appfigures
Jenny Strasburg / Wall Street Journal:
A profile of Nicolai Tangen, Norway's sovereign-wealth fund manager and host of In Good Company, a podcast that has interviewed Elon Musk, Daniel Ek, and others — Top CEOs talk to Norway's sovereign-wealth fund manager. This week's guest was Elon Musk on the future of AI.
Discussion:
Fortune
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy's letter to shareholders: Prime Video now reaches 200M monthly viewers, and streaming TV advertising is growing quickly — Prime Video has a big audience, and now Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has put a new number on it: The premium video service has more than 200 million monthly viewers.
Discussion:
About Amazon, Alejandro L. on LinkedIn, Deadline, Fortune, Sebastiaan van Wijngaarden on LinkedIn, Beryl Tomay on LinkedIn, Josh White on LinkedIn, Observer, MarketWatch, Washington Post, The Wrap, Media Play News, The Streamable, The Hollywood Reporter and Cord Cutters News, more at Techmeme »
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Amazon hires Krishan Bhatia, previously a senior NBCUniversal exec, as VP of global video advertising for Amazon Ads, leading global sales for video operations — As Amazon ramps up its efforts to woo ad dollars that once were earmarked for traditional TV, it is also luring ad executives …
Discussion:
Adweek, Brian Steinberg on LinkedIn, Ad Age and Next TV
Richard J. Tofel / Second Rough Draft:
Q&A with Evan Smith, Texas Tribune CEO from 2009 to 2022, on earned income in nonprofit journalism, sponsorship to fund news for marginalized people, and more — Events, sponsorship— and why one size doesn't fit all … RT: We agree on a lot of things about nonprofit journalism and the financing of journalism generally.
Discussion:
Andrew Ramsammy on LinkedIn
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Paramount is shutting down Showtime's streaming service on April 30, after it integrated Showtime's programming into the top-tier Paramount+ plan in June 2023 — Sunset of premium TV service's standalone apps comes after its integration into Paramount+ With Showtime package
Discussion:
TechRadar, Telegraph, Broadband TV News, The Wrap, TVLine, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline and The Verge
Megan Graham / Wall Street Journal:
How “made for advertising” sites, which are criticized for their UX and dubious results for advertisers, get ~15% of automated ad spend or $10B/year, per ANA — Industry leaders want brands to shun ‘MFA’ websites. Others think more nuance is needed.
The Information:
Sources: TikTok is testing an AI feature that generates a virtual influencer and a script for a video ad based on prompts submitted by advertisers — TikTok touts itself as a platform where creators can stand out and build a following. But the company has begun discussing with advertisers …
Discussion:
MIT Technology Review, Gadgets 360, MediaPost, Brandon Perlman on LinkedIn, The Verge and MSPoweruser, more at Techmeme »
Flipboard:
Flipboard makes 400 creators and 11,000 of their curated magazines visible in the fediverse and integrates fediverse notifications into the Flipboard app — Today Flipboard is taking two big steps toward opening its platform to the fediverse, making 400 creators and 11,000 …
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