Top News:
Timothy B. Lee / Asterisk:
Tech journalism is often characterized by scandals, sensationalism, and shoddy research; publishers hesitate to invest in nuanced reporting without a clear ROI — A huge proportion of tech journalism is characterized by scandals, sensationalism, and shoddy research. Can we fix it?
Bloomberg:
The EU opens a DSA investigation into Meta over deceptive Facebook and Instagram ad and political content; sources say the probe is about a pro-Kremlin campaign — - Probe said to target pro-Putin Doppelganger campaign — Meta probe is under the EU's tough new Digital Services Act
Discussion:
European Commission, Engadget, UPI, Euronews, Reuters, Associated Press, Euractiv, New York Times, Infosecurity, Al Jazeera, Liberties.eu, lawsociety.ie, @clothildegouj, @prestonjbyrne, Reuters, Invezz, TechCrunch, @clothildegouj, @thierrybreton, Digital Journal, Politico, @vestager, Mind.ua, @rita_wezenbeek, @fhortalforonda, @disinfoeu, The Verge, Semafor and Financial Times, more at Techmeme »
Benoit Berthelot / Bloomberg:
UAE-backed RedBird IMI withdraws from the Telegraph and Spectator auction, which starts today, and will look to sell on its rights to the UK outlets — After a bruising few months, UAE-backed investor RedBird IMI is withdrawing from its attempt to acquire the Telegraph newspaper and Spectator magazine …
Discussion:
New York Times, Reuters, Reuters, Telegraph, The Wrap, Al Jazeera, City A.M., Mediaite, Financial Times, Deadline, The Guardian, @steven_swinford and @pippacrerar
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Reader's Digest UK Editor-in-Chief Eva Mackevic says the magazine will close in the UK after 86 years, citing the “unforgiving magazine publishing landscape” — The magazine's editor said it has “come to an end” in the UK after 86 years. — Reader's Digest magazine has closed in the UK …
Discussion:
The Guardian, The Drum, Steph Bridgeman on LinkedIn and Eva Mackevic on LinkedIn
The New York Times Company:
The Athletic names Laura Williamson as its editor-in-chief for the UK and Europe, making her the first female EIC of a daily sports publication in the UK — Steven Ginsberg announces new leadership changes in The Athletic's U.K. newsroom, as well as growing ambitions for our London office …
Tyler Aquilina / Variety:
Survey: 33% of Peacock users were still using the free tier in Q1 2024, though new sign-ups ended in January 2023; 24% of Peacock Premium users stream it daily — As the ever-shifting SVOD business continues to evolve, one key challenge now confronting streamers is how to handle subscription plans that no longer exist.
Discussion:
Streaming Better and Adweek
Sudip Kar-Gupta / Reuters:
Arnaud Lagardère resigns as chair and CEO of French publishing group Lagardère SA, after an indictment accused him of misappropriating company funds — Arnaud Lagardere, the chairman and CEO of French publishing group Lagardere SA (LAGA.PA), has resigned from his executive roles …
Discussion:
Financial Times, Bloomberg, Deadline, Le Monde.fr and Dow Jones Newswires
Ken Klippenstein:
The Intercept's Ken Klippenstein resigns, citing the outlet's corporatization and saying its “fear of funders is more important than journalism itself” — ...and starting something new — I resigned from The Intercept today in order to pursue a new kind of journalism here on Substack …
Discussion:
@jeremymbarr, @jeremymbarr, @jragazzo, @chrisrulon, @alexjordanatl, @poorlyreasoned, @katebushupdates, @nandoodles, @agoldmund and @ggreenwald
Sahil Patel / The Information:
Sources: Google has agreed to pay News Corp $5M to $6M annually to develop new AI-related content and products, as part of the Google News Initiative — Google has agreed to pay Wall Street Journal owner News Corp between $5 million and $6 million annually to fund the news organization's development …
Discussion:
MediaPost, Reuters and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
Alex Barinka / Bloomberg:
In its first TikTok Shop Safety Report, TikTok reports 500K+ sellers in the US and 15M+ sellers worldwide in December 2023, adding 6M+ in H2 2023 — - Company releases first safety report on its shopping platform — Merchants and approved users can link products for sale
Discussion:
The Independent, more at Techmeme »
Mia Sato / The Verge:
Instagram updates its recommendation algorithms to remove aggregator accounts, hoping to promote original content and increase distribution to smaller accounts — Instagram is making significant changes to how its system recommends content, with a focus on original content and increased distribution for smaller accounts.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Engadget, @howfxr, @liahaberman and @liahaberman, more at Techmeme »
Katie Robertson / New York Times:
Eight daily newspapers owned by Alden sue OpenAI and Microsoft, accusing them of using copyrighted articles without permission to train generative AI products — The suit, which accuses the tech companies of copyright infringement, adds to the fight over the online data used to power artificial intelligence.
Discussion:
Axios, Associated Press, The Wrap, The Hill, New York Daily News, The Information, @sarafischer, @sarafischer, City A.M., Bloomberg and Financial Times, more at Techmeme »
The Hollywood Reporter:
Paramount CEO Bob Bakish steps down; Brian Robbins, Chris McCarthy, and George Cheeks will run Paramount on an interim basis as an “Office of the CEO” — The entertainment company, in the midst of a sale process, has tapped Brian Robbins, Chris McCarthy and George Cheeks to run Paramount on an interim basis.
Discussion:
Variety, @annaknicolaou, Business Insider, @alexweprin, @sherman4949, @jeremymbarr, @jeremymbarr, @benmullin, @benmullin, @dylanbyers, Deadline, StreamTV Insider, New York Times, Barrett Media, Adweek, New York Post, CBS News, The Information, Axios, The Guardian, The Verge, Media Play News, Paramount, IndieWire, The Wrap, Variety, Fast Company, The Hill, Next TV, WORLD SCREEN, New York Times and CNBC
RELATED:
Etan Vlessing / The Hollywood Reporter:
Paramount reports Q1 revenue up 6% YoY to $7.69B and a $417M operating loss, down from $1.2B YoY; Paramount+ hit 71M+ global subscribers with revenue up 51% YoY
Discussion:
Streaming Better, @sherman4949, @sherman4949, @jbflint, @sherman4949, Paramount, The Daily Beast, MediaPost, Bloomberg, The Wrap, Deadline, The Streamable and Media Play News
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