Top News:
Craig Silverman / BuzzFeed:
Researchers say publisher of Newsweek and IBTimes used fraudulent methods to inflate traffic to get ad deals; company acknowledges buying traffic, denies fraud — Several of Newsweek Media Group's business websites are buying and manipulating traffic that originates on pirated video streaming sites.
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Financial Times:
Sources: BuzzFeed Editor Ben Smith has held preliminary talks with the Emerson Collective, funded by Laurene Powell Jobs, about investing in BuzzFeed News — The editor of BuzzFeed has had discussions with the company started by Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of the late Steve Jobs …
Discussion:
Recode, CNNMoney, The Hill, Fast Company, Bloomberg, @rafat, @mikeisaac, @perlberg, @claranellist, @oliverdarcy, @pkafka, BloombergQuint, @oliverdarcy, Variety, @markdistef and @erik_hayden
Caroline Lees / European Journalism Observatory:
Reuters study: in Italy and France, false news sites' reach is much lower than that of news sites; Facebook interactions for a few false sites exceed news orgs — The first research into false news sites in Europe reveals that fake news sites in France and Italy have a far more limited reach than is often assumed.
Discussion:
Reuters Institute …, Nieman Lab, @dpfunke, @mathewi, @rasmus_kleis, @melissakchan, @jayrosen_nyu, @rasmus_kleis, @melissakchan, @sohnic and Reuters Institute …
Eric Johnson / Recode:
Wired launches a metered paywall with five free articles per month, followed by a $20 annual subscription fee — Wired's wall goes up today: Four free clicks, then $20 a year. — Starting today at 9 am ET, Wired.com will have a paywall — although infrequent visitors might not notice it right away.
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, Wired, WWD, @stevenlevy, @mattervc, @binarybits, @nxthompson, @nxthompson, @jason_pontin, @lmoses, @rafat, @mmasnick, @kottke, @attackerman, Talking Biz News and @jasontanz
Joe Pompeo / Vanity Fair:
Medium hires Siobhan O'Connor, who had been executive editor of Time, as vice president of editorial, reporting to Ev Williams — Time Inc. vet editor Siobhan O'Connor will be in charge of creating stories to pull readers past the paywall. — Medium, the pro-am Web-publishing outfit founded …
Discussion:
@pierce, @joepompeo and @sarahfrier
Parker Higgins / Freedom of the Press Foundation:
Freedom of the Press Foundation unveils an online archive using Archive-It, to preserve news sites threatened by powerful individuals, starts with Gawker.com — Freedom of the Press Foundation is launching an online archives collection in partnership with Archive-It, a service developed …
Discussion:
Wired, @bartongellman, @barryeisler, The New York Observer, New York Times, Engadget, TechCrunch, The Next Web and Fast Company
Ryan Faughnder / Los Angeles Times:
Owner of The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard combines media outlets with Dick Clark Productions and House of Cards producer MRC to create Valence Media — Media investor Todd Boehly is reshaping his entertainment empire with a complex deal that puts three very different Hollywood companies under the same corporate umbrella.
Discussion:
Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, Billboard, Business Wire and Variety
Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:
Instagram announces plan to bring Carousel Ads to Stories, letting advertisers show up to three photos or videos in Stories — It's been less than a year since Instagram brought advertising to Instagram Stories — a format that its owner Facebook said in November has more than 300 million daily users.
Discussion:
Instagram for Business, Ad Age, Engadget and Fast Company, more at Techmeme »
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Jeremy Horwitz / VentureBeat:
Google releases YouTube TV app for Apple TV and select Roku devices for $35/month, bundling over 50 channels with option to separately purchase more — As announced with a tease on Twitter, Google has just released an Apple TV client for YouTube TV, providing owners of the fourth-generation Apple TV …
Discussion:
TechCrunch, CNET, AppleInsider, MacRumors, 9to5Google, The Verge, Engadget, Business Wire, Pocket-lint, Engadget and The Verge, more at Techmeme »
Liz Moyer / CNBC:
CBS and Viacom say both companies have formed board committees to explore a merger — CBS and Viacom are nearer to officially starting talks on reuniting. — The companies said in separate statements Thursday that their boards have formed exploratory committees to mull a deal.
Discussion:
Variety, Radio & Television …, Adweek, The Wrap, Broadcasting & Cable, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, PR Newswire and @asharma
HuffPost:
Tronc confirms two top editors at New York Daily News, Rob Moore and Alexander “Doc” Jones, are no longer with company after sexual harassment investigations — The newspaper's managing editor fostered a culture of fear and silence, current and former staffers said.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and New York Post
Shareen Pathak / Digiday:
Amazon's “other” revenue category, which is mostly from ads, grew to $1.7B in Q4, a 60% rise YoY, small revenue compared to Google, Facebook, but growing faster — In its fourth-quarter earnings today, the company reported that “other” revenue, which mostly means advertising …
Discussion:
@johnbattelle and Fortune, more at Techmeme »
Steven Perlberg / BuzzFeed:
Sources: CNN cuts tech staff working on MoneyStream app, which began in 2016 and offered information on stocks and personalities, may delete app from App Store — CNN MoneyStream, which CNN wanted to shape into a Bleacher Report for business news, will become an automated feed of stories.
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