Top News:
Megan Farokhmanesh / The Verge:
Twitch tightens community guidelines for hateful behavior, harassment, and sexually suggestive conduct, effective Feb. 19 — New rules go into effect this month — Twitch is enacting stricter policies in the interest of curbing harassment and sexually suggestive behavior.
Discussion:
Twitch Blog, Twitch.tv, TechCrunch, Kotaku, Kotaku, Mashable, @skyhookart, CinemaBlend, @pretzel_rocks, @twitch, Engadget, @barnacules, @penphiva, @valroths, @rt_lozelda, @nowyouseebree, VentureBeat, @twitch, @riottiza, @tamsinwood92, Polygon, Fast Company, Gamasutra and Polygon
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Facebook confirms test of “downvote” button on some comments for users to give feedback to company, with options like “Offensive”, “Misleading”, “Off Topic” — How can Facebook promote meaningful interaction between users?
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, The Verge, USA Today, @joshconstine, Engadget, @daveleebbc, Business Insider, Mashable, @eleanor_ohio and BloombergQuint, more at Techmeme »
Steven Waldman / Report for America:
Report for America names 9 more news outlets that will host journalists, starting in June, including The Dallas Morning News, Chicago Sun-Times, and The Incline — The crisis in local journalism - a.k.a. the crisis in local democracy, a.k.a. why you can't find out if your water is polluted …
The Daily Northwestern:
Northwestern journalism professor Alec Klein, director of the Medill Justice Project, takes leave of absence amid probe into allegations of harassment — Medill Prof. Alec Klein, who yesterday was accused of harassment by several former students and employees of Medill, is taking a leave of absence from Northwestern.
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Filing: Hulu lost $920M in 2017, compared to $531M in 2016, as owners invested $1B, vs. $733M in 2016; analyst estimates losses will climb 80% in 2018 to ~$1.7B — Hulu dropped deeper into the red last year as it boosted spending on originals and launched its live TV service — and the losses are expected to mount in 2018.
Discussion:
The Wrap, Fast Company, Ubergizmo, Cord Cutters News, 9to5Mac and The Verge
RELATED:
Mike Fleming / Deadline:
Disney preview of 2019 streaming service: starts in US only, excludes R-rated films, keeps Marvel on Netflix, first-year goal is 4-5 new movies and 5 TV series — EXCLUSIVE: The Disney streaming service is beginning to crystallize, and Deadline can provide some details of the initial slate.
Discussion:
The A.V. Club, /Film, @rwmead, @pauljordanjr, io9, The New York Observer, CinemaBlend, The Playlist and The Verge
Christina Pazzanese / Harvard University Gazette:
Q&A with Margaret Sullivan on the state of the news media, why the Times erred in removing the public editor position, and advice for young journalists — In a time when a U.S. president has been known to call journalists the “enemy of the people,” the everyday work of reporting the news has rarely been more challenging.
John Koblin / New York Times:
HBO signs deal with hosts of Pod Save America for series of TV specials ahead of midterm elections, a week after launching four shows by hosts of 2 Dope Queens — HBO is getting into podcasts. — The premium cable network has signed a deal with the hosts of the popular “Pod Save America” …
Discussion:
Variety, The Wrap, The Hill, TechCrunch, Deadline and Washington Free Beacon
Sydney Ember / New York Times:
New York Times overall subscription revenue, which now accounts for 60% of total revenue, rose to more than $1B for 2017; Q4 revenue rose 10% YoY to $484M — In a tough environment for journalism, The New York Times Company continued to post significant subscriber growth, propelling the company to a healthy 2017.
Discussion:
Recode, The New York Observer, Poynter, AdExchanger, Business Wire, @ceciliakang, @mattblaze, @dangoodin001, @bernardchickey, @bruceanderson, @ryanchittum, Ad Age, @adrianmorrow, The New York Times Company, @journalistslike, Jim Dwyer, @nickconfessore, @mathewi, @christophclarey, @bcappelbaum and @cliffordlevy
Donie O'Sullivan / CNNMoney:
Twitter left up hundreds of videos from two Vine accounts connected to the Russian Internet Research Agency until CNN asked about the accounts — Senate committee grills tech giants over online terrorism — Twitter left hundreds of Russian propaganda videos, with millions of views …
Discussion:
The Hill, BloombergQuint and Slate, more at Techmeme »
Associated Press:
Knight Foundation grants $1.9M to Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism over three years to support innovation in TV news — https://apnews.com/515391b73ece4c83beaa d5f943edcdf0 — PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona State University's journalism school on Thursday …
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, TVSpy, Broadcasting & Cable and ASU Now
Matthew Cooper / Politico:
A look inside the changes at Newsweek: changing owners, leaner budgets, and uneven standards in the last year as editors focused on traffic over accuracy — Newsweek is in shambles. Time moved to Des Moines. Is it my fault? — It was 3 a.m. on Saturday, and I was seething.