Top News:

Q&A with a Michigan college student who has made 692 quizzes for BuzzFeed as a hobby, becoming the 2nd-highest traffic driver for the site's quizzes worldwide — Rachel McMahon is a teen from Michigan you almost certainly haven't heard of before this week.
Discussion:
New York Magazine, @willoremus, @mattdpearce, @mathewi, @auntbeckyrose, @laurawags, @sarahlkaufman, @nymag, @choire, @4evrmalone, @austin_walker, @jakeswearingen, @lrhogan, @reckless, @4evrmalone, BuzzFeed and CNN
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The global layoffs at BuzzFeed, once a successful beacon in a shrinking industry, mark an end of innocence for the outlet and for staffers with big social reach — BuzzFeed's layoffs were painful for its staffers—and fatal to its self-mythology. — There's a phenomenon familiar …

Report: Apple told studios and networks to be ready for a launch of Apple's streaming service by mid-April, the same month investors see a Disney+ preview — Studios were reportedly told to be ready by mid-April — Little is known about Apple's standalone streaming service, aside from the mountain of original content that's coming.
Discussion:
Recode, The Information, PCMag India, @pkafka, @shiraovide, @jtoonkel, The Wrap, @shiraovide, @mcwm, Multichannel News and /Film, more at Techmeme »

Nielsen C3 primetime ratings for ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox dropped 11% YoY for Q4 2018 in the 18-49 age group, with a 27% drop in the same period since 2016 — The big four networks have seen many of their demographically desirable viewers disappear — As younger viewers continue …

As Disney completes merger with Fox and prepares for Disney+, uncertainty remains about integration, programming, and the executives who will lead the shift — Bob Iger has repeatedly called it the “highest priority” of the Walt Disney Co. — The launch of Disney Plus has become the talk …
Discussion:
The Information, Business Insider, The A.V. Club, @cityofthetown, /Film and The Playlist

Conviva: streaming TV hours rose 89% YoY in 2018 with a 165% increase in Q4; connected TVs accounted for 56% of all streamed views in 2018, up from 47% in 2017 — Quality increases, but viewers are less patient — The amount of video being streamed showed strong growth in 2018 …
Discussion:
MediaPost

Pandora shareholders approve Sirius XM's purchase of the company; Sirius CEO Jim Meyer will lead Pandora and Sirius XM combined, Pandora's Roger Lynch to leave — The shareholders of Pandora Media have spoken, and they are OK with a purchase of the streaming audio pioneer …
Discussion:
Variety, Pandora and TechCrunch

Apple says Apple News has 85M monthly active users and Apple Music has 50M paid subscribers, a growth of around 10M for Music since April 2018 — During Apple's Q1 2019 earnings call today, Tim Cook shared an update on how some of the company's Services have been growing including details on Apple News …
Discussion:
One Man & His Blog, more at Techmeme »

Inference, a “quarterly review of science” started in 2014 and funded entirely by Peter Thiel, publishes scientific articles alongside junk science — The newish ‘quarterly review of science’ sometimes muddies the waters between science and political ideology. It is funded by Peter Thiel.
Discussion:
@cshperspectives, @bobbierman and Boing Boing

A look at Germany's BPK, a media institution that hosts government press briefings three times a week, where journalists are not at the whim of politicians — It's a familiar scene: roughly a hundred journalists cram into the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House …

FCCC report on press freedom in China: 55% believe government interference has risen, with notable crackdowns in Xinjiang and visa denials for negative coverage — Over half of foreign correspondents say reporting conditions in China deteriorated last year, according to the Foreign Correspondents' Club …
Discussion:
Reuters and @nvanderklippe

Lawmakers are asking Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin about his ties to media investor Len Blavatnik, whose Access Industries owns Warner Music Group — After the Treasury Secretary lifts sanctions on companies linked to an oligarch, Democrats seek information over Mnuchin's sale of a stake …
Discussion:
ABC News, @kenvogel, Vanity Fair, @kenvogel and New York Times

University of Kent academics stand by their study, financed by News UK and disputed by BBC Radio 5, that found that the station didn't meet Ofcom standards — Journalism academics have defended research claiming BBC Radio 5 Live did not meet Ofcom targets for news and current affairs output …
Discussion:
The Times & The Sunday Times