Top News:
Rafi Schwartz / Splinter:
Leaked audio from a BuzzFeed all-hands staff meeting indicates CEO Jonah Peretti acknowledged the layoff process was “terrible” and criticizes company leaks — With BuzzFeed's latest round of mass layoffs over, CEO Jonah Peretti hosted an all-hands meeting on Wednesday …
Discussion:
@mlcalderone, @skiscontent, @libbycwatson, @jasonshevrin and New York Magazine
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Will Oremus / Slate:
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 …
Discussion:
New York Times, @siddhmi, @jrosenbaum, @fmanjoo, @bgrueskin, @ennisnyt, @bgrueskin, @chinampa, Slate, @aaschapiro, @senzaflash, Politico, @moneyries, @evanselinger, @jblumgart, @clarajeffery, @willoremus, @willoremus, @willoremus, @chrisgeidner, @monicaamarelo, @julianakataoka and @mattdpearce
Max Willens / Digiday:
How BuzzFeed is reorganizing and charting a path to a sustainable business, according to sources and a memo CEO Jonah Peretti sent to employees Tuesday night
How BuzzFeed is reorganizing and charting a path to a sustainable business, according to sources and a memo CEO Jonah Peretti sent to employees Tuesday night
Discussion:
@freeblackgirl, @parkermolloy, @dansinker, @leighgiangreco, @caulfieldcm, @jackmirkinson, @mathewi, @digiday and @bgrueskin
Madison Malone Kircher / New York Magazine:
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
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
Discussion:
@raewitte, Observer, Gizmodo, @choire, @willoremus, @reckless, @laurawags, @lrhogan, @mathewi, @4evrmalone, @4evrmalone, @mattdpearce, @auntbeckyrose, @sarahlkaufman, @nymag, @jakeswearingen, New York Magazine, @austin_walker, @eleanorbate, @jeff__benjamin, @karaschlegl, @niemanlab, @conroyforreal, @robferdman and @kwameopam
Athena Jones / CNN:
New York AG finds selling fake followers and likes or using stolen IDs on social media is illegal in case against Devumi, which served actors, musicians, others — New York (CNN Business)A company that brought in millions of dollars in revenue by creating fake social media posts and comments …
David Bauder / Associated Press:
Reporters at Insider were told to take a break from tweeting and reading TweetDeck for a week; other journalists have panned and defended the value of Twitter — NEW YORK (AP) — If Twitter is the town square for journalists, some are ready to step away. — That's happening this week …
Discussion:
New York Times, @paulapoindexter, @megkinnardap, @aallan, @politicohen_, @daphnehk, @adam_myrick, @jeffjarvis, @mathewi and Fox News
Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
The media's both-sides, middle-lane approach to politics isn't good for the public, but it's great for politicians and pundits who bill themselves as centrists — One of supposed golden rules of journalism goes like this: “If everybody's mad at your coverage, you must be doing a good job.”
Discussion:
@nberlat, @brianstelter, @theplumlinegs, @dagensnyhetermj, @nberlat, @mlcalderone, @patbagley, @ejdionne, @jayrosen_nyu, @jayrosen_nyu and @sulliview
David Cohen / Adweek:
Reddit launches cost-per-click ads following a months-long beta with 50+ advertisers, saying it's Reddit's first foray into performance-driven ad bidding — They announced their new initiative on Wednesday — Reddit is making what it calls its first foray into performance-driven ad bidding …
Discussion:
MediaPost, Marketing Land, Ad Age, The Drum and AdExchanger
Jared Newman / Fast Company:
Free ad-supported streaming services are on the rise as consumers reach subscription overload and premium services move away from licensed video — People who pooh-pooh the cord-cutting phenomenon love to argue that the cost of streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu really adds up …
Discussion:
Forbes, TechCrunch, Light Reading, MediaPost and Multichannel News
Keith J. Kelly / New York Post:
New York Media recognizes the New York Magazine Union, with about 180 full-time and part-time staff across Vulture, Intelligencer, the Cut, and more — New York magazine's editorial employees have unionized amid stalled talks to sell the iconic title and its popular web sites.
Discussion:
@nymagunion and @nyguild
Lucinda Southern / Digiday:
Publishers are finding meaningful revenue from podcast advertising, a model that some publications, including The Economist, find more viable than video ads — Publishers are finding meaningful revenue from podcasts, a format that, in some cases, offers a more viable ad model than video.
Discussion:
@xenocryptsite
Camille Fassett / Freedom of the Press Foundation:
Trump's government shutdown ground transparency to a halt by slowing or stopping the processing of FOIA requests at federal agencies — During President Trump's shutdown of parts of the federal government over a border wall, transparency was declared a nonessential part of the government's operations …
Janko Roettgers / Variety:
Ultraviolet, the cloud movie locker that launched in 2011 with support from major Hollywood studios, is shutting down on July 31 — Ultraviolet, a cloud movie locker once hailed as Hollywood's best bet to get consumers hooked on digital movies, is shuttering.
Andrew McCormick / Columbia Journalism Review:
How local media in the extremely Catholic greater Cincinnati area covered the viral Covington Catholic story, and are now dealing with accusations of bias — The greater Cincinnati area, which encompasses parts of Northern Kentucky, including Covington, is reliably Republican and deeply Catholic.