Mediagazer: FTC settles with Musical.ly, now TikTok, for $5.7M, over the app's violation of US child privacy laws; TikTok's app updates with a new UX for users under 13 (Sarah Perez/TechCrunch)

9:10 PM ET, February 27, 2019

Top News:

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Source: Disney is in talks with AT&T to acquire WarnerMedia's 10% stake in Hulu to add to its existing 30% stake and the 30% Disney gains from 20th Century Fox — Disney wants to get even more control over Hulu: The company is in active discussions with AT&T to acquire the 10% stake …

Discussion: /Film, Multichannel News, The Verge and Fortune

Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter:

Arbitrator awards the team behind TV series Bones $179M after ruling that 21st Century Fox execs fraudulently hid profit info from stars and executive producer — In a long-running legal battle over profits from the David Boreanaz-Emily Deschanel hit, an arbitrator's stunning decision calls …

Discussion: New York Times, TechCrunch, The Hill, Deadline, Fortune, @billsimmons, Wall Street Journal, Observer, @pareene, @eriqgardner, @jbflint, @thrmattbelloni and @jbflint

Christine Schmidt / Nieman Lab:

Free Press has proposed a tax on targeted advertising, analogous to a carbon tax, to fund noncommercial journalism and to support new news distribution models — Facebook and Google aren't going to stop targeting ads to Internet users, and advertisers aren't likely to stop loving the data …

Discussion: Free Press, @rispolimike, @freepress, @utknightcenter, @vincecathomas, @joeycoleman and @niemanlab

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

FTC settles with Musical.ly, now TikTok, for $5.7M, over the app's violation of US child privacy laws; TikTok's app updates with a new UX for users under 13 — A significant FTC ruling issued today will see video app TikTok fined $5.7 million for violating U.S. children's privacy laws …

Siobhan O'Connor / OneZero:

Medium launches OneZero, a tech and science publication with analysis and commentary, as part of its plan for a portfolio on tech, business, health, and more — Introducing Medium's new tech and science publication — Today, Medium is launching a new forward-looking tech and science publication.

Discussion: @ev, TechCrunch, @ev, @dlberes, @dlberes, @sdkstl, @sdkstl and @dlberes

Washington Post:

White House excluded reporters from the AP, Reuters, and other outlets from covering Trump's dinner with Kim Jong Un because they had shouted questions earlier — HANOI — The White House abruptly banned four U.S. journalists from covering President Trump's dinner here Wednesday …

Discussion: Press Gazette, @whca, USA Today, @jdawsey1, @elistokols, @seungminkim, @nakashimae, @scarylawyerguy, @peterwallsten, @godcallsbs, Mediaite, @hadas_gold, East Bay Times, @cgseife, @philiprucker, NPR, Committee to Protect … and The Week

Washington Post:
The US press corps were forced to leave the Melia hotel in Hanoi, where TV crews had spent weeks setting up cameras, after Kim Jong-Un arrived to stay

Jon Lafayette / Broadcasting & Cable:

Sinclair Broadcast Group's Q4 earnings: net income fell to $206.2M from $443.5M last year but revenue was up 25.4% YoY to $893M — Sinclair Broadcast Group reported lower fourth quarter profits despite big gains in revenue, including political advertising.

Discussion: TVNewsCheck, TVWeek.com, Baltimore Business Journal, PR Newswire, AllAccess.com, StreetInsider.com and Deadline

Marguerite Clark / Radio World:

iHeartMedia, via its subsidiary RCS, has acquired Greece-based Radiojar, which offers tools to transition broadcast radio into digital stations and podcasts — The cloud-based audio playout platform lets users transition broadcast radio segments into other audio platforms

Discussion: Engadget, VitalThrills.com and Billboard

Jim Waterson / The Guardian:

The BBC and UK broadcaster ITV have confirmed plans to launch a joint, paid streaming service called BritBox by the end of 2019 — Streaming service to launch this year will feature archive shows and new commissions — The BBC and ITV have confirmed plans to join forces and launch a paid …

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter, @jimwaterson, WIRED UK, @thr, @elenacresci, @tommundaycs, @leahhather, @mrjkilcoyne and @quendergeer

Matt Donnelly / Variety:

Oscar winners behind Free Solo on why documentaries are hot now: sophisticated audiences, a “psychotic” news cycle, and big budgets from streaming companies — On a bustling post-Oscar Monday, “Free Solo” co-directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin arrive …

Discussion: Multichannel News and MediaPost

Gus Garcia-Roberts / USA Today:

Twitter has permanently suspended Jacob Wohl for creating and operating fake accounts, after he shared plans to make deceptive accounts before the 2020 election — Twitter announced that it is permanently suspending Jacob Wohl, a 21-year-old Internet hoaxer and supporter of President Donald Trump …

Financial Times:

Study estimates 1,000-1,500 US newspapers, many owned by private equity and hedge fund investors, are “ghost newspapers” mainly filled with wire copy and ads — At the start of 2018, Denver Post journalists felt optimistic for the first time in years.

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More News:

The New York Times Company:
The New York Times has named Adam Nossiter as its Paris bureau chief, where he will be joined by veteran correspondent Nori Onishi

Tanya Dua / Business Insider:
Former LA Times CEO and publisher Ross Levinsohn claims allegations of inappropriate behavior made against him amounted to “character assassination”

Discussion: @digitalshields, @lmoses, @nichcarlson and @nichcarlson

Lucinda Southern / Digiday:
In late January, The Economist tightened its paywall to five articles per month from three per week, in hopes of increasing subscribers

Discussion: @digiday and @m_c_b

Cherie Hu / Bello Collective:
Investments in podcasts like Spotify's Gimlet acquisition will allow artists to share their own narratives directly with fans and avoid traditional music press

Discussion: @digg, @sesmith, @bellocollective, @chartroommedia, @cheriehu42, MediaPost and Digg

Tiffany Stevens / Columbia Journalism Review:
In the past year, more reporters are living among residents in US-Mexico border cities, helping national outlets like LAT and NYT improve immigration coverage

Discussion: @thetinavasquez, @tiffanymstevens, @sadieeehdz, @patrickwtimmons and @mollyhf

The Conversation:
Suppression orders that banned any reporting on Australia's Pell trials showed the futility of court attempts to control news amid foreign press, social media

Discussion: @sasshapetrova, The Guardian and The Guardian

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
theSkimm plans to launch its first daily news podcast, Skimm This, on March 4, releasing it at 5pm weekdays and focusing on around four stories in 10 minutes

Ryan Faughnder / Los Angeles Times:
Rotten Tomatoes will no longer let users post reviews and ratings before films are released, in an effort to make its audience-rating system more trustworthy

Discussion: Rotten Tomatoes, The Guardian, Fast Company, @melsil, @jessica_roy and TechCrunch

Earlier Picks:

Janko Roettgers / Variety:
Spotify goes live for some in India, even as its licensing fight continues with Warner Music; after free trial, premium service is 119 rupees, or about $1.67/mo

Discussion: @jjuulihilska, Plagiarism Today, Spotify, Recode, YouTube, MediaNama, VentureBeat, Bloomberg, TechCrunch and Variety, more at Techmeme »

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Facebook policy doc shows it wants up to a 30% cut of Fan Subscriptions, vs Patreon's 5%, and to reserve right to offer free trials with no creator compensation

Discussion: The Verge, Tubefilter, Mashable, @hankgreen, Boing Boing, @joshconstine, @joshconstine and Gizmodo, more at Techmeme »

East Bay Times:
After inadvertently releasing a list of thousands of cops with criminal convictions under public records law, CA's AG threatened two reporters with legal action

Discussion: @trevortimm, Techdirt, @trevortimm, @caseytolan, @a_mendelson, @reveal, @csmcdaniel, @digiphile, @dangillmor, Boing Boing and Hit & Run

Marisa Guthrie / Hollywood Reporter:
Memo: Jenna Bush Hager has been named as co-host of NBC's “Today” show, anchoring the program alongside Hoda Kotb in its fourth hour

Discussion: TODAY.com, @thestalwart, TVWeek.com and Newser

Hadas Gold / CNN:
DC appeals court rejects DOJ's bid to overturn the ruling that cleared the way for AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner; DOJ says it will not seek further review

American Journalism Project:
The American Journalism Project, a venture philanthropy project aiming to reinvigorate local news, has launched with $42M in commitments

Discussion: @journalismproj, @journalismproj, @chanders, @digidave, @emilybell, @rasmus_kleis, @ibarguen, @craignewmark, @journalismproj, @jbenton, @emilybell, @elizwgreen, @clockwerks, @knightfdn, @evanasmith, @raju and Elizabeth Green

The Guardian:
UK far-right activist Tommy Robinson has been permanently banned from Facebook and Instagram for repeatedly breaking policies on hate speech

Discussion: @davidlammy, @adamwagner1, @themjap, @erinsaltman, @jaredlholt, @markdistef, @ezralevant, @tom_watson, @peoplesmomentum, @ezralevant, Facebook, Adweek, The Daily Beast, Mashable and Business Insider, more at Techmeme »

Sahil Patel / Digiday:
Sources: Facebook will only renew about one-third of existing Facebook Watch news shows; source says one show that was renewed had a 30% budget cut

Discussion: Fortune, Business Insider, @jbenton, TechCrunch, Facebook, @sizpatel, @danielpmcdermot, @mattnavarra, Variety, Gizmodo, Fast Company, Engadget, VentureBeat and Tubefilter

From Techmeme:

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Thoughts on Apple TV's history and future; sources: a larger-than-usual number of features scheduled for iOS 19 have been postponed to iOS 19.4 in spring 2026

Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Cantor Fitzgerald agreed to invest as much as $600M in Tether for about a 5% stake in the past year; Cantor holds most of Tether's $134B in assets

Wall Street Journal:
How Tim Cook developed a personal relationship with Donald Trump, in part by zeroing in on areas of mutual interest between Apple and Trump's agenda

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