Top News:
EU Press Room:
The European Commission has fined Google €1.49B for “abusive practices in online advertising” and breaching EU antitrust rules — The European Commission has fined Google €1.49 billion for breaching EU antitrust rules. Google has abused its market dominance by imposing …
Discussion:
The Keyword, New York Times, Observer, Washington Post, MediaPost, The Wrap, NPR, Breitbart, Ad Age, Broadcasting & Cable, Adweek, Al Jazeera, The Register, XDA Developers, @ruskin147, Business Insider, The Verge, Gizmodo, @stevesi, @googleeurope, BGR, The Next Web, @eu_commission, Engadget, 9to5Google, @rasmus_kleis, VentureBeat, Politico, Search Engine Land, @ecosia, Fast Company and MIT Technology Review, more at Techmeme »
Brooks Barnes / New York Times:
Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox closed just after midnight ET and analysts say the ripple effects of the deal may not become clear for years — LOS ANGELES — “Everything the light touches is our kingdom.” — It's a line from Disney's “The Lion King,” spoken by Mufasa to young Simba as they sit atop Pride Rock.
Discussion:
Hollywood Reporter, Multichannel News, Hollywood Reporter, FierceVideo, @thr, Bloomberg and The Week
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Cynthia Littleton / Variety:
Memo: Bob Iger talks about Fox acquisition, says “challenging” work lies ahead and that some businesses will be “impacted more” than others by the deal — Bob Iger marked the historic occasion of Disney's purchase of 21st Century Fox with a lengthy memo to staffers …
Discussion:
Business Insider and The Week
Emma Sandler / Digiday:
Instagram adds in-app shopping to let users buy from 20 beauty and fashion brands including Kylie Cosmetics, Nike, and Huda Beauty — Shopping on Instagram is about to change forever. — On March 19, the social platform announced in a blog post it was launching a beta shopping program …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Recode, Instagram, @bmorrissey, @charlie_boss, @lmjwd, @travelsofadam, @mosheisaacian, @sheeraf, @warjesseagle, @jenninematthias, MediaNama, @diontweetz, @amrishrau and Android Police
New York Times:
Facebook announces that it will stop allowing ad targeting of race, gender, and age groups in the housing, jobs, or credit categories by the end of the year — After years of criticism, Facebook announced on Tuesday that it would stop allowing advertisers in key categories to show their messages …
Discussion:
@nytimestech, @karolcummins, @ddayen, @revodavid, Gizmodo and Mother Jones, more at Techmeme »
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Sara Fischer / Axios:
Facebook settles with ACLU over allegedly discriminatory ads for employment, housing, and credit, paying ~$5M and making changes to prevent discrimination
Facebook settles with ACLU over allegedly discriminatory ads for employment, housing, and credit, paying ~$5M and making changes to prevent discrimination
Discussion:
@mmasnick, Facebook, New York Post, The Atlantic, TechCrunch, Ad Age, @byrosenberg, Financial Times, @sencortezmasto, @metrosolomon, @raju, @senblumenthal, @cristianafarias, @digiphile, ProPublica, @emilybell, @civilrightsorg, @cmcilwain, @reprokhanna, @alixtrot, @facebook, @lwmurphy, @profcarroll, @zackwhittaker, @propublica, @ktbenner, @leslieproll, @profcarroll, @lizzadwoskin, ACLU, The Real Deal New York, The Register and The Guardian, more at Techmeme »
Norberto Santana Jr / Voice of OC:
Around 33 newsrooms in California, including The LA Times and the Orange County Register, join forces to report on recently released police misconduct files — Voice of OC today joins nearly three dozen newsrooms across California - including outlets like the Los Angeles Times …
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, Sacramento Bee, @garveymcvg, Los Angeles Times, @raju, LAist and Orange County Register
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Deloitte Digital Media Trends: 47% US consumers are frustrated by subscriptions, 75% prefer pay TV with fewer ads, 82% say companies don't protect user data — - ‘Subscription Fatigue’: Nearly Half of U.S. Consumers Frustrated by Streaming Explosion, Study Finds
Discussion:
Deloitte Insights, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, @karlbode, @macemoneta, @rafat, Dark Horizons, BGR, TechCrunch, VentureBeat and RAIN News
Jeremy Barr / Hollywood Reporter:
Diamond & Silk, who host a weekly show on Fox News streaming platform Fox Nation, appeared in a recent Trump re-election campaign video — The duo are not shy about their support for the president, but it's unusual for a cable news company's hosts to appear in a campaign video.
Discussion:
Media Matters for America, CNN, Washington Post and @mollyjongfast
Zac Hall / 9to5Mac:
Apple says it will support three media literacy programs in the US and Europe that aim to combat fake news and train young people to seek reliable news sources — Just days before Apple's big March 25th event where it will unveil a new subscription news service, the company has revealed plans …
Vibhuti Sharma / Reuters:
Nexstar Media Group said it will sell 11 television stations to Tegna and eight to E.W. Scripps for about $1.32B in cash — (Reuters) - Nextar Media Group said on Wednesday it would sell 11 television stations to Tegna Inc and eight to E.W. Scripps Co for about $1.32 billion in cash.
Freddy Mayhew / Press Gazette:
Jimmy Leach, formerly head of digital communications for 10 Downing Street, has been named editor-in-chief of HuffPost UK; Jess Brammar named executive editor — Former Number Ten digital communications boss Jimmy Leach has been named as the next Huffpost UK editor-in-chief …
Discussion:
@bureaulocal, @lpolgreen, @nadine_writes, @jessbrammar and @jimwaterson
Jacca / RouteNote Blog:
Anghami, a music streaming service in the MENA region with ~70M registered users, 2M+ artists, and 1B streams/month, announces it will begin offering podcasts — Music streaming is becoming bigger in the MENA region and native streamers Anghami are betting on podcasts being the next big thing.
Discussion:
ZAWYA, Startup MGZN, ArabianBusiness.com, Music Business Worldwide and RAIN News
Lucia Moses / Business Insider:
Sources: the NYT and Washington Post have not signed up to Apple's news subscription app, WSJ is still in talks; some publishers bound by Texture contract — - Apple is expected to unveil a new all-you-can-read news subscription service along with other services at a big event next week.
Committee to Protect Journalists:
The CPJ and other press freedom groups are seeking a meeting with Sacramento police after three journalists were arrested while covering protests — We at the Committee to Protect Journalists, an independent press freedom advocacy group, along with the organizations listed below …
Discussion:
@aaschapiro
Dade Hayes / Deadline:
Disney and Fox announce the per-share value of 21st Century Fox at the merger is $51.572626 as the deal becomes official — UPDATE: At 12:02AM ET, one of the most consequential mergers in Hollywood history became official. The Walt Disney Co. has acquired about two-thirds of 21st Century Fox …
Discussion:
The Walt Disney Company and TVWeek.com
RELATED:
Variety:
21st Century Fox and “New” Fox are now standalone entities, with Fox adding four new board members including Chase Carey and former House Speaker Paul Ryan
21st Century Fox and “New” Fox are now standalone entities, with Fox adding four new board members including Chase Carey and former House Speaker Paul Ryan
Discussion:
Multichannel News, 21st Century Fox, Vanity Fair, @neontaster, @mkraju, @comfortablysmug, @demwrite, @charles_gaba, @skantrow, @angrierwhstaff, @imillhiser, @juddlegum, @mollyjongfast, @sahilkapur, @brianstelter, Dark Horizons, Broadcasting & Cable, IGN, Politico, NBC News, /Film, Mediaite and MediaPost