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An example of the usability issues trying to find stories on Apple News+: a search for The Highlight by Vox — Eleven days ago, Apple unveiled its premium news subscription service, Apple News Plus. And as I wrote at the time, it was kind of disappointing.
Discussion:
@niemanlab and @laurahazardowen


Sources: Apple Music has been growing at a monthly rate of 2.6% to 3% and had 28M US users in Feb., compared to Spotify's 26M US users and growth of 1.5% to 2% — Apple's music-streaming service has surpassed Spotify's in paid U.S. subscriptions yet lags its Swedish competitor globally.
Discussion:
CNBC, The Indian Express, TechCrunch, Recode, RAIN News, MediaPost, Android Police, The Week, USA Today, @tomwarren, @ow, 9to5Mac, @pkedrosky, @carlquintanilla, MacRumors, Ars Technica, hypebot and Music Business Worldwide, more at Techmeme »


Netflix's DVD service, with its 2.7M US subscribers, appeals not only to those with poor broadband but also to many in urban areas seeking an extensive catalog — (CNN)Remember when Netflix used to be a DVD-by-mail company? Well, for 2.7 million subscribers in the US, it still is.
Discussion:
@pitdesi, @sulliview, @harrymccracken, @adriana_lacy and FYIMusicNews, more at Techmeme »


Analysis: the gender pay gap favoring men in UK media rose at 11 news outlets and declined at 22 in 2018; bonus gap was 56.3% at CNN and 50.2% at Hearst — Almost a third of UK media companies have seen their gender pay gaps increase (in favour of men) on the year before, new figures reveal.
Discussion:
Fast Company, The Guardian and Deadline


As Cosmo's EIC, Jessica Pels has focused on the magazine's online presence, growing digital subscriptions, affiliate revenue, and using Instagram as inspiration — Jessica Pels, the editor, is trying to save the magazine from the jaws of Instagram. — “Bad ideas first!” …
Discussion:
@juliaccarpenter, @michellemanafy, @sarahccaldwell, @eholmes, @racheld, @katierosman and @ekingc


Journalists from India, Malta, and Turkey call on social media companies to crack down on political groups using their platforms to harass journalists — Examples of harassment of journalists in India, Malta and Turkey indicate how political groups are using online platforms to silence their critics
Discussion:
Variety, @maggienyt and @mollypriddy


Borrell report: Facebook, Google received 70% of the $60B in local digital ad spending in 2018; TV comprised 9% of local ad spend, beating newspapers, a first — The social media giant and search engine now account for 70% of the $60 billion spent on digital advertising in 2018 …


Vogue returns to Greece after shutting down in 2012 due to the economic crisis; its 29-year-old EIC Thaleia Karafyllidou is the youngest of any Vogue title — This week, Vogue returned to Greece after a seven-year absence as the Mediterranean country's economy enters its third year of growth after bottoming in 2016.


The creators of HBO's Westworld, Lisa Joy and Jonah Nolan, are leaving Warner Bros. TV to join Amazon, in what sources estimate is a deal worth $30M+/year — Lisa Joy and Jonah Nolan have exited their home at Warner Bros. TV but will remain involved with the HBO genre drama.
Discussion:
Deadline, /Film, @sharontalyguado and The Verge


Google News Initiative and LSE's journalism think tank are collaborating on Journalism AI, a project to survey media usage of AI and foster AI literacy — Introducing Journalism AI, a collaboration between LSE's Polis and the Google News Initiative to foster literacy in newsrooms globally about artificial intelligence.


Africa-focused music streaming service Boomplay raises $20M, bringing the total raised to $25.5M, says it has 42M MAUs and is adding ~2M users/mo — While Spotify dukes it out with Apple and other big tech names to target high-end users in mostly developed markets, a startup out of China …
Discussion:
@seyitaylor, more at Techmeme »


Australia passes law penalizing content service providers and hosting services for failing to quickly remove abhorrent violent content, despite tech opposition — Labor supports legislation in response to Christchurch shooting that threatens jail for executives, despite media companies' concerns
Discussion:
Associated Press, @donie, The Wrap, TIME, New York Times, @vickerysec, ZDNet, @baekdal, iTnews, ZDNet, ARN, Boing Boing, aph.gov.au, Engadget, 9to5Google and NPR
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Trump says he will again skip the White House Correspondents Dinner, which has dropped a comedian as the main speaker, inviting historian Ron Chernow instead — At the 2018 White House Correspondents' dinner, comedian Michelle Wolf delivered a number of racy jokes. Her main target seemed to be Press Secretary Sarah Sanders.