Mediagazer: Sky News correspondent Alex Crawford describes how her five-person crew was deliberately targeted and attacked by Syrian regime forces in Idlib province (Alex Crawford/Sky News)

Ryan Browne / CNBC:

Ireland's Data Protection Commission, the lead EU supervisory authority for Google, announces investigation into Google's online advertising data collection — KEY POINTS — Ireland's Data Protection Commission says its probe will examine whether Google's processing of data in advertising transactions breaches EU privacy rules.

Discussion: Reuters, Data Protection Commission, Marketing Land, MediaNama, Beyond Search, XDA Developers and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Jessica Davies / Digiday:

Companies that have taken a strict approach to GDPR feel punished by falling ad revenues while rivals flourished, and are now loosening their terms — Complacency is a dangerous mistress. But it's a trap many companies are in danger of falling into when it comes to the General Data Protection Regulation …

Discussion: MediaPost, Politico, @digiday, @karaswisher, @kimmaicutler, TechCrunch and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »

Marc Tracy / New York Times:

Jay Fielden is out as Esquire editor in chief after three years as part of a reshuffling under Hearst Magazine President Troy Young — Jay Fielden is leaving his position as Esquire's editor in chief, a job he held three years, he and Hearst Magazines announced Thursday.

Discussion: WWD, Adweek, @tomgara, Mediaite, The Wrap, @jimrutenberg, New York Magazine, @elainaplott, @coreypein, @kateaurthur, @coreypein, Fashionista, @mccanner, New York Post and @tomgara

Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:

Rotten Tomatoes says it will now calculate the Audience Score using only ratings or reviews from users whose ticket purchase has been verified through Fandango — Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes is taking additional steps to confirm that audience members actually see a movie before leaving a rating or review.

Discussion: Variety, The Wrap, /Film, Fast Company, Business Insider, Engadget, @ptibz, @edzitron, @danamrich, The A.V. Club and Associated Press, more at Techmeme »

Ashley Carman / The Verge:

Instagram says IGTV will now support landscape video, following feedback from creators and users, as the service struggles to gain traction — The vertical video experiment is over — Instagram is no longer all-in on vertical video. The company announced today that its longform video offshoot …

Discussion: Digiday, TechCrunch, Variety, Instagram, 9to5Mac and Cult of Mac, more at Techmeme »

Columbia Journalism Review:

A newly released report on DOJ's subpoena of AP phone records in 2013 shows that DOJ also considered subpoenaing phone records of WaPo, NYT, and ABC — With its latest leak indictment last week, the Department of Justice under Donald Trump is now on pace to break the previous record …

Discussion: @trevortimm, @nickochsnerwbtv and @jameeljaffer

CBC News:

Canadian government names eight media organizations to sit on an advisory panel to recommend news operations for CAD$600M media support fund over five years — The federal government has named the eight Canadian organizations that will sit on a special advisory panel tasked …

Discussion: Canada.ca, Telegraph, @awudrick, HuffPost Canada, iPolitics and Canadian Press

Julia Alexander / The Verge:

YouTube announces that it will round down real-time subscriber counts starting August, and exact subscriber counts will no longer be displayed — Sites like Social Blade may be impacted — YouTube is introducing a major change to the way real-time subscriber counts are displayed …

Discussion: YouTube Help, MediaPost, @lowspec_gamer, @loudmouthjulia, @holmesinfive, @taylorlorenz, @chrisdancy, @loudmouthjulia, @bakabakaonichan, @brodyanimates, @blakeir and Variety

Claire Selvin / ARTnews:

PBS NewsHour announces it will expand its broadcast and digital arts reporting initiative, CANVAS, with a $1.7M investment from the Knight Foundation — The television program has created a website for its arts reporting initiative, Canvas. Read More — The post Knight Foundation Gives $1.7 M …

Discussion: Knight Foundation, @tylergreenbooks and @judywoodruff

Michael McGowan / The Guardian:

Actor Geoffrey Rush awarded A$2.9M in damages from the News Corp Australia's Daily Telegraph, the largest defamation payout to a single person in Australia — Court hears that actor offered to settle for $50,000 and an apology but never heard back from News Corp

Discussion: Press Gazette, BBC, The Wrap, New York Times, Yahoo News, The Hill, Metro.co.uk, Vanity Fair, 9News, The West Australian, The Age, Associated Press, Reuters, NEWS.com.au, @aberrantthe and Mercury News

Jim Waterson / The Guardian:

Restrictions on political coverage during voting places UK broadcasters in a precarious legal situation as they cover cabinet resignations during EU elections — Strict broadcasting laws place restrictions on coverage of politics during voting periods — Attempts by Conservative MPs …

Discussion: @martinbelam

Alex Crawford / Sky News:

Sky News correspondent Alex Crawford describes how her five-person crew was deliberately targeted and attacked by Syrian regime forces in Idlib province — Sky's Alex Crawford says the crew was attacked with tank shells, as an activist they were travelling with was hit by shrapnel. — Created with Sketch.

Discussion: The Guardian, @skynews, @josiensor, @lizziedearden, @josiensor and @josephwillits

Emily Cadei / Sacramento Bee:

McClatchy names Kristin Roberts vice president of news as of May 27, making her the first woman to lead McClatchy's news division — Kristin Roberts, one of four regional editors and executive editor for politics at McClatchy, has been named vice president of news, the company announced Wednesday.

Discussion: American Press Institute and @sleavenworth