Top News:
Rani Molla / Vox:
Mary Meeker releases her Internet Trends 2019 report, showing US ad spending up 22% in 2018, with issues ahead for targeted ads due to GDPR and privacy concerns — Here are all the slides, plus analysis. — It's the holiday season for data nerds: That is, Mary Meeker is delivering …
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, CNN, @bogdana, 9to5Mac, @jimpethokoukis, Mother Jones, @jbenton, @niemanlab, @emilybell, Quartz and The Wrap, more at Techmeme »
Christopher Palmeri / Bloomberg:
Profile of Tucker Roberts, son of Comcast's CEO, who oversees the cable giant's expansion into esports, including the Overwatch League's Philadelphia Fusion — When the Philadelphia Fusion plays, the team president, Tucker Roberts, likes to stay in the dugout, alongside the coaches and bench players.
Discussion:
@comcstspectacor, @jonsteinberg, @felixgillette, @chafkin, @austincarr, @silviakillings and @gerryfsmith, more at Techmeme »
Jack Shafer / Politico:
The newspaper industry doesn't need a special antitrust exemption to help it compete with Google, Facebook; the papers are largely to blame for their downfall — The newspaper industry has crawled up Capitol Hill once again to beg for an antitrust exemption it thinks it needs in its fight …
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, @sulliview, @jimmy_wales, @raju, @esaagar, @robpegoraro, @yelvington, @yelvington, @rispolimike, @newsalliance, @fborgesius, @sgunn, @theophite and @michaelsocolow
RELATED:
Bill Grueskin / @bgrueskin:
[Thread] News Media Alliance study relies on an offhand comment Marissa Mayer made in 2008 to extrapolate how much money Google has made from news publishers
[Thread] News Media Alliance study relies on an offhand comment Marissa Mayer made in 2008 to extrapolate how much money Google has made from news publishers
Discussion:
@newsceo, @emilybell, Columbia Journalism Review, @nancy_groves, @journalismfest, @jason_kint, @pilhofer, @mathewi, @jordan_rubio, @tomgara, @dkiesow and @bgrueskin
Washington Post:
Sources: Zuckerberg contacted Pelosi to discuss viral misinformation, but she has not engaged, frustrated by how Facebook handled a manipulated video of her — Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg contacted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in recent weeks to discuss …
Discussion:
VICE, Ad Age, The Verge, Techdirt, San Francisco Chronicle, TechCrunch, @patrickgaspard, MediaNama, Business Insider, @mayormcginn, @costareports, CNET, @ktumulty, @drewharwell, @costareports, Editor & Publisher, Politico, Vanity Fair, Talking Points Memo and The Week, more at Techmeme »
Christine Schmidt / Nieman Lab:
Q&A with Mandy Jenkins, GM of the Compass Experiment, McClatchy's project to build three sustainable local news sites, funded by Google News Initiative — “A lot of this is taking advantage of what Google has to offer as a partner. They're tracking all of these interesting trends all the time …
Discussion:
The Compass Experiment, @niemanlab, MediaPost, Poynter, @kensands, @shanbow, @maghielse, @jimbrady, @mjenkins, @ckrewson and @marklittlenews
Nick R. Martin / The Daily Beast:
Journalist David Neiwert says Twitter suspended his account because he used a profile image that included art from his book cover showing Ku Klux Klan hoods — David Neiwert's profile features a book cover including KKK hoods. That was apparently enough to get his account blocked. He's not backing down.
Discussion:
@nickmartin, @justinjm1, @joshtpm, @hannahgais, @nickmartin and @scalzi
Will Oremus / OneZero:
Tech platforms are poor arbiters of acceptable speech, altering enforcement of already-uneven rules when controversies flare up, but there's no clear fix — For YouTube, Facebook and the rest, if a decision becomes too controversial, change it — acing pressure to ban a hatemonger …
Discussion:
@bergmayer, @willoremus, @willoremus, @willoremus, @willoremus, Gizmodo, The Daily Caller, The Hill, USA Today and Vox, more at Techmeme »
The Daily Beast:
Sources: Fox News commentator Tyrus was kicked off a Fox Nation streaming show, Un-PC, in April after co-host Britt McHenry filed a sexual harassment complaint — Sources confirmed to The Daily Beast that McHenry complained the ex-wrestler sent her multiple unsolicited text messages containing lewd, sexual comments.
Discussion:
@lispower1, Deadspin and The Big Lead
Devin Coldewey / TechCrunch:
Academics introduce Grover, an AI system that writes convincing fake news based on user inputs and can help researchers detect other AI-made disinformation — “To know your enemy, you must become your enemy.” — One of the biggest problems in media today is so-called “fake news,” …
Discussion:
arXiv.org, @ingridlunden, @allen_ai and GeekWire
Liz Pelly / The Baffler:
How Spotify's vast access to mood-related data is valuable to brands and advertisers, allowing them to target its listening audience by their emotional states — Spotify pursues emotional surveillance for global profit — MUSIC IS EMOTIONAL, and so our listening often signals something deeply personal and private.
Nicholas Quah / Hot Pod News:
Quake Media plans to launch a subscription-only podcast network this winter with talk radio-style programming built around people who are “household names” — At some point this winter, we will see the launch of something called Quake Media, which describes itself as a …
Discussion:
Nieman Lab
David Uberti / VICE News:
Inside the financial and management troubles at LGBTQ magazine Out, which has repeatedly failed to pay freelancers and nearly went bust during Pride Month — With the World Pride celebration in New York looming later this month, a slow-moving disaster at Out magazine, a glossy title …