Top News:
Janko Roettgers / Variety:
Spotify says Facebook's Libra cryptocurrency, launching in 2020, will help subscription services by reducing payment friction and opening new markets — When Facebook officially announced its plans for a new cryptocurrency called Libra Tuesday, it also revealed that Spotify was part …
Patrick Coffee / Adweek:
Advertisers, agencies, and social platforms form the Global Alliance for Responsible Media, a coalition to develop methods for protecting brands and consumers — Google, Facebook team up with agencies and advertisers for the Global Alliance for Responsible Media
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Ad Age, GroupM, @wsjcmo, Reuters, The Hill, @jeffjarvis, TechCrunch and AdExchanger
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Amazon's Twitch has acquired social networking platform Bebo, source says for $25M, to bolster its esports business — While Facebook makes a bold move into cryptocurrency to capitalise on its multi-billion user base, a social network that was once a credible competitor to it has quietly been snapped up by a subsidiary of Amazon.
Discussion:
The Drum, The Guardian, @sirslaw_, GeekWire and @mathewi, more at Techmeme »
Amy Zimmerman / The Daily Beast:
Eight women accuse Max Landis, the “Bright” screenwriter and son of director John Landis, of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse — Eight accusers have come forward against the ‘Bright’ screenwriter and Hollywood scion alleging a pattern of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse that spans a decade.
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: CBS is preparing an offer for Viacom in the coming weeks, following last week's CBS board meeting; Viacom's Bob Bakish likely to lead combined company — Offer could come in coming weeks; hurdles include determining price of stock transaction and picking new leadership team
Discussion:
Multichannel News, Adweek, @benmullin and @taralach, more at Techmeme »
Lillian Rizzo / Wall Street Journal:
TV station owners CBS, Cox, Scripps, Fox, and Tegna settle Justice Department antitrust charges that they illegally coordinated on sales of local ad spots — CBS, Cox and others agree to stop sharing competitively sensitive information for seven years — A group of five television station owners …
Discussion:
Reuters, U.S. Department of Justice and Broadcasting & Cable
Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:
Reuters report: 32% of global respondents, including 41% in US, actively avoid news mainly as it negatively affects their mood, not because they don't trust it — The modern digitally connected human (Homo smartphonicus, identifiable by its trademark slumped shoulders and bleary eyes) …
Discussion:
@shansquared, @b_fung, @nikkiusher, @spj_tweets, @jayrosen_nyu, @dankennedy_nu, @alanmillernlp, @madbair, @newsmary, @michaelkruse, @niemanlab, @amyoleary, @iroughol, Parse.ly, @chanders, @rozmurph, @jbenton and @niemanlab
Orlando Sentinel:
Orlando Sentinel announces 17 months before the presidential election that it will not endorse Trump, citing his “successful assault on truth” — Donald Trump is in Orlando to announce the kickoff of his re-election campaign. — We're here to announce our endorsement for president in 2020 …
Discussion:
Poynter, @connieschultz, Washington Post, The Week, Splinter, @jaketapper, Fox News, The Independent, @kylegriffin1, @ironstache, Talking Points Memo, @drdenagrayson, Newser, Fast Company, Politico, UPI, Mediaite and Slate
Chris Welch / The Verge:
Comcast adds eye control as an accessibility feature to its web-based remote control, says it supports all popular eye gaze hardware and software — Comcast is introducing eye control to its X1 cable platform, a new effort that the company says will improve the experience of watching TV …
Discussion:
Fast Company, VentureBeat, Comcast, @fastcompany, @fastcompany, TechCrunch, Multichannel News, Media Star, Light Reading, UPI and Quartz
Max Blau / Columbia Journalism Review:
After an Atlanta radio host spoke of gender discrimination, she was laid off; she filed a charge with the US EEOC, and now her old boss is out of the newsroom — One afternoon in June 2018, as Alison Tyler listened to the radio on her drive home from work, she realized a familiar voice had disappeared from Atlanta's airwaves.
Pat Eaton-Robb / Associated Press:
Father of a child killed at Sandy Hook wins defamation lawsuit against the authors of a book that claimed the shooting never happened; publisher pulls book — HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The father of a victim of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre has won a defamation lawsuit against the authors …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Wall Street Journal, CNBC, The Week, @emilygorcenski, The Inquisitr, New York Post and Media Law Prof Blog
Jason Lynch / Adweek:
After WarnerMedia's exit from the TV audience targeting platform, OpenAP partners with NCC Media, letting advertisers use OpenAP to buy across NCC's inventory — Advertisers can use the audience targeting platform's segment definitions across NCC's 85 million households
Discussion:
Ad Age, Broadcasting & Cable, PR Newswire, FierceVideo and MediaPost