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Facebook agrees to pay a £500K fine to the UK for its role in the Cambridge Analytica scandal but makes no admission of liability — Facebook has agreed to pay a £500,000 fine imposed by the UK's data protection watchdog for its role in the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
Discussion:
Data & Society, Press Gazette, Reuters, VentureBeat, CNBC and @mathewi, more at Techmeme »

Sources: G/O Media decided to autoplay ads from Farmers Insurance Group after missing targets for a deal that required 43.5M impressions through September 2020 — Management and staff battle over ad strategies and editorial edicts — The publisher of the former Gawker Media websites …
Discussion:
@bmorrissey, @megancarpentier and @ryanlcooper
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Sources: following public criticism of autoplay ads from G/O Media's editorial team, Farmers Insurance Group has pulled an ad deal, reportedly worth $1M+ — The ads were axed after G/O Media staffers at Deadspin and other sites spoke out against irritating autoplay ads …
Discussion:
@bradinage42, @davidmackau, @futterish, @kateconger, @chrisgayomali, Sports Media Guy, @kantrowitz, Deadline and The Wrap

Deadspin's interim editor-in-chief, Barry Petchesky, who has worked for the publication for 10 years, says he has been fired for “not sticking to sports”
Discussion:
@barry, The Outline, @kerrymflynn, @gmgunion, @dansolomon, @bubbaprog, @gmgunion, The Guardian, @sarahspain, New York Post, @megreenwell, @outline, @jemelehill, Poynter, @jonbernhardt, @goldietaylor, Breitbart, @byjoelanderson, @maxkennerly, @dansolomon, @robneyer, @stephentotilo, @ashleyfeinberg, @libbycwatson, @bruce_arthur, @dceiver, @brianpshea, @taylorcocke, @catmsilverman, @sdkstl, @jonbolds, @natalieweiner, @maxwelltani, @weareyourfek, @sportsrapport, @ryanlcooper, @kentremendous, @mlcalderone, Awful Announcing and The Daily Beast
Kelsey Mckinney / @mckinneykelsey:
Deadspin writer says G/O Media management removed a letter to the readers from Deadspin staff that criticised the recent addition of autoplay videos to the site
Deadspin writer says G/O Media management removed a letter to the readers from Deadspin staff that criticised the recent addition of autoplay videos to the site
Discussion:
@sueonthetown, @chronotope, @gmgunion, bookforum.com, CNN, Business Insider, VICE, @barry, @williamfleitch, @katiedrumm, @mckinneykelsey, @ashleyfeinberg and Awful Announcing

NBC News Digital employees say they are forming a union of 150 workers with the News Guild of New York, driven partly by the network's handling of misconduct — Employees of NBC's digital news division announced on Wednesday that they intend to form a union representing about 150 workers …
Discussion:
HuffPost, The Hill, TVNewser, @sensanders, The Week, The Daily Caller, @jimwindolf and @benmullin

HBO Max to launch in May and cost $15 a month, same as the existing HBO; AT&T plans to bundle free subscriptions for some customers of its other services — HBOMax, WarnerMedia's new streaming service, will feature all of HBO's shows, like Game of Thrones, plus new programing. HBO
Discussion:
@jonerlichman, Adweek, The Wrap, Fast Company, Adweek, @hbomax, Financial Times, Variety, The Wrap, CNBC, Variety, The Streamable, Financial Times, @arttavana, @reckless, Light Reading, MediaPost, @reckless, @id_aa_carmack, @karlbode, Consequence of Sound, @reckless, @marvelology, @mgsiegler, @pkafka, @xpangler, @richlightshed, @xpangler, @xpangler, @xpangler, Wall Street Journal, Broadcasting & Cable, The Streamable, The Verge, /Film, Multichannel News and Variety, more at Techmeme »

Student subscribers to Apple Music, which costs $4.99 per month, will get Apple TV+ at no extra charge — In a surprise announcement, Apple has announced its first bundle deal for Apple TV+. For subscribers to Apple Music on the student plan, $4.99 per month, Apple will giveaway Apple TV+ at no additional charge.
Discussion:
VentureBeat, The Streamable, TechCrunch and AdExchanger, more at Techmeme »
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Apple TV+ will be the cheapest streaming platform at $4.99/month at launch, but it's a tough sell with just four shows now and no licensed content library — - Apple TV Plus launches on Friday for $4.99 a month with only four original shows and no library of licensed content.
Discussion:
@nmcalone and @travclark2

WhatsApp sues NSO Group after investigating an attack that sent malware to 1,400 devices, targeting 100+ journalists and human rights defenders — Will Cathcart is head of WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook. — In May, WhatsApp announced that we had detected and blocked a new kind …
Discussion:
Financial Times, @wcathcart, Reason, Financial Times, The Register, @rasmus_kleis, @jifa, @botherder, The Verge, @alexstamos, @scarybeasts, @karenattiah, @zeynep, MediaNama, Boing Boing, Beyond Search, @pierasselin, @marietjeschaake, The Next Web, @citizenlab, @ericgeller, Inquirer, @financialtimes, Engadget, Adweek, Gizmodo, The Citizen Lab, Fortune, The Hill, CNET, New York Times and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »
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Avi Asher-Schapiro / Committee to Protect Journalists:
Q&A with Maati Monjib, co-founder of the Moroccan Association for Investigative Journalism and a target of NSO Group's spyware, on the impact of surveillance
Q&A with Maati Monjib, co-founder of the Moroccan Association for Investigative Journalism and a target of NSO Group's spyware, on the impact of surveillance
Discussion:
Washington Post, @aaschapiro, The Register and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Fox has repeatedly failed to credit CNN scoops critical of Democrats because credit would undercut Fox opinion hosts' claims about CNN's credibility and bias — Sixth in a series on the relationship between Fox News and the mainstream media. (Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4. Part 5.)
Discussion:
@mdornic

Sources: the Barclays are considering selling the Telegraph Media Group, bought in 2004 for £665M, but have rebuffed an approach by the owner of the Daily Mail — The billionaire Barclay brothers, who own The Ritz hotel in London and Britain's Telegraph newspaper …
Discussion:
The Times & The Sunday Times, Bloomberg and HoldtheFrontPage

Facebook says it won't remove Pages promoting Daily Wire content because they're “run by real people”, but at least two are owned by Daily Wire's parent company — This is the online version of the Popular Information newsletter. You can get independent accountability journalism in your inbox every week.
Discussion:
The Register, @juddlegum, @juddlegum, @juddlegum, @mollyjongfast, Washington Post and @thependrake, more at Techmeme »

BBC tells employment tribunal that its rolling news channel is too niche to warrant Samira Ahmed receiving equal pay to presenters of high-profile shows — Broadcaster has been speaking at an employment tribunal over claims of unequal pay — Jeremy Vine was “gifted” …
Discussion:
Press Gazette, Press Gazette, Deadline, Deadline, @yorksranter, @jimwaterson, @david_challen and @mrjohnnicolson

French digital media company Brut., which makes “socially conscious” news and entertainment videos for young people, raises $40M Series B and launches in the US — The Paris-based firm says its “socially conscious” videos can replicate what Netflix has done for entertainment and Spotify for music.
Discussion:
TechCrunch

Sources: Walmart is considering selling Vudu, its 15-year-old on-demand video service that lets people rent or buy individual shows or movies — Walmart is considering selling its 15-year old Vudu on-demand video service, say people familiar with the situation, a sign of how the digital video business …
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Cord Cutters News