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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
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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.
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Data & Society, Press Gazette, Reuters, VentureBeat, CNBC and @mathewi, more at Techmeme »

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 …
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@bradinage42, @davidmackau, @futterish, @kateconger, @chrisgayomali, Fox News, HuffPost, @jaythenerdkid and Mediaite
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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 …
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@megancarpentier, @ryanlcooper and The Daily Beast

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”
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@barry, The Outline, @kerrymflynn, @gmgunion, @dansolomon, @bubbaprog, Poynter, @gmgunion, The Guardian, New York Post, @sarahspain, @megreenwell, Breitbart, @outline, @jemelehill, @maxkennerly, @byjoelanderson, @jonbernhardt, @goldietaylor, @dansolomon, @robneyer, @stephentotilo, @ashleyfeinberg, @libbycwatson, @bruce_arthur, @dceiver, @brianpshea, @taylorcocke, @catmsilverman, @sdkstl, @jonbolds, @natalieweiner, @maxwelltani, @weareyourfek, @sportsrapport, @ryanlcooper, @kentremendous, @mlcalderone and Awful Announcing
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
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@sueonthetown, CNN, @chronotope, @gmgunion, VICE, @barry, @williamfleitch, @katiedrumm, @mckinneykelsey, @ashleyfeinberg and Awful Announcing
Maxwell Tani / The Daily Beast:
G/O Media Editorial Director Paul Maidment calls Deadspin's focus an “incredibly broad mandate”: “We are sorry that some on the Deadspin staff don't agree”
G/O Media Editorial Director Paul Maidment calls Deadspin's focus an “incredibly broad mandate”: “We are sorry that some on the Deadspin staff don't agree”
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Sports Media Guy, @sgtjanedoe, @andrewkirell, @shortformernie, @kantrowitz, @yc, Deadline, @espiers, bookforum.com, The Wrap and Business Insider

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 …
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TVNewser, The Daily Caller, @jimwindolf and @benmullin

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 …
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Fox has repeatedly failed to credit CNN scoops critical of Democrats as it undercuts its 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.)
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@mdornic

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.
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VentureBeat, The Streamable, TechCrunch and AdExchanger, more at Techmeme »

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 …
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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.
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@juddlegum, @juddlegum, @juddlegum, @mollyjongfast, Washington Post, @thependrake and The Intercept, 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 — Presenter was paid much less than Jeremy Vine as she was working on ‘relatively niche’ service, says BBC
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Press Gazette, Deadline, Deadline, @yorksranter, @jimwaterson, @david_challen and @mrjohnnicolson

Spotify launches its Kids app in beta in Ireland for its Premium Family plan subscribers; it includes 6K songs, with some licensed from Disney and Nickelodeon — Spotify is trying to sell more multi-account family-plan subscriptions — by setting up a special “playground of sound” just for kids.
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Adweek, The Hill, Spotify, TechCrunch, The Verge and Engadget, more at Techmeme »