Top News:
Jason Scott / Bloomberg:
Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says he will hold talks with Zuckerberg to “see if there's a pathway forward”, but says news legislation will go ahead — - ‘The world is watching us very closely,’ says Treasurer — News content law expected to pass through parliament next week
Discussion:
@sarafischer, New York Times, Insider, @firstdraftnews, The Guardian, @pomeranian99, @maximillian_alv, @baekdal, @baekdal, @baekdal, @baekdal, @larakiara, BBC and Wall Street Journal, more at Techmeme »
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Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
Facebook's refusal to pay a misguided media tax, pushed by Rupert Murdoch, is a defense of the open web and criticizing it for rejecting a link tax is bizarre — None of this should have been a surprise. Back in September we wrote about Facebook publicly saying that if Australia went forward …
Discussion:
@mmasnick, Axios, Reason, @mattbruenig, @b_fung, @zenjournalist, @saramorrison, @theophite, @hughhewitt, @mmasnick, @mmasnick, @mmasnick, @robpegoraro, @emilybell, @emilybell, @foofdawg, @likpiara, @hkanji, @benthompson, @emilybell, @lachlan, @evan_greer, @bobbyallyn, @randyebarnett, @wexler, @mathewi, CNN, TechCrunch and @katecrawford, more at Techmeme »
Daniel Hurst / The Guardian:
In a media diversity hearing, ex-PM Kevin Rudd said that Australian politicians are afraid of Murdoch media; a News Corp exec dismissed Rudd's claims
In a media diversity hearing, ex-PM Kevin Rudd said that Australian politicians are afraid of Murdoch media; a News Corp exec dismissed Rudd's claims
Poynter:
Three fact-checking organizations, including two members of Facebook's fact-checking program, haven't been able to operate their Facebook pages in Australia
Three fact-checking organizations, including two members of Facebook's fact-checking program, haven't been able to operate their Facebook pages in Australia
Discussion:
Fact Check and ABC
Alex Mahadevan / Poynter:
An early analysis of Birdwatch, Twitter's crowdsourced fact-checking pilot with about 1,000 users, shows partisan rhetoric and a lack of source citations
An early analysis of Birdwatch, Twitter's crowdsourced fact-checking pilot with about 1,000 users, shows partisan rhetoric and a lack of source citations
Discussion:
@joshuahol, @jimhenleymusic, @blackamazon, @fideljefe, @timcast, @alexmahadevan, @chris_buckley, @alexmahadevan, @timcast, @janebsinger and @poynter, more at Techmeme »
William Easton / About Facebook:
Ahead of proposed media law, Facebook says it's banning Australians from sharing/viewing news and all users from sharing from and viewing Australian news Pages
Ahead of proposed media law, Facebook says it's banning Australians from sharing/viewing news and all users from sharing from and viewing Australian news Pages
Discussion:
Splice, Nieman Lab, ScreenRant, ABC, @campbell_brown, Wired, The Unraveling, Praise & Slander, Washington Post, Nieman Lab, Bloomberg, Poynter, @dylanbyers, @stephanlivera, CNBC, @nickfeik, CityAM, Futuro Lento, @brokep, What's New in Publishing, The Lightbulb, Hollywood Reporter, Beyond Search, 9News, @troyhunt, Columbia Journalism Review, Just Security, Sydney Morning Herald, OneZero, @juliacarriew, @histoftech, @joshfrydenberg, @benedictevans, CNN, Mumbrella, The Wrap, @caseynewton, Journalism.co.uk, Slate, @matthewstoller, AdNews News, New York Post, BBC, Insider, Snopes.com, @mikeisaac, @aaschapiro, wan-ifra.org, New Republic, @withmeaa, Webworm with David Farrier, Reuters, @mja_editor, @davidleyonhjelm, @damiancollins, @martynmcl, @mmasnick, @tomtaylormade, @karaswisher, @zaidjilani, Reason, @campbell_brown, @jeffjarvis, @daphnehk, @_claireconnelly, @jayrosen_nyu, @mrkrudd, TechCrunch, @jonahstein, The Status Kuo, @rasmus_kleis, The Verge, @mattburgess1, @dailypostdan, Vox, Fast Forward, @belindajones68, National Review, @normative, @oliviasolon, @matt_hopcraft, @dgisserious, Marketing Land, @kmbaussie, @emilybell, @mikarv, @pt, @kashhill, @emilybell, Media Nation, @itsbouquet, Fortune, @jamesrbuk, @profgalloway, @acookiecrumbles, Light Reading, @peterbale, Are You Engaged?, The Muffin por Mauricio …, @bobbyallyn, @jakefmooney, @timmarchman, @juhasaarinen, @campbell_brown, @katecrawford, @jeffreyatucker, @erratarob and @jerusalem_post, more at Techmeme »
Casey Newton / Platformer:
Banning Australian news makes sense for Facebook and may prompt people to visit news sites directly; Google's payoffs, though, will invite global shakedowns
Banning Australian news makes sense for Facebook and may prompt people to visit news sites directly; Google's payoffs, though, will invite global shakedowns
Discussion:
The Guardian, @jayrosen_nyu, New York Times, @adamkovac, @nxthompson, Bloomberg, What's New in Publishing, @alecstapp, Quartz, Institutional Economics, @hunterwalk, @globalnews, @sarthakgh, @gadyepstein, @caseynewton, The Information, @s8mb, @journalismfest, @caseynewton, @emilybell, @emilybell, @emilybell, @emilybell, @emilybell, @karaswisher, @waxy, @beneltham, @evadienel, @_claireconnelly, @evanspw, @joshelman, @swesterman, @gaberivera, @laurenweinstein, @adamnash, American Press Institute and Breitbart
Nicholas McElroy / ABC:
Australian authorities in public health, weather, and other areas say Facebook has removed posts from their feeds following Facebook's news ban
Australian authorities in public health, weather, and other areas say Facebook has removed posts from their feeds following Facebook's news ban
Discussion:
@mikarv, Washington Post, CNBC, @sallymcmanus, @eamonnoneill, @yathinkn, @jennymcallister, @joshgnosis, @senator_patrick, @juliacarriew, @raecooper1, @emilygorcenski, @leesawatego, @abcnews, @nat_whiting, @anetmcc, @emilygorcenski, @andrewbeatty, @andrewbeatty, @sussanley, @sarah_collard_ and @kantrowitz
Georg Szalai / Hollywood Reporter:
Amid a gold rush in the music library space, a look at Hipgnosis, which has spent $1.75B on 129 catalogs, accumulating 60,836 songs, as of the end of January — A former music manager's company has acquired more than 100 publishing catalogs, including a 50 percent stake in Neil Young's …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Variety, @lucas_shaw and The Wrap
David Folkenflik / @davidfolkenflik:
[Thread] In audio obtained by NPR, Chicago Tribune EIC Colin McMahon told staffers that Trib papers make 10-13% profit now and new owner Alden will seek 20%+ — NEWS: Chicago Tribune editor Colin McMahon told staffers - audio obtained by NPR > praises staffers' journalism > calls fears of Alden “valid” > says “space” for mission will be “smaller than it is today” > says Trib papers make 10-13% profits - says Alden will seek 20%+
Discussion:
@nancycbarnes, @mattdpearce, @mikemullen_, @elienyc, @mattdpearce, @mattstephens, @katieperalta, @mattdpearce, @brendenmoore13, @davidfolkenflik, @pattmlatimes, @samuelaadams, @samaugustdean, @davidfolkenflik, @maxwellstrachan, @mattstephens, @mattdpearce, @hshaban, @davidfolkenflik, @mattdpearce, @nancycbarnes, @mattdpearce, @mattdpearce and Chicago Tribune
Nardine Saad / Los Angeles Times:
Nielsen debuts Gracenote Inclusion Analytics, to measure onscreen diversity in terms of gender, race, and sexual orientation and how much it reflects audiences — Ratings titan Nielsen has begun tracking inclusion in television to accelerate diversity and equity in media.
Discussion:
PR Newswire, @marcusryder, @inclusionists, Deadline and Hollywood Reporter
Ashley Carman / The Verge:
Sweden-based podcast host and ad network Acast says it is acquiring RadioPublic; RadioPublic's podcast app will remain live and its team will stay in the US — It already claims to be the biggest everywhere else — Acast, a podcast host and ad network, is looking to improve its tech and broaden its reach.
Discussion:
Axios, RAIN News and Current, more at Techmeme »
Denise Petski / Deadline:
Insider, formerly BI, Mark Wahlberg's Unrealistic Ideas, and Assemble Media are producing a docuseries about the rise and fall of MoviePass — EXCLUSIVE: Mark Wahlberg's Unrealistic Ideas, the company behind HBO's Emmy-nominated McMillions, is taking another deep dive into the absurdities …
Discussion:
/Film, @jasonguerrasio, @joimariewrites, @nmcalone, UPROXX, IndieWire, Engadget and Cord Cutters News
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Roku beats with Q4 revenue of $650M vs $615M expected, up 58% YoY, net profit of $65.2M vs an expected loss; 14.3M active accounts were added for FY2020 — Roku grew revenue in the fourth quarter 58%, to a record $649.9 million — and posted a $65.2 million net profit for the quarter, whereas Wall Street had expected a loss.
Discussion:
MediaPost, The Wrap, Roku, @loudmouthjulia, AdExchanger, Light Reading, Ad Age and Deadline, more at Techmeme »
Vivian Wang / New York Times:
Hong Kong replaces head of public broadcaster with civil servant, accuses it of a lack of objectivity, calls for supervision by government-appointed advisers — The broadcaster, Radio Television Hong Kong, is known for independent reporting often critical of the government.
Wall Street Journal:
In a court brief, Quibi attorneys say Elliott Management founder Paul Singer appears to have personal ties that prompted it to finance a patent suit by Eko — Hedge fund says defunct streaming service is focusing on ‘personal matters in order to put forward a false narrative’
Tony Romm / Washington Post:
US Chamber of Commerce and Big Tech lobbying groups sue Maryland over its new online ad tax that targets tech companies that do more than $100M in ad sales/year — The lawsuit from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and groups such as the Internet Association, whose members include Amazon …
Discussion:
Adweek, CNN, @hypervisible and The Verge, more at Techmeme »
Rozanna Latiff / Reuters:
Malaysian court finds news portal Malaysiakini fully responsible for publishing readers' comments that were critical of the judiciary and fines it about $124K — KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia's highest court on Friday found news portal Malaysiakini in contempt over comments …
Discussion:
@behlihyi, Reuters, The Indian Express, Reuters, International Press Institute, New York Times and Committee to Protect …