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A few people called Genius the future of journalism, but its vision of simply adding boxes for comment on others' work was emblematic of its founders' arrogance — Genius (née Rap Genius) wanted to “annotate the world” and give your content a giant comment section you can't control.
Discussion:
@offtherecordnyc, @offtherecordnyc, @ckrewson, A Scammer Darkly, @ldnflds, @james_dasilva, @offtherecordnyc, @king_kaufman, @sizpatel, @niemanlab and @tomgara
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Music-annotating startup Genius sells its assets to MediaLab for $80M; MediaLab says it will cut some jobs in original content production teams — The sale price is less than the total funding raised. — Music-annotating startup Genius Media Group Inc., a site that drew attention in part …


Axios names Sara Kehaulani Goo as EIC, as it readies niche paid newsletters product Axios Pro; source: Axios is on track to make ~$85M in revenue this year — - Axios named Sara Kehaulani Goo and Aja Whitaker-Moore editor-in-chief and executive editor, respectively.
Discussion:
@russcontreras, @ajawmoore, @sarakgoo and @perlberg

One year in, Casey Newton has doubled his Substack subscribers to ~50K, of which <10% convert to paid; Discord and Twitter are effective for attracting readers — A year ago, I quit the best job I ever had to start Platformer. Today I wanted to tell you all how it's going, what I've learned …
Discussion:
@mathewi, @kinseygrant, @seekingn0rth, @kantrowitz, @broderick, @siobhannyc, @mohamed, @caseynewton, @estherkeziat, @sarahscire, @elanazak, @adrianhon, @choire, @cwarzel, @ericnewcomer, @brandyzadrozny, @daveambrose and @sarahscire


Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella sues to stop co-founder Dash from selling the copyright to Jay-Z's debut album as an NFT, saying he has no legal right to do so — - Rapper battles co-founder Dash over NFT rights to debut album — Lawsuits proliferate as non-fungible token market takes off
Discussion:
@business and @aaronwall, more at Techmeme »


China is cracking down on pessimistic financial blogs and social media accounts, as well as fraudulent ones; analysts worry independent voices will be silenced — China has launched a crackdown on financial blogs and social media, a move that risks exacerbating the difficulty …
Discussion:
@martinsfp, @gordongchang, @chinabeigebook, @chigrl, @carnage4life, @fritz844, @marcomnyc, @jkynge, @wexler, @chinabeigebook and @sonaliranade, more at Techmeme »
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WarnerMedia is offering a 50% discount for six months on the HBO Max ad-free monthly plan until September 26 as HBO subscriptions via Amazon shut down Wednesday — WarnerMedia is trying to help offset the loss of about 5 million HBO subscribers who had signed up through Amazon in the U.S. with an aggressive discount offer on HBO Max.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, nexttv.com, Insider, The Wrap, The Streamable, GameSpot, Deadline, Engadget, Cord Cutters News, The Verge, FierceVideo, @xpangler, @pkafka and @richlightshed


DHS: American extremists used TikTok in the lead-up to the Jan. 6 riots to recruit new members and share “tactical guidance” for terrorist and criminal activity — Extremists foreign and domestic have used the video platform, DHS says. The app says it has “absolutely no place” for violence and hate.

European Commission issues recommendations to EU states to better protect journalists, including greater cooperation between media and cybersecurity bodies — BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union's executive arm asked its member countries Thursday to better protect journalists amid a rise …
Discussion:
The Guardian


A judge has ordered the permanent shutdown of Locast, a nonprofit that streamed broadcast channels for free while frequently prompting viewers for donations — Things looked bad for Locast before, and they just got even worse. A judge this week permanently prohibited streamer Locast …
Discussion:
MediaPost, Cord Cutters News and The Streamable

Two men have been charged in the 2019 murder of journalist Lyra McKee and are expected to appear in court on Friday — Two men have been charged with the murder of journalist Lyra McKee. — Ms McKee, 29, was shot dead while observing rioting in Londonderry's Creggan estate in April 2019.
Discussion:
@stevennott, Metro.co.uk and City A.M.


French court upholds a ruling by markets watchdog AMF against Bloomberg for publishing a hoax press release, but lowers fine from €5M to €3M — A French appeal court on Thursday upheld a ruling by France's markets watchdog AMF against U.S. news agency Bloomberg for publishing a hoax press release …


A look at EU Reporter, which portrays itself as an independent media organization while regularly failing to add disclosures to paid-for content — Brussels news outlet EU Reporter's blend of corporate press releases, original news and paid-for content makes it impossible for readers to determine who's behind the coverage.