Top News:
The Moscow Times:
Two days after being taken off the air for spurning Kremlin-approved terms, liberal radio station Ekho Moskvy has been dissolved by its board of directors — Russia's iconic liberal radio station Ekho Moskvy (Echo of Moscow) has been wound up after falling afoul of Russia's censorship of coverage of the war in Ukraine.
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Committee to Protect …
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Voice of America:
Russia's media regulator warns VOA that it will block the outlet's Russian website unless it takes down Ukraine coverage; VOA's director says it won't comply — Today the Russian government warned the Voice of America of its intention to block the VOA Russian language service's news website …
Discussion:
@w7voa, Axios, @voadirector, @w7voa, @w7voa, @w7voa, @davidfolkenflik, @bubbaprog, The Hill, @phildstewart and Voice of America
Stephen Battaglio / Los Angeles Times:
A look at plans for CNN+, scheduled to launch at month's end despite the turmoil at CNN, for $2.99 per month initially; a bundle with HBO Max is planned — The show must go on, even in streaming video. — Employees at CNN are keeping that adage in mind as they prepare to launch a new direct …
Discussion:
Variety, Hollywood Reporter, @stevebattaglio, @oliverdarcy, Financial Times, Deadline and @rexchapman
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Spotify closes its office in Russia “indefinitely”, removes all content from RT and Sputnik, and adds a guide offering users localized “trusted news” sources — Spotify has taken several steps in response to Russia's military attack on Ukraine, including closing its offices in Russia “indefinitely.”
Discussion:
The Verge, Complete Music Update, Computerworld, Reuters, Billboard, Rolling Stone, Engadget, The Wrap and Protocol, more at Techmeme »
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Annie Palmer / CNBC:
Amazon plans to close 68 brick-and-mortar retail locations across the US and the UK, including all of its Amazon Books, 4-star, and Pop Up stores — - Amazon plans to close all locations of its Pop Up, Amazon Books and 4-star stores, the company confirmed to CNBC.
Discussion:
Reuters, New York Times, TechCrunch, ZDNet, @booksmith, @richontech, @jasonshen, @andrewlapin, @mariskreizman, @gregbensinger, @thebookloftgv, @quinnypig, @elkmovie, @kyweise, @paperhaus, @paulconstant, The Information, GeekWire, The Wrap, CNET, Protocol, GeekWire, The Verge, New York Post, Engadget, Insider, Señales.co and Cracked Bowl, more at Techmeme »
Sharon Knolle / The Wrap:
Serena Williams calls out The New York Times for running a photo of her sister labeled “Serena Williams” in Wednesday's print edition — Tennis superstar Serena Williams urged The New York Times to “do better” after an article about her new $111 million Serena Ventures ran …
Erik Crouch / Committee to Protect Journalists:
Yevhenii Sakun, a camera operator for Ukrainian TV station LIVE, and four other people were killed on Tuesday when Russian forces shelled a TV tower in Kyiv — New York, March 2, 2022 - In response to reports that Ukrainian journalist Yevhenii Sakun was killed on Tuesday, March 1 …
Ethan Diamond / Bandcamp Updates:
Epic Games acquires Bandcamp, which will continue operating as a standalone marketplace and music community; Bandcamp has paid nearly $1B to artists and labels — I'm excited to announce that Bandcamp is joining Epic Games, who you may know as the makers of Fortnite and Unreal Engine, and champions for a fair and open Internet.
Discussion:
@bandcamp, The Verge, Variety, Complete Music Update, Music Ally, ZDNet, IGN, @skatunenetwork, @ronmknox, @ctrlshifti, @ronmknox, @marcissist, @ronmknox, @gibiz, VentureBeat, @ohboyrecords, @future_of_music, @ronmknox, @tha_rami, Ex Tempo, @punkrevnow, @emmablackery, @vahn16, @jujuadams, @acertainabbie, @zoecello, @tedgioia, @pathedger18, @ricmac, @dada_drummer, @theneedledrop, @mowtendoo, @danozzi, @chronowolfmusic, @katselesnya, @rjcc, @dcseifert, @loudmouthjulia, @mattetti, @jubileedj, @toadsanime, @mowtendoo, @backxwash, CNET, Tubefilter, PC Gamer, New York Times, GOOD INTERNET, The A.V. Club, Bloomberg, UPROXX, ScreenRant, Input, Billboard, Protocol, Engadget, TechCrunch, AppleInsider, Polygon and Boing Boing, more at Techmeme »
Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:
An attempt to quantify RT's reach in UK, Germany, and France shows little traction outside social media; RT's Facebook engagement is large in Germany and France — Is RT's international audience real? — That's an important question, as regulators and distributors debate …
Discussion:
@rasmus_kleis, @rasmus_kleis, @rasmus_kleis, @rasmus_kleis, @rasmus_kleis, @mattnavarra, @m_scribe, @evoterra, @niemanlab, @rasmus_kleis and Wall Street Journal
Naman Ramachandran / Variety:
The BBC says Russia's invasion of Ukraine led to record audiences for its Russian and Ukrainian sites; BBC also launched two shortwave frequencies in the region — The Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to record audiences for the BBC's Russian and Ukrainian language news service websites.
Discussion:
@insidecablenews, FTVLive, The Hill and bbc.co.uk
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The Economic Times:
Bengaluru-based Pocket FM, which offers 100K+ hours of audio series, stories, novels, podcasts, and knowledge shows in eight languages, raises a $65M Series C — New Delhi: Audio streaming platform Pocket FM said on Thursday that it has raised $65 million in a funding round led by Goodwater Capital …
Thomas Seal / Bloomberg:
ITV announces ITVX, a new streaming service with ads or ad-free options, replacing its current Hub streaming service; ITV will invest £1.35B on content by 2023 — ITV Plc shares plummeted as much as 18%, the most since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, after Britain's biggest free …
Discussion:
Financial Times, Press Centre, The Drum, Digital TV Europe, Broadband TV News, London Evening Standard, The Drum and Deadline