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Guideline: X's monthly US ad revenue has declined 55%+ YoY in each of the 10 months since Elon Musk's Twitter takeover in October 2022 through August 2023 — Monthly U.S. ad revenue at social media platform X has declined at least 55% year-over-year each month since billionaire Elon Musk bought …
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X starts removing preview headlines from posts with article links, showing only the lead image and domain name; Elon Musk mentioned the change in August 2023 — The platform formerly known as Twitter now only displays outside sites' featured images on its iPhone app
Discussion:
The Hill, Insider, The Verge, @cburke.bsky.social, @notalawyer.bsky.social, @aidnmclaughlin, @mostlywrite, @cwarzel, @adamjohnsonchi, @dylanljmartin, @tomwarren, @jamesrbuk, @erinkwoo, @adamjohnsonchi, @charlescmann, @cwarzel, @cwarzel, @tomwarren, @mollyjongfast, @xdaily, @alexacorse, @popbase, Engadget, @slcw@newsie.social, @dsilverman@mastodon.social, Bloomberg, Boing Boing and The Messenger, more at Techmeme »


NewsWhip: seven of the top 10 “news” articles with the most interactions on Facebook in September 2023 were published on the catholicfundamentalism.com domain — Read to the end for the garfarious anglerfish — This Is What Replaces News On Facebook
Discussion:
Axios, @patrickdehahn, @chaykak, @ben@werd.social, Digiday and The Verge


Sources: AT&T is exploring options for its 70% DirecTV stake, such as adding a new investor or selling the stake and exiting the venture as early as August 2024 — - Telecoms giant majority owns DirecTV with private equity TPG — Declining pay-TV customer base has cut into AT&T's cash flow
Discussion:
The Wrap, The Streamable, MediaPost, Cord Cutters News and The Desk


Andrew Travers, ex-EIC of The Aspen Times, sues Ogden for firing him after he published two columns that execs shelved about an oligarch who had sued the paper — The Aspen Times promoted journalist Andrew Travers to editor-in-chief last June — then fired him after he published previously spiked columns …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Aspen Times, Denver Post and MediaPost


A look at how advertisers are responding to X's Community Notes and the impact of Notes on political ads and on brand trust — Major brands including Apple and Samsung have had critical notes attached to ads. Political advertisers have raised concerns about the tool heading into campaign season.
Discussion:
@db@bla.daanberg.net


Comcast-Charter joint venture Xumo launches its first streaming set-top box for new Spectrum video customers, coming to Comcast's Xfinity Internet users “soon” — Can Xumo help cable companies grab a new foothold in the streaming space? — Xumo — the joint venture of Comcast …
Discussion:
The Streamable, Next TV, MediaPost, The Verge, The Desk, The Hollywood Reporter, Media Play News, Deadline and Cord Cutters News


SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP met on October 4 for contract negotiations to end the strike, with studio CEOs attending, and plan to meet on October 6 and on October 9 — SAG-AFTRA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers on just wrapped their second day of renewed talks …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Variety and The Hollywood Reporter

The actions on NewsClick by India's government, which has shown itself to be intolerant of critical journalism, smack of extreme vendetta and brazen harassment — The arrests and actions in the Newsclick case are aimed at a chilling effect — Even for a government that has shown itself …
Discussion:
@samar11, @bhadrapunchline, @benarasiyaa, @arusbridger, Scroll.in and @jagritichandra


Over 50 media and civil rights groups write to US AG Merrick Garland, demanding transparency over the FBI raiding Tim Burke's house and seizing his equipment — FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: — An FBI raid on the home newsroom of Florida journalist Tim Burke in May prompted over 50 organizations …


Memo: Amazon is shutting down Amp, its live audio streaming app launched in March 2022 that let users act like DJs by playing music and talking alongside songs — The service launched in March 2022 following a frenzy around live-audio services during the pandemic.
Discussion:
Inside Radio, Music Ally, The Sun, TechCrunch, @ashleyrcarman, @bradydale, Engadget, The Verge, The Messenger, Billboard, KNSD-TV, Pitchfork and New York Daily News, more at Techmeme »


Wall Street and music industry analysts see Spotify's move into audiobooks as an opportunity for the company to increase its profit margins and value for users — An Evercore ISI analyst expects the effort to be a higher margin business than its music offerings, while a Morgan Stanley expert highlighted …