Top News:
Jody Godoy / Reuters:
In the first day of the antitrust trial focused on ads, US prosecutors allege Google abused its size to dominate the sector through acquisitions and more — Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google sought to dominate all sides of online advertising technology by controlling competitors and customers …
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Washington Post:
The US DOJ's case against Google's ad business may benefit Meta, Amazon, and news organizations that pay Google a cut of revenue for brokering their website ads — Federal prosecutors are seeking a divestment of Google's multibillion-dollar online advertising business, saying its monopoly power harms advertisers and publishers.
New York Times:
Business Insider names Jamie Heller, the business editor of The Wall Street Journal, to lead its newsroom as its next editor in chief — Ms. Heller spent two decades at The Wall Street Journal, most recently leading corporate coverage. — Business Insider is expected to name Jamie Heller …
Ben Smith / Semafor:
Former SI and The Players' Tribune executives launch OffBall, a site, newsletter, and social feed with curated sports news from social media and other sources — The Scoop — A new brand is hoping to provide a hub for the booming conversation around the culture of sports.
New York Times:
Insiders detail how Bob Iger undermined and outmaneuvered Bob Chapek and returned to power at Disney, as the question of how Iger misjudged Chapek still lingers — At 5 p.m. on Feb. 25, 2020, Bob Chapek and Bob Iger settled into matching directors' chairs on the Disney studio lot for a series of live media interviews.
Discussion:
@nbj914, New York Post, @deadlinedominic, @thekingmob, @c_garthwaite, @nickwingfield, @kamaron, @jayshams, Brian Salsberg on LinkedIn, @annmlipton, @nick_field90, Fortune, @drnelk, @deggans, @tomaxwell, @grahamstarr, Vyla Rollins on LinkedIn, Ian Whittaker on LinkedIn, Business Insider, @conorsen, @editorialiste, @dannygroner, The Ankler, Craig Garthwaite on LinkedIn and Mike Dudas on LinkedIn
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
Audible plans to invite some US-based audiobook narrators to train AI on their voices, to clone the voices for recordings through a royalty-sharing model — The audiobook service is inviting some US-based narrators to train artificial intelligence on their voices
Discussion:
TechCrunch and The Verge, more at Techmeme »
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Newsquest reaches 100K paid digital subs four years after launching a soft paywall across most of its UK regional news sites, bringing in £500K+ per month — Newsquest has reached 100,000 paid digital subscribers four years after first launching a soft paywall across most of its biggest regional news websites.
Zach Vallese / CNBC:
Some creators move from unpredictable algorithm-driven platforms to subscription services; YouTube group The Try Guys launched 2nd Try, a $5/month streamer — The Try Guys, one of YouTube's most established creator groups, have successfully abandoned their reliance on Google's algorithms …
Discussion:
@sameoldcircuit and TechCrunch
Brian Stelter / CNN:
The Washington Post launched a redesigned homepage last week and plans “several” enhancements; reporters and editors have long complained about its dated nature — New York CNN — — The Washington Post is trying to fix one of its biggest problems: an outdated homepage loathed by its own staff.
Discussion:
@fletchtopper, @patrickdehahn, @jakewilkns and @brianstelter
Bron Maher / Press Gazette:
UK's Pink News considers legal action against a now removed X account that criticized the way the brand is run; ex-staff voice support for the “whistleblower” — ‘Whistleblower’ Twitter account has disappeared - but ill feeling among some former staffers remains.
Discussion:
@mediaevan, @stevegrant67, @adamzx, @docphoenix and @djstewartwho
Reuters:
Indian news agency ANI sues Netflix for using “copyright archival footage of ANI without licence” and the ANI trademark, in a drama about a 1999 hijacking — Indian news agency ANI has sued Netflix Inc (NFLX.O) and producers of an Indian series about a plane hijack …
Mark Stenberg / Adweek:
The WSJ offers advertisers a performance guarantee between Oct. 15 and Nov. 15 to dissuade them from pausing ad campaigns during the US presidential election — Some brands are going dark for the presidential election. WSJ has data to convince them otherwise.
Discussion:
Talking Biz News