Top News:
Murray Stassen / Music Business Worldwide:
YouTube says YouTube Music and Premium now have 125M+ subscribers globally, including trials, after announcing 100M in February 2024 — MBW's Stat Of The Week is a series in which we highlight a data point that deserves the attention of the global music industry.
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YouTube Official Blog
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Jack Greenberg / YouTube Official Blog:
YouTube launches Premium Lite, a $7.99/month pilot in the US with ad-free videos like gaming and news, and plans to launch in Thailand, Germany, and Australia — Today we'll begin expanding our Premium Lite pilot to users in the US. Premium Lite gives viewers a new, more affordable …
Joe Flint / Wall Street Journal:
Disney plans to cut nearly 6% staff, or ~200 jobs, across ABC News and Disney Entertainment Networks; ABC is also eliminating 538, which had ~15 employees — The layoffs are being announced to employees as early as Wednesday — About 200 employees are being let go at Disney's ABC News Group …
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New York Post, The Wrap, Mediaite, Fast Company, Advanced Television, TVNewsCheck, Barron's Online, Yahoo Finance, Deadline, @claremalone, @jbflint, The Hollywood Reporter, Cord Cutters News, @statisticurban, @natesilver538, @electionsjoe, Bloomberg, Reuters, @walthickey, @databyler, @drewsav, @ecaliberseven, @grace_panetta, @natesilver538, @mattyglesias and @oliverdarcy@threads.net
Laura Hazard Owen / Nieman Lab:
A look at the LA Times' AI “Insights”: much of the sourcing cited for counterpoints wouldn't pass scrutiny in a newsroom, and political labels can be confusing — The hope: The L.A. Times will appear more “objective” if it presents both sides of an issue, even if one side's written …
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The Guardian, Futurism, @maxwelltani, @bretcarmichael@mastodon …, The Wrap, @theredterra.bsky.social, @racebannon.bsky.social, @cmonstah.bsky.social, @mrreeezinable.bsky.social, @jacobclifton.com, @joshuafoust.com, @dfeds.bsky.social, @michaelhobbes.bsky.social, SFGATE, @katebevan.com, @dabeard.bsky.social, @marissarothkopf.bsky.social, Gizmodo, @laurahazardowen.bsky.social, The Verge, Los Angeles Times, The Hill and Raw Story, more at Techmeme »
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Corbin Bolies / The Daily Beast:
The Los Angeles Times removes Particle's AI-powered “Insights” feature from a column after the tool tried to defend the Ku Klux Klan, just a day after its debut — An AI-generated summary tried to offer “different views” on the hate group.
Oliver Darcy / Status:
Source: WaPo Publisher Will Lewis quietly met with Free Beacon EIC Eliana Johnson last month, where the two discussed recruiting conservative journalists — As Jeff Bezos pushes The Washington Post to the right, publisher Will Lewis quietly met with a conservative editor last month, Status has learned.
Discussion:
@mediaevan, @oliverdarcy.bsky.social, @mattdpearce.com and Mediaite
Mike Isaac / New York Times:
Digg founder Kevin Rose and Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian buy Digg for an undisclosed sum from Money Group, aiming to focus on “connection and humanity” online — Two decades after creating Digg, a community-focused social message board, Kevin Rose is reviving the site and teaming up with a founder of Reddit.
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Patch CEO Warren St. John says its AI-curated newsletters, with 400K subscribers, have grown Patch's reach from 1,100 to 30K US communities in just a few months — - Of Patch's 3 million newsletter subscribers nationally, 400,000 subscribe to its new AI newsletter products, per St. John.
Discussion:
Mike Carraggi on LinkedIn
Benjamin Svetkey / The Hollywood Reporter:
Streaming has been a major setback for classic movies, largely due to platforms that ignore or bury old films; the oldest film on Netflix is from 1973 — The oldest title available on Netflix last month was 1973's ‘The Sting.’ Where does that leave the next generation of film lovers?
Discussion:
@chrisyogerst.com, @tvhilton.bsky.social and Screen Rant
Emma Roth / The Verge:
YouTube will tighten gambling content rules, including prohibiting creators from verbally referring to gambling services not approved by Google, from March 19 — It may also restrict online gambling content for users under 18. … YouTube is tightening its policies on gambling content.
Discussion:
Barrett Media and CNN
Chris Roush / Talking Biz News:
Memo: WSJ Editor Emma Tucker announces the layoffs of some reporters and editors, and the creation of new jobs, amid a consolidation of tech and media coverage — Wall Street Journal editor in chief Emma Tucker sent out the following on Tuesday:
Discussion:
@katie_robertson, @jessicalessin and @annkspencer.bsky.social
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Memo: Kari Lake, special adviser to the US Agency for Global Media, says Victor Morales, who started working at USAGM in 2016, has been named acting USAGM CEO — - Sources inside the VOA worry the new Trump administration will try to turn the broadcaster into a vehicle for its agenda.
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Inside Radio, @davidfolkenflik and Arizona Republic
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