Top News:
Nicola Agius / Search Engine Land:
Google says it blocked or removed 5.5B ads and 12.7M advertiser accounts for violating its policies in 2023, up from 5.2B and 6.7M respectively in 2022 — The number of advertisers who were blocked or removed due to policy violations nearly doubled compared to the previous year. — Chat with SearchBot
Discussion:
The Indian Express, more at Techmeme »
Max Tani / Semafor:
Some NBC News staff raise concerns that the hiring and firing of Ronna McDaniel will damage relationships with GOP sources, making breaking news more difficult — The News — NBC News's dramatic hiring and firing of a former RNC chairwoman this week threatens to undo years of repositioning itself …
Discussion:
Politico, New York Post, @newsjennifer, @nedryun, Reason, @gregtsargent, @karol, @josephzeballos, @jayrosen_nyu, @mikeelgan, @asmith83, @johnnydollar01, Washington Post, Fox News, Fast Company, @nedryun, New York Times, Vanity Fair, @thepacketrat, @maxwelltani, @sfdb@mastodon.social, @alex@masto.digittante.com, @GreenFire@mstdn.social, @wademinter.com, HuffPost, Mediaite, Financial Times, @MikeElgan@mastodon.social, The Desk, The Wrap, The Bulwark, CNN, Raw Story and NPR
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David Zurawik / CNN:
NBCU News Group executives made the only decision they could have when reversing Ronna McDaniel's hire, following the on-air revolt by MSNBC's biggest stars
NBCU News Group executives made the only decision they could have when reversing Ronna McDaniel's hire, following the on-air revolt by MSNBC's biggest stars
Discussion:
Press Telegram, @elonmusk, @mediaite, @jbflint, New York Times, The Daily Beast, Mediaite, Adweek, Washington Post, @jbflint, Poynter, Fox News, The Guardian, MediaPost, The Bulwark, @oliverdarcy@threads.net, New York Times, Reuters, The Guardian, Media Nation, Wall Street Journal, The Nation, TVLine, Forbes, Los Angeles Times, Newsmax, The Hill, Breitbart, Deadline, @dylanbyers and Axios
The Wrap:
Sources: ex-Vice chief Shane Smith is trying to raise money to buy Vice Media back from Fortress, which led a' group that bought Vice out of bankruptcy in 2023 — When Vice cofounder Shane Smith disappeared from public view five years ago, it seemed about time.
Discussion:
@thewrap, @kennysmith@mstdn.social, @tomgara, @sharonwaxman and @rolandsmartin
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
After more than nine years, London's Met Police apologize and settle with three journalists who were stopped from covering a Black Lives Matter protest in 2014 — The Metropolitan Police has settled with three journalists detained and stopped from covering a Black Lives Matter protest in London in 2014.
Discussion:
Freedom of the Press …, @jasonnparkinson, @nujofficial and National Union of Journalists …
Hannah Wiley / Los Angeles Times:
Two journalists who were attacked by Minnesota police as they covered the 2020 George Floyd protests for the LA Times settle a lawsuit with the state for $1.2M — Two journalists who were cornered and attacked by the Minnesota State Patrol as they covered protests over George Floyd's murder …
Discussion:
@mollyhf, @assignedmedia and @12thRITS@mstdn.social
Emanuel Maiberg / 404 Media:
Google sends a cease and desist to Gan Jing World, a video platform linked to Falun Gong that embeds and reskins YouTube videos without permission — Google has sent a cease and desist letter to Gan Jing World, a bizarre video platform linked to the Chinese spiritual movement Falun Gong.
Discussion:
@jason_koebler and @josephcox@infosec.exchange
Li Yuan / New York Times:
A profile of Wang Xiaoshuai, who decided to defy China's censors by screening his latest film, Above the Dust, in Berlin, despite orders to withdraw it — “I always strive for creative freedom,” Wang Xiaoshuai said. “But it's become impossible because of the circumstances.”
Discussion:
@liyuan6
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Bill Maher launches The Club Random Studios, a podcast network with a focus on “freedom of expression”, and hires ex-ESPN anchor Sage Steele as its first host — “I am looking for people who are not talking point people,” the HBO host tells THR of his new podcast venture.
Discussion:
Variety, The Verge, @jeffjarvis, @billmaher, @johnspurlock, Rolling Stone, The Hill, Awful Announcing, Decider, Consequence, Mediaite, Deadline and Fox News
Alexander Martin / The Record:
The Big Issue, which pays UK homeless people to be newspaper street vendors, confirms a cyber incident, after being listed on the Qilin ransomware gang's site — The Big Issue, a street newspaper in the United Kingdom famed for providing homeless people with a legitimate income by paying …
Discussion:
ComputerWeekly.com, Cyber Daily and The Register
Todd Spangler / Variety:
S&P Global cuts Paramount Global's debt rating to junk status, citing the “deterioration of the linear television ecosystem” and higher DTC streaming costs — Analyst says more buyers likely to emerge for media company's assets with ratings cut
Discussion:
Deadline, @xpangler, The Hollywood Reporter, Wall Street Journal, IndieWire, Variety, The Wrap, Reuters and Bloomberg
Clothilde Goujard / Politico:
Amazon loses an EU legal bid to delay complying with DSA rules on making its online ad library publicly available, after a judge rejected Amazon's request — Tech giant said it is “disappointed with this decision.” — Amazon lost a legal bid to delay obeying part of the European Union's new content moderation law.
Discussion:
Search Engine Land and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »
Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:
Martin Scorsese will headline a documentary series about Christian saints for Fox Nation, as it aspires to become a kind of Netflix for conservative audiences — The Oscar-winning director is the latest Hollywood name to sign up for the Fox News streaming platform, joining Kevin Costner, Rob Lowe and Dan Aykroyd.
Discussion:
Decider, Consequence, Rolling Stone, World of Reel, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, Next TV, Media Play News, Mediaite, The Wrap, IndieWire, Deadline, Variety and The Hollywood Reporter