• Jessica Bursztynsky / CNBC: BuzzFeed announces plans to go public via SPAC merger, targeting a $1.5B valuation, and will acquire digital publisher Complex Networks for $300M

• Stephen Shankland / CNET: Google will delay plans to block third-party cookies from early 2022 to late 2023, to find ways to protect privacy without hurting ad-dependent publishers

• 20 minutes ago Gabby Miller / Columbia Journalism Review: NY's Ulster Publishing survived the pandemic by ceasing separate print editions for towns in the Hudson Valley and consolidating them into a countywide paper

• Ashley Carman / The Verge: Amazon acquires Art19, a major podcast hosting and monetization platform, for an undisclosed sum   —  Art19 goes to Amazon Music  —  Amazon Music is getting more serious about its podcast endeavors.

• Bob Papper / RTDNA: Research: POC make up 27.7% of local TV news workforce in the US; all local TV newsrooms have women on the news team; 85% of radio news workforce is white

• Richard Lawler / The Verge: Microsoft adds integrations with local news creators and authors to highlight local sources and support people with donations in Windows 11

• Rick Edmonds / Poynter: Reuters Institute report: US ranks last among 46 countries for trust in media, with just 29% saying they trust the news; Finland has the highest trust at 65%

• Paul Sawers / VentureBeat: JW Player, a video streaming and analytics service used by major companies like Viacom, raises $100M Series E from LLR Partners   —  Where does your enterprise stand on the AI adoption curve?

• Catie Keck / The Verge: NBCUniversal's Peacock app will be available on Fire TV products starting June 24, as part of a deal that will see 15 NBCUniversal apps arrive on Amazon devices

• Brian Steinberg / Variety: Open AP and AT&T's Xandr, once seen as staunch rivals, strike a strategic data alliance that would let Xandr clients use Open AP's defined audience segments

• Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg: Snap and Universal Music Group strike a licensing deal that lets users share songs in messages and posts; financial terms were not disclosed

• Megan Graham / CNBC: Innovid, an ad tech company focused on connected television, says it is going public via SPAC merger at an implied valuation of around $1.3B

• 20 minutes ago Gabby Miller / Columbia Journalism Review: NY's Ulster Publishing survived the pandemic by ceasing separate print editions for towns in the Hudson Valley and consolidating them into a countywide paper

• 6 hours ago Ashley Carman / The Verge: Amazon acquires Art19, a major podcast hosting and monetization platform, for an undisclosed sum   —  Art19 goes to Amazon Music  —  Amazon Music is getting more serious about its podcast endeavors.

• 7 hours ago Bob Papper / RTDNA: Research: POC make up 27.7% of local TV news workforce in the US; all local TV newsrooms have women on the news team; 85% of radio news workforce is white

• 10 hours ago Jim Salter / Associated Press: Three Al Jazeera journalists who were tear-gassed in Ferguson have settled a lawsuit with the county, which has agreed to pay $280K

• 11 hours ago Richard Lawler / The Verge: Microsoft adds integrations with local news creators and authors to highlight local sources and support people with donations in Windows 11   —  Support local news with your leftover Microsoft points

• 11 hours ago Paul Sawers / VentureBeat: JW Player, a video streaming and analytics service used by major companies like Viacom, raises $100M Series E from LLR Partners   —  Where does your enterprise stand on the AI adoption curve?

• 12 hours ago Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg: Snap and Universal Music Group strike a licensing deal that lets users share songs in messages and posts; financial terms were not disclosed

• 13 hours ago Jim Waterson / The Guardian: Murdoch asks UK govt to abolish legal restraints on his interference in the editorial independence of the Times and Sunday Times, paving the way for a merger

• 13 hours ago Stephen Shankland / CNET: Google will delay plans to block third-party cookies from early 2022 to late 2023, to find ways to protect privacy without hurting ad-dependent publishers

• 14 hours ago Jessica Bursztynsky / CNBC: BuzzFeed announces plans to go public via SPAC merger, targeting a $1.5B valuation, and will acquire digital publisher Complex Networks for $300M

• 15 hours ago Brian Steinberg / Variety: Open AP and AT&T's Xandr, once seen as staunch rivals, strike a strategic data alliance that would let Xandr clients use Open AP's defined audience segments

• 15 hours ago Megan Graham / CNBC: Innovid, an ad tech company focused on connected television, says it is going public via SPAC merger at an implied valuation of around $1.3B

• 16 hours ago Catie Keck / The Verge: NBCUniversal's Peacock app will be available on Fire TV products starting June 24, as part of a deal that will see 15 NBCUniversal apps arrive on Amazon devices

• 17 hours ago Mark Sweney / The Guardian: UK government bans junk food advertising online and before 9pm on TV from 2023, which could cost broadcasters more than £200M annually in revenue

• 18 hours ago Sara Guaglione / Digiday: Nielsen: those who listen to a podcast one to three times per month now make up nearly half of all listeners; comedy and news are the biggest podcast genres

• 20 hours ago Bloomberg: A look at venture units at ITV and Channel 4 that trade TV ads for startup equity; Channel 4 launched its fund in 2015, holding and exiting a Pinterest stake

• 22 hours ago Katie Deighton / Wall Street Journal: Airlines are retiring their in-flight magazines globally, citing digital entertainment and claiming removing the heavy magazines reduces carbon emissions

• 35 hours ago Dominick Mastrangelo / The Hill: Editorial staff of the Washingtonian say they are forming a union with Washington-Baltimore NewsGuild and ask management for voluntary recognition