An investigation finds eight deceptive operations on Meta's platforms that collectively controlled 340+ Pages and placed 160K ads to collect users' information (ProPublica)

Mediagazer: An investigation finds eight deceptive operations on Meta's platforms that collectively controlled 340+ Pages and placed 160K ads to collect users' information (ProPublica)

Top News:

Columbia Journalism Review:

Jeff Bezos should donate The Washington Post to a public charity that maintains its quality and independence, as he is too financially compromised to own it— His conflicts of interests are insurmountable. He can take a heroic path to strengthen journalism.
Discussion: Washington Post, Newser, Lauren Gustus on LinkedIn, @nypoet, @glastris, Hard-G History, @ckrewson, @froomkin, @mediaevan, @dicktofel, @mikeelk, @margotroosevelt, @ddimick, @lenfestinst, @rich1, @stevenwaldman, @kegill@mastodon.social, Chris Rauber on LinkedIn, @heidilifeldman@mastodon …, Semafor, @GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social and r/Journalism

Discussion:

Arden Dier /
Newser: Bezos Is Compromised. He Needs to Give the Post Away

Lauren Gustus /
Lauren Gustus on LinkedIn: “Nonprofit” does not mean “losing money.” Nonprofit news organizations can sell ads, offer subscriptions, and take donations. …

Michele Madigan Somerville /
@nypoet: “There are too many points of pressure. Bezos is simply too financially compromised to be the owner of one of the most important news outlets in America, especially one operating in the nation's capital.” https://www.cjr.org/... via @cjr

Paul Glastris /
@glastris: Two thoughts on the ongoing dumpster fire consuming Jeff Bezos and the Washington Post. First, Bezos should follow the advice of @monthly contributing editor @stevenwaldman and turn the paper into a 501(c)3 charity /1 https://www.cjr.org/...

Gillian Brockell /
Hard-G History: Bezos should sell The Washington Post, but not to another billionaire

Chris Krewson /
@ckrewson: One fun side effect of this idea: Nonprofits, by law, cannot endorse candidates.

Dan Froomkin /
@froomkin: The great @stevenwaldman makes the argument better than I did, via @CJR: Bezos should donate the Washington Post to a public charity dedicated to maintaining its quality and independence. https://www.cjr.org/...

Evan DeSimone /
@mediaevan: Turning the Washington Post over to a charity trust has some merit, but it would also be an admission that it can never again compete at the level it once (very recently) did. https://www.cjr.org/...

Richard Tofel /
@dicktofel: Certainly a fan of news nonprofits, but donating the Post doesn't solve the problem if it is still losing lots of money. Even with millions of subs, it lost $77MM last year, and ⁦@cforman⁩ estimates that the last week has cost it perhaps $30MM more. https://www.cjr.org/...

Mike Elk /
@mikeelk: Without subscriber boycott, journalists wouldn't be discussing turning Washington post into a non profit trust https://www.cjr.org/...

Margot Roosevelt /
@margotroosevelt: .⁦@DrPatSoonShiong⁩ could take big tax deduction & reclaim his civic service mantle. Donate @latimes to a charity as have Gerry Lenfest, Paul Huntsman & Nelson Poynter with their papers. ⁦@stevenwaldman on @jeffbezos Columbia Journalism Review https://www.cjr.org/...

Dennis Dimick /
@ddimick: Damn straight. The only hope for ⁦@washingtonpost⁩ https://www.cjr.org/... @lenfestinst: As concerns over newspaper publishers exerting influence over editorial content grow, The Lenfest Institute's nonprofit, non-controlling ownership of @PhillyInquirer can serve as a model for other publications. More in @CJR: https://www.cjr.org/...

Richard Robbins /
@rich1: This is really smart, and perhaps the only option for @JeffBezos to save the @washingtonpost. https://www.cjr.org/...

Steven Waldman /
@stevenwaldman: Here's how Jeff Bezos can be a hero: donate @washingtonpost to a charitable trust. We've seen this work in Salt Lake City, Philly, Tampa. Here's how it would work>> https://cjr.org/...... @lenfestinst @JimFriedlich [image]

Kathy E. Gill /
@kegill@mastodon.social: No wonder the Philadelphia Inquirer has done such excellent work this election: it's owned by a NFP (charitable trust). — Yes! Jeff #Bezos SHOULD Donate the #WashingtonPost to a Charity — https://www.cjr.org/... #Election2024 #USPolitics #NewsMedia #businessModels

Chris Rauber /
Chris Rauber on LinkedIn: The Guardian reports that the Washington Post has lost 250,000 subscribers from cancellations — 10 percent of its total digital subscriber base …

Heidi Li Feldman /
@heidilifeldman@mastodon.social: This would be amazing. https://www.cjr.org/...

Kevin Beaumont /
@GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social: First screenshot, NY Times story from October 14th this month about how Washington Post is losing $100m a year and they're very happy to have added 4000 subscribers. — Second screenshot, a few weeks later after Jeff Bezos set fire to his own company. — [images]

RELATED:

Nieman Lab:

A broad group of news outlets attracted new subscribers after WaPo's lack of an endorsement for president; The Philadelphia Inquirer gained 4,200+ subscribers— The Philadelphia Inquirer had its best week for new subscriptions ever and The Guardian U.S. broke its single-day fundraising record — twice.

Discussion:

Elahe Izadi /
Washington Post: After non-endorsement, 250,000 subscribers cancel The Washington Post

Rachel Kleinfeld /
Just Security: Rising Authoritarianism and Plutocracy Are a Dangerous Mix for Press Freedom

Evan Benn /
Evan Benn on LinkedIn: “The Philadelphia Inquirer gained more than 4,200 new digital subscribers — ‘about three times a typical week’ and ‘our biggest week of new starts ever,’ publisher and CEO Lisa Hughes said. …

Howard W. French /
Foreign Policy: Is Canceling Your Washington Post Subscription Good for Democracy?

Sara Guaglione /
Digiday: Presidential candidate endorsements boost subscriber conversions and donations at some publishers

Bari Weiss /
The Free Press: The Free Press Votes

Hadas Gold /
CNN: Donald Trump weaponizes non-endorsements from The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times

David Akin /
@davidakin@mstdn.ca: “The Washington Post's non-endorsement led to record-breaking weeks at other news orgs: The Philadelphia Inquirer had its best week for new subscriptions ever and The Guardian U.S. broke its single-day fundraising record — twice. ” #media — https://www.niemanlab.org/...

James Meyers /
One America News Network: Report: Washington Post Loses 250K Subscribers Over Decision Not To Endorse Harris

Ariel Zilber /
New York Post: Washington Post loses 250K — or 10% — of subscribers over decision not to endorse Kamala Harris: report

Dominic Ponsford /
Press Gazette: Guardian endorsement of Harris reaps it near $2m boost after editor's email

The Hollywood Reporter:

Comcast reports Peacock's Q3 losses fell to $436M, down from $565M in Q3 2023, revenue rose 82% YoY to $1.5B, and subscribers rose 3M from June to 36M— Third-quarter revenue in the conglomerate's studios segment was driven by the strong box office performances of ‘Despicable Me 4’ and ‘Twisters.’

Discussion:
TVNewsCheck, The Wrap, The Streamable, Deadline, IndieWire, Benzinga and Media Play News

Discussion:

Dade Hayes /
TVNewsCheck: Paris Olympics Coverage Powers NBCUniversal & Comcast Results In Q3; Peacock Hits 36M Subs

Lucas Manfredi /
The Wrap: Peacock Q3 Loss Narrows to $436 Million as Paris Olympics Boost Subs to 36 Million

David Satin /
The Streamable: Peacock's Paid Subscribers Inch Up to 36 Million While Revenue Grows More Quickly

Dade Hayes /
Deadline: Paris Olympics Coverage Powers NBCUniversal & Comcast Results In Q3; Peacock Hits 36 Million Subscribers

Tony Maglio /
IndieWire: Peacock Lost $436 Million in the Paris Olympics Quarter

Anusuya Lahiri /
Benzinga: Comcast Q3 Earnings: Olympics Power NBCUniversal Gains, Peacock Hits 36M Subscribers, Explores Forming New Company Of Cable Networks

Erik Gruenwedel /
Media Play News: Peacock Adds 3 Million Subs to End Q3 With 36 Million

RELATED:

CNBC:
Comcast reports Q3 net income down 10% YoY to $3.63B and revenue up 6.5% YoY to $32.07B; revenue for media, mainly composed of NBCU, rose 37% YoY to $8.23B

Discussion:
Reuters, Variety, Tv Technology, Cord Cutters News, Front Office Sports, Bloomberg and Barron's Online

Discussion:

Harshita Mary Varghese /
Reuters: Comcast tops revenue expectations on Olympics ad boost, blockbuster releases

Brian Steinberg /
Variety: Comcast Gets Q3 Olympics Boost, Adds 3M Peacock Subs Amid Challenges in Broadband, Theme Parks

Luke Bouma /
Cord Cutters News: Comcast Explores Spinoff of Cable Networks Including MSNBC & Is Considers Streaming Partnerships For Peacock Amidst Cord Cutting Challenges

Lisa Scherzer /
Front Office Sports: Peloton Earnings Beat Expectations as It Still Loses Subscribers

Kelcee Griffis /
Bloomberg: Comcast Sales, Profit Beat Estimates After Olympics Boost

John O'Nolan:

Ghost's CEO details the organization's governance structure and says the open-source CMS generates ~$7.5M in annual revenue and has been profitable for 12 years— Ghost is a distributed non-profit foundation which gives away all of its intellectual property under a permissive MIT license.

Discussion:

Mark Jaquith /
@markjaquith: I admit I was skeptical when John started Ghost. I'd baked in my own assumptions about the size and shape of the goal (even though he was pretty clear about it). This is a great post about his approach and future plans: narrow focus, maximal longevity. Sustainability over reach.

Erik Enge /
Erik Enge on LinkedIn: One of the most exciting things for me when I joined Ghost was feeling connected with people who think about business differently. …

John O'Nolan /
@johnonolan: Alright, I'm publishing it. I've had a lot of questions over the last few weeks about how @Ghost is going to avoid ending up in the same situation as WordPress. A lot of trust in open source has been broken. So, I spent some time writing up how we structure and think about

Anuj Ahooja /
@quillmatiq@threads.net: “we don't want to grow a giant company that we control, we want to grow a giant ecosystem that we support. One with a broad range of hosts, developers, agencies, partners and publishers who can build on top of shared infrastructure — where our role as a core team is helping the collective ecosystem thrive. …

Dr Dev Roychowdhury /
@drdevroy: As a performance scientist, I can assure you that this is how small teams achieve big things: “We'd rather stay small, be selective about what we work on, and know everybody's name.” ~ @JohnONolan

Dan Gillmor /
@dangillmor@mastodon.social: For my newsletter I decided on Ghost as a platform. This blog post from its co-founder will help you understand why: — https://john.onolan.org/...

Peter Schulz /
@prschulz@threads.net: Very proud to be a part of this ❤️ 👻

Duane Storey /
@duanestorey: The #WordPress writing was on the wall years ago, and John read the signs. I am glad they've done well and built a proper village around democratic publishing, which seems much nicer than the Potemkin village we unfortunately inherited here in WordPress.

Ian Betteridge /
@ianb@mastodon.well.com: Memo to Matt Mullenweg: this is how you do it. — https://john.onolan.org/...

Daniël /
@dvdwinden@threads.net: Very happy to be part of this team and contribute to our product. I look forward to seeing the ecosystem take shape 🥰

Fortune:

Internal memo: Block CEO Jack Dorsey says Tidal is in for another mass layoff; insiders say as many as 100 people could be laid off, or ~25% of Tidal's staff— Block CEO and founder Jack Dorsey wants streaming music app Tidal to operate like a startup again - and that means layoffs

Discussion:
Music Ally, Engadget, @kalihays1@threads.net, Digital Music News, San Francisco Chronicle and Benzinga, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Sarah Fielding /
Engadget: Tidal, which is in dire need of some good marketing, lays off its entire product marketing team

Kali Hays /
@kalihays1@threads.net: More layoffs at Jack Dorsey's Tidal. Sigh. Because it needs to operate “like a startup again.” Dorsey didn't specify the number of ppl getting cut, but I'm told it's at least 100 (so about a quarter of Tidal's staff) and more expected as engineering cuts to take place in a few weeks. https://fortune.com/...

Ashley King /
Digital Music News: Tidal Hit with Another Wave of Layoffs, Jack Dorsey Says ‘We Need to Build Like a Startup Again’

Aidin Vaziri /
San Francisco Chronicle: Jack Dorsey initiates layoffs at Tidal, saying the S.F. company must operate ‘like a startup’

ProPublica:

An investigation finds eight deceptive operations on Meta's platforms that collectively controlled 340+ Pages and placed 160K ads to collect users' information— Co-published with Tow Center for Digital Journalism — Deceptive Political Ads: Eight deceptive advertising networks …

Discussion:
Forbes, AdExchanger and Tech Transparency Project, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Emily Baker-White /
Forbes: Facebook Took More Than $1 Million For Ads Sowing Election Lies

Deadline:

In its Q3 earnings call, Comcast CEO Mike Cavanagh says the company is weighing spinning off its cable networks and open to “partnerships in streaming”— Comcast President Mike Cavanagh delivered an eye-opening update to investors on this morning's third-quarter earnings call …

Discussion:
The Desk, New York Times, Advanced Television, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, TVNewsCheck, Adweek and CNBC

Discussion:

Benjamin Mullin /
New York Times: Comcast Explores Spin-Out of Cable Business

Pascale Paoli-Lebailly /
Advanced Television: TF1 streaming ad revenues up 40%

Todd Spangler /
Variety: Comcast Exploring Spinoff of NBCU Cable Networks Into New Company

Alex Weprin /
The Hollywood Reporter: Comcast Says It May Spin Off Cable Networks and Seek a Streaming Partner Amid TV Business Tumult

Wayne Friedman /
TVNewsCheck: Major U.S. Streamers' Q3 Ad Revenues Grow 44% To $3.5B

Brad Pareso /
Adweek: Roku Q3 First to Exceed $1B Revenue, Stops Reporting Number of Streaming Households

Lillian Rizzo /
CNBC: Comcast is exploring separation of cable networks business

The Verge:

Disney+ rolls out a top 10 list on the app's home screen, in line with Netflix, Max, Apple TV+, and Prime Video— As Disney Plus has grown, finding things to watch has become increasingly challenging. So the streaming service is rolling out a top 10 list featured on the home screen in hopes of improving discoverability.

Discussion:
BGR and The Walt Disney Company

Meta Investor Relations:

Meta reports Q3 revenue up 19% YoY to $40.59B, net income up 35% to $15.69B, and family daily active people up 5% to 3.29B on average for September 2024— Meta Platforms, Inc. (Nasdaq: META) today reported financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2024.

Discussion:

Stuart Dredge /
Music Ally: Meta's Threads now has more than 275m monthly active users

Rocio Fabbro /
Quartz: Meta's big AI spending will only get bigger

Jack Benjamin /
The Media Leader: Meta expenses increase amid AI and smart glasses push

Barbara Ortutay /
Associated Press: Meta's third-quarter profit surges 35% reflecting strong ad revenue and its AI push

Gene Munster /
@munster_gene: Following the $META call, the key takeaway is the core business is doing great and they're aggressively investing in AI to become the next big thing. My guess is that big thing is related to monetizing search. [video]

Roberto P. Nickson /
@rpn@threads.net: Meta just delivered its most profitable quarter on record ($40.6 billion) Stock is down after-hours (maybe just overbought) likely due to investors spooked over how much they will spend over the coming years developing AI. But I think that's a bullish indicator. Llama adoption has been skyrocketing. …

Lance Ulanoff /
@lanceulanoff@threads.net: This slide from Meta Earnings tells quite a story. Look at the revenue generated from Reality Labs as compared to the losses. Advertising is still the key revenue driver (by a mile) so, obviously, it's critical that Meta integrates ad opportunities into its AI and AR offerings.

Rat King /
@mikeisaac: wall street is happy that meta's big spending on AI is bringing in more money this year wall street is not happy that meta's big spending on AI will cost it more money next year https://www.nytimes.com/...

Alexei Oreskovic /
@lexnfx: Also worth noting that Meta stock has been on a run, up 22% since August, compared to Nasdaq only up 8%.

Tae Kim /
@firstadopter: Facebook apps made $22 billion in op. profit in Q3, empowered by AI technology (Nvidia GPUs). Google said all 7 of its major 2 billion user products have incorporated Gemini AI. Alphabet made $28.5 billion in Q3 profit. The hand wringing over AI ROI is silly at this point.

Kali Hays /
Fortune: Mark Zuckerberg says a lot more AI generated content is coming to fill up your Facebook and Instagram feeds

Robert Miller /
The Times: Meta user growth fails to hit the mark

Kalley Huang /
The Information: Meta's Revenue Rises 19% in the Third Quarter

Dade Hayes /
Deadline: Meta Delivers Strong Q3 Report And Upbeat Holiday Outlook; Daily Active Users Grow 5% To Nearly 3.3B

Washington Post:

A look at the feud over NFL reporters talking to players in locker rooms, after the players union cut off long-accepted access, calling the practice “outdated”— Journalists say locker-room access is critical to covering the league. Some players want to take the conversation outside.

Discussion:
Awful Announcing, Associated Press and @benjstrauss

Discussion:

Andrew Bucholtz /
Awful Announcing: Reporters question NFL players' locker room interview pushback: ‘These tough-a** dudes saying their privacy is being violated’ Associated Press: Trevon Diggs apologizes over spat with reporter while defending his play with Cowboys

The Verge:

Fox, ABC, and others are broadcasting graphic and hateful ads paid for by political candidates during the World Series; the FCC requires stations accept the ads— The World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees is in full swing, and millions of people in the US …

Discussion:
FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV

Discussion:

Yahoo Finance:

Roku reports Q3 revenue up 16% YoY to $1.06B, vs. $1.02B est., 85.5M streaming households, up 2M QoQ, and Q4 guidance below est.; ROKU drops 11%+— Roku (ROKU) stock fell more than 10% in after-hours trading on Wednesday after the company's Q4 guidance disappointed, despite the media player reporting …

Discussion:
Streaming Better and Media Play News, more at Techmeme »

RELATED:

The Hollywood Reporter:
Starting in Q1 2025, Roku plans to stop giving quarterly updates on the number of streaming households and average revenue per user, following Netflix

Discussion:
Cord Cutters News, Advanced Television, YourStory.com, Motley Fool, The Wrap, Benzinga, Barron's Online, Reuters, Roku Inc., Variety, Deadline and Bloomberg

Discussion:

Luke Bouma /
Cord Cutters News: Roku Will Shift Its Focus From Streaming Players & Active Users to Focus on Advertising & Subscriptions

Ishan Patra /
YourStory.com: Microsoft posts double-digit Q1 earnings growth, but signals slowdown in cloud services

JesterAI /
Motley Fool: Roku Revenue Surpasses $1B Milestone

Lucas Manfredi /
The Wrap: Roku reports Q3 revenue up 16% YoY to $1.06B, vs. $1.02B est., a net loss of $9.03M, vs. $330.1M in Q3 2023, and 85.5M streaming households, up 2M from Q2 2024

Chris Katje /
Benzinga: Roku Q3 Earnings Highlights: Revenue Beat, EPS Beat, Streaming Households Hit 85.5 Million

Janet H. Cho /
Barron's Online: Roku Posts First $1 Billion Revenue Quarter, Smaller-Than-Expected Loss Roku Inc.: Fellow Shareholders, — Fellow Shareholders, October 30, 2024 We delivered strong results in Q3 …

Todd Spangler /
Variety: Roku Q3 Earnings Top Estimates, Company to Stop Reporting Streaming Households Metric

Dade Hayes /
Deadline: Roku Tops Wall Street Estimates In First $1B Revenue Quarter; Streaming Provider To Stop Reporting Household Tally In 2025

The Verge:

Nintendo launches Nintendo Music, an iOS and Android app that lets Switch Online subscribers stream or download gaming tunes from Nintendo titles— This time, it's a mobile app called Nintendo Music, which lets users listen to classic gaming tunes from Nintendo games spanning the last few decades …

Discussion:
Screen Rant, Music Ally, Gizmodo, Engadget, Digital Music News, 9to5Google, Variety, BGR and Comic Book, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Brad Lang /
Screen Rant: “We Got Nintendo Spotify Before GTA 6”: Fans React To Nintendo's New Music Streaming Service

Todd Spangler /
Variety: Nintendo Launches Music App With Soundtracks from Classic Games Including Super Mario Bros., Legend of Zelda

Logan Moore /
Comic Book: Nintendo Stealth Releases New Music App

Committee to Protect Journalists:

Journalists and experts explain why 2024 has been dangerous for press in Pakistan, with at least six journalists killed over direct or suspected work ties— Hope for justice in journalist murders is dim across the world, but especially in Pakistan, which has appeared on CPJ's Global Impunity …

Discussion:
Al Jazeera, @sonalidhawan_, CBS News, Voice of America, Reuters and Civil Georgia

Discussion:

Sonali Dhawan /
@sonalidhawan_: “If you scream, no one will hear you,” said @umar_wazir. “Who should we request security from?” My latest with @CPJAsia Program Staff on Pakistan's deadly environment for the press: https://cpj.org/... CBS News: Reporter killed in restaurant she owns hours after journalist shot dead in separate attack in Mexico

Liam Scott /