Stream of Reading (Prepare to be Forwarded) – An Archive of What I'm Reading
Alden Global Capital, the most reviled newspaper owner in the business, now wants to buy Gannett, the United States’ largest daily newspaper company. As reported Sunday evening by The Wall Street Journal — and then confirmed via early Monday morning press release — Alden, through its Digital First Media/MNG Enterprise ownership, has offered a 23…
What stopped the almost-done McClatchy purchase of Tribune Publishing? Two familiar words: Michael Ferro. Tribune and McClatchy offer competing narratives of what derailed the deal, which had been expected to be announced as early as next Monday. Instead, the Tribune board gave it a thumbs down Thursday afternoon. Was it the threat of an antitrust…
In the three days since President Donald Trump’s Tuesday night address to the country, you’ve probably already forgotten the significance of his parroted talking points about a border wall, or all that weird nose breathing. If you live in Seattle and were watching it on your local Fox affiliate, however, you probably can’t stop thinking…
A hedge-fund-backed media group known for buying up struggling local papers and cutting costs is planning to make an offer for USA Today publisher Gannett Co. GCI 0.52% , according to people familiar with the matter. MNG Enterprises Inc., one of the largest newspaper chains in the country, has quietly built a 7.5% position…
Me, scrolling back through seven and a half years of Kotaku articles. I guess everyone eventually writes one of these posts, and today it’s my turn. At the end of December, I’m leaving Kotaku. I’ll continue co-hosting the Splitscreen podcast, but that’s gonna be it. Starting next year, I’m getting back to my first great…
Executive Summary Advertising technology has built a massive technical infrastructure. The technology and motivations of advertising undergird the economy of the internet. News sites are no exception. The information we seek about our world is underpinned with, and shaped by, advertising and its needs. Journalists need to know more about these technologies, how they work,…
Google has scrambled to remove third-party apps that led users to child porn sharing groups on WhatsApp in the wake of TechCrunch’s report about the problem last week. We contacted Google with the name of one these apps and evidence that it and others offered links to WhatsApp groups for sharing child exploitation imagery. Following publication of our…
Photo: Artwork by Ayatgali Tuleubek In late November, the Justice Department unsealed indictments against eight people accused of fleecing advertisers of $36 million in two of the largest digital ad-fraud operations ever uncovered. Digital advertisers tend to want two things: people to look at their ads and “premium” websites — i.e., established and legitimate publications…
“What does it take for a Donald Trump voter to renounce their decision?” is a question worth exploring as 2020 approaches, especially considering the fervency of his followers, who often seem less interested in policy, and more fixated on the bogus immigration threat and alleged conspiracies against their beloved leader. On Monday, the Washington Post…
PewDiePie’s ongoing battle to keep his channel’s YouTube subscriber count No. 1 ahead of India’s T-Series took another bizarre twist: A branded-content section of the Wall Street Journal’s website was hacked with a fake message apologizing to PewDiePie and urging people to subscribe to his channel. A spokeswoman for Dow Jones & Co., publisher of the…