Techdirt: Top German Publisher Says: ‘You Wouldn’t Steal A Pound Of Butter… So We Need A Snippet Tax’. “Last week, Mike provided a virtuoso excoriation of the European publishers’ shameless demand to be given even more copyright control over tiny snippets of news stories as part of the awful EU copyright directive. As that post pointed out, the publishers’ ‘mythbuster’ did nothing of the sort, but it did indicate a growing panic among the industry as more critical attention is brought to bear on the ridiculous ‘snippet tax’ — Article 11 of the proposed new EU copyright law — which has already failed twice elsewhere.” Why do we keep going through this over and over again? SNIPPET TAXES DON’T WORK.
publishers
Center for Cooperative Media: What small publishers need to know about Facebook’s policy on ads with political content
Center for Cooperative Media: What small publishers need to know about Facebook’s policy on ads with political content. “Facebook’s definition of ‘political content’ is broad, potentially sweeping up any promoted news and information on the platform that relates to civic matters…. To shine a light on the process, Facebook’s Julia Smekalina and Varun Shetty (News Partnerships) held a webinar with publishers on May 30, during which they answered questions directly from representatives from the media. I attended on behalf of the Center for Cooperative Media, which coordinates with groups including the Local Independent Online News Publishers and the Institute for Nonprofit News. The following are my takeaways for news publishers, beginning with Facebook’s definition of political content and my understanding of how content is being reviewed.”
Reuters: Publishers rebuke Google’s interpretation of EU privacy law
Reuters: Publishers rebuke Google’s interpretation of EU privacy law. “Google is forcing media firms that generate revenue from its advertising services to accept unreasonable responsibilities under a new European privacy law, four major publisher trade groups told the Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) unit late Sunday in a letter seen by Reuters.”
Handelsblatt: German publishers cozy up to weather social media storm
Handelsblatt: German publishers cozy up to weather social media storm. “Seven of Germany’s largest publishers unveiled a new powerhouse alliance that they hope will bolster print media against the growing dominance of social media. Three of Germany’s three largest media groups — Burda, Bauer and Funke Group — have joined forces with other well-known imprints such as Axel Springer and Spiegel Publishing, behind the investigative magazine Der Spiegel, in what’s being called a ‘publishers coalition’.”
Splitsider: How Facebook Is Killing Comedy
Splitsider: How Facebook Is Killing Comedy. “Last month, in its second round of layoffs in as many years, comedy hub Funny or Die reportedly eliminated its entire editorial team following a trend of comedy websites scaling back, shutting down, or restructuring their business model away from original online content. Hours after CEO Mike Farah delivered the news via an internal memo, Matt Klinman took to Twitter, writing, ‘Mark Zuckerberg just walked into Funny or Die and laid off all my friends.'” This is a good read but FYI there is a bit of swearing.
Nieman Lab: If Facebook stops putting news in front of readers, will readers bother to go looking for it?
Nieman Lab: If Facebook stops putting news in front of readers, will readers bother to go looking for it?. “The idea that the value of a piece of news is defined by likes and comments — that taking in information without getting into a back-and-forth with your uncle about it is somehow unworthy — is actually a profoundly ideological statement.”
New York Times: Facebook Overhauls News Feed to Focus on What Friends and Family Share
New York Times: Facebook Overhauls News Feed to Focus on What Friends and Family Share. “Facebook has introduced sweeping changes to the kinds of posts, videos and photos that its more than two billion members will see most often, saying on Thursday that it would prioritize what their friends and family share and comment on while de-emphasizing content from publishers and brands.”
