It probably won’t look like this for long.Uncovering and explaining how our digital world is changing — and changing us.The media landscape used to be straightforward: Content companies (studios) made stuff (TV shows and movies) and sold it to pay TV distributors, who sold it to consumers.Now things are up for grabs: Netflix buys stuff from the studios, but it’s making its own stuff, too, and it’s selling it directly to consumers. That’s one of the reasons older media companies are . Disney, for example, — though much of the early success of its Disney+ streaming service looks like it’s a...…It probably won’t look like this for long.Uncovering and explaining how our digital world is changing — and changing us.The media landscape used to be straightforward: Content companies (studios) made stuff (TV shows and movies) and sold it to pay TV distributors, who sold it to consumers.Now things are up for grabs: Netflix buys stuff from the studios, but it’s making its own stuff, too, and it’s selling it directly to consumers. That’s one of the reasons older media companies are . Disney, for example, — though much of the early success of its Disney+ streaming service looks like it’s a...WW…

Big US publishers already make money from Amazon’s “affiliate” business. Amazon wants them to make more, and may pay them upfront.Uncovering and explaining how our digital world is changing — and changing us.Amazon has a pitch for some US-based publishers: Expand overseas. We’ll make it worth your while.The world’s dominant e-commerce player is in talks with big American publishers, including the New York Times and BuzzFeed, about deals that would reward them for expanding their international presence, specifically in consumer-oriented shopping sites.Amazon already pays internet publishers...…Big US publishers already make money from Amazon’s “affiliate” business. Amazon wants them to make more, and may pay them upfront.Uncovering and explaining how our digital world is changing — and changing us.Amazon has a pitch for some US-based publishers: Expand overseas. We’ll make it worth your while.The world’s dominant e-commerce player is in talks with big American publishers, including the New York Times and BuzzFeed, about deals that would reward them for expanding their international presence, specifically in consumer-oriented shopping sites.Amazon already pays internet publishers...WW…

The limits of the platform model: Sometimes you need to pay humans to make and edit news.Uncovering and explaining how our digital world is changing — and changing us.Facebook’s News section, which launches Friday, is a big deal for newspapers because .It is also an interesting, tacit admission from Facebook: The best way for Facebook to act like a newspaper, it turns out, is for Facebook to actually behave like a newspaper.Facebook isn’t changing its main “News Feed” — an almost-anything-goes jumble of dog pictures, rants from your uncle, and whatever news stories you and your friends want...…The limits of the platform model: Sometimes you need to pay humans to make and edit news.Uncovering and explaining how our digital world is changing — and changing us.Facebook’s News section, which launches Friday, is a big deal for newspapers because .It is also an interesting, tacit admission from Facebook: The best way for Facebook to act like a newspaper, it turns out, is for Facebook to actually behave like a newspaper.Facebook isn’t changing its main “News Feed” — an almost-anything-goes jumble of dog pictures, rants from your uncle, and whatever news stories you and your friends want...WW…

Tony Haile’s new project is still in the planning stages. But it’s interesting.Uncovering and explaining how our digital world is changing — and changing us.How much would you pay to read lots of stories, from lots of digital publishers, without having to look at many ads?Tony Haile wants to find out.Haile is the former CEO of Chartbeat, the real-time analytics software used by most of the digital publishing world. Now he’s at work on a new company: Scroll, a startup that wants to roll up a selection of stories from a wide variety of publishers and sell monthly subscriptions.The big selling...…Tony Haile’s new project is still in the planning stages. But it’s interesting.Uncovering and explaining how our digital world is changing — and changing us.How much would you pay to read lots of stories, from lots of digital publishers, without having to look at many ads?Tony Haile wants to find out.Haile is the former CEO of Chartbeat, the real-time analytics software used by most of the digital publishing world. Now he’s at work on a new company: Scroll, a startup that wants to roll up a selection of stories from a wide variety of publishers and sell monthly subscriptions.The big selling...WW…

Guess what happens when you tell people, over and over, that they’re being robbed? They may believe you.Uncovering and explaining how our digital world is changing — and changing us.For more than two months, Fox News has been telling its viewers that the presidential election has been stolen. Or, at the very least, it could have been stolen.Now, facing the fatal consequence of that lie — a riot at the US Capitol that left at least four people dead — America’s most popular news network is telling its viewers the events were sad but also understandable. Because voters think the presidential...…Guess what happens when you tell people, over and over, that they’re being robbed? They may believe you.Uncovering and explaining how our digital world is changing — and changing us.For more than two months, Fox News has been telling its viewers that the presidential election has been stolen. Or, at the very least, it could have been stolen.Now, facing the fatal consequence of that lie — a riot at the US Capitol that left at least four people dead — America’s most popular news network is telling its viewers the events were sad but also understandable. Because voters think the presidential...WW…

The Times’s subscription business is booming. But the BuzzFeed CEO has a critique.Uncovering and explaining how our digital world is changing — and changing us.Jonah Peretti co-founded the Huffington Post, then left to start BuzzFeed. Now he’s running both companies: BuzzFeed is picking up HuffPost from Verizon, the phone company that thought it wanted to be in the media business and then .I talked to Peretti about the rationale for the deal (scale, scale, scale), whether he can guarantee that all HuffPost employees will keep their jobs (no), (he won’t say), and whether he wants to buy more...…The Times’s subscription business is booming. But the BuzzFeed CEO has a critique.Uncovering and explaining how our digital world is changing — and changing us.Jonah Peretti co-founded the Huffington Post, then left to start BuzzFeed. Now he’s running both companies: BuzzFeed is picking up HuffPost from Verizon, the phone company that thought it wanted to be in the media business and then .I talked to Peretti about the rationale for the deal (scale, scale, scale), whether he can guarantee that all HuffPost employees will keep their jobs (no), (he won’t say), and whether he wants to buy more...WW…

President Obama loved the internet. Now he has second thoughts.Uncovering and explaining how our digital world is changing — and changing us.Back in 2008, Barack Obama famously harnessed the internet and social media to help win the White House. He kept up the embrace once he got there.Now he worries that the internet and social media have helped create “the single biggest threat to our democracy.”Obama has been saying a version of this for four years — since he left the White House — but his words are getting steadily more pointed. He’s clearly sounding an alarm, but it’s not exactly clear...…President Obama loved the internet. Now he has second thoughts.Uncovering and explaining how our digital world is changing — and changing us.Back in 2008, Barack Obama famously harnessed the internet and social media to help win the White House. He kept up the embrace once he got there.Now he worries that the internet and social media have helped create “the single biggest threat to our democracy.”Obama has been saying a version of this for four years — since he left the White House — but his words are getting steadily more pointed. He’s clearly sounding an alarm, but it’s not exactly clear...WW…

The Massachusetts senator wants the attorney general to resign. She also wants him to sue Google.Uncovering and explaining how our digital world is changing — and changing us.You have to do something extraordinary to unite Elizabeth Warren and Bill Barr.But that’s what Google has done. President Trump’s attorney general and personal fixer has filed an antitrust suit against the trillion-dollar internet titan. And the Massachusetts senator, who despises everything about the Trump administration and , is cheering him on. Sort of.“Two things can be true at the same time: Bill Barr is a corrupt...…The Massachusetts senator wants the attorney general to resign. She also wants him to sue Google.Uncovering and explaining how our digital world is changing — and changing us.You have to do something extraordinary to unite Elizabeth Warren and Bill Barr.But that’s what Google has done. President Trump’s attorney general and personal fixer has filed an antitrust suit against the trillion-dollar internet titan. And the Massachusetts senator, who despises everything about the Trump administration and , is cheering him on. Sort of.“Two things can be true at the same time: Bill Barr is a corrupt...WW…

We know it won’t be Trump.Uncovering and explaining how our digital world is changing — and changing us.Donald Trump is a liar.Before he became president, Trump lied about everything from his personal wealth to his TV ratings to the number of floors in his condo towers. Once in the White House, he started out lying about the size of his inauguration crowd, and super-sized his lies from there.So now that Trump has tested positive for the , who are we going to trust for information about the state of his health?For the very near-term, we are triangulating: There are the official...…We know it won’t be Trump.Uncovering and explaining how our digital world is changing — and changing us.Donald Trump is a liar.Before he became president, Trump lied about everything from his personal wealth to his TV ratings to the number of floors in his condo towers. Once in the White House, he started out lying about the size of his inauguration crowd, and super-sized his lies from there.So now that Trump has tested positive for the , who are we going to trust for information about the state of his health?For the very near-term, we are triangulating: There are the official...WW…

“Activist investor” Elliott Management has targeted Dorsey, who runs Twitter and Square at the same time.Uncovering and explaining how our digital world is changing — and changing us.Jack Dorsey is the CEO of Twitter. He is also the CEO of Square.That shouldn’t continue any longer, says an investment group, which — or, at the very least, stop running both companies at the same time. And unlike other people who complain about Twitter, these guys might actually be able to do something about it.Here’s the deal: Elliott Management, an “activist investor” firm, has bought a lot of Twitter shares...…“Activist investor” Elliott Management has targeted Dorsey, who runs Twitter and Square at the same time.Uncovering and explaining how our digital world is changing — and changing us.Jack Dorsey is the CEO of Twitter. He is also the CEO of Square.That shouldn’t continue any longer, says an investment group, which — or, at the very least, stop running both companies at the same time. And unlike other people who complain about Twitter, these guys might actually be able to do something about it.Here’s the deal: Elliott Management, an “activist investor” firm, has bought a lot of Twitter shares...WW…