Antisocial media: How to reform our narcissistic internet culture January 30, 2019 The social media and technology backlash – or “techlash” – has begun, and the tech companies are scrambling to catch up. Earlier this month, Sheryl Sandberg talked compellingly at the Munich DLD conference about Facebook’s challenges and the company’s acceptance of greater responsibility around the big issues of data safety, misinformation, and transparency. Good stuff, [...]
Social media sites should have legal duty over child safety, says children’s commissioner January 30, 2019 Social media platforms must do more to protect children from harmful material on their platforms, the children’s commissioner has said. Anne Longfield today penned an open letter to social media giants urging them to take legal responsibility for the safety of children on their sites. Read more: Facebook tightens ad rules for EU political parties ahead [...]
Facebook’s popularity among children wanes as social media safety concerns deepen January 29, 2019 Facebook’s popularity among children slipped in 2018 as more young people look to Instagram for their social media updates, according to an Ofcom report. While Facebook remains the most popular social media site among 12 to 15-year-olds, only 31 per cent of people in this age range named it as their main site or app, [...]
Buzzfeed set to slash half its UK editorial roles in restructuring plan January 28, 2019 Buzzfeed will cut its UK editorial team by almost 50 per cent as part of a cost-cutting strategy amid falling advertising revenues. The online publisher is set to reduce its London-based team from 37 to 20 employees as it looks to reduce its global headcount by 15 per cent. Read more: Buzzfeed and Verizon plan to slash [...]
Conde Nast launches new online magazine Vogue Business for fashion professionals January 28, 2019 Conde Nast International is launching a new business magazine aimed at professionals in the fashion and luxury industries as it looks for new revenue sources amid a tough climate for publishers. Vogue Business will be online-only and will launch as a bi-weekly newsletter, with a view to switching to a paid model in the future. [...]
Sir Philip Green abandons legal action against the Telegraph over legal injunction January 28, 2019 Sir Philip Green has dropped his legal action against the Telegraph over its accusations against him of multiple claims of sexual harassment and racism. Sir Philip, who denies the allegations, was named in parliament by Lord Peter Hain after an injunction prevented the Telegraph from identifying the businessman after an eight-month investigation. Read more: Sir [...]
Facebook is set to merge messaging services across Instagram, Whatsapp and Messenger January 25, 2019 Facebook is planning to streamline its messaging services by integrating Whatsapp, Instagram and Facebook messenger. All three will remain separate apps, but underneath the surface they will all be inter-linked, allowing messages to travel between services, according to a report in the New York Times. The paper claims it is the personal project of the [...]
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism secures £800,000 to fund growth January 25, 2019 The Bureau of Investigative Journalism has secured a new round of fundraising, bucking the trend after a torrid week of job cuts among digital media outlets. The not-for-profit news organisation said it has received £800,000 over two years from global charity Luminate, which was set up by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar. Read more: Buzzfeed and Verizon [...]
BBC weighs new European headquarters in Brussels January 25, 2019 The BBC is considering opening a new office in Brussels ahead of the UK leaving the EU, according to Belgium prime minister Charles Michel. Michel, who is attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, said he has held meetings with BBC director general Tony Hall to discuss the possible move. Read more: Brussels launches campaign to [...]
Brussels launches campaign to entice UK creative industries ahead of Brexit January 24, 2019 Brussels has positioned itself as a potential new home for the UK’s creative industries by calling on creative businesses to move to the Belgian capital ahead of Brexit. The campaign aims to bring British companies in the film, broadcast and creative industries to Brussels to help them secure their European operations when Britain leaves the [...]