Tumblr is changing its community guidelines to more explicitly ban hate speech, glorifying violence, and revenge porn. The new rules go into effect on September 10th. “It’s on all of us to create a safe, constructive, and empowering environment,” Tumblr writes in its blog post.
A barista gets burned at work, buys first-aid cream at Target, and later that day sees a Facebook ad for the same product. In another Target, someone shouts down the aisle to a companion to pick up some Red Bull; on the ride home, Instagram serves a sponsored post for the beverage. A home baker wishes aloud for a KitchenAid mixer, and moments after there’s an ad for one on his phone. Two friends are talking about recent trips to Japan, and soon after one gets hawked cheap flights there.
On Aug 24, Gov. Phil Murphy (D-NJ) signed a law that aims to fill the local news void in New Jersey by creating the Civic Information Consortium, a grant-making organization led by a group of universities that would fund media start-ups. Supporters have said this is the first endeavor of its kind in the nation. But Gov Murphy's signing statement raised doubt about how much money they state immediately could dedicate to the cause.
David Christopher, who runs AT&T’s wireless and entertainment businesses, has a bird’s eye view of how streaming media and video are evolving. AT&T recently completed its $85 billion purchase of Time Warner, a deal designed to help traditional media companies compete better with nimble tech services such as Netflix. Soon after the deal closed, AT&T launched WatchTV, a $15-a-month streaming service that offers more than 30 TV channels, including Time Warner channels TNT and TBS.
AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson has a lot on his plate, to say the least. And a new report from Wall Street investment firm Wells Fargo outlines just how many balls Stephenson has in the air as he works to integrate the Time Warner business, pay down a massive amount of debt, deploy 5G, stamp out a winning position in the video business, and build out fiber to millions of new locations. Indeed, the severity of the situation led the analysts at Wells Fargo to downgrade its rating on AT&T stock based on the company's top three major challenges:
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