Each day we collect the five top stories from around the Web.
Hulu on the Block?: The Wall Street Journal has an intriguing, vague story that Hulu has a suitor wanting to buy the popular premium video hub. The Journal confirms this story with multiple sources, yet it doesn’t produce a name. That of course leads to a parlor game of guessing not just who would want to buy Hulu but who would possibly be acceptable to its media company owners. That would seem to rule out Google. Apple? It does have plenty of cash, although media companies are leery of it as a gatekeeper. Maybe Yahoo is making a stab at regaining its momentum? WSJ
Harsh Words for Digital: Despite what Inamoto writes, the days are long past when ad agency types turn their noses up at digital. Nowadays everyone is falling all over themselves to pay homage to the Web’s awesome powers. ClickZ’s Zach Rodgers notes an interesting counter movement at the Cannes ad festival — it’s calling itself a “creativity” festival now — to put digital in its place. Ali Ali, creative director at indie agency Elephant Cairo, thinks its time to move on from obsessing about social media and all things interactive. ClickZ
The End of Anonymity: The Web for a long time was defined by a New Yorker cartoon that showed a dog at a computer. “On the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog,” the caption read. Not so anymore. The NYT checks in with a story by Brian Stelter on how the Web nowadays means pretty much the end of anonymity, whether people want it or not. He cites the recent example of a young woman who berated a train conductor, only to have her cringe-worthy spiel — “Do you know how educated I am?” — posted online and her identity revealed. Overall, however, the end of Internet anonymity should lead to much more civility online. NYT
Turntable.fm Gains Fans: The latest “it” startup seems to be Turntable.fm, a spinout from the founders of Stickybits. The site lets people enter into listening rooms, where they compete to be DJs. There are also avatars and it’s not as weird and Second Life as it sounds. Peter Kafka at All Things D pronounces the service “awesome,” only to rain on the parade by wondering about its legality. But Kafka writes that while his instincts are to skip out on startup up hype, “this one feels pretty special.” All Things D
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Magna 2023 forecast paints a resilient U.S. market, thanks to retail media and streaming
In its latest ad forecast, Magna is expecting a resilient U.S. market this year – boosted by retail, streaming and the auto industry’s bounceback.
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How agencies are shaping the future of DEI beyond their own walls
Agencies are acknowledging that diversity efforts don’t stop with their companies. In addition to improving employee representation, now agency efforts in diversity, equity and inclusion are aimed at supporting clients and external partners.
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Newsletter publishers say they continue to see uptick in revenue despite advertising slowdown
At a time when larger media companies are feeling the pressure of the economic downturn and advertising slowdown, newsletter businesses continue to be in a period of revenue growth.
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SponsoredHow advertisers are fostering more effective publisher partnerships
Michael Weaver, senior vice president, business development and growth, Al Jazeera Media Network An everyday conversation between publishers and advertisers goes like this: The publisher invites the advertiser to a meal to talk about their business, attempts to delve into specifics on what the media buyer is looking to achieve, their audience breakdown and how […]
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TikTok’s CEO faces bipartisan skepticism in first Congressional hearing on security concerns
The hearing comes amid calls to remove TikTok from government devices and in some cases even ban it entirely.
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Media Briefing: What to expect at the Digiday Publishing Summit
As DPS draws nearer, top pain points for publishers are coming to light.
