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Ad Age “Media Guy” columnist Simon Dumenco’s media roundup for the morning of Tuesday, April 4:
Will you take the oath to get used to Oath, the new name for the combined AOL-Yahoo unit under Verizon? Or will Oath bug you forever and ever, like Tronc? And Oath aside, should Verizon entirely do away with the AOL or Yahoo brands? (Take Ad Age’s poll.) Also, when Tronc and Oath merge, should the combined company be called Troath? Wait, sorry, I’m getting ahead of myself here. Anyway, let’s get started …
1. “President Donald Trump on Monday signed into law a controversial measure repealing online privacy protections established by the Federal Communications Commission under the Obama Administration,” Time’s Katie Reilly reports. “The rules, which would have taken effect in December, required internet service providers — including Comcast, Verizon and AT&T — to obtain permission from customers before sharing personal data like their web-browsing history. The rules were aimed at preventing internet providers from selling that data without permission.”
2. War Is Peace. Freedom Is Slavery. Ignorance Is Strength. “Theaters Across United States Protest Trump With Screening of ‘1984,’” per NBC News. Actually, theaters in Canada, Croatia, Holland, New Zealand, Sweden and the UK too. Find the complete list here.
3. Good job, Business Insider! You made me click! “These 10 companies control everything you buy.”
4. Because of course — and wait, what? The top story on The Washington Post’s “most read” ranking this morning is a report by Adam Entous, Greg Miller, Kevin Sieff and Karen DeYoung headlined “Blackwater founder held secret Seychelles meeting to establish Trump-Putin back channel.” One of the details that internet commenters seem to be fixating on is the fact that Blackwater founder Erik Prince has a sister who recently got a big job. A key passage in the WashPost story:
Though Prince had no formal role with the Trump campaign or transition team, he presented himself as an unofficial envoy for Trump to high-ranking Emiratis involved in setting up his meeting with the Putin confidant, according to the officials, who did not identify the Russian. Prince was an avid supporter of Trump. After the Republican convention, he contributed $250,000 to Trump’s campaign, the national party and a pro-Trump super PAC led by GOP mega-donor Rebekah Mercer, records show. He has ties to people in Trump’s circle, including Stephen K. Bannon, now serving as the president’s chief strategist and senior counselor. Prince’s sister Betsy DeVos serves as education secretary in the Trump administration. And Prince was seen in the Trump transition offices in New York in December.
5. Here’s The Week’s take on a new poll from Investor’s Business Daily/TIPP: “Fewer than half of white men and rural Americans approve of Trump in brutal new poll.”
6. Service Journalism for Trump’s America!: “How to Get Your Next Profile Picture to Look Like Melania Trump’s Official Portrait,” by Gabriella Paiella of NYmag.com’s The Cut. (Partial spoiler: “Go to a Sears Portrait Studio” is No. 1 on Paiella’s seven-step guide.)
7. And finally, speaking of internet chew toys, Recode’s Kara Swisher, in her Monday afternoon post about the combined AOL-Yahoo company’s plan to call itself Oath, promised “a free Recode t-shirt for anyone who tweets the best joke about that new brand to me in the next 24 hours with the hashtag #MockTheOath. (No, Tim Armstrong, you cannot play.)” You have until 5:19 p.m. ET.
Also, FYI:
FAQ:
Q: Is “Oath” Yahoo or AOL?
A: Boath
Q: What will determine success?
A: Groawth
Q: What’s the strategy
A: Build a competitive moath— Ashley Mayer �� (@ashleymayer) April 4, 2017
Simon Dumenco, aka Media Guy, is an Ad Age editor-at-large. You can follow him on Twitter @simondumenco.
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