Author: Mae Anderson
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Comcast enters bidding war with Disney for Fox
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save NEW YORK — Comcast made a $65 billion bid Wednesday for Fox’s entertainment businesses, setting up a battle with Disney to become the next mega-media company. The bid comes just a day after a federal…
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Cambridge Analytica, which was at center of Facebook privacy scandal, will close
NEW YORK — The data firm at the center of Facebook’s privacy scandal is declaring bankruptcy and shutting down. In a statement, Cambridge Analytica says it has been “vilified” for actions it says are both legal and widely accepted as part of online advertising. The firm says the media furor stripped it of its customers…
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Indictment: Social media firms got played by Russian agents
Friday’s election-interference indictment brought by Robert Mueller, the U.S. special counsel, underscores how thoroughly social-media companies like Facebook and Twitter were played by Russian propagandists. And it’s not clear if the companies have taken sufficient action to prevent something similar from happening again. Thirteen Russians, including a businessman close to Vladimir Putin, were charged Friday…
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Stars of the Olympics are changing the sponsorship game
NEW YORK — A gold medal used to be the golden ticket for lucrative endorsements — think Mary Lou Retton on a Wheaties box. But in the age of social media, athletes are making a name for themselves well ahead of time. Even more so than in Rio in 2016 and Sochi in 2014, Pyeongchang…
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Ram truck ad using MLK speech draws backlash
NEW YORK — A Ram truck ad that used a speech by Martin Luther King, Jr., is drawing a backlash. The ad shows people doing service-oriented tasks set against audio of King’s speech, which urges people to be “great” by serving the greater good rather than being successful. It was supposed to highlight the volunteer program Ram…
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Fat finger: Typo caused Amazon’s big cloud-computing outage
NEW YORK — Amazon says an incorrectly typed command during a routine debugging of its billing system caused the five-hour outage of some Amazon Web Services servers on Tuesday. In a summary posted online, the Seattle company says a command meant to remove a small number of servers for one of its S3 subsystems was…
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Super Bowl advertisers tread carefully in divisive climate
NEW YORK — Super Bowl advertisers are treading carefully this year to avoid alienating customers as a divisive political climate takes some of the buzz away from what is usually the biggest spectacle on TV. Ad critic Barbara Lippert says that while “people need an escape,” like the Super Bowl, this year’s matchup on the…
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With deals offered early, will shoppers buy on Cyber Monday?
NEW YORK — Cyber Monday may be in danger of losing its online sales title. The Monday after Thanksgiving is traditionally the busiest online shopping day of the year, but stores are releasing internet deals earlier, stretching them through the week, as well as making them available in stores. Shoppers looking for discounts spurred online…
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Give crafty gifts without lifting a finger
ATLANTA — There’s an emphasis on craftiness this holiday. But there’s no need to slave away with knitting needles or the glue gun. It’s easier than ever to give crafty gifts without lifting a finger — except for a few clicks of the mouse. The $30 billion crafting market has been heating up since craft-selling…
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List: 10 Super Bowl commercials you’ll be talking about
NEW YORK — It’s almost show time. When the Super Bowl kicks off at on Sunday, 40-plus advertisers will be hoping to win over the more than 110 million viewers tuning in. At $4.5 million for a 30-second spot, they’re all hoping to have the ad everyone will be talking about Monday morning. Here are…