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Stephen Council

Reporter

Stephen Council joined The Information as a reporting intern following his graduation from Northwestern, where he studied journalism, economics and creative writing. He recently interned in The Wall Street Journal’s Chicago bureau, where he split his time between U.S. and corporate coverage. Previously he was an investigations intern at CNBC, an intern for CalMatters and an investigations editor at his college newspaper. Based in New York City, Stephen can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal, at (757) 707-7208.

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Briefing
Media/Telecom

Activist Investor Builds 7% Stake in New York Times, Urges Subscription Bundle Push

Aug. 11, 2022 · 1:12 PM PDT
ValueAct Capital Management told investors in a Thursday letter that the outlet will flourish if it more aggressively rolls out its subscription bundle.
Briefing
Media/Telecom

Disney+ Adds 14.4 Million Subscribers, Announces Ad-Supported Tier

Aug. 10, 2022 · 3:44 PM PDT
Disney’s streaming services beat analyst expectations for subscriber growth with heavy gains outside North America.
Briefing
Facebook

Meta Raises $10 Billion in Bond Market Debut

Aug. 10, 2022 · 2:56 PM PDT
The Facebook parent’s first ever corporate bond offering will help the company fund share buybacks amid dimming financial prospects.
Briefing
Media/Telecom

Axios Selling Itself to Cox Enterprises for $525 Million

Aug. 8, 2022 · 8:45 AM PDT
The digital media outlet, which had raised $55 million since 2016, will continue its push into local news as part of the telecom conglomerate.
Briefing
Media/Telecom

Warner Bros. Discovery Considers Free, Ad-Supported Streaming Service

Aug. 4, 2022 · 4:26 PM PDT
The newly merged entertainment conglomerate boasted a total of 92.1 million total streaming subscribers in the second quarter.
Briefing
Uber/Lyft

Lyft Stock Climbs on Ride Hailing Rebound

Aug. 4, 2022 · 4:02 PM PDT
The San Francisco-based company said ride-hailing neared pre-pandemic levels.
Data Point
Google Facebook

Why Mark Zuckerberg and Sundar Pichai Are Worried About Productivity

By Stephen Council · Aug. 4, 2022 10:00 AM PDT · 17 comments
Executives at Facebook parent Meta Platforms and Google parent Alphabet are feeling the pressure, so they’re giving employees a kick in the pants. After years of rapid hiring, productivity at the tech giants is suffering, as revenue and free cash flow per employee decline. The reason for falling productivity: Both companies have continued... Executives at Facebook parent Meta Platforms and Google parent Alphabet are feeling the pressure,...
Briefing
Apple

Apple Job Posting Hints at Advertising Ambitions

Aug. 3, 2022 · 2:01 PM PDT · 1 comment
The hardware and software giant is looking for someone to create a platform that will help advertisers buy ads across Apple’s web of services
Briefing
Policy

Google, Meta and Apple Back Affirmative Action in Supreme Court Brief

Aug. 1, 2022 · 2:42 PM PDT
Seventy companies signed on to the amici curiae brief, which makes a business argument for allowing affirmative action in college admissions.
Art by Mike Sullivan

How Netflix Could Help Streaming’s Ad Bottleneck

By Stephen Council · Aug. 1, 2022 6:00 AM PDT
Netflix’s decision to launch an advertising-supported version is a risky move that flings the giant into a business it has resisted for years. But the push—scheduled for next year—has one thing going for it: Advertisers are thirsty for more ways to reach people watching streaming TV and movies online. Cord cutting has left... Netflix’s decision to launch an advertising-supported version is a risky move that flings...
Briefing
Media/Telecom

Roku Stock Plummets on Weak TV Ad Demand

July 28, 2022 · 2:28 PM PDT
The streaming company forecast just 3% revenue growth in the third quarter, blaming a slowdown in TV advertising.
Briefing
Google

Google’s 18-Month Run of Blistering Growth Comes to An End

July 26, 2022 · 2:18 PM PDT
Alphabet, Google’s parent company, reported its slowest quarterly revenue growth since the start of the pandemic.
Briefing
Markets Economy

Twitter Revenue Falls But Stock Stays Flat Thanks to Musk Deal

July 22, 2022 · 2:53 PM PDT
As advertising demand slows, the social media company’s revenue dropped for the first quarter since the beginning of the pandemic.
Briefing
Media/Telecom

Snap Reports Sharp Revenue Slowdown, Shares Plunge

July 21, 2022 · 2:45 PM PDT
The social platform and augmented reality company grew revenue by just 13% year over year, its slowest quarterly rate since going public.
Briefing
Media/Telecom

Netflix Loses 970,000 Subscribers in Second Quarter

July 19, 2022 · 4:45 PM PDT
The streaming giant hung on to more subscribers than it forecast, but the strong dollar cut into profits.
Briefing
Facebook

Meta’s Forced Sale of Giphy Stalls After Regulatory Fumble

July 18, 2022 · 1:22 PM PDT
The U.K. Competition & Markets Authority unlawfully redacted material in its merger inquiry, an appeals tribunal ruled.
Photo by AP.
Media/Telecom Google

What Comes After Big Tech’s Advertising Boom?

By Stephen Council · July 15, 2022 6:00 AM PDT · 2 comments
Earnings season is fast approaching, and all eyes will be on how advertising businesses, under pressure from privacy changes and competition from fast-growing TikTok, are holding up amid a souring economic climate. A slowdown from last year’s blockbuster ad revenue growth is likely as companies tighten digital marketing budgets and the... Earnings season is fast approaching, and all eyes will be on how advertising businesses, under...
Briefing
Entertainment

Unity to Buy Ad Tech Firm ironSource in $4.4 Billion Deal

July 13, 2022 · 12:22 PM PDT
The gaming giant is snapping up the app monetization company for 60% less than its SPAC deal listing price last year.
Briefing

Google Offers to Move, But Not Sell, Ad-Tech Business

July 8, 2022 · 11:55 AM PDT
The proposed concessions came as government pressure mounts against the massive internet company.