At Industry Conference, Publishers Vent About Power of Social Media Companies

Originally posted on Ad Age.

"The damage that the platforms ... can do to journalism and to news is pretty profound," said M. Scott Havens, Bloomberg Media's global head of digital, who spoke Wednesday.

He attributed altruistic motives to companies like Facebook and Snapchat, which have linked up with media companies to host their content and share some of the advertising revenue from it. "I think the platforms are trying to help us," he said. "I really do."

But, Mr. Havens told the media and advertising executives in attendance, "We're not their focus. ... They're going to make decisions that are best for them. Period." (Bloomberg Media, he said, has abstained from Facebook's Instant Articles and Snapchat.)
Continue reading the full article here.