Stept Studios, a creative, and production studio based in Los Angeles and Jackson Hole, Wyoming, has brought Meredith Rodriguez on board as head of sales, marketing and development, and Paul Muhlbach as a brand account executive. Previously, Rodriguez was the VP of sales and interactive marketing at Fresno, Inc., a Los Angeles start-up entertainment studio. Before that, she spent four years at Pinterest, within the partnerships team, joining as the first employee in L.A. and was responsible for building its presence in the market and partnerships with some of the largest global advertisers. Previously she was VP of content solutions at Demand Media and held sales and consumer marketing roles at Microsoft and MusicMatch. In addition to sales and marketing teams, Rodriguez will lead development for Stept’s film and TV projects. Muhlbach as brand account exec at Stept works directly with clients on branded content, production and post needs. Muhlbach has produced content at agencies and studios including CP+B, Stink, and B-Reel, in which he worked with global brands such as YouTube Music, WeTransfer and Jose Cuervo across a range of media and platforms….
A Closer Look At Proposed Measures Designed To Curb Google’s Search Monopoly
U.S. regulators are proposing aggressive measures to restore competition to the online search market after a federal judge ruled Google maintained an illegal monopoly for the last decade.
The sweeping set of recommendations filed late Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Justice could radically alter Google's business, including possibly spinning off the Chrome web browser and syndicating its search data to competitors. Even if the courts adopt the blueprint, Google isn't likely to make any significant changes until 2026 at the earliest, because of the legal system's slow-moving wheels.
Here's what it all means:
What is the Justice Department's goal?
Federal prosecutors are cracking down on Google in a case originally filed during near the end of then-President Donald Trump's first term. Officials say the main goal of these proposals is to get Google to stop leveraging its dominant search engine to illegally squelch competition and stifle innovation.
"The playing field is not level because of Google's conduct, and Google's quality reflects the ill-gotten gains of an advantage illegally acquired," the Justice Department asserted in its recommendations. "The remedy must close this gap and deprive Google of these advantages."
Not surprisingly, Google sees things much differently. The Justice Department's "wildly overbroad proposal goes miles beyond the Court's decision," Kent Walker, Google's chief legal officer, asserted in a blog post. "It would break a range of Google products — even beyond search — that people love and find helpful in their everyday lives."
It's still possible that the Justice Department could ease off on its attempts to break up Google, especially if President-elect Donald Trump... Read More