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Reverberate: US media and marketing news you need to know - Yahoo's assistant plan, Google goes wireless & McDonald's cuts out deforestation

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By John McCarthy, Opinion Editor

April 22, 2015 | 4 min read

Morning all, here’s a glimpse at all the media and marketing news you should know today.

Marissa Mayer

1. Facebook has announced it has rejigged the algorithm for users’ newsfeeds. Time reports that Facebook’s emphasis on showing more content from friends could cut into brand and page traffic.

2. The Wall Street Journal is touting Google to unveil its wireless service today. The service is said to run on Sprint and T-Mobile's networks, and only works on the Nexus 6 smartphone.

3. Yahoo chief executive Marissa Mayer announced in Yahoo’s earnings call that the brand is looking to move into the personal assistant market. Business Insider notes that the pivot would align Yahoo with Microsoft’s Cortana, Google Now and Apple’s Siri.

4. McDonald's has announced a big change in its sustainability policy promising to end deforestation across its entire supply chain, according to the Guardian. The commitment will affect the fast food company’s 3,100 global direct suppliers.

5. Trading standards issued a complaint to Amazon on behalf of a small nuisance call screening company, trying to get the e-commerce giant to take down a factually incorrect review. The Register reports that Amazon refused to remove the review and as a result trading standards has recommended a change to the law to address inaccurate and libellous reviews.

6. Finnish firm Nokia is promising to relaunch its own smartphone after a notable absence from the market after Microsoft picked up its devices and services department last year. Recode reports that the company cannot release a smartphone until the end of the year when its Microsoft mobile non-competition clause ends.

7. Business Insider reports that Telsa’s cutting edge electric batteries are already being used by Wal-Mart in a pilot. Some 300 homes and 11 Wal-Mart stores have been fitted with the energy efficient batteries.

8. Facebook-owned WhatsApp has started rolling out free Wi-Fi calls on iOS, according to the Next Web. The company had previously released the feature on Android.

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