Mediagazer: Report finds advertisers to spend about $35.1M on podcasts this year, up about 2% YoY, but lack of audience measurement remains an issue (Steven Perlberg/Wall Street Journal)

9:00 AM ET, February 19, 2016

Top News:

New Chinese rule bans foreign companies from publishing online without state approval and licensing, requires mainland servers, starting March 10 — China requires approval for foreign firms to publish online … BEIJING (AP) — A new Chinese regulation announced this week …

Discussion: Quartz, Tech in Asia, South China Morning Post and American Press Institute

Axegrinder / Press Gazette:

Huffington Post Editor-in-Chief Stephen Hull suggests unpaid articles are more authentic than paid-for stories, which is “something to be proud of” — Stephen Hull and the blockheads: Backlash against HuffPo ed's claim unpaid articles are ‘more authentic’

Discussion: New Statesman and @jimspencesport

James Rainey / Variety:

Source: Nicole Seligman to step down as president of Sony Entertainment and Sony Corp. of America next month — Nicole Seligman Stepping Down as President of Sony Entertainment — Nicole Seligman, president of both Sony Entertainment and Sony Corp. of America, is stepping down from the twin posts …

Discussion: Re/code, Variety, Hollywood Reporter and Los Angeles Times

Steven Perlberg / Wall Street Journal:

Report finds advertisers to spend about $35.1M on podcasts this year, up about 2% YoY, but lack of audience measurement remains an issue — Podcasts Face Advertising Hurdles — Industry contends with marketers' doubts about measurement, scale — Since the hit podcast “Serial” …

Discussion: Galleys, @jazer, @noahchestnut, AdExchanger, @jakek, RAIN News and @niemanlab

Alexios Mantzarlis / Poynter:

There are 96 fact-checking projects in 37 countries, new census finds — The latest census of fact-checking and promise-tracking initiatives shows 96 such projects currently operating in 37 countries (highlighted in green below). This is a 50 percent increase compared to the 2015 census.

Discussion: Duke Reporters' Lab, USA Today, @reporterslab, @brianstelter, @billadairduke and @butchward

Madeline Welsh / Nieman Lab:

Guardian compares covering dog show on Periscope and Facebook Live, finds more initial engagement on Periscope, more eventual reach on Facebook Live — What The Guardian learned from comparing Facebook Live and Periscope for event coverage — It was a dramatic night at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.

Discussion: American Press Institute, @gdnmobilelab and UK Blog on The Huffington Post

Shan Wang / Nieman Lab:

Jose Antonio Vargas is launching #EmergingUS outside the L.A. Times, aiming to crowdfund $1M — “Five years ago, I took the biggest risk of my life. Last year, I made a film called White People. In 2016, I want to talk about us,” the voice of journalist and activist Jose Antonio Vargas announced …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Beacon, @robertore62, @rubinafillion, @joseiswriting, @eliseneal, @ianmnelson95, @ramsammy, @jbenton, Poynter and LA Observed

Shalini Ramachandran / Wall Street Journal:

Sources: after launching a year ago, Sling TV now has more than 600K subscribers; Chief Executive Roger Lynch says “vast majority” are not pay-TV subscribers — Dish Network's Sling TV Has More Than 600,000 Subscribers — Hasn't been breaking out the subscribers publicly for Sling TV since launch a year ago

Discussion: Digital Trends

Georg Szalai / Hollywood Reporter:
Dish Network earned $747M on $15.1B in revenues, lost 81K pay TV subscribers in 2015

Discussion: Multichannel News, Business Wire, Home Media Magazine, Denver Business Journal, Motley Fool, TechCrunch, Variety, USA Today, Reuters, Reuters and DSLreports

Colin Lecher / The Verge:

FCC votes 3-2 to proceed with plan to give customers more choice over cable TV set-top boxes; proposal now moves into comment period — The FCC just took the first big step toward changing the cable box business — In a three-to-two vote, the FCC has decided to move ahead with a proposal …

Dawn Chmielewski / Re/code:

Vevo CEO Erik Huggers says company is working on a paid music video subscription service, could launch this year — Vevo Is Working on a Paid Music Video Subscription Service (Video) — The Internet's dominant music video service is working on a subscription offering.

Elspeth Reeve / New Republic:

How Tumblr's teen comedy geniuses find fame, build audiences, outsmart ad networks, strike it rich, then lose it all, without adults ever noticing — The Secret Lives of Tumblr Teens

Discussion: @raphaelbw, @hunterschwarz, @mollylambert, @bshoup, Boing Boing, @c_s_green, @ldavidson02, @elspethreeve, @dylanmatt, @imbadatlife, @nickbaumann, @laurenkozak, New York Magazine and Hit & Run

George Slefo / Ad Age:

Sources: Google's AMP initiative to speed mobile pages to launch Wednesday, with Wall Street Journal, BuzzFeed, and Washington Post among those participating — Official Launch Date for Google AMP Confirmed — Google's Accelerated Mobile Pages Is Launching Feb. 24, Ad Age Has Learned

Discussion: AdExchanger, Search Engine Land and American Press Institute

Drip:

Drip, which provided subscription services and communities for musicians and fans, announces it will close on March 18 — A Letter from the Founders of Drip — We have a tough message to share today: We've decided to conclude the Drip platform on March 18.

Discussion: @om, @valenti, @philipsherburne, @aten, @zackshave, @simoncarless, @drip, @skullcat, @valenti, Pitchfork and FACT Magazine

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This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 9:00 AM ET, February 19, 2016.

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Who's Hiring in Media?

Output Producer, CA — AP

China Markets Correspondent, Shanghai — Reuters

Senior Assignment Editor, DC — WaPo

Breaking News Editor, Tokyo — Bloomberg

Senior Correspondent - Wealth, NY — WSJ

Reporter - Ottawa Bureau — Globe & Mail

Local Government Reporter, IA — The Gazette

Research Director, CA — OCBJ

Immigration Enforcement Reporter — Documented

Presque Island Reporter, ME — Bangor Daily News

Contributing Parks Ed. - SW, CA — SFGATE

AI Content Editor, WA — Outlier

Legislative Reporter, TN — Daily Memphian

Editorial Assistant, Remote US — Launch Potato

Elon Musk Reporter, NY or CA — The Information

Government & Politics Editor, WA — Seattle Times

Business & GA Reporter. VT — VTDigger

Sports Reporter, WA — Everett Herald

Energy Reporter, TX — Houston Chronicle

Senior Reporter, SC — Island Packet

Trade & Climate Correspondent, DC — FT

Reporter, WI — Racine County Eye

Political Newsletter Writer, CO — The Lever

Jackson Reporter, MS — Verite

Music Editor, AZ — Phoenix New Times

Breaking News Reporter, NV — Las Vegas Sun

Fearless Reporter/Producer, IA — BPC

Reporter II - Technology, Remote — NPR

Editor, Remote US — Daily Kos

City Reporter, WA — Tacoma News Tribune

Executive Editor, OR — Lookout Local

Education & Budget Reporter, CA — Politico

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Chava Gourarie / Columbia Journalism Review:
Behind the Another Round, Unorthodox, and Good Muslim Bad Muslim podcasts that serve underrepresented communities

Tom Dotan / The Information:
Yahoo shuts down Originals TV programming division, lays off its chief, Ian Moffitt

Discussion: @cityofthetown and Business Insider

Todd Spangler / Variety:
HBO signs exclusive deal with Nippon TV's Hulu Japan to license Games of Thrones, Sopranos, Girls, more

Discussion: @lucas_shaw and Home Media Magazine

Ricardo Bilton / Digiday:
BBC is using anonymous location-based chat app Yik Yak to engage with readers in special coverage of mental heath issues

Discussion: @schmalie

Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:
BBC banned from leading news bulletins on opinion polls during EU referendum campaign

Discussion: Guardian

Earlier Picks:

Adrienne Lafrance / The Atlantic:
Reporter who covers tech and science for The Atlantic analyzes a year's worth of her work and finds just over 22% of unique names are female

Discussion: @nisamalli and @mstem

Ben Popper / The Verge:
Netflix updated its recommendation algorithms to highlight titles based on global viewing habits earlier this year, ditching regional approach

Discussion: Tubefilter

Ricardo Bilton / Digiday:
Ozy partners with Wired, The New York Times, MIT, and TED for co-branded newsletters that include content from partner publications

Barry Petchesky / Deadspin:
SBNation blames breakdown in editorial process for its briefly available profile of ex-police officer and convicted rapist Daniel Holtzclaw

Discussion: New York Times, Talking Points Memo, @jayrosen_nyu, @deephunk, iMediaEthics, @lexalexander, Daily Oklahoman, @petersterne, The Source, @maggiekb1, Washington Post and The Huffington Post

From Techmeme:

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Google releases Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking, an experimental “reasoning” model that “explicitly shows its thoughts” and can use them to strengthen its reasoning

New York Times:
In 150+ X posts, Elon Musk led the charge to kill a bipartisan spending deal, in part by sharing misinfo, which may lead to a government shutdown over Christmas

Reuters:
Sources: Apple is in early-stage talks with Tencent and ByteDance about integrating their AI models into iPhones sold in China; ChatGPT is unavailable in China

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