Mediagazer: Avengers: Endgame breaks records in Thursday US/Canada screenings, grossing $60M; Disney estimates international sales so far of $305M, with $154.5M from China (Samit Sarkar/Polygon)

4:15 PM ET, April 26, 2019

Top News:

Laura Hazard Owen / Nieman Lab:

The Correspondent's first US hire, Zainab Shah, tells how messaging moved away from “building a US office” amid fundraising; she wasn't shown a current budget — “They're really good at the PR thing, and it really feels like gaslighting. They were like, 'Well …

Discussion: @jbenton, @dicktofel, @jsamditis, @tasneemraja, @rsm, @jacobboersema, @disruptia, @linda_solomon, @disruptia, @chanders and @niemanlab

Gabriel Sherman / Vanity Fair:

Sources: Trump called Rupert Murdoch to complain about Jeanine Pirro's suspension; one Fox source says execs are worried Fox & Friends may be next to lose ads — When advertisers rebelled at outrage anchors like Jeanine Pirro and Tucker Carlson, Trump called Lachlan's daddy, Rupert Murdoch, to keep them on the air.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Media Matters for America, FTVLive, @jordanuhl, @jordanuhl, @markjacob16, @juddapatow, Contemptor, @slpng_giants, @gabrielsherman, Splinter and The Week

Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:

Luminary says it removes all links from podcast show notes, which are often used for monetization, due to “security concerns associated with links” — I know what you're thinking: Another story on Luminary? Well, they keep making news. Start here if you want some background …

Discussion: RAIN News, Podnews podcasting news, @benthompson, @danbenjamin, @hearluminary, @viticci, Hot Pod News, @themediaisdying, @mrpaulbae and @hearluminary, more at Techmeme »

Tim Ingham / Music Business Worldwide:

Sources: Amazon is readying a high fidelity music streaming service that's expected to launch before the end of 2019, will likely cost $15 per month — Here comes Amazon. — Less than a week after the online giant launched its first fully free music streaming service …

Discussion: Variety, Fox News, TechCrunch, Engadget, MacRumors, 9to5Mac and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Samit Sarkar / Polygon:

Avengers: Endgame breaks records in Thursday US/Canada screenings, grossing $60M; Disney estimates international sales so far of $305M, with $154.5M from China — Here are the other box office records it may set this weekend — Marvel Studios' Avengers: Endgame is already putting …

Discussion: Fast Company, Variety, Variety, The Wrap, Boxoffice, CNN, The Week and Deadline

John Koetsier / VentureBeat:

Report: Instagram accounts for 19.5% of brand ad spend on Facebook, with ads in Instagram Stories contributing to a third of Instagram's total ad revenue — Intelligence and ephemeral social are two of the biggest drivers of evolving ad spend, according to a Q1 digital advertising benchmark report this week from Marin Software.

Discussion: Media Matters for America

Nathan Bomey / USA Today:

MNG withdraws three of its six nominees to Gannett's eight-person board; Gannett says these nominees still have conflicts of interest — The hedge fund-owned newspaper company that made an offer to acquire Gannett has scaled back its effort to seize control of the board of directors …

Discussion: Associated Press, Business Wire, The NewsGuild - CWA and Wall Street Journal

Geoff Weiss / Tubefilter:

Vimeo launches Showcase, a toolkit allowing creators to launch portfolio sites with access controls, branded smart TV channels on Roku and Amazon Fire, and more — Vimeo has unveiled today a new toolkit dubbed Showcase that arms professional creators and business owners with the ability …

more at Techmeme »

Daniel Funke / Poynter:

Misinformation doesn't have to be altered: legitimate content that's viewed out of context, or presented with false context, can become a viral hoax — This week, nearly 20,000 people fell for a video hoax. And it wasn't even altered — the video came from a mainstream news organization.

Discussion: The Verge and Facebook

Erik Wemple / Washington Post:

Sarah Sanders hosted a briefing for kids of WH press and staffers Thursday after the WH set a record Tuesday for the longest stretch without a press briefing — White House press secretary Sarah Sanders on Thursday hosted a briefing for children who spent time at the White House as part of the nationwide …

Discussion: @jenniferjjacobs, @weijia, @eamonjavers, @upiphotos, @bruce_arthur, @techledes, @cnn, @gregpinelo, @briankarem, @pbump, @splinter_news, @philipindc, Associated Press, Fox News, MSN, Washington Post, Splinter, Bloomberg, Mediaite and Mashable

Richard Lawler / Engadget:

Sinemia, a MoviePass rival that launched last year, is ending consumer subscription services in the US, citing lack of capital and legal proceedings — As MoviePass stumbled, Sinemia presented itself as an all-you-can-eat moviegoing alternative. Now, after quickly rushing through a series …

Discussion: /Film, The Verge, Bloomberg and Variety

Andrew Bucholtz / Awful Announcing:

Report: Authentic Brands, owner of Juicy Couture and Aéropostale, is in talks with Meredith to buy Sports Illustrated for about $110M — The long-running sale of Sports Illustrated has taken yet another twist. There are still a bunch of bidders in the mix, but a new one emerged Thursday …

Discussion: The Wrap, Wall Street Journal, @benmullin, @awfulannouncing, New York Post, Media Matters for America and Vanity Fair

Lauren Feiner / CNBC:

Comcast Q1: earnings beat estimates, up 14% YoY to $3.55B; revenue rose 18% YoY to $26.86B with 121K video customers lost; NBCU revenue fell 12.5% YoY to $8.31B — - Comcast reports adjusted earnings per share of 76 cents vs. 68 cents expected in a Refinitiv survey of analysts.

Discussion: Variety, The Wrap, AlphaStreet, Reuters, Broadcasting & Cable and Fast Company

Alex Sherman / CNBC:
Sources: Comcast is in talks with Disney to sell its 30% stake in Hulu

Discussion: /Film, Variety, @sherman4949, @cnbcnow, TVWeek.com, Gizmodo, The Playlist, Vanity Fair, MediaPost, Light Reading, Investor's Business Daily, IndieWire, The Wrap, TechCrunch, FierceVideo and Fast Company

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Six employees of Turkish paper return to jail after appeals court upholds their sentences on terrorism-related charges; 150+ journalists are in jail in Turkey

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Jim Waterson / The Guardian:
BBC says iPlayer's market share fell from 40% in 2014 to 15% now because of streamers, proposes remedies like lengthening show availability to stem the loss

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Alison Weissbrot / AdExchanger:
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Gabe Rivera:
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Mathew Ingram / Columbia Journalism Review:
How tensions among founders built up inside The Markup, based on interviews and internal documents shared by Executive Director Sue Gardner

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Alex Hern / The Guardian:
UK parliamentary committee criticizes Facebook, Google, and Twitter for refusing to report users to police when they remove criminal posts from their platforms

Discussion: Motherboard, @drjm_fernandez, Press Gazette, London Evening Standard, Telegraph, Radio New Zealand World …, The Independent and BBC, more at Techmeme »

From Techmeme:

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is working on a smart doorbell system with advanced facial recognition that can wirelessly connect and unlock third-party smart locks

Wall Street Journal:
Gina Raimondo says holding back China in the chips race is a “fool's errand”, and investment, more than export controls, will keep US ahead of Beijing

Kevin Roose / New York Times:
A look at Amazon's revamped drone delivery program near Phoenix, Arizona, where the company's new MK-30 drones deliver dozens of packages a day to customers

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