Mediagazer: Filing: Comcast chairman Brian Roberts' pay rose to $35M in 2018, up from $32.5M in 2017; NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke's pay fell to $39.9M from $46.5M in 2017 (Cynthia Littleton/Variety)

6:15 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: @profcarroll, @juddlegum, @tiagodf, @niemanlab, @jbenton, @jbenton, @sindarina, @allytibbitt, @niemanlab, @dicktofel, @jsamditis, @tasneemraja, @rsm, @jacobboersema, @disruptia, @linda_solomon, @disruptia, @chanders, @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, @juddapatow, Contemptor, @markjacob16, @psythor, @slpng_giants, @gabrielsherman, Splinter and The Week

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, The Week, Fox News, Engadget, MacRumors, TechCrunch, 9to5Mac and The Verge

Eugene Kim / CNBC:

Filing: Amazon has spent $1.7B on video and music content in Q1 2019, up 13% YoY — KEY POINTS — Amazon disclosed for the first time its total video and music expense in its quarterly filing on Friday. — In the first quarter, Amazon spent $1.7 billion on video and music content …

Discussion: Variety, Bloomberg and @hshaban, more at Techmeme »

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, The Verge, @k3nnr, @benthompson, @hearluminary, @viticci, Hot Pod News, @themediaisdying, @danbenjamin and @mrpaulbae, more at Techmeme »

Rich Juzwiak / Jezebel:

Artists like Justin Bieber calling for positive coverage when faced with criticism evince a disregard for free speech while benefiting from massive platforms — It's been a rough week to be a star, and a rough week to be someone who listens to what stars have to say. At least, that's what social media tells me.

Discussion: Variety, @markharrisnyc, @mattzollerseitz, @emilynussbaum, @emilyyoshida, @emilynussbaum, @mattzollerseitz, Vanity Fair, The Ringer, The Daily Beast and Observer

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

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

Cynthia Littleton / Variety:

Filing: Comcast chairman Brian Roberts' pay rose to $35M in 2018, up from $32.5M in 2017; NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke's pay fell to $39.9M from $46.5M in 2017 — Comcast chairman-CEO Brian Roberts saw a bump in his total compensation for 2018 while NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke's haul declined by more than $6 million last year.

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter, Broadcasting & Cable, Multichannel News and Deadline

Todd Spangler / Variety:

CEO Jim Spanfeller says G/O Media, formerly Gizmodo Media, has no plans for layoffs, isn't planning to close any properties, and is looking for a 2nd LA office — - How Will ‘Avengers: Endgame’ Piracy Affect Box Office? It's an Issue but Not a Crisis, Analysts Say

Discussion: Variety

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 »

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

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

Archived Page Info:

This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 6:15 PM ET, April 26, 2019.

View the current page or another snapshot:

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

Senior Writer/Editor, FL — Gulfshore Business

Media Editor, Remote — Axios

Add your company here

See Also:

Mediagazer: site main

Mediagazer River: reverse chronological Mediagazer

Mediagazer Mobile: for phones

Mediagazer Leaderboard: Mediagazer's top sources

Subscribe:

Mediagazer RSS feed

Mediagazer on X

Mediagazer on Mastodon

More News:

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

Discussion: /Film, Bloomberg, The Verge and Variety

New York Times:
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

Discussion: @nytimesworld and Turkey Purge

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

Discussion: Broadband TV News, Videonet, @jimwaterson and BBC

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

Discussion: @karen_rebelo, @bhriains, The Verge and Facebook

Nicole Carpenter / Gizmodo:
A look inside the creative streaming community on Twitch, which includes channels from musicians, knitters, makeup artists, scientists, and photographers

Discussion: @noopkat, @kohquette and @sweetpotatoes

Earlier Picks:

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

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

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

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

Alison Weissbrot / AdExchanger:
Podcast hosting and analytics platform Acast acquires Pippa, another podcast hosting and analytics platform that works with independent creators

Discussion: @acast, @richardberryuk, @susiewarhurst, @cheriehu42, acast, Tech.eu, RAIN News and hearluminary

Sahil Patel / Digiday:
Interview with Twitter's head of content Kay Madati on the 60% increase in payouts to publishers with content deals in 2018, strategy for NewFronts, and more

Discussion: @digiday, @larakate, @kaymadati and Editor & Publisher

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

Discussion: Recode, Recode, @juliaangwin, @juliaangwin, @adrjeffries, @mathewi, @juliaangwin, @craignewmark, @jamesrbuk, @bgrueskin, Talking Biz News, @recode, @jamesrbuk, @jamesrbuk, @mathewi, @petersterne, @amonck, @waltmossberg, @katebevan, Nieman Lab, @mathewi, @caleweissman, @oliviasolon, @adrjeffries, Quartz, @caleweissman, @sapna, @lmoses, @quinnnorton, @zenalbatross, @ceciliakang, @sapna, @quinnnorton, @quinnnorton, @quinnnorton, @quinnnorton, @quinnnorton, @biellacoleman, @ryanchittum, @tomgara, @dee_marketing, @juliaangwin, @weinbergersa, @mathewi, @juliaangwin, @juliaangwin, @juliaangwin, @juliaangwin, @sdkstl, @jennamc_laugh, @recode, @markupreal, @notjessewalker, @camfassett, @russellbrandom, @raju, @craignewmark, @shorterpearson, @caleweissman, @gregorydjohnsen, @sdkstl, @sdkstl, @dataeditor, @ashleyfeinberg, @kylepope, @jayrosen_nyu, @charliebeckett, @froomkin, @karaswisher, @hrdag, @tomgara, @mollymckew, @thejefflarson, @grahambrookie, TechCrunch, @karaswisher and @russellbrandom

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

Andrew J. Hawkins / The Verge:
The US NHTSA suggests easing rules allowing for fully driverless cars and urges companies operating driverless cars to share more data for greater transparency

Sister Sites:

Techmeme
Top news and commentary for technology's leaders, from all around the web

memeorandum
What US political commentators are discussing online right now

WeSmirch
The top celebrity news from all around the web on a single page