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 …

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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

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Alison Weissbrot / AdExchanger:
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