Mediagazer: About 20 staff members at Reach face layoffs as the UK company integrates teams after its buyout of Express and Star (Freddy Mayhew/Press Gazette)

7:05 PM ET, October 15, 2019

Top News:

Sources: Shari Redstone is exploring a plan to launch a Fox News competitor and has spoken with current and former Fox News personalities, including Megyn Kelly — The mogul, who has spoken with former Fox News star Megyn Kelly, may look to rebrand an existing Viacom linear channel to create a conservative-leaning news network.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, @brianstelter, TVNewser, Deadline, Business Insider, The Streamable, Mediaite, New York Post, @ronhogan, @saba_h, @mattgertz, @parkermolloy, @ewerickson, @noonanjo, @imillhiser, @brianstelter, @brynntannehill and The Week

BuzzFeed News:

As Facebook says politicians can lie in ads, so far in October it has banned 160+ ads from Trump, Biden, Warren, Sanders, Steyer for profanity and fake buttons — Last week, Facebook announced that it would allow political candidates to lie in ads posted to its platform …

Discussion: @fbnewsroom, Gizmodo, @fredbenenson, @daveyalba, @joshuadarr, @mat, @matt_blackwell, @daveyalba, @rmac18, @oliverdarcy, @monscience and @stengel, more at Techmeme »

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Facebook should ban political ads and let candidates communicate via their pages since it doesn't need the money and doesn't want to police political speech

Discussion: The Guardian, @joshconstine, @m_heffernan, @clearpolitic5, Vanity Fair, Business Insider, MediaPost and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

The Guardian:

Bookstores in Australia are selling Catch and Kill despite Dylan Howard's prior threats to include them in a defamation lawsuit — One online distributor has withdrawn the #MeToo memoir, but other stores have stocked it, and the publisher insists it will not be withdrawn

Discussion: Mediaite, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, New York Post, Newser, CNN and Page Six

Daniel Lippman / Politico:
Ronan Farrow alleges that Dylan Howard, then-EIC of National Enquirer, ordered a staff member to shred sensitive Trump-related documents in early November 2016

Discussion: @ronanfarrow, Vox, VICE, The Guardian, Vanity Fair, @joycewhitevance, @kimzetter, The Week, CNN, Washington Post, The Daily Beast and Mediaite

Jackie Strause / Hollywood Reporter:
In a memo to staff, NBC News president pushes back against Catch and Kill, says “there is no evidence of any reports of Lauer's misconduct before his firing”

Discussion: @yashar, @justinbaragona, Columbia Journalism Review, TVWeek.com, The Guardian, Raw Story, @ryangrim, @jayrosen_nyu, The Week, @espiegler, @ggreenwald, TVNewser, @brianstelter, @stevensantos, @thr, @readdanwrite, HuffPost and New York Times

August Graham / Independent.ie:

UK's Telegraph Media Group reports a 61%+ fall in operating profits YoY to £8.1M in 2018 even as subscription revenue rose 10% YoY, making up 54% of revenue — Telegraph Media Group revenues fell by 2.7% last year to £278.1 million. — The owner of the Daily Telegraph …

Discussion: Press Gazette, Talking Biz News, Financial Times, @wblau, @nickhugh75, @questingvole, @jamesrbuk, @fjmayhew, @tvrav, @markdistef, MediaPost and Telegraph

Max Willens / Digiday:

The most recent version of Apple's Safari browser prevents sites from detecting when users are using private browsing, following in Chrome's footsteps — Publishers have discovered a new, Apple-shaped hole in their metered paywalls. — The most recent version of Apple's Safari browser …

Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:

On The Vergecast, Twitter Product Lead Kayvon Beykpour says they are exploring “a form of ephemerality” to avoid the risk of old stigmatizing tweets resurfacing — “These are some of the biggest reasons why people don't tweet. Which is why we actually take this very seriously."

Discussion: The Verge, @derekwillis, @jbenton, @shannimcg, @jbenton, @dkiesow, @alexhern, @eduardosuarez, @sarphanuzunoglu, @caseynewton, @mathewi and @luca

Freddy Mayhew / Press Gazette:

Sky launches “Sky News: Brexit Free” channel on TV and YouTube in response to a study that found that 70% of news-avoiding Brits were doing so because of Brexit — Sky News is launching a “pop-up channel” free from any mention of Brexit. — Sky News: Brexit Free will go live …

Discussion: Sky News

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

Fox News Media president says Shepard Smith's timeslot will be filled next year, with current news anchors doing stints to replace him in the meantime — Shepard Smith has left the Fox News building, but his hour will remain staffed by employees from the network' news division.

Discussion: TVNewser, MediaPost, @kevinmkruse, @brianstelter, Poynter, Politico, Mediaite, TVWeek.com, The Wrap and The Hill

New York Times:
How Trump is cajoling and bullying his closest media ally Fox News as a total-loyalty litmus test, even as impeachment ups the stakes

Discussion: @realdonaldtrump, Vanity Fair, The Daily Beast, @talkopan, @rolandscahill, @ericboehlert, @grynbaum, @grynbaum, @ron_fournier, @jennfranconews, @grynbaum, @maggienyt and @jdawsey1

Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg / Wall Street Journal:

Meredith plans a quarterly lifestyle mag with hosts of Property Brothers for January, after the success of a similar mag it made with Chip and Joanna Gaines — Publisher to launch quarterly publication featuring HGTV's ‘Property Brothers,’ years after creating Magnolia Journal with Chip and Joanna Gaines

Discussion: MediaPost, @emilybarske, @mrsilverscott, @meredithcorp and @mrdrewscott

Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch:

Twitter to restrict user interactions with world leaders' tweets that violate its rules, will let users quote-tweet, but not retweet, like, reply, or share — Twitter said it will restrict how users can interact with tweets from world leaders who break its rules.

Discussion: Twitter, BuzzFeed News, @twittersafety, ZDNet, New York Times, Business Insider, @tiffanycli, @edbott, @kayvz, @pkafka, @twittersafety, @daveyalba, @vaishnavi, @mat, @rmac18, @kantrowitz, @cpm5280, @tseymat, @davepell, @anthony, @twittersafety and @b_fung, more at Techmeme »

Kelsey Sutton / Adweek:

Crackle parent company CSS Entertainment forms Landmark Studio Group, which will create content to attract viewers to Crackle and its other AVOD services — Landmark Studio Group will develop TV and films — Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment (CSS Entertainment) …

Discussion: Variety and The Streamable

Laurie Sullivan / MediaPost:

eMarketer: Google will take 37.2%, or $48.05B, of all US digital ad spend this year, down from 38.2% in 2018, while Amazon will take 8.8%, up from 6.8% in 2018 — Google dominates the search ad market today, but eMarketer's latest forecast shows that within the next two years, Google's revenue share will fall and Amazon's will rise.

Discussion: Adweek and Ad Age

New York Times:

Conference attendees at a Trump resort in Miami were shown a video of a fake Trump killing news media and political opponents in a church — WASHINGTON — A video depicting a macabre scene of a fake President Trump shooting, stabbing and brutally assaulting members of the news media …

Discussion: @presssec, @stevemullis, The Hill, @nytmike, www.wnyc.org, Inquirer.com, Washington Post, @oneunderscore__, @cnnpr, The Intercept, The Week, @jonkarl, New York Post, The Verge, CNN, @dangainor, @verge, Fox News, @jersey_craig, @simonwdc, @jayrosen_nyu, @brianklaas, @karaswisher, @colmorrisdavis, @mollyjongfast, @ngrossman81, @poniewozik, @melissaryan, @betoorourke, @brianstelter, @nycjim, Reason, Multichannel News, @boutrousted, Axios, @davidcayj, @sarasidnercnn, @ngrossman81, @parkermolloy, @ngrossman81, @parkermolloy, The Sun, @carolleonnig, @jaredlholt, @emilyjanefox, @w7voa, SPJ News, @carriecoon, @benjysarlin, @daveanthony, @ananavarro, @amzam, Mediaite, @olivianuzzi, Associated Press, @katywrites, @underoak, @charles_gaba, @john_henson, @thehighsign, @wajahatali, @maggienyt, Engadget, @williams_paige, @yashar, @shannonrwatts, The Daily Caller, @lpolgreen, @shannonrwatts, @cwarzel, The Daily Beast, The Playlist, NPR, The Wrap and Fortune

Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
If Trump doesn't condone violence against journalists, he should stop inspiring it

Discussion: American Press Institute, NBC News, @albamonica, @jeremylittau, Fast Company, @markfollman, @brianstelter and Mediaite

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Who's Hiring in Media?

Energy & Commodities Editor, Tokyo — Bloomberg

Politics Reporter, TX — Texas Tribune

Consumer Brands Reporter, GA — AJC

Deputy Editor - Health Care, VA — Politico

Product Editor, CA — CalMatters

Indigenous Affairs Editor, Sydney — Guardian US

China Markets Correspondent, Shanghai — Reuters

Bangor Reporter, ME — Bangor Daily News

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More News:

Freddy Mayhew / Press Gazette:
About 20 staff members at Reach face layoffs as the UK company integrates teams after its buyout of Express and Star

Paul Bond / Hollywood Reporter:
A look at the investments made by TPG Capital, arguably the premier private investor in media and entertainment, in Vice, CAA, and STX Entertainment

Emily Tamkin / Columbia Journalism Review:
CJR's public editor for CNN on CNN's dichotomous nature, which treats politics as sport but also employs some of the best reporters in the US

Discussion: @cjr

Press Gazette:
Head of the marketing arm of UK national news brands: ~19M people read newspapers online daily, a 14% rise YoY, but ad spend on news brands to rise 1.1% in 2019

Todd Spangler / Variety:
TV Time, whose app provides user-reported data about TV and movie engagement, acquires Mediamorph, a provider of content distribution and tracking services

Discussion: Radio & Television …

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
TiVo's ad-supported Roku Channel equivalent TiVo+ is launching today, available exclusively to TiVo device owners

Discussion: Light Reading

Sara Fischer / Axios:
ESPN debuts Cover Story as a successor to its magazine, a monthly feature that will air on SportsCenter and be prominently displayed on its apps and homepage

Discussion: @axios

Earlier Picks:

Todd Spangler / Variety:
Entercom's Radio.com launches Rewind feature, which will allow listeners to pause, rewind, and fast-forward live radio via its online player and app

Discussion: Radio & Television …

Jon Fingas / Engadget:
Fox Sports is creating highlight packages and exclusive interactive shows for Facebook Watch focused on football, soccer, and sports betting

Discussion: Fox Sports

Francesca Tripodi / Wired:
By using SEO terms like “crisis actor” gamed by right-wing media pubs, conservatives populate search results with unsubstantiated and conspiratorial views

Discussion: @gorskon, @moonalice, Boing Boing, @nxthompson and @zephoria

Brooks Barnes / New York Times:
AMC Entertainment to unveil AMC Theaters On Demand, an iTunes-like online video store, in the US, offering ~2,000 films for ~$3-$6 to rent and ~$10-$20 to buy

Discussion: The Verge, The Streamable, Gizmodo, CNN, Engadget, MacRumors, Fast Company, 9to5Mac and Variety, more at Techmeme »

Alison Flood / The Guardian:
The 2019 Booker Prize jointly shared by Margaret Atwood, the oldest winner at 79, and Bernardine Evaristo, the first black woman awardee, in its 50-year history

Matt Novak / Gizmodo:
ABC News pulls and apologizes for airing a video that was meant to show Turkey bombing Kurds, but seems to have been made in 2017 in Kentucky

Discussion: CNN, Washington Examiner, New York Times, The Daily Caller, Newser, @gte, @mmcintire, New York Post, @greta, @abcworldnews, @brianstelter, Breitbart, Reason, The Hill, Mediaite, TVNewser, Fox News and Deadline

From Techmeme:

Bloomberg:
The Trump administration exempts smartphones, laptops, hard drives, processors, memory chips, and machines used to make semiconductors from reciprocal tariffs

Washington Post:
Arguments start Monday in the FTC's antitrust suit targeting Meta's acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, amid reports Zuckerberg asked Trump to intervene

James O'Donnell / MIT Technology Review:
How the Pentagon uses AI tools from Vannevar Labs, which got a DOD deal worth up to $99M, to scan open-source intelligence, write intelligence reports, and more

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