Mediagazer: How Quartz is focusing more on reader revenue, with a metered paywall and perks for members like field guides and a direct relationship with its journalists (Christine Schmidt/Nieman Lab)

10:55 PM ET, October 18, 2019

Top News:

Facebook reaches licensing deal with News Corp to feature headlines from WSJ, NY Post, and others in a coming news tab; sources: WaPo, BuzzFeed News, BI also in — News organizations including News Corp will be paid a licensing fee to supply headlines in news tab

Discussion: Talking Biz News, @bgrueskin, Engadget, @lalpert1, @dicktofel and @jimpethokoukis, more at Techmeme »

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

CNN calls a threatened lawsuit from Trump lawyer Charles Harder a “desperate PR stunt”; Harder's letter cited the Lanham Act, which deals mainly with trademarks — An attorney for President Donald Trump has sent a letter to CNN that threatens to sue the AT&T-owned cable-news network …

Hollywood Reporter:

Source: Quentin Tarantino declines to recut his movie, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, after China's regulators blocked the film's release date of Oct. 25 — The country's regulators pulled the film from the schedule a week before its release on Oct. 25. — Quentin Tarantino has no intention …

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter, Breitbart, The A.V. Club, The Wrap, Vanity Fair, /Film, @thr, @sammyle13606322, @randyebarnett and Consequence of Sound

A.J. Katz / TVNewser:

In a letter to Comcast, Gretchen Carlson, Megyn Kelly, and others call for an outside investigation into allegations about NBC News in Catch and Kill — A number of former Fox and NBC Newsers have signed a letter meant for Comcast CEO Brian Roberts asking that the company open a new investigation …

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter, @jeremymbarr, The Hill, The Daily Caller, The National Interest, @greta, Page Six, Decider, The Wrap and Mediaite

Wendy Lee / Los Angeles Times:

Quibi partners with T-Mobile, which will make the platform part of its offering, giving Quibi a broad distribution platform ahead of its April launch — Telecommunications giant T-Mobile has agreed to partner with Quibi, a Hollywood start-up that plans to distribute bite-size entertainment designed for millennials.

Discussion: Variety, TechCrunch, CNET, @johnlegere, @xpangler, Tubefilter and Light Reading, more at Techmeme »

Erik Wemple / Washington Post:

A comparison of how NYT and NBC edited Harvey Weinstein stories, and a look at one obscure legal worry by NBC execs about persuading women to break NDAs — When reporters tilted at allegations of sexual harassment and abuse by movie producer Harvey Weinstein, they squared off against a target …

Discussion: Nieman Reports, American Press Institute, @husainhaqqani, @postopinions, @mattgertz, @karaswisher and @erikwemple

Rick Edmonds / Poynter:

In memo to staff, Gannett CEO says, “digital is our future” and “We will continue to maintain print if consumers are asking for it and the economics make sense” — In a piece yesterday I reported that phasing out USA Today in print is likely to be part of the calculations …

Discussion: @poynter, @poynter, @jillywisdom, @editorpublisher, @jcassadybiz and @stephsbarbaran

Janko Roettgers / Variety:

AT&T raises the price of its streaming service AT&T TV Now, with the basic Plus package up $15 to a $65/month; the move follows a similar increase in March — AT&T is instituting a substantial price hike for its live TV streaming service AT&T TV Now: Customers who have subscribed …

Discussion: The Streamable, Bloomberg, The Streamable, @johnlegere, Ars Technica, Fast Company and The Wrap

Financial Times:

Sources: Verizon is seeking potential buyers for HuffPost, as it continues to shed digital businesses from its costly acquisition of Yahoo and AOL — Verizon is sounding out potential buyers for the HuffPost website, in the latest phase of the US telecoms group's retreat from the digital media business.

Discussion: @timcast, @arrington and @rafat

Katie Kilkenny / Hollywood Reporter:

CA's AB 5 bill author says the law's 35-submission limit for journalists is “a little arbitrary”, as freelancers seek changes before the law takes effect Jan. 1 — A new bill that caps freelance submissions may make writing financially unsustainable for many workers even though …

Discussion: @jetjocko, @meghantosh, @annagronewold, @nickaromano, @carnage4life, @kausmickey, @scottc20012, @raminskibba, @a_w_gordon, @jimpatterson559, MIT Technology Review and Voice of San Diego

Ronan Shields / Adweek:

Sources: AT&T's advertising business Xandr has bought Clypd, an ad platform that uses data to better target TV ads, from European broadcaster RTL — Trade deal comes amid speculation over parent companies' ad tech strategies — A little more than a year after closing its purchase of AppNexus …

Discussion: Broadcasting & Cable, Ad Age, Reuters, AdExchanger, MediaPost, @aripap and The Drum

Christine Schmidt / Nieman Lab:

How Quartz is focusing more on reader revenue, with a metered paywall and perks for members like field guides and a direct relationship with its journalists — It has been a bumpy stretch for Quartz, one of the most lauded digital news startups of the past decade.

Discussion: @rafat, @rafat, @rafat, @rafat, @rafat, @rafat, @lauraelizdavis and Quartz

Archived Page Info:

This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 10:55 PM ET, October 18, 2019.

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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

Senior Writer/Editor, FL — Gulfshore Business

Media Editor, Remote — Axios

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More News:

Garett Sloane / Ad Age:
Verizon Media wins the right to sell ads for Apple News in Canada, Australia, and UK, as NBCUniversal extends an exclusive deal to sell Apple News ads in the US

Discussion: @garettsloane and 9to5Mac

Committee to Protect Journalists:
Pakistan denies entry to Committee to Protect Journalists coordinator, citing a blacklist by the Ministry of Interior, which voided his journalist visa

Discussion: @hamidmirpak, @mehrtarar, @tahassiddiqui, @nickkristof, @reema_omer, @susanchira and @francescam63

Laura Hazard Owen / Nieman Lab:
As The Washington Post expands its paid parental leave policy from four to 20 weeks, matching WSJ, a look at the policies at other media outlets

Discussion: @tedolsen, @wpjenna, @shanbow, @laurahazardowen, @emmacarew, @elanazak and @kgeee

Freddy Mayhew / Press Gazette:
Press organizations are demanding an investigation into claims that 12 journalists were targeted by police during demonstrations in Catalonia

Natalie Jarvey / Hollywood Reporter:
Sources: YouTube is offering public figures five- and six-figure lump sums to subsidize channel startup costs as it becomes an increasingly appealing side job

Discussion: @pabastien, @jfgariepy, @raz0rfist, @bitchute, @legendaryenergy, @adam22, @ashkan, @ashfoxhall and @pkedrosky

Haimin Lee / The Keyword:
As Google Books turns 15, it boasts 40M+ books in 400+ languages and gets a redesign on desktop with new features like searching for excerpts within books

Discussion: @salgar, Engadget, Android Police and 9to5Google

Earlier Picks:

Paul Bond / Hollywood Reporter:
Viacom's Pluto TV has quietly launched a conservative news channel, called the First, considered to be in beta with just two shows

Discussion: The Streamable

James Thorne / GeekWire:
Maven, which licensed SI's brand and has bought TheStreet, Say Media, and Hubpages, has raised $20M and outlined its SI strategy and plans for political news

Discussion: Fortune, @mattdpearce, @elizobrien, @eriksherman, Awful Announcing, @fortunemagazine, @bruce_arthur, @mattdpearce, @sarahw, @tomgara, @jbarro, @mattdpearce, @mattdpearce, @andrewboxford, Business Insider, @lmoses and @bmorrissey

New York Times:
Zuckerberg gives a full-throated defense of Facebook as a champion of free expression and defends Facebook policy to opt out of fact-checking political ads

Discussion: @berniceking, Washington Post, @noupside, Facebook, The Verge, @ewarren, Washington Post, The Verge, @anildash, @hypervisible, @oneunderscore__, @sarahfrier, @mikeisaac, @bernstein, NBC News, Facebook, @shiraovide, @cwarzel, Slate, The Wrap, Washington Post, @natesilver538, @natesilver538, @kevinroose, Breitbart, @manjusrii, Fast Company, @jbouie, The Daily Caller, @kevinroose, @kevinroose, Mother Jones, @nickconfessore, @karaswisher, Variety, The Wrap, @naacp_ldf, @bostonjoan, Vox, @balajis, @balajis, Business Insider, @sriramk, @profgalloway, MIT Technology Review, Ad Age, @ekp, @migueldeicaza, @zeynep, @zeynep, @guyro, @guyro, @guyro, Wall Street Journal, @gabrielsnyder, @ingrahamangle, @caseynewton, @hawleymo, @zeynep, @vanitaguptacr, @oliverdarcy, @mikeisaac, @donie, @donie, @karaswisher, @karaswisher, @ezraklein, @anildash, @kristenclarkejd, @andizeisler, @anildash, @adrjeffries, @brianbeutler, @vijayravindran, @brianstelter, @tonyromm, @rosenbergerlm, @crampell, @jamieogrady, @chanders, @bw, @mikeisaac, @esaagar, @iethics, @ananny, @jaconi, @jaconi, @jaconi, @mikeisaac, @mikeisaac, @mikeisaac, @mikeisaac, @sarahfrier, @mathewi, @karaswisher, @karaswisher, @karaswisher, @karaswisher, @sdkstl, @tonyromm, @cwarzel, @alexstamos, @pkafka, The Hill, The Interface, Salon and Media Matters for America, more at Techmeme »

Jason Gurwin / The Streamable:
Sinclair and AT&T reach a carriage deal for DIRECTV, AT&T TV, and U-verse for Sinclair's local broadcast stations, regional sports networks, and more

Discussion: TVNewsCheck, TVWeek.com, Radio & Television …, Multichannel News and Broadcasting & Cable

Meg James / Los Angeles Times:
The Los Angeles Times reached a tentative agreement with the guild that represents ~475 newsroom employees; the deal could provide immediate pay raises of 5%+

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

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Donald Trump announces that Sriram Krishnan, until recently a general partner at a16z, will serve as senior policy advisor for AI at the White House OSTP

Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
X raises US Premium+ prices by 37.5% to $22 per month, starting on December 21, and EU prices from €16 to €21 per month; the basic subscription still costs $3

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