Mediagazer: Sources close to Elisabeth Murdoch say she has no interest in the job of BBC director and is focused on launching a production company (Jim Waterson/The Guardian)

5:15 PM ET, February 11, 2020

Top News:

Faced with questions about the lasting impact of online mugshot galleries, media outlets including the Houston Chronicle are increasingly doing away with them — Some are red-eyed from crying, others visibly drunk. Some sport black eyes or jarring face tattoos. Occasionally, one offers an addled grin.

Discussion: @keribla, @keribla, @keribla, @keribla and @keribla

Mike Canan / Trusting News:
WCPO exec on why the Scripps-owned Cincinnati TV station now only uses mugshots selectively and why it's important to tell viewers about big policy changes

Discussion: @bykenarmstrong, @jesspish, @allisonlcarter, @_toddstone, @katiepark, @selina3sticks, @dabeard, @keribla, @jason_a_w, @jimmacmillan, @spj_tweets, @niemanlab and @grant_blank_

Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:

Source: Spotify is paying close to $200M upfront for the Ringer, to be followed by more than $50M later — - Streamer has spent more than $600 million on podcast deals — Sports columnist Bill Simmons founded the Ringer in 2016 — Spotify Technology SA is paying close …

Discussion: Business Insider, Music Business Worldwide and @ajs, more at Techmeme »

Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:

WaPo's digital subscriber growth doesn't seem to be making expected gains on NYT despite a mass-oriented strategy, and WaPo hasn't posted the numbers since 2018 — But will the Journal and The Washington Post be able to catch up to the market leader going forward? Or is the Times preparing to lap the field?

Jim Waterson / The Guardian:

Sources close to Elisabeth Murdoch say she has no interest in the job of BBC director and is focused on launching a production company — Sources say Rupert's daughter not interested in job, after press reports made her the favourite — Elisabeth Murdoch has made clear she has no interest …

Adam Sherwin / inews:
Sources: the BBC is almost certain to appoint its first female Director-General, with Elisabeth Murdoch and ITV CEO Carolyn McCall as two top contenders

Discussion: @jbenton, careerssearch.bbc.co.uk, @markdistef, @emilybell, @rmcunliffe, Press Gazette, @arusbridger, @janinegibson, @jimwaterson, @jamesrbuk, @markdistef, @peterjukes, @taraconlan, @adamsherwin10, @tcmbigcheese, @adamsherwin10 and Digital TV Europe

Joan E. Solsman / CNET:

Nielsen: streaming makes up 19% of US TV watching, with Netflix comprising 31% of streaming on TVs, followed by 21% on YouTube, 12% on Hulu, and 8% on Amazon — Netflix is big and it's getting bigger. And we're not just watching it on our phones and tablets: That dominance translates …

Discussion: Broadcasting & Cable, MediaPost, Adweek, The Wrap, Variety, Reuters, @jtoeman, TechCrunch and VentureBeat, more at Techmeme »

Georg Szalai / Hollywood Reporter:

Sirius XM invests $75M in SoundCloud in exchange for a minority stake and two seats on the board — The audio entertainment giant puts money into the open audio platform. — Audio entertainment giant SiriusXM Holdings said Tuesday it has invested $75 million in open audio platform SoundCloud …

Discussion: Music Business Worldwide, TechCrunch, Variety, SoundCloud press releases, @pkafka, Wall Street Journal, @ldignan and @pkafka, more at Techmeme »

Freddy Mayhew / Reuters:

Reuters has created a virtual sports journalist prototype that reads out game summaries and reports using AI and footage of a human presenter — Reuters has created a virtual sports journalist using artificial intelligence technology and video footage of a human presenter.

Janko Roettgers / Protocol:

Redbox has begun testing its ad-supported live TV online streaming service, powered in part by Xumo, with preprogrammed channels like USA Today and TMZ — Cord-cutting is driving a rush toward free video, but experts caution not to expect Netflix-size results.

Discussion: Fast Company, Media Play News, @richlightshed and Cord Cutters News

Tim Arango / New York Times:

Profile of Carl Butz, a 71-year-old retiree who stepped in at the beginning of the year to save The Mountain Messenger, California's oldest weekly newspaper — High in the Sierra, Downieville, Calif., was about to become the latest American community to lose its newspaper.

Discussion: @themountainmess, @karaswisher, @jswatz, @emilybell, @christopherjm, @livmqhenry and The Rural Blog

Sara Fischer / Axios:

YouTube is funding TYT Academy, a Young Turks online course focused on the creation of digital-first local news; sources: investment is in the mid-six-figures — The Young Turks (TYT), one of the largest progressive digital publishers on YouTube, is receiving funding from Google-owned YouTube …

Discussion: @oliverdarcy, @jeffjarvis, @jeffjarvis, @vinnysgreen, National Review, @scottbrodbeck, @jon_allsop and @media_evan

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Sources: podcast subscription service Luminary is expanding to New Zealand, Ireland, and South Africa — Reproduced from The Nielsen Total Audience Report, February 2020; Chart: Axios Visuals — Luminary is expanding its service to three new countries, New Zealand, South Africa, and Ireland, sources tell Axios.

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

As part of Apple News' 2020 election coverage, Apple says Siri can now answer election-related questions, including sharing live election results from AP — Apple's built-in voice assistant won't help you figure out who to vote for, but it will be able to update you on different races around …

Discussion: @danielpmcdermot, @redletterdave and iMore, more at Techmeme »

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Senior Data Journalist, NY — WSJ

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FloSports is launching FloBaseball, a platform that will host NCAA, high school, and youth baseball programming

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Freddy Mayhew / Press Association:
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Adi Robertson / The Verge:
Patreon says creators can now set subscription prices in British pounds and euros, in addition to US dollars, and opens an office in Berlin

Todd Spangler / Variety:
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Bloomberg:
To challenge Netflix and tap Culver City's deep entertainment resources, Amazon, Apple, and HBO are moving into vast office and production spaces in the city

Discussion: @jackskelley, more at Techmeme »

NBC News:
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Kayleigh Barber / Digiday:
Dennis Publishing is launching The Week Junior in the US in March, four years after its debut in the UK; the magazine is aimed at kids ages 8-14

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Adam Satariano / New York Times:
Profile of Ben Nimmo, a founder of Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab, who helped pioneer investigations into online disinformation

Discussion: @general_ben, @dfrlab, @alexstamos, @satariano, @ngleicher and @benimmo

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Liam Knox / NBC News:
Black News Channel, a 24/7 cable channel featuring black anchors and co-founded by former Republican congressman J.C. Watts, launches in select US markets

Discussion: American Press Institute, Fox Business, NPR, @placebo90511492, @nbcblk, @eviefordham, @mvgal92691, @mayaaking, @ronkelawal, @liamhknox, @spj_tweets, BBC, CNN, Mashable, The Hill and The Root

Marc Tracy / New York Times:
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The Information:
Sources: YouTube is considering a competitor to Amazon and Apple TV channels for accessing premium video subscriptions from other companies

Discussion: The Verge, FierceVideo, The Streamable, MediaPost, @alexeheath and Engadget

Stars & Stripes:
DOD proposes funding cuts to the military newspaper Stars and Stripes; source: around $7M of “operating and maintenance funds” would be cut, or 35% of expenses

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Brian Steinberg / Variety:
CBS Sports strikes a deal with British bookmaker William Hill, making it the official provider of sportsbook and wagering data across all CBS Sports properties

Discussion: Axios, A Media Operator, @alexweprin, MediaPost and Broadcasting & Cable

Tony Maglio / The Wrap:
The 2020 Oscars drew 23.6M viewers, an all-time low and down 20% YoY; the 2018 Oscars held the previous all-time low of 26.5M viewers

From Techmeme:

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Anthropic raised another $4B from Amazon, will make AWS its primary training partner, and is working with Annapurna Labs to develop new Trainium accelerators

Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft releases the first beta preview of its Recall AI feature for Copilot Plus PCs, including Click to Do, a feature similar to Google's Circle to Search

Andy Greenberg / Wired:
Researchers detail a “nearest neighbor attack” by Russia's APT28, which remotely breached a target's Wi-Fi by hijacking a laptop in a building across the street

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