Mediagazer: Twitter launches new tool to combat misinformation on the US Census; a prompt will point users searching for Census-related keywords to the official Census site (Marty Johnson/The Hill)

11:30 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.

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: @stocktwits, @jbenton, Music Business Worldwide, @nbashaw, @bbgmedia, @lindaholmes, @sarthakgh, @jaycodon, Business Insider and @ajs, 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.

Discussion: @themurdochtimes, @rossdawson and @gregianjohnson

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 …

Discussion: @janemartinson

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

Andrew Morse / CNET:

Flipboard launches Flipboard TV, an in-app feature that offers professional short-form video, for $2.99/mo; will be a Galaxy S20 exclusive for first 3 months — The short-form video service faces stiff competition and subscription fatigue. — Flipboard, the popular news aggregator app …

Discussion: Wired, @markham, Digital Trends, @harrymccracken, Engadget, The Verge and Fast Company, more at Techmeme »

Marty Johnson / The Hill:

Twitter launches new tool to combat misinformation on the US Census; a prompt will point users searching for Census-related keywords to the official Census site — Twitter on Tuesday unveiled its plan aimed at minimizing the spread of misinformation about the 2020 census.

Discussion: Adweek and Twitter, more at Techmeme »

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

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.

Discussion: @renayrich and @jbenton

BreAnna Bell / Variety:

Drake signs multiyear partnership with live streaming platform Caffeine to produce a series of rap battles and other live content — Live streaming service Caffeine.TV has announced an exclusive multiyear partnership with Drake. Infamous for his own rap feuds, the Canadian artist …

Discussion: VentureBeat, Forbes, TechCrunch and Fast Company

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, @dalenorth, @pkafka, @ldignan, @pkafka and Wall Street Journal, more at Techmeme »

Andrew Bucholtz / Awful Announcing:

FloSports is launching FloBaseball, a platform that will host NCAA, high school, and youth baseball programming — We've seen FloSports amping up their sport-specific offerings recently, most notably with FloBikes offering 75 events and more than 300 days of racing this year …

Discussion: @awfulannouncing and Broadcasting & Cable

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

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Freddy Mayhew / Press Association:
UK-based PA Media Group buys stock image company Alamy for an undisclosed sum

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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:
Tubi says MAUs hit 25M in December 2019, up from 20M in June, with total viewing time of 163M hours, up 160% YoY, says content spending to exceed $100M+ in 2020

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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

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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:
Sources: Condé Nast is planning on suspending its Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit this year as the conference is losing money

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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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

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Earlier Picks:

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, @ngleicher, @alexstamos, @satariano and @benimmo

Irene Wangui / International Journalists' Network:
A look at WanaData Africa, a pan-African network of around 100 women journalists and data experts, who have collectively published over 100 stories since 2017

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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

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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

Discussion: @spj_tweets

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

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: A Media Operator, Axios, Axios, @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:

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

Financial Times:
Sources: Palantir and Anduril are in talks with OpenAI, SpaceX, and more to form a consortium to bid for US defense contracts and plan to announce it in January

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