Top News:
Maxwell Tani / The Daily Beast:
HuffPost EIC Lydia Polgreen is stepping down and joining Gimlet Media as head of content “later this spring” — MOVING ON — HuffPost Editor in Chief Lydia Polgreen is leaving the news outlet to join podcasting company Gimlet Media as the head of content, The Daily Beast has confirmed.
Discussion:
@lpolgreen, HuffPost, The Wrap, @ivylise, @nadine_writes, @connie_walker, @mepfuller, @_jackriley, @karaswisher, @katepalms, @s_m_i, @paigelav, @neha_mathews_, @aterkel, @jessbrammar, @howardfineman, @bernstein, @jamesrbuk, @bellwak, @yashar, @gerryfsmith, @davidfolkenflik, Tubefilter, RAIN News, New York Times, Variety and The Hill
Megan Graham / CNBC:
SXSW, which was scheduled for March 13-22, has been canceled due to concerns over the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak — - SXSW was canceled after a string of high-profile cancellations including Twitter, Facebook and TikTok. — The conference had been scheduled to take place between March 13 and 22.
Discussion:
@sxsw, CNN, @evanasmith, Slate, Gizmodo, Vox, Variety, @waxpancake, @charleswdsu, @eshap, @steveh1982, @matdryhurst, @jenny8lee, NME.COM, @pkafka, @austintexasgov, @dajosc11, @demwrite, @cwarzel, @mattocko, @danprimack, @erinnthered, @jamesrbuk, @pkafka, @jaroslavbeck, @laurengoode, @variety, @byjacobward, @pkafka, @kevinvantrump, @kevinlehane, Business Insider, Associated Press, Breitbart, NPR, Los Angeles Times, The Verge and New York Post, more at Techmeme »
Sharareh Drury / Hollywood Reporter:
Hachette drops Woody Allen's memoir following a staff walkout on Thursday, says it will return all rights to the author — “At HBG we take our relationships with authors very seriously, and do not cancel books lightly," the publishing company said in a statement.
Discussion:
The Wrap, The Mary Sue, @stephenking, @joehagansays, @thr, @noamscheiber, @ronanfarrow, The Week, @sallykohn, @stephenablack, Mediaite, @mcflycahill90, @cfidd, @chuckwendig, @sarahpinsker, IndieWire, Deadline, The Independent, Mediaite, The Playlist, VICE, The A.V. Club, Page Six, Mashable, The Guardian and Business Insider
RELATED:
Dominic Patten / Deadline:
Dozens of Hachette Book Group staffers stage a walkout over an imprint's plans to publish Woody Allen's memoir, in solidarity with Ronan and Dylan Farrow
Dozens of Hachette Book Group staffers stage a walkout over an imprint's plans to publish Woody Allen's memoir, in solidarity with Ronan and Dylan Farrow
Discussion:
New York Post, New York Times, Publishers Weekly, The Week, Page Six, @publisherswkly, Page Six, @kieleraymond, @ceciliatan, @pronounced_ing, @dongwon, @maddiecalls, @levine_alison, @ponderosa121, @levine_alison, @kbeccaandrews, @clarajeffery, @rereadsclosely, @mcsnugz, Publishers Weekly, Vox, Vanity Fair, IndieWire, EW.com, Hollywood Reporter, Jezebel and Slate
Patrick Strudwick / BuzzFeed:
In a letter to Guardian EIC, 338 staff members protest the paper's “transphobic content” after a recent column and air concerns over resignations of trans staff — “The pattern of publishing transphobic content has interfered with our work and cemented our reputation …
Discussion:
@georgegalloway, @mermaids_gender, @latentexistence, @joanmcalpine, @robaeprice, @jonboy79, @markdistef, @revstu and @emmaggarland
Fadel Allassan / Axios:
Trump campaign is suing CNN for libel over an opinion article by a contributor who said the campaign is keeping open the option of seeking Russia's help in 2020 — It's the latest in a string of similar lawsuits against media organizations.
Discussion:
@brianstelter, Fox News, Washington Post, The Guardian, @jason_kint, @briankarem, @byeliott, @beccalodahl, @mmasnick, @erikwemple, @brendannyhan, @erikwemple, @jamesgleick, @stevenjharper1, @susan_hennessey, Reuters, Mediaite, New York Post, The Daily Caller, The Hill, The Wrap, The Guardian and iMediaEthics
Julia Alexander / The Verge:
Quibi will offer a free 90-day trial for users who sign up before it launches on April 6 with 50 shows and movies; Quibi will cost $4.99 with ads, $7.99 without — Longer than what Disney Plus current offers — Quibi is finally almost here, and in an effort to entice people …
Discussion:
@gerryfsmith, @great_katzby, @great_katzby, Tubefilter, Variety and CNET
RELATED:
Reuters:
Sources: Gray Television makes an ~$8.5B bid for Tegna, including debt; Tegna has also attracted attention from Apollo Global Management; Tegna stock up 22%+ — (Reuters) - U.S. regional TV station operator Gray Television Inc (GTN.N) has made an offer to acquire larger peer Tegna Inc …
Discussion:
Variety, MediaPost, TV Technology, Poynter, The Streamable, The Wrap and Deadline
Tim Peterson / Digiday:
News media publishers are using their streaming services, which have more flexible schedules than linear TV, to keep audiences up-to-date with COVID-19 coverage — As coronavirus has spread around the world, news media companies have turned to their digital video outlets …
Washington Post:
Study: 86K+ Facebook pages ran at least one political ad that was not properly disclosed, and ~20K ads had been purchased by “likely inauthentic communities” — Researchers discovered major gaps in Facebook's ad archive that could “enable a malicious advertiser to avoid accurate disclosure …
Discussion:
@sivavaid, @issueonereform, @firstdraftnews, @rowlsmanthorpe, @deborahblum, @justinhendrix, @jason_kint, @tonyromm, Engadget, The Verge and Politico
Jill Goldsmith / Deadline:
Kantar: in the quarter up to October 2019, Netflix led with 23% of new VOD subscriptions and Hulu had 20%; 56% of new VOD subs were for second or third services — Netflix secured 23% of new video on demand subscriptions in the three months up to October, 2019, closely followed by Hulu …
Makena Kelly / The Verge:
Senators introduce the Kids Internet Design and Safety Act to target sponsored content and unboxing videos aimed at children under age 16 on online platforms — The KIDS Act could dramatically affect kids' channels — From toy unboxings to gaming videos, kids spend a lot of time watching YouTube videos.
Discussion:
@kidscreen, @reckless, @tactlessogre, @swodinsky, @allsparknews, The Daily Dot, @hoeglaw, @lam_barrett, @chronotope and Tubefilter
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Thrillist President Ocean MacAdams, who joined the company in 2017, is leaving; Chief Content Officer Meghan Kirsch will head the company — Ocean MacAdams has departed Group Nine Media's Thrillist, the lifestyle digital media brand covering food, drink, travel and entertainment, after two and half years, Variety has learned.
Keith J. Kelly / New York Post:
Sources: Meredith is shutting down a studio behind an upcoming Apple+ show, laying off 10 staff; it will no longer produce or license shows to outside clients — A Meredith video production unit behind a new Apple+ show called “Home,” set to debut next month, is shutting down.