Mediagazer: Spotify launches a set of 17 editorially curated podcast playlists, akin to its RapCaviar music playlist, in the US and five other countries (Sarah Perez/TechCrunch)

4:05 PM ET, April 21, 2020

Top News:

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Spotify launches a set of 17 editorially curated podcast playlists, akin to its RapCaviar music playlist, in the US and five other countries — Spotify is continuing its investment in the podcast streaming side of business with the launch of a suite of editorially-curated podcast playlists …

Discussion: Nieman Lab, Spotify, Gizmodo, The Verge and Spotify for Podcasters

Hollywood Reporter:

HBO Max to launch on May 27 for $15 per month with 10,000 hours of programming — The streaming service is set to debut amid the shutdown brought about by the novel coronavirus outbreaking, bringing with it 10,000 hours of library programming from across the WarnerMedia catalog.

Discussion: Variety, Variety, The Week, CNET, CNET, @joan_e, @joan_e, Wall Street Journal and @joan_e, more at Techmeme »

@kerrymflynn:

[Thread] Internal memos: Politico lays off 13 at Protocol as it cancels live events through at least Sept. 1, including its presence at political conventions — Didn't want to break this media news earlier because of my major conflict of interest. But I'm really sad to see another round of harsh cuts at a media company (and a new one at that!). 13 people, incl editors + reporters, lost their jobs at Protocol today https://twitter.com/...

Discussion: Nieman Lab, @haydenfield, Talking Biz News, @levisu, @talkingbiznews, @whatthebit, @scottlucas, @stevekovach and @kerrymflynn

Seb Joseph / Digiday:

YouTube says it's working on letting advertisers use keyword or contextual targeting to decide what posts their ads will appear on before running them — YouTube is making it easier for advertisers to block videos that are risky to their reputations, but in doing so could inadvertently push targeting without any proper context.

Allison Schiff / AdExchanger:
Report: YouTube ad auditor OpenSlate refused to sign a contract with Google limiting info it can share with clients, like when ads run against sensitive videos

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, @keachhagey, @jason_kint, @lopezgovlaw, Beyond Search and MediaPost

Tim Dams / Variety:

Apple Music expands to 52 new countries, for a total of 167 countries, while Spotify operates in 79; Apple Podcasts becomes available in 20 more countries — Apple has expanded the reach of its Apple Music platform to an additional 52 countries as part of the biggest geographical expansion of its services in almost a decade.

Discussion: Apple, RAIN News, My Podcast Reviews, TechCrunch, MacRumors and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Reporters Without Borders:

RSF's 2020 World Press Freedom Index shows correlation between COVID-19 news suppression and ranking; global indicator rose 0.9% YoY, but is down 12% since 2013 — The 2020 World Press Freedom Index, compiled by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), shows that the coming decade will be decisive …

Discussion: Reporters Without Borders, Press Gazette, @johnobrennan2, @rasmus_kleis, Hong Kong Free Press HKFP, @kenroth, @rsf_inter, IJR, RAPPLER and The Guardian

Variety:

Georgia to let movie theaters reopen April 27, but hiring staff, safety protocols, a lack of new releases, and limits on crowd sizes pose significant challenges — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp will allow movie theaters to reopen starting April 27, but exhibition insiders stress …

Discussion: Deadline, @srdtv, @brycezabel, @cinestate, The Playlist, The Wrap, Variety, Comic Book Movie, The A.V. Club and Vanity Fair

@si_union:

Maven has recognized the Sports Illustrated union, formed in January with support from more than 90% of the staff — We are now a recognized union. Our statement: https://twitter.com/...

Discussion: @grantwahl

Jay Rosen / PressThink:

Five suggestions to US media to improve COVID-19 coverage: end duplication, collaborate, and publish at the same time, dislodge Trump as “protagonist”, and more — Our news system is designed for daily content production, not for public understanding. In our current crisis we cannot afford that.

Discussion: @froomkin, @steve_katz, @piscitelli, @michaelsocolow and @jayrosen_nyu

Marc Tracy / New York Times:

NPR cuts CEO pay 25% and reduces other executives' salaries between 10% and 15%, but CEO says there are no layoffs planned at the moment — The Washington headquarters of NPR, which has taken measures to avoid layoffs.Credit...Ting Shen for The New York Times Marc Tracy By Marc Tracy April 20 …

Discussion: @bobbyallyn, @kindandunblind, @taylakaye, @vwpickard, @jimwindolf, @mirokorenha and The Wrap

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

Michael Jordan docuseries “The Last Dance” debuts to an average 6.1M viewers across ESPN and ESPN 2, the most-viewed original content on the network since 2004 — An average of 6.1 million viewers tuned in to watch the first two episodes of the much-anticipated documentary series …

Mandy Jenkins / The Compass Experiment:

The Compass Experiment, McClatchy and Google's digital local news initiative, plans to launch the Longmont Leader in Colorado in May with a team of five — We're launching The Longmont Leader to provide critical news and information during this time of crisis — and beyond.

Discussion: Nieman Lab, Axios, The Keyword, Free Press, PR Newswire, @mattsebastian, Longmont Observer, Longmont Observer and @mjenkins

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Commissioning Editor - Practical Law — Reuters

Energy Markets Reporter, London — WSJ

Oil Reporter, Singapore — Bloomberg

Newsperson - State Govt. & Politics, CA — AP

Business Reporter, SC — Post & Courier

State Government Reporter, WA — Seattle Times

Climate Crisis Columnist — Prospect UK

Multimedia Journalist, CA — Paramount

Community Engagement Mgr., DC — Freedom Forum

Staff Writer - Business, NY — WIRED

Editor, MA — Nieman Reports

Team Editor - Breaking News, ON — Toronto Star

Senior Reporter & Event Host, NY/CA — Newcomer

Climate & Weather Reporter, MN — Star Tribune

Senior Tech Editor, Remote US — The Verge

News Reporter, MA — Berkshire Eagle

Managing Editor, WA — Everett Herald

Private Credit Reporter, NY — Debtwire

Legislative Reporter, CA — Sacramento Bee

Reporter, PA — Tribune-Review

Visual Editor, Remote — Rest of World

Staff Writer, MI — Watershed Voice

California Playbook Writer, CA — Politico

Senior Media Editor — Digiday

National Investigative Reporter, NY — HuffPost

Business & Gaming Reporter, NV — Las Vegas Sun

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Frederic Filloux / Monday Note:
The media outlets that will emerge from the COVID-19 crisis will be lightweight, decentralized, less reliant on ads, and will bring more expertise to the table

Discussion: @mariaramirezny and @raju

Kerry Flynn / CNN:
In a letter to Trump, 240 House members urge him to direct federal spending to ads in local media and encourage the same for businesses receiving stimulus money

Discussion: Press Gazette, American Press Institute, @kerrymflynn, Congress of the United States, @nikkiusher, @cnnbusiness, @kerrymflynn and @kerrymflynn

Earlier Picks:

Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
The US music industry is reeling from the effective cancelation of summer concert and festival season, as COVID-19 prohibits large gatherings

Discussion: @markets, @thegunzshow, @newsynick, @lucas_shaw, @lucas_shaw and @lucas_shaw

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
NBCUniversal's movie ticketing company Fandango has agreed to buy Walmart's on-demand video streaming service Vudu for an undisclosed sum

Alex Sherman / CNBC:
Meredith cuts pay for ~2,000 employees by 15% and moves them to four-day weeks from May 4 to Sept. 4; 750 staff, including top execs, to take cuts of 20% to 40%

Discussion: @gregdool, New York Post, Broadcasting & Cable, TVSpy, @kerrymflynn, @sherman4949, @kerrymflynn, The Wrap, Adweek, Folio, MediaPost and PR Newswire

Etan Vlessing / Hollywood Reporter:
Charter Communications says it plans no employee layoffs or furloughs for two months and has permanently increased its minimum wage to $20 per hour

Discussion: @ashkan, @chartergov, @brianstelter, Charter Communications, Light Reading and Multichannel News

From Techmeme:

Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft unveils the $349 Windows 365 Link, a mini PC for its Windows 365 cloud service running a “super hardened version of Windows”, shipping in April 2025

Mishaal Rahman / Android Police:
Google ships the first Android 16 developer preview, far ahead of schedule vs. the past decade, hoping to lower fragmentation by giving manufacturers more time

Dina Bass / Bloomberg:
Microsoft unveils Azure AI Foundry to help customers build AI apps, including an SDK, tools for deploying AI agents, and a portal that replaces Azure AI Studio

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