Mediagazer: CNN, MSNBC, and others so far failed to book Biden accuser Tara Reade, while she turned down offers from Hannity; source: Reade is in talks with Chris Wallace (Ben Smith/New York Times)

7:55 PM ET, April 30, 2020

Top News:

CNN, MSNBC, and others so far failed to book Biden accuser Tara Reade, while she turned down offers from Hannity; source: Reade is in talks with Chris Wallace — The stakes are high for the media in the case of a sexual assault allegation against Joe Biden.

Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:

The NYT is adding David Leonhardt as host of its flagship newsletter The Morning Briefing, to be rebranded as The Morning, which already has 17M+ subscribers — The rise of digital disrupted the news business in countless ways, but one of the most profound was the loss of the publisher's role as curator.

Discussion: The New York Times Company, @mrjohncrowley, @jarroddicker, @sarahmarshall, @niemanlab, @palewire and New York Times

New York Times:

Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube have declined to remove Trump's comments on UV and disinfectants curing COVID-19, despite commitments to removing misinformation — Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have declined to remove the president's statements about unproven coronavirus treatments.

Discussion: @daveyalba, @daveyalba, The Verge, @jilliancyork, @venkatananth, @dpfunke, @karissabe, @nytimes, @jesselehrich, @sheeraf, @jenvalentino, @martydavis, @theplumlinegs, @eorden, @jenvalentino, Raw Story and Boing Boing, more at Techmeme »

Ben Smith / @benyt:

Alden Global Capital's Heath Freeman is circulating a letter to other newspaper owners suggesting a joint campaign to demand fees from big tech for news outlets — Heath Freeman, who runs newspaper-owning hedge fund Alden Capital, is circulating a letter to other newspaper owners suggesting a campaign to push Google and Facebook to pay them fees https://twitter.com/...

Discussion: @thomas_peele, @eliseschmelzer, @brofax, @mattdelong, @rhodes_dawn, @phillipstribune, @darrendcarroll, @mattsebastian, @brettdl, @laurawags, @charliemagne, @codybrown, @laurawags and @chrisjonestrib

YouGov:

YouGov: COVID-19 hasn't affected trust in the media in the UK as 47% say they trust the BBC; 46% of Labour voters trust upmarket papers vs. 29% of Tories — By Will Jennings (Professor of Political Science and Public Policy, University of Southampton) and Chris Curtis (YouGov)

Discussion: The Conversation, @stephen_cushion, @amonck, @aljwhite, @jimwaterson, @yougov, @emilybell, The Guardian, @piersmorgan, @rogermosey, @arron_banks and @schwartzchron

Sarah Sluis / AdExchanger:

IAB: 37% of buyers have paused ad campaigns; buyers cut digital spend 29% and traditional media spend 44%; 18% of regular news advertisers suspend spending — Geotargeting has emerged as a popular tactic during the pandemic, with a slight uptick in brands saying they planned to increase both national and local geotargeting.

Discussion: Ad Age, MediaPost, Multichannel News and @iab

Jim Waterson / The Guardian:

Amazon to cut Kindle ebook prices in UK from Friday as the 20% VAT on online publications is dropped; government to spend £35M on newspaper ads over 3 months — Chancellor drops 20% levy on online news subscriptions and books as industry struggles — Amazon has confirmed it will cut …

Discussion: GOV.UK, Press Gazette, HoldtheFrontPage, @rishisunak, @jimwaterson, @karenwales66, @the_cwa, @hmtreasury, @rishisunak, @robdelyn, @alcs_uk, @jimwaterson, @essexcanning, @hunterisobel and @halfon4harlowmp

Laura Wagner / VICE:

Tribune Publishing staffers staged a protest in an internal Slack channel, after the company announced furloughs and pay cuts of 2%-10% while paying dividends — More than 100 Tribune Publishing employees told off their bosses in an internal Slack channel yesterday, calling out executives …

Discussion: @hopnotes, @nyguild, @laurawags, @hopnotes, @emilyrnunn, @hopnotes, @hopnotes, @imleor, @lillyafowler, @jen_dev, @lgriffinct, @raqzal, @hopnotes, @hopnotes, @derektmead and @sammy_roth

Melynda Fuller / MediaPost:

McClatchy rolls out a text-to-speech feature, which creates audio versions of articles with ad inserts; its pilot program saw story page views rise 89% — Readers of McClatchy's 30 news outlets can now access stories through a new text-to-speech audio feature.

Discussion: The Hill and @kolbemarket

Sara Fischer / Axios:

The Hollywood Reporter names AP's Nekesa Mumbi Moody editorial director, replacing Matthew Belloni, who quit over reported disputes with owners on news coverage — Nekesa Mumbi Moody has been named editorial director of The Hollywood Reporter, joining the publication after more than two decades …

Discussion: The Wrap, New York Times, Hollywood Reporter, @theinsneider, Deadline, @sarafischer, @sarafischer, Talking Biz News, Variety and The Daily Beast

Reuters:

AT&T says it will bring its advertising unit Xandr under its WarnerMedia label — (Reuters) - AT&T Inc (T.N) said on Thursday it will bring its advertising unit Xandr under its WarnerMedia label, which is set to launch its streaming channel HBO Max in May.

Discussion: Ad Age, Broadcasting & Cable, MediaPost and AdExchanger

Zoe Samios / Sydney Morning Herald:

In Australia, Bauer Media suspends print publication of Harper's Bazaar, Elle, OK!, and Now and lays off 70 people as it acquires Pacific Magazines for $40M — Bauer Media is making 70 staff redundant and temporarily suspending the print editions of titles including OK! …

Discussion: The Guardian and New Zealand Herald

Archived Page Info:

This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 7:55 PM ET, April 30, 2020.

View the current page or another snapshot:

Who's Hiring in Media?

Senior Data Journalist, NY — WSJ

Manager - Publishing Editorial, Manila — Reuters

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

Senior California Politics Reporter, CA — SFGATE

Staff Writer - Business, NY — WIRED

Team Editor - Opinion, ON — Toronto Star

Assistant Correspondent, DC — Kyodo News

Climate & Weather Reporter, MN — Star Tribune

Senior Tech Editor, Remote US — The Verge

Lead Business Reporter, TN — Daily Memphian

Managing Editor, WA — Everett Herald

Private Credit Reporter, NY — Debtwire

City Correspondent, London — Financial News

Legislative Reporter, CA — Sacramento Bee

Reporter, PA — Tribune-Review

Visual Editor, Remote — Rest of World

Staff Writer, MI — Watershed Voice

Senior Political Reporter, DC — The Lever

California Playbook Writer, CA — Politico

National Investigative Reporter, NY — HuffPost

Business & Gaming Reporter, NV — Las Vegas Sun

Coastal Climate Reporter, SC — Island Packet

Environment & Energy Reporter, CT — CT Mirror

Coordinating Editor, OR — OPB

Editor, Remote US — Daily Kos

Business Reporter, WA — Longview Daily News

Editor-in-Chief, AZ — Phoenix New Times

Add your company here

See Also:

Mediagazer: site main

Mediagazer River: reverse chronological Mediagazer

Mediagazer Mobile: for phones

Mediagazer Leaderboard: Mediagazer's top sources

Subscribe:

Mediagazer RSS feed

Mediagazer on X

Mediagazer on Mastodon

More News:

Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Sources: TikTok executives are considering producing a reality TV show built around the app, to broaden its appeal and show different ways of using its videos

Discussion: @sawickipedia, iMore and Sensor Tower Blog, more at Techmeme »

Kerry Flynn / CNN:
Journalists in several newsrooms owned by Gannett have been blocked from hosting union elections because management has yet to agree to mail-in ballots

Discussion: @maddyinmilford, @patjriley, @cnnbusiness, @sabasile, @swflnewsguild, @kerrymflynn, @kerrymflynn, @swflnewsguild, @kerrymflynn, @jason_garcia, @apantazi and @newshawk

Trey Williams / The Wrap:
ViacomCBS has laid off at least 100 employees, including top executives at the Smithsonian Network and Comedy Central as well as MTV and LogoTV staff

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter, New York Post, MediaPost, Deadline and Variety

Fazal Ashfaq / The Keyword:
In the second round of the Google News Initiative Asia Pacific Innovation Challenge, 18 outlets from 11 countries will split a $2.3M grant

Discussion: TechCrunch, @sruthijith, @avinashkalla, @daftari and @neeleshmisra

CNBC:
Comcast Q1: NBCU earnings fell 25.3% to $1.7B on revenue of $7.7B, down 7%, with film revenue down 22.5% YoY to $1.4B and ad revenue down 2.2% YoY

Discussion: Broadcasting & Cable, The Wrap, Comcast Corporation, @megancgraham, The Verge, @jbursz, The Wrap, @stevekopack, ZDNet and The Streamable

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Twitter reports Q1 revenue of $808M, up 3% YoY, and ad revenue of $682M, up about $3M YoY, with cost per engagement down 19% YoY, and 166M mDAUs, up 24% YoY

Discussion: Adweek, Variety, @twitterir, @twitterir, Ad Age, @carnage4life, @damonlinker, @thekenyeung, VentureBeat, Fast Company and MediaPost, more at Techmeme »

Caleb Ecarma / Vanity Fair:
Profile of The American Conservative, a publication aiming to take advantage of Trump's populist realignment of the GOP and styled as The Atlantic for the right

Discussion: @dandepetris, @esaagar, @ccitycatholic and @kausmickey

Earlier Picks:

Timothy B. Lee / Ars Technica:
The US Supreme Court has upheld the right to freely share the official annotated law code of Georgia despite the state's claim to own the copyright of the code

Discussion: @techlinkedyt, @allafarce, @j0hnnyxm4s, @marshallyoum, Slate, New York Times and Bloomberg Law

Doug Sword / Roll Call:
Some House Democrats still want to change pension rules to help McClatchy, The San Diego Union-Tribune, and Newspapers of New England, but critics are skeptical

Discussion: @dkiesow, @rollcall and @nielslesniewski

The Daily Beast:
NY Post announces cost-cutting measures, including laying off staff, cutting freelance budgets, and freezing hiring; sources: over a dozen have been laid off

Discussion: The Wrap, @eglazarev, @theo_wayt, @carolynryan, @noahshachtman, @harrysiegel, @joereubens, @oliverdarcy, @wlabovitz, bookforum.com, @maxwelltani, @lalpert1, @lalpert1 and @claireatki

Dave McNary / Variety:
Cineworld joins AMC Theatres in refusing to show Universal Pictures films after NBCUniversal CEO's promise to open titles simultaneously on PVOD and in theaters

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
The Guardian says it had 821,000 readers making monthly contributions at the end of March, up 23% YoY; digital app subscriptions grew by 39% YoY to 265,000

Discussion: Columbia Journalism Review, The Guardian, @kathviner, @grahamruthven, @johnharris1969, @jonathanwatts, @janebsinger, @pzfahad and HoldtheFrontPage

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Spotify beats with Q1 revenue of €1.8B and net income of €1M, with MAUs up 31% YoY to 286M, premium users up 31% to 130M, and ad-supported MAUs up 32% to 163M

Discussion: @ncsh, @rfaughnder, @ivan_brussels, @brianstelter, @philipmorton, @thr, @ingridlunden, Spotify, Variety, Ad Age, Los Angeles Times, CNN, Mobile Marketer, The Wrap and Fast Company

From Techmeme:

New York Times:
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner says China-linked Salt Typhoon group listened to phone calls and read texts by hacking US telecom networks

Wall Street Journal:
Sources: TikTok CEO Shou Chew, who has known Elon Musk for several years, has sought Musk's counsel in recent weeks on the incoming Trump administration

Financial Times:
Similarweb: Bluesky app usage in the US and UK grew ~300% to 3.5M DAUs after Nov. 5; Threads now has 1.5x Bluesky's DAUs in the US, down from 5x before Nov. 5

Sister Sites:

Techmeme
Top news and commentary for technology's leaders, from all around the web

memeorandum
What US political commentators are discussing online right now

WeSmirch
The top celebrity news from all around the web on a single page