Mediagazer: Amazon launches a new livestreaming option for influencers on its Amazon Live service, a home shopping network-style video feed on Amazon's retail site (Sarah Perez/TechCrunch)

8:40 AM ET, July 16, 2020

Top News:

Substack begins offering legal support to US-based writers with paid subscriptions who publish work that may attract unreasonable legal pressure — For the last few months, we have been piloting a legal support program for independent writers on Substack. As part of this program …

Max Willens / Digiday:
Salaried reporters embrace platforms like Substack, seeing the newsletter as a way to communicate directly with readers, test new ideas, and nurture obsessions

Discussion: @sohear, @kantrowitz, @michellemanafy, @mattnavarra and @bnox

Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge:

Twitter says most verified accounts should be able to tweet again, after limiting the functionality on some verified accounts earlier while investigating hack — Update: “Most accounts should be able to Tweet again” — Twitter completely disabled the ability for many accounts to send …

Discussion: VICE, TechCrunch, MIT Technology Review, Los Angeles Times, Business Insider, @nash076, @jason_koebler, @baekdal, @dancow and Reuters, more at Techmeme »

Veronica Penney / New York Times:

Facebook classifies climate change news as opinion, meaning peer-reviewed science, industry statements, and disinformation aren't fact-checked — Critics say a company policy that exempts opinion articles from fact-checking amounts to a huge loophole for climate change deniers.

Discussion: @evelyndouek, @juddlegum, @nytnational, @johnpodesta, @towcenter, @scottpwaldman, @dfrlab and @juddlegum

Apple:

Apple updates News to include audio stories on Apple News+, a daily audio news briefing, and curated local news collections in five US cities and regions — Apple is introducing several new features for Apple News and Apple News+, including audio stories of some of the best feature stories from Apple News+ …

Discussion: CNN, TechCrunch, 9to5Mac, FWIW by David Tvrdon, @_alastair, Gizmodo, @caseynewton, @kerrymflynn, @susanlitv, @backlon, The Verge, Variety, Engadget and VentureBeat, more at Techmeme »

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Amazon launches a new livestreaming option for influencers on its Amazon Live service, a home shopping network-style video feed on Amazon's retail site — Amazon is giving live streamers a new way to earn commissions on purchases of products showcased in their streams.

Richard Chumney / News & Advance:

Liberty University files $10M defamation suit against the NYT for an article that said the school was reopening despite some students having COVID-19 symptoms — Liberty University sued The New York Times for defamation on Wednesday, accusing the paper, and a reporter of crafting a “clickbait” …

Discussion: Washington Examiner and @rcfp

Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:

The Casper Star-Tribune will stop Monday and Tuesday print editions, leaving Wyoming as perhaps the first state without a local paper printed on Monday mornings — Wyoming has six “daily” newspapers, but now none of them will actually print a paper seven days a week.

Discussion: Casper Star-Tribune

Ad Age:

Dan Peres, former Detail editor-in-chief, named editor-in-chief of Ad Age — Former Details editor-in-chief will oversee print, digital, social, video, podcasts and events — Dan Peres has been named editor-in-chief at Ad Age overseeing editorial across all the publication's expressions …

Discussion: The Salamanca Press

Taryn Finley / HuffPost:

COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter protests have empowered Black journalists to hold companies accountable and push for more news dedicated to Black communities — Several Black writers and editors have used this moment to spur change within their current and former newsrooms.

Discussion: New York Times

Steven Perlberg / Digiday:

Slack, introduced to newsrooms to boost efficiency, is now serving another purpose: letting journalists organize and criticize, forcing management to respond — On the evening of June 6, New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet entered the chat. — Times employees were in open revolt following …

Discussion: @zamosta, @jessiwrites, @jkeefe, @glennf, Axios, Fox News, @jeffjarvis, @jeffjarvis, Backbencher and MediaPost

Lyz Lenz / Columbia Journalism Review:

An Iowa journalist reflects on the national media's overuse of stereotypes during election coverage and how it turns real places into quaint backdrops — How election reporters see us, and how we view them — To be at the center of a media frenzy is to be sucked into a vortex. Eventually, you get spit out.

Eliana Miller / Poynter:

Some online outlets fail to clearly and uniformly label opinion, leading to reader confusion and complaints over opinions and political agendas in reporting — In print, it's fairly clear what's an opinion piece and what's a news article. Online, things aren't so clear.

Frank Pallotta / CNN:

Q&A with Matt Strauss, the head of NBC's new Peacock streaming service, about the name, its free-tier approach, launching during a pandemic, and more — New York (CNN Business)After a Max, a Plus and another Plus, the streaming world is now being introduced to a Peacock.

Discussion: The Ringer, @frankpallotta, @frankpallotta, New York Times, The Wrap, Vulture, The Verge and The A.V. Club

Nicole Sperling / New York Times:
NBCUniversal's Peacock launches with a free ad-supported tier offering 10,000+ hours of streaming content and 2 premium levels with double the content

Discussion: NBC News, CNET, Fast Company, @sherman4949, @jbillinson, IndieWire, Marketplace, @peternickeas, @danrayburn, @crupicrupicrupi, @jbflint, @nicsperling and Always Be Watching

Archived Page Info:

This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 8:40 AM ET, July 16, 2020.

View the current page or another snapshot:

Who's Hiring in Media?

Technology Companies Editor, CA — WaPo

ESG & Climate Senior Editor, HK — Bloomberg

Breaking News Reporter, NY — Guardian US

Reporter, Remote US — TechCrunch

Story Editor - Graphics, NY — NYT

Part-time Editor, Remote — Techmeme

Freelance News Reporter, London — Newsweek

Arts & Entertainment Editor, MA — Boston Globe

Assignment Editor, CT — NBCUniversal

Deputy Washington Editor, DC — NPR

Copy Editor, Remote US — ProPublica

Markets Reporter, NY/CA — Sherwood Media

Staff Writer, MI — Watershed Voice

Food Reporter, CA — SF Standard

Staff Writer, NV — Las Vegas Weekly

Pharma Editor, Remote — Endpoints

Reporter/Newsletter Writer, CO — BRL

Politics Reporter, Brussels — Politico

Managing Ed. - News, Remote US — The Athletic

Features Editor, GA — Gainesville Times

Editor-in-Chief, NY (flexible) — The 74

Housing Reporter, OK — The Frontier

Writer/AI Content Reviewer, CA — Outlier

Writer/Editor, Remote — Mediaite

Multi Media Reporter, NC — Cardinal & Pine

Law and Justice Editor, WA — Seattle Times

Senior Editor, Remote US — PCWorld

State Worker Reporter, CA — Sacramento Bee

Executive Editor, NM — Searchlight

News Assistant, NY — Quanta Magazine

Local Editor, NJ (Remote) — Patch

News Writer, CA — Hollywood Reporter

News Editor/Reporter, KS — Blade-Empire

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:

Seth Colaner / VentureBeat:
The EFF, in partnership with the University of Nevada, launches a searchable database of 3,000+ US police agencies and the tech surveillance tools they use

Discussion: Gizmodo and Wired

Alex Weprin / Hollywood Reporter:
Trump and Biden are increasingly targeting swing voters with TV ads on niche cable networks like Food Network that haven't traditionally been a campaign focus

Discussion: @jimmytraina

New York Times:
As 1,000+ companies join the Facebook ad boycott, Hollywood has been silent; Walt Disney spent $212M from Jan.-June, making it Facebook's top advertiser by far

Discussion: Market Chaos, @brooksbarnesnyt and @dylanbyers, more at Techmeme »

Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC:
Facebook to launch Facts about Covid-19, a new section in the Covid Information Center, to debunk myths about the pandemic

Discussion: Columbia Journalism Review, Mark Zuckerberg, @garossino, Breitbart and Engadget, more at Techmeme »

CB Insights Research:
CB Insights acquires the data assets of VentureSource, a comprehensive portfolio for venture capital markets, from Dow Jones

Discussion: Talking Biz News, @asanwal, @cbinsights, Business Insider and PR Newswire

Joe Otterson / Variety:
In a memo to staff, ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish says “we are assuming the majority of employees will not be returning to US offices this year”

Raphael Satter / Reuters:
A freelancer with Jerusalem Post and The Algemeiner bylines, who attacked critics of NSO Group, seems to be an elaborate fiction with a deepfake profile photo

Discussion: One Man & His Blog, @metaviv, @moorehn, @peteskomoroch, @donie, @bing_chris, @beckpeterson, @razhael, @yousefmunayyer, @paulskallas, @mazmhussain, @tomgara, @aliabunimah and @emilybell, more at Techmeme »

Earlier Picks:

Christopher Testa / ABC:
News Corp Australia will launch more than 50 digital-only regional titles over the next two to three years, with the first 15 by the end of September

Discussion: Mumbrella, @saffronhowden, @jarrodwhittaker and Talking Biz News

Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter:
Appeals court revives a libel suit against Joy Reid by a Trump supporter, a setback for media orgs who fear suits intended to chill First Amendment activity

Discussion: @eriqgardner, @alexweprin, The Wrap, TVNewser and The Daily Caller

Lesley Goldberg / Hollywood Reporter:
CBS signs a content partnership deal with civil rights group NAACP to develop scripted, unscripted, and documentary programming for linear TV and streaming

BBC:
BBC News to cut 520 jobs, including 450 that were announced as part of an £80M savings drive in January, and then put on hold due to the pandemic

Discussion: @davidfolkenflik, @jimwaterson, Press Gazette, @stevekopack, The Guardian, @rosehorowitz31, @harryyorke1, @wesstreeting, @robosbornewales, @sebastianepayne, @colingeorgebbc, @hadas_gold, @pressgazette, @pressgazette and TVNewser

Jordan Moreau / Variety:
ViacomCBS fires actor and TV host Nick Cannon, after he made anti-Semitic comments on his podcast

Discussion: Nick Cannon, NME, The Sun, The A.V. Club, @zackblatt, @thr, Mediaite, @variety, @palafo, @amyspiro, MediaPost, Vanity Fair, The Root, Decider, New York Post, Us Weekly, The Week and New York Times

Jim Waterson / The Guardian:
Guardian to cut workforce by 12%, with 70 jobs to go in editorial and 110 in commercial roles, as revenues are expected to be down by £25M+ on the year's budget

Laura Wagner / VICE:
New York Times Opinion writer Bari Weiss says she's leaving the paper

Discussion: Poynter, @dylanbyers, New Republic, New York Daily News, USA Today, @deep_beige, @jbouie, @jessesingal, @kimmaicutler, @dceiver, @wesleylowery, @karenattiah, @jack_hamilton, @katebevan, @mmasnick, @alexhern, @mmasnick, @wajahatali, @s_m_i, @katecagle, @lollardfish, @elienyc, @laura_nelson, @jonbernhardt, @jsellenberg, @paulg, @davidsirota, @kendrawrites, @yashar, @mattzollerseitz, @dataeditor, @them_l_g, @justinwolfers, @tomgara, @rudnicknoah, @ericrweinstein, @ericrweinstein, @elivalley, @parkermolloy, @elivalley, @thomaschattwill, @originalspin, @lostcatdog, @gelliottmorris, @goldietaylor, @arawnsley, @lawrencehurley, @blackamazon, @jeremymbarr, @loloverruled, @alixabeth, @aliabunimah, @fawfulfan, @alex, @meghanmccain, @ashleyfeinberg, @tomgara, @connorsouthard, @dandarling, @lthomasnews, @stevekrak, @marc_normandin, @hemantmehta, @laurawags, @sullydish, Bari Weiss and Vanity Fair

From Techmeme:

Connor Jones / The Register:
UnitedHealth says the February ransomware attack on Change Healthcare cost the company $872M in Q1; another ransomware group appears to be extorting the company

Financial Times:
Microsoft invests $1.5B in Abu Dhabi-based AI startup G42 for a minority stake, after G42 severed ties with Chinese suppliers; Brad Smith will join G42's board

Raphael Satter / Reuters:
The Open Source Security Foundation and the OpenJS Foundation say the attempt to insert a secret backdoor into XZ Utils “may not be an isolated incident”

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