Mediagazer: The LA Times sports columnist Arash Markazi announced his resignation, after being placed on paid leave in July amid alleged plagiarism and other ethical lapses (Ben Koo/Awful Announcing)

10:50 PM ET, August 14, 2020

Top News:

Sources: as ViacomCBS expands CBS All Access with programming from Viacom and Paramount, it is considering rebranding the streaming service to Paramount+ — ‘Paramount+’ tops shortlist as battle with Disney moves centre stage in attempt to lift shares — ViacomCBS is considering a plan …

Discussion: @mattgarrahan, The Desk, @sherman4949, @mgsiegler, @film_girl, @annaknicolaou, @tvmojoe and The Streamable

Bloomberg:

ViacomCBS shares rose as much as 5.8% on Friday following a researcher's report that an activist investor may be gathering a significant stake — - Credit Suisse trades hint that shareholder is amassing stake — But any activist would have to win over Shari Redstone

Discussion: @scottporch

Ben Koo / Awful Announcing:

The LA Times sports columnist Arash Markazi announced his resignation, after being placed on paid leave in July amid alleged plagiarism and other ethical lapses — Sources indicated to Awful Announcing that Markazi's exit was being brokered behind the scenes between the paper's lawyers …

Discussion: @laurawags, The Wrap and @bkoo, Thanks:@matthewkeyslive

Victoria Song / Gizmodo:

The death of Bon Appétit shows why media companies, which have no idea what makes videos work, failed with their half-baked plans to pivot to video — There are a zillion reasons why I have been mourning the Bon Appétit Test Kitchen. The one that hurts most is that the slow …

CNN:

Interview with Apple Daily owner Jimmy Lai, who says his arrest was a “symbolic exercise” by China to show that Hong Kong's new national security law has teeth — Hong Kong (CNN Business)Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai has called his arrest a “symbolic exercise” …

Discussion: @jennicnn and @jgriffiths

Jacob Bernstein / New York Times:

W magazine will now be called W Media after being sold to Bustle Media Group and investors including film and TV producer Jason Blum — The movie and television producer Jason Blum, the racecar driver Lewis Hamilton and the model Kaia Gerber will also be investors.

Discussion: MediaPost, @eiffeltyler, Adweek and @kerrymflynn

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Facing saturation and stiff competition in the US, media giants including Fox News and ViacomCBS are planning to launch new streaming services internationally — Facing saturation and stiff competition in the U.S., media giants are planning to launch new streaming services internationally to accrue more subscribers.

Discussion: MediaPost

Kristen Hare / Poynter:

Santa Cruz Local, a startup that focuses on county-level public policy reporting, has grown amid the pandemic to 500 paying members and 3,800 newsletter subs — Santa Cruz Local nearly doubled paying members since the coronavirus pandemic … “Hey everyone.

Discussion: American Press Institute, @anikaanand00, @sbaxter_sc, @phillipadsmith, @needhibhalla, @kristenhare, @karambutan, @ckrewson, @jmpasko96 and @kdeanct

Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica:

US Court of Appeals rules Charter can charge Netflix, other streaming services for network interconnection, despite merger conditions prohibiting the practice — Court kills ban on interconnection fees because FCC didn't defend merger condition. — Charter can charge Netflix …

Discussion: Multichannel News, MediaPost, @karlbode and Fast Company

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:

Warner Music acquires IMGN, which creates and tracks viral social media content in categories like e-sports, gaming, and ASMR, source says for just under $100M — It's a whole new playing field these days for music labels and publishers, and today one of the big three made an acquisition …

Discussion: @montelogik, @noahmallin, @briansolis and @itsthatmanhowie, more at Techmeme »

Press Gazette:

More than 2,000 jobs at UK-based news organizations have been cut during the COVID-19 crisis so far, with a large proportion of editorial staff affected — More than 2,000 jobs at UK-based news organisations have been put at risk during the Covid-19 crisis so far, with more expected to follow.

BuzzFeed News:

Facebook's employees and third-party fact-checkers say Facebook has sometimes overruled decisions on divisive content with little transparency — On May 8, Prager University, a nonprofit conservative media outlet, published a video on Facebook that incorrectly claimed “there is no evidence …

Discussion: @rmac18, @taraemcg, @prageru, @craigsilverman and @slpng_giants, more at Techmeme »

Spencer Hsu / Washington Post:

USAGM removed seven top execs on Wednesday after suspending their security clearances, citing security concerns over hiring of foreign workers — Members of Congress on Thursday condemned a leadership purge at the parent agency of Voice of America, escalating criticism that a new chief executive appointed …

Discussion: @karenkornbluh and @vivian

Daniel Lippman / Politico:
USAGM has hired Frank Wuco, a former talk radio host who has called Obama a Kenyan and Nancy Pelosi a Botox-using Nazi, among other incendiary statements

Discussion: @alanmillernlp, KIFI-TV, @muslimadvocates, @awarriorscholar, Gizmodo, @mmasnick, @schwartzbcnbc, @gavinsblog, @ambdana, @dlippman, @dlippman, @media_evan and The Guardian

Archived Page Info:

This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 10:50 PM ET, August 14, 2020.

View the current page or another snapshot:

Who's Hiring in Media?

Output Producer, CA — AP

China Markets Correspondent, Shanghai — Reuters

Senior Assignment Editor, DC — WaPo

Breaking News Editor, Tokyo — Bloomberg

Senior Correspondent - Wealth, NY — WSJ

Reporter - Ottawa Bureau — Globe & Mail

Local Government Reporter, IA — The Gazette

Research Director, CA — OCBJ

Immigration Enforcement Reporter — Documented

Presque Island Reporter, ME — Bangor Daily News

Contributing Parks Ed. - SW, CA — SFGATE

AI Content Editor, WA — Outlier

Legislative Reporter, TN — Daily Memphian

Editorial Assistant, Remote US — Launch Potato

Elon Musk Reporter, NY or CA — The Information

Government & Politics Editor, WA — Seattle Times

Business & GA Reporter. VT — VTDigger

Sports Reporter, WA — Everett Herald

Energy Reporter, TX — Houston Chronicle

Senior Reporter, SC — Island Packet

Trade & Climate Correspondent, DC — FT

Reporter, WI — Racine County Eye

Political Newsletter Writer, CO — The Lever

Jackson Reporter, MS — Verite

Music Editor, AZ — Phoenix New Times

Breaking News Reporter, NV — Las Vegas Sun

Fearless Reporter/Producer, IA — BPC

Reporter II - Technology, Remote — NPR

Editor, Remote US — Daily Kos

City Reporter, WA — Tacoma News Tribune

Executive Editor, OR — Lookout Local

Education & Budget Reporter, CA — Politico

Senior Writer/Editor, FL — Gulfshore Business

Media Editor, Remote — Axios

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:

Elaine Low / Variety:
Len Amato, president of HBO Films, Miniseries, and Cinemax, is leaving, as Cinemax works on phasing out original programming and HBO focuses on acquired content

Discussion: The Wrap and Hollywood Reporter

Press Gazette:
UK court rules that Reach must pay damages of £49,000 to a school teacher following defamatory articles in The Sunday Mirror, Mirror Online, and Kent Live

Discussion: bailii.org

Diana Kuryshko / BBC:
How Nexta, with a small editorial team of four in Warsaw and no website, is using its Telegram channel with 1.5M subscribers to bypass news blackout in Belarus

Discussion: @notesfrompoland and @mjluxmoore

Patrick Frater / Variety:
Baidu's video streaming service iQIYI says it is being probed by SEC, after a report in April accused it of inflating its 2019 revenue by around $1.13B

more at Techmeme »

Aaron Mak / Slate:
Google's Ad Exchange is demonetizing pages that merely mention issues of race and LGBTQ rights, classifying them as “dangerous or derogatory content”

Discussion: @michellemanafy, @evelyndouek, @angelsdiaz_, @evelyndouek, @josh_levin, @slate, @jon_fischer and @hypervisible, more at Techmeme »

Earlier Picks:

Christopher Palmeri / Bloomberg:
Disney shut down more than 20 foreign channels last week and took a $4.9B charge against earnings to instead focus on international streaming via its Star brand

Discussion: The Strategy Club, @archivistpulp and @ballmatthew

Digiday:
Sources at publications partnering with Apple News+ say Apple did not tell them about changes that force News+ users into its app instead of to publisher sites

Discussion: @arctictony, @arctictony, @arctictony, Press Gazette, @nevadapress, @maxwillens, @digiday, @arctictony, @arctictony, @larakiara, @larakiara and AppleInsider

Tommy Christopher / Mediaite:
Newsweek stands by an op-ed by a former Kamala Harris opponent that used arcane arguments to question Harris' eligibility for VP

Discussion: The Atlantic, @nancycoopernyc, @isaacdovere, @blakehounshell, Newsweek, Slate, Newsweek, @craigipedia, Reason, @jonathanalter, The Objective, The Banter, Vox, POLITIC, @graubart, @richsignorelli, @anildash, @katestarbird, @katestarbird, @katestarbird, @taniel, @kat__stafford, @jonlemire, @alexkotch, @alexkotch, @alexkotch, @brhodes, @jayrosen_nyu, @donwinslow, @jrubinblogger, @robinkirk, @teri_kanefield, @teri_kanefield, @joycewhitevance, @teri_kanefield, @redtraccoon, @josh_hammer, @yarotrof, @bungdan, @ischafer, @malcolmnance, @mpinoe, @asharangappa_, @goldietaylor, @kyle_feldscher, @jbkjbk1234, @jessicahuseman, @mollyjongfast, @benyt, @jbenton, @jacobfhsmith, @nc_cyberlaw, @zunguzungu, @jimswiftdc, @markjacob16, @normative, @mmcauliff, @craigipedia, @jbendery, @normative, @normative, @melissaryan, @craigipedia, @connieschultz, @angryblacklady, @marthasjones_, @deniseshearin, @kurteichenwald, @reignofapril, @soledadobrien, @jemelehill, @johnwdean, @juliettekayyem, @jbouie, @davidfolkenflik, Newser, The Wrap, Axios, Newsweek, The Mary Sue, Devil's Tower, New York Times, Raw Story and Neeha Curtis

Frank Pallotta / CNN:
AMC will reopen more than 100 theaters on August 20 and expects to open two-thirds of its 600+ US theaters by September 3, when Tenet comes out

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple to launch “Apple One”, tiered subscription bundles, which will include Music, TV+, News+, and a new virtual fitness service, as early as October

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

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