Mediagazer: 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 (Ingrid Lunden/TechCrunch)

1:40 PM ET, August 14, 2020

Top News:

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 — The U.S. Agency for Global Media has hired Frank Wuco, a controversial former talk radio host who once called President Barack Obama …

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

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

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 …

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: @eiffeltyler and @kerrymflynn

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 — Publishers have long fumed that platforms such as Google and Amazon tie their services and products together in ways that are anti-competitive.

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

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.

Financial Times:

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 to rebrand …

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

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, @craigsilverman, @prageru, @slpng_giants and @taraemcg

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:

Sources: Apple to start offering first video content bundle to TV+ subscribers, combining CBS All Access and Showtime for $9.99/mo, starting as early as Monday — - Subscribers will pay $9.99 for Showtime and CBS All Access — Apple also plans push into services bundles for key offerings

Discussion: MediaPost, MacRumors, Digital TV Europe, Variety, The Streamable, AppleInsider, 9to5Mac, The Wrap, Vox, Gizmodo, VentureBeat, Decider, Cord Cutters News and Business Insider

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

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 — A primary school teacher has been awarded damages of £49,000 over a series of articles published by three Reach titles.

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 — For days Belarusians have had little information of the unrest filling their streets, with state-run TV making little attempt …

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.

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” — On Martin Luther King Jr. Day this year, the Atlantic decided to recirculate King's famous “Letter From Birmingham Jail,” …

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

Archived Page Info:

This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 1:40 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:

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 »

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: @archivistpulp and @ballmatthew

Associated Press:
The Albuquerque Journal and the Santa Fe New Mexican will combine printing at The New Mexican's Santa Fe facility, resulting in about 70 Albuquerque layoffs

Discussion: @afcc_esq

WashPost PR:
Zeus Technology, WaPo's revenue platform, announces it will license its Zeus Performance ad framework and rendering engine to Tribune Publishing for 8 markets

Discussion: Talking Biz News, @sprakash007, @wapoarc, @hswolff, @mikeorren, @jarroddicker, Washington Post, @ckrewson and @arctictony

Earlier Picks:

Richard Nieva / CNET:
YouTube bans videos containing info obtained through hacking that could interfere with the election and will remove content that encourages meddling in voting

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, @dnvolz, New York Times, @campuscodi, About Facebook, TechCrunch, blog.youtube and Axios

Rick Porter / Hollywood Reporter:
Nielsen: streaming made up 25% of total TV usage in Q2 vs. 19% in Q4 2019; Disney+ comprised 4% of streaming, Prime Video 8%, Hulu 11%, YouTube 20%, Netflix 34%

Discussion: @rickporter, Adweek, MediaPost, The Streamable, Multichannel News and Insights - Nielsen

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: @nancycoopernyc, Newsweek, The Atlantic, New York Times, @isaacdovere, @blakehounshell, Newsweek, The Banter, The Nation, @jonathanalter, @craigipedia, Vox, @graubart, Roy Edroso Breaks It Down, The Week, @anildash, @richsignorelli, @katestarbird, @taniel, @katestarbird, @katestarbird, @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, @mollyjongfast, @kyle_feldscher, @jbkjbk1234, @jessicahuseman, @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, 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

Discussion: Associated Press, Numlock News, The Week, @nicoleblades, @alexjamesfitz, @cnnbusiness, Variety, @asteadwesley, @media_marshall, @michael_steel, @adamweinstein, Techdirt, The A.V. Club, The Media Nut, The Playlist, /Film, Vanity Fair and The Verge

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