Mediagazer: NPR says 57M people consume NPR content each week, up 10% YoY, with unique weekly visitors to NPR.org up 94% and live stream listeners up 39% YoY (Sarah Scire/Nieman Lab)

11:25 AM ET, August 19, 2020

Top News:

Brent Lang / Variety:

NBCU vice chairman Ron Meyer steps down after disclosing that he was being extorted over his affair with a woman who threatened to also “falsely implicate” NBCU — Ron Meyer is stepping down as vice chairman of NBCUniversal after disclosing that he reached a private settlement …

Variety:

Sources: NBCU's Ron Meyer had reached a settlement with actress Charlotte Kirk, who was linked to the resignation of Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara in 2019 — NBCUniversal Vice Chairman Ron Meyer was involved in an affair with actress Charlotte Kirk that ultimately led to his ouster …

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter, MediaPost, Hollywood Reporter, @mattbelloni, @jaxxonhoward, @thedreaclark, Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, Mediaite, Page Six, Deadline and The Wrap

Sarah Scire / Nieman Lab:

NPR says 57M people consume NPR content each week, up 10% YoY, with unique weekly visitors to NPR.org up 94% and live stream listeners up 39% YoY — Since the pandemic took hold in the United States, NPR's radio ratings have taken a nosedive. Half of AM/FM listening in the United States takes place …

Discussion: @aguilararturo and @niemanlab

Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal:

WPP has hired AT&T's Kirk McDonald as chief executive of North America for its GroupM ad-buying unit; McDonald had been interim head of Xandr — Executive move is the latest exit from Warner Media's advertising-technology unit Xandr — WPP PLC has hired AT&T Inc.'s Kirk McDonald …

Discussion: Variety, Talking Biz News, Ad Age, Adweek, @tkawaja, @aripap, @beet_tv, AdExchanger, MediaPost and Business Insider

Aaron Gordon / The Mail:

Motherboard launches an email newsletter about the US Postal Service and a printed zine on the subject delivered monthly by mail, to run through end of November — For years, Motherboard has cared deeply about election security. We were the first to talk to Guccifer 2.0 …

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

Belarusian Association of Journalists: at least 69 journalists were detained since 9 August, the day of the election, with 36 of those beaten and injured — Almost 70 journalists were detained in Belarus and half were beaten and injured after pro-democracy protests began against the contested re-election …

Discussion: Committee to Protect …, @zidanism and The Times

DW.COM:
After initially failing to cover protests, employees of Belarus state broadcaster went on strike Monday and demanded an end to media censorship

Discussion: @christopherjm, @pressfreedom, @lisang, @demianvonosten, @kenroth and The Guardian

Peter Weber / The Week:

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticizes NBC News for its “totally false and divisive” tweet saying she did not endorse Joe Biden in her DNC speech — The Democratic National Convention formally nominated Joe Biden as its presidential candidate on Tuesday night …

Discussion: TVNewser, @nbcnews, The Guardian, The Wrap, The Hill, @aoc, @wesleylowery, @aoc, @aoc, @meghanmccain, @yashar, @waltshaub and The Independent

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

Interview with Tucker Carlson, who says he has the backing of Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch despite the “constant assault” to take his show off the air — Record ratings usually means record revenue for ad-supported TV shows. — But “Tucker Carlson Tonight” …

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Netflix says it's testing Shuffle Play, which will randomly play a show you're watching, something you've put on a list, or a title similar to stuff you watched — Don't know what you're in the mood to watch? Netflix's new “Shuffle” feature could help. The company confirms it's currently testing …

Discussion: The Wrap, Variety, The Independent, @baekdal, Engadget, @deliacabe, Deadline, The Verge and The Streamable

Laura Wagner / VICE:

A proposed Vox Media settlement of three lawsuits would split $2.5M among 450+ bloggers who managed or wrote for SB Nation; $1.5M would go to legal fees — Hundreds of unpaid and lowly paid bloggers who worked for SB Nation will split $2.5 million. — Laura Wagner

Discussion: bookforum.com, @alexwatl, @timmarchman, @davidleoni, @seth_rosenthal, @jackie_peanuts and Awful Announcing

Variety:

As the flow of new content dries up, studios are capitalizing on demand from streamers by licensing films for shorter, one to three month runs — When HBO Max debuted in late May, it made a surprise announcement: The eight original “Harry Potter” films — among the biggest-ever movie franchises …

Nicholas Quah / Nieman Lab:

Vice's VP of audio discusses Vice's audio expansion with 11 hires and the upcoming launch of four podcasts, including the flagship Vice News Reports — Welcome to Hot Pod, a newsletter about podcasts. This is issue 270, dated August 18, 2020. — Hmm... Spotify appears to be hiring …

Discussion: @shaunagh and @vicecomms

Archived Page Info:

This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 11:25 AM ET, August 19, 2020.

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Who's Hiring in Media?

Deputy Ed. - Gen. Assignment Desk, DC — WaPo

EU Technology Reporter, Brussels — Bloomberg

Breaking News Reporter, NY — Guardian US

Harrisburg Reporter, PA — PCBC

Senior Editor - Styles, NY — NYT

Part-time Editor, Remote — Techmeme

Home & Travel Reporter, Ireland — Newsweek

Assistant Digital Editor, MA — Boston Globe

Senior Editor - Visuals (Temporary), 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

Higher Ed. Reporter, Remote CA — EdSource

Politics Reporter, Brussels — Politico

Investigations & Enterprise Ed., WI — Cap Times

Social Strategy Editor, NY — WSJ

Senior Narrative Editor, CA — Cloud Chamber

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

Afternoon/Night Editor, NH — Keene Sentinel

Education Lab Editor, WA — Seattle Times

Senior Editor, Remote US — PCWorld

State Worker Reporter, CA — Sacramento Bee

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More News:

Iris Deng / South China Morning Post:
Taiwan to ban Chinese streaming giants iQiyi and Tencent from September, prohibiting Taiwanese individuals and organizations from working with the companies

Discussion: @therealjoshye and Variety, more at Techmeme »

Charlie Warzel / New York Times:
The White House flood of EOs and pronouncements is meant to be exhausting for media and consumers, requiring careful news coverage and mindful readers

Discussion: @jayrosen_nyu, @cwarzel, @sashalyutse, @joesudbay, @edzitron, @slickrockweb, @edzitron, @edzitron, @emilycrockett, @staceynycdc, The Distancer, @grahamwjenkins, @ethanz, @jayrosen_nyu, @brianstelter and @cwarzel

Stephanie Sengwe / The Streamable:
Disney+ is launching in Latin America on November 17

Wall Street Journal:
Sources: ViacomCBS is in talks to sell CNET for ~$500M to Red Ventures, which runs consumer sites Bankrate and Reviews.com, as it looks to shed noncore assets

Discussion: MediaPost, Variety, Digital TV Europe, AdExchanger, @gpingersoll, @aaronwall, @austindlight, @shortformernie, @joshsternberg, @thekenyeung, @pkafka, @benmullin, Radio & Television …, Talking Biz News and The Wrap, more at Techmeme »

Earlier Picks:

Sara Fischer / Axios:
Group Nine's NowThis is launching NowThis Kids aimed at children aged 6 to 11, starting with a YouTube channel, podcast, and newsletter

Discussion: The Wrap, @thewrap, @niemanlab, @naomiwadler, @naomiwadler, @mralexalba, @sarafischer and MediaPost

Sara Fischer / Axios:
Snap is testing a feature that would allow users to share Snapchat content, like original shows and content from its Discover partners, off of the platform

Discussion: @simonowens, @richlightshed and Engadget

Jon Allsop / Columbia Journalism Review:
To avoid airing a Democratic infomercial and lacking breaks in the virtual convention, news shows talked over the DNC production, creating an unwatchable result

Discussion: TVNewser, Deadline, The Wrap, @madebyhistory, NBC News, @thedarrach, Associated Press, @michaelsocolow and Washington Post

Andrew Bucholtz / Awful Announcing:
Former Sports Illustrated owner Meredith is suing its current owner TheMaven for alleged breach of contract, claiming over $1M in unpaid fees

Discussion: Des Moines Register, Barrett Sports Media, @awfulannouncing, @jeffheckelman, @bkoo, @tyschalter, @sportsrapport, @maxwelltani, @bmorrissey, @ckrewson and WWD

From Techmeme:

Foo Yun Chee / Reuters:
Sources: EU may accept Apple's proposal to open its NFC payments tech to rivals, and may close its antitrust probe in May, letting Apple avoid hefty fines

George Steer / Financial Times:
Nvidia closed down 10% on Friday, falling the most since March 2020 and losing more than $200B of its market value, as investors pull back from AI bets

Gaby Del Valle / The Verge:
The US Senate reauthorizes FISA's Section 702; some communication service providers had threatened to stop cooperating with the US government in case of a lapse

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