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

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

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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

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

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

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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:

OpenAI:
OpenAI says its board of directors is evaluating its corporate structure, including a plan to turn its for-profit arm into a Delaware Public Benefit Corporation

Angrej Singh / Axios:
Some conservative critics of Elon Musk allege censorship and claim they were stripped of their X verification badges after challenging his views on H-1B visas

Bloomberg:
Montenegro says Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon will be extradited to the US, potentially ending a standoff over competing demands by the US and South Korea

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