Mediagazer: Sources detail how speculation about Dean Baquet's successor at NYT was upended by BLM protests and COVID-19; Sulzberger say he's “in no hurry” to make a change (Joe Pompeo/Vanity Fair)

9:20 PM ET, September 2, 2020

Top News:

Some advertisers seek the ability to back out of TV contracts, cancel ads close to air date, or move spending from TV to digital amid pandemic uncertainty — Concerned about the NFL season and a dearth of new entertainment, marketers want flexibility — Advertisers are pressing …

Discussion: @alexbruell and Front Office Sports

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

Chris Wallace to moderate first presidential debate, Steve Scully the second, and NBC's Kristen Welker the third; USA Today's Susan Page to moderate VP debate — Fox News' Chris Wallace, NBC News' Kirsten Welker, and C-SPAN's Steve Scully will each moderate one of three Presidential Debates leading …

Discussion: @stevescully, @brianstelter, @maggienyt, Los Angeles Times, Mediaite, @greta, TVNewser, @cairo67unedited, @brianstelter, @yashar, @bristei, @daveweigel, @mschlapp, @tommyxtopher, @cspan, The Wrap and ABC News

Joe Pompeo / Vanity Fair:

Sources detail how speculation about Dean Baquet's successor at NYT was upended by BLM protests and COVID-19; Sulzberger say he's “in no hurry” to make a change — Even a virtual newsroom can be a hotbed for gossip, with long-running speculation about Dean Baquet's successor …

Discussion: @joepompeo, @mitrakalita, @mattgertz, @brianstelter, @froomkin, @mlcalderone, @gerryfsmith and @joepompeo

David Folkenflik / NPR:

VOA staff say Michael Pack is seeking political influence over coverage, in one instance violating the firewall that assures journalistic independence — Toggle more options — At the Voice of America, staffers say the Trump appointee leading their parent agency is threatening …

Discussion: Washington Post, @brianstelter, @cliffschecter, @npr, @shawnpowers, @sulliview, @davidfolkenflik, @jbenton and @amy_siskind

Boone Ashworth / Wired:

Google updates Your News Update, its Assistant-powered audio news service, with new features including its own “newscaster voice” — The company's latest news product is an ever-replenishing playlist of audio stories—curated, in part, by the wealth of data it has on you.

Discussion: The Keyword, Engadget, TechCrunch, @benwerd, @techcrunch, @wired, 9to5Google and CNET, more at Techmeme »

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Weather news companies say they added new topics like indoor humidity and air quality forecasting and started using new tools like drones due to the pandemic — Executives at weather news companies tell Axios that the coronavirus pandemic has forever changed the way they cover the weather.

Mark Landler / New York Times:

The BBC, far more trusted than the rest of the British media, faces commercial and cultural headwinds as two Fox-like competitors with 24-hour news develop — Boris Johnson came into office aiming to defund the BBC and let in rivals. The coronavirus has delayed that …

Discussion: @rasmus_kleis

Ariana Pekary / Columbia Journalism Review:

Ratings-driven programming decisions are the largest obstacle to reliable news and information on cable and broadcast TV — When I was hired as a producer at MSNBC almost seven years ago, I did not own a television. I considered myself an accidental TV producer, having crossed the line …

Discussion: @cjr and @arianapekary

Naman Ramachandran / Variety:

Indian media conglomerate Zee launches a premium VOD service called Zee Plex, as cinemas remain closed and a spate of Indian films go direct-to-OTT — The platform makes it likely that more top film titles will bypass cinemas and release directly online, at a time when Indian cinemas remain shuttered due to the coronavirus pandemic.

New York Times:

Facebook warns it will block Australian users and news organizations from sharing news stories on Facebook and Instagram if the ACCC's proposal passes — The move, a response to pressure to pay publishers when their stories are posted on the social network, could add to internet silos springing up around the world.

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission:
ACCC calls Facebook's “threat” to prevent sharing of news on its services in Australia ill-timed and misconceived

Discussion: Press Gazette, Columbia Journalism Review, @thesuniljain, @thekenyeung, @mattdoran91, @911corlebra777, The Conversation, Breitbart, New York Post, Bloomberg, Gizmodo and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »

Joshua Franklin / Reuters:

Sources: PE firm TPG is exploring a sale of Astound that could value the owner of the US network of regional cable TV and internet providers at more than $8B — (Reuters) - Private equity firm TPG is exploring a sale of Astound that could value the owner of a U.S. network of regional cable TV …

Discussion: Light Reading and Axios

Institute for Nonprofit News:

The Institute for Nonprofit News announces that many of its 250 members will feed stories to Spotlight News for an election dashboard in its news aggregator app — Spotlight News and the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN) announced today that many of INN's 250 member newsrooms will be aggregating …

Discussion: Spotlight Media Labs and @myspotlightnews

Nick Summers / Engadget:

Twitch makes Prime Video Watch Parties, previously confined to top US Twitch creators, available to every creator and viewer on the platform globally — Twitch has always wanted to be more than a video game streaming platform. That's why it has a category dedicated to 'Just Chatting …

Discussion: TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »

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