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ABC News to host a Biden town hall on Oct. 15, originally set for the second debate, after Trump backed out; Biden rejected other dates offered by Trump — Joe Biden will appear at a town hall event hosted by ABC News and moderated by George Stephanopoulos in Philadelphia on Oct. 15, the network announced on Thursday.
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@abc, TVNewser, Variety, Commission on Presidential …, Fox News, Mediaite, New York Post, Hollywood Reporter, The Hill, @claudiajordan, @renato_mariotti, @orzelc, @digiphile, @resistbot, @ingrahamangle, @jeremykonyndyk, The Week, @alexzfinley, @joshchafetz, @gcnstorm, @chrislu44, @trevondlogan, @hollystallcup, @mollyjongfast, Deadline, @lizmacdonaldfox and @axios
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Trump refuses to participate in second debate, saying “I'm not going to waste my time on virtual debate” because “they cut you off whenever they want” — Donald Trump's and Joe Biden's campaigns made dueling demands on Thursday to redraw the schedule …
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Washington Post, Washington Post, Mediaite, The Wrap, New York Times, Variety, New York Times, The Hill, New York Post, The Guardian, Breitbart, Los Angeles Times, The Wrap, @brynntannehill, WOWK-TV, @a_m_dolan, @scottkirsner, @merica, @digiphile, @jdewperry, @mlcalderone, Rolling Stone, Al Jazeera, @politico, @washingtonpost, @sulliview, @paulg, @kbeds, @samgreis, @tripgabriel, @emmakinery, NBC New York, Wall Street Journal and wbgo.org


ProPublica to launch three regional reporting hubs, in the South, the Southwest, and the Midwest, for which it expects to add nearly 30 new positions — Nonprofit Newsroom Also Launches Distinguished Fellows Program to Support Local Investigative Journalism
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@dicktofel, @ericliptonnyt, @charlesornstein, @cscutari, @manny_garcia1, @jodiscohen, @christinespolar, @karimdoumar, @charlesornstein, @robertfaturechi, @kenwardjr, @carolineylchen, @lifewinning, @travisfain, @bykenarmstrong, @lucasgsl6, @inn, @davidmcswane, @charlesornstein, @coreyhutchins, @shannon_h, @jennifer__brett, @jbenton, @celrae, @byfernandas, @raju, @mariancw, @charlesornstein, @leszaitz and @davidfolkenflik


A reporter and a freelance photographer were chased and assaulted at Orthodox Jewish protests in NYC against COVID-19 restrictions — An Orthodox reporter said he was attacked by an angry mob at a protest in Borough Park, Brooklyn, against coronavirus restrictions Wednesday night.


Nielsen: 57.9M people watched the Pence-Harris debate on Wednesday across 18 linear TV channels and on connected TV, the second most-watched VP debate ever — Nearly 58 million people watched the vice presidential debate between Sen. Kamala Harris and Vice President Mike Pence on television …
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Los Angeles Times, CNN, The Wrap, Fortune, @axios, Mediaite, @brianstelter, Variety, @ajkatztv, @brianstelter, Deadline and WHDH-TV
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During the vice presidential debate, Susan Page allowed both Pence and Harris to interrupt and didn't ask follow-up questions after they dodged her initial ones
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Overtime, Slate, CNN, The Atlantic, The Nation, @askjillian, @lxeagle17, @samaraklar, Vanity Fair, SPLICETODAY.com, @sifill_ldf, @laraseligman, New Republic, New York Times, The Week and Fast Company


Sources: ViacomCBS has begun laying off staff at its digital media properties, including CNET, ahead of the Red Ventures takeover, affecting up to 100 employees — ViacomCBS is issuing layoff notices to dozens of workers who work for the company's digital media websites, including its technology news publication CNET.
Discussion:
@ashkan, @pcbrown, @matthewkeyslive, @edmondtran, @thewillennium, @chaingunpope, @pcbrown, @jessmcdonell and @itsashleyoh, Thanks:@matthewkeyslive


The Roku Channel, which offers free, ad-supported movies and TV episodes and 115 live linear channels, is rolling out today on Amazon Fire TV — Two of the biggest names in the streaming world are coming together to bring customers more of what they love, as Roku announced today …
Discussion:
The Verge, The Desk, Variety, CNET, Engadget, Cord Cutters News and FierceVideo, more at Techmeme »


Interviews with 16 Twitch employees from throughout its history detail a culture of indifference to inappropriate and abusive behavior, although some disagree — Employees from throughout the streaming platform's history describe a culture of indifference to inappropriate, unsafe, and abusive behavior
Discussion:
@vahn16, @r3ndom, @projectinclude, @yoda, @kruzadar, @cecianasta, @iambrandontv, @gibiz and Music Business Worldwide, more at Techmeme »


NYT launches Pivotal, a program to provide marketing partners with research and guidance on the best ways to address sensitive issues like race, gender, tech — The New York Times is launching a new advertising insights program called “Pivotal” which will provide marketing partners with research …
Discussion:
Adweek


Twitch users watched 4.74B hours of content in Q3 vs. YouTube Gaming's 1.68B hours and Facebook Gaming's 1B hours; Twitch has ~91% marketshare in hours streamed — Facebook passes 1 billion hours watched for first time, YouTube Gaming experiences largest increase in hours watched …
Discussion:
The Verge, Front Office Sports and CNBC


Sources: AT&T's WarnerMedia plans to reduce costs by up to 20%, potentially resulting in thousands of layoffs across Warner Bros. studios and channels like HBO — Changes at owner of HBO, Warner Bros. seek to cut costs by up to 20% as coronavirus pandemic pressures film and TV business
Discussion:
Variety, The Wrap, @jonostrower, @jbflint, New York Post, Los Angeles Times, @benmullin, @matthewkeyslive, @wsj and @brianstelter


ViacomCBS to launch Pluto TV in Spain by the end of October with Telefonica's Movistar as a sales partner, and plans to expand to France and Italy in 2021 — Revving up its streaming service expansion in Europe, ViacomCBS will launch leading AVOD service Pluto TV in Spain from the end of October.
Discussion:
The Streamable, FierceVideo and @maria_aguete

Investment news site Motley Fool is shutting down Hong Kong operations, citing political uncertainty due to protests, new security law, and US-China relations — HONG KONG (Reuters) - Investment news site Motley Fool will shutter its Hong Kong operations due to the uncertain political outlook …


French appeals court upholds ruling ordering Google to open negotiations with French publishers over payments for use of their news content — PARIS (AP) — A French appeals court upheld an order for Google to open negotiations with French publishers over payments to use their news content.
Discussion:
France 24, Reuters and TechCrunch
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