Mediagazer: Sources: NY Post's article about Hunter Biden was written mostly by Bruce Golding, who did not allow his byline to be used amid doubts in the tabloid's newsroom (Katie Robertson/New York Times)

1:40 PM ET, October 19, 2020

Top News:

A look at a pay-for-play network of ~1,300 sites and some papers that fills a local news void in the US with propaganda ordered by GOP and corporate PR groups — A nationwide operation of 1,300 local sites publishes coverage that is ordered up by Republican groups and corporate P.R. firms.

Katie Robertson / New York Times:

Sources: NY Post's article about Hunter Biden was written mostly by Bruce Golding, who did not allow his byline to be used amid doubts in the tabloid's newsroom — Some reporters withheld their bylines and questioned the credibility of an article that made the tabloid's front page on Wednesday.

Colby Hall / Mediaite:

Sources: Fox News was first approached by Rudy Giuliani about the Hunter Biden story but passed on it over credibility concerns — Mediaite has learned that Fox News was first approached by Rudy Giuliani to report on a tranche of files alleged to have come from Hunter Biden's unclaimed laptop left …

Discussion: Fox News, @caseynewton, USA Today, The Daily Beast, @brianstelter, @mattgertz, @oliverdarcy, @amandacarpenter, @amy_siskind, @colbyhall, Reason, The OSIRIS Codex and Boing Boing

Vijaya Gadde / @vijaya:
[Thread] Twitter updates Hacked Materials Policy, says it won't remove content unless shared by hackers themselves and will label tweets instead of block links

Jem Aswad / Variety:

Apple launches Apple Music TV, a free 24-hour curated livestream of popular music videos, available in the US on Apple's Music and TV apps — Apple has launched Apple Music TV, a free 24-hour curated livestream of popular music videos that will also include “exclusive new music videos and premiers …

Discussion: TechCrunch, Business Insider, The Streamable, Gizmodo, Forbes, @lanceulanoff, Music Business Worldwide, The Verge, @dsilverman, @sam_l_shead, @patrickmcgee_, Engadget, MacRumors, @tzm_tmt, Cord Cutters News and CNET, more at Techmeme »

The Markup:

The Markup announces The Citizen Browser Project, an initiative with The NYT to analyze how the algorithms of Facebook and YouTube serve content to users — The Markup, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates how the world's most powerful institutions use technology to reshape society …

Ben Smith / New York Times:

Mark Burnett, the TV producer behind Survivor, Trump's The Apprentice, and The Voice, is facing his own string of flops and a cultural disconnect, for now — Mark Burnett helped turn Donald Trump into a national figure with “The Apprentice.” But since 2016, his impact “has kind of gone bust.”

Discussion: @rstephens, @markberman, @yashar, @elongreen, @thrasherxy, @fmanjoo, @alexmleo, @rowaenthe, @felixsalmon, @chrismegerian, @nycsouthpaw and Wall Street Journal

Online Journalism Awards:

2020 Online Journalism Awards announced: winners include South China Morning Post, The 1619 Project, Reuters, Star Tribune for coverage of George Floyd's death — Finalists for the 2020 OJAs have been announced and are listed below! Winners will be announced at virtual awards events throughout ONA20 Everywhere, Oct. 1-16.

Discussion: @ona, @ona, The Marshall Project, @ona, @ona, @washpostpr, @froomkin and @inn

Matthew Ball / MatthewBall.vc:

Audio, which struggled for decades as a media category, is breaking out now, as tech enables new content formats as well as new monetization and delivery models — As most of the major media categories — music, video and video games — have existed for decades, we tend to forget that media is technology.

Discussion: @ballmatthew, @oaktree_dave, @rameeztase, @adamsinger, Drinking from the Firehose, @patrick_oshag and @pkafka, more at Techmeme »

CNN:

AMC starts offering private theater rentals for between $99 and $349 in most US states, excluding New York, Alaska, and Hawaii — (CNN)A crisp Benjamin Franklin can get you your own private AMC movie theater. — AMC Theatres joins a handful of cinemas letting customers rent out auditoriums …

Discussion: TechCrunch, @davidlarter, The Verge, IndieWire, WAVY-TV and New York Post

Rick Porter / Hollywood Reporter:

Channing Dungey, most recently VP of original series at Netflix, will succeed Peter Roth as chairman of Warner Bros. Television Group — The former Netflix exec will take over for Peter Roth as the head of the prolific studio. — Channing Dungey was not on the job market for long.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Adweek, Deadline, Variety, Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg, C21Media, @lucas_shaw and WORLD SCREEN

Jem Aswad / Variety:

Warner Music raises $250M through a private offering, source says for catalog acquisitions — As the music-rights acquisition spree led by Hipgnosis, Primary Wave, Round Hill and others continues to heat up, Warner Music has thrown its hat into the ring, notifying Wall Street Monday …

Discussion: Music Business Worldwide

Dave McNary / Variety:

Study: women made up 38% of directors and 35% of writers of indie narrative features and docs from 2019-2020, with female directors doubling in the last decade — The percentages of women working as directors and writers on independent films reached recent highs in 2019-2020, according to a report released Thursday.

Wall Street Journal:

Sources: as Facebook curbed political news in 2017, Zuckerberg OK'ed tweaks affecting sites like Mother Jones after some execs worried about impact on the right — Facebook's chief, once uninterested, has transformed himself into an active political operator in the Trump era

Discussion: @clarajeffery, Ad Age, @maxkennerly, @richarddeitsch, @zephyrteachout, The Verge, @deggans, @ukskies, @carolecadwalla, Gizmodo, @leakthompson, @suehalpernvt, @erikwemple, @juddlegum, @jason_kint, @felienne, @su4ita, @patrickclaybon, @brooklynmarie, @pomeranian99, @grady_booch, @davidcorndc, @monikabauerlein, @_cingraham, @_cingraham, @scobleizer, @brianbeutler, @jason_kint, @dlind, @migueldeicaza, @bendreyfuss, @davidfolkenflik, @mondoweiss, @alex_abads, @nickmartin, @emilybell, @govhowarddean, @jameswest2010, @khanoisseur, @nabihasyed, @juddlegum, @slhamlet, @davidcorndc, @dethveggie, @becketadams, @professorisin, @maxberger, @bgrueskin, @andreabellemare, @alxthomp, @monikabauerlein, @monikabauerlein, @monikabauerlein, @monikabauerlein, @monikabauerlein, @monikabauerlein, @monikabauerlein, @juddlegum, @slpng_giants, @lindsayschrupp, @lindsayschrupp, @lindsayschrupp, @mccarthyryanj, @lindsayschrupp, @steven_strauss, @jason_kint, @taraemcg, @leavittalone, @taraemcg, @anthony, @mathewi, The Week, The Wrap and The Media Nut, more at Techmeme »

Ben Dreyfuss / Mother Jones:
Mother Jones' growth director recalls a sharp drop in Facebook reach in 2017 and '18, after WSJ reveals that algorithmic changes were made with politics in mind

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