Mediagazer: Gannett CEO says the company, which passed 1M paid digital subscriptions in Q3 2020, is aiming for 10M subscribers within five years (Nathan Bomey/USA Today)

1:50 PM ET, January 15, 2021

Top News:

Joe Pompeo / Vanity Fair:

Politico announces new members of its Playbook team, expanding from two writers to four: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza, and Tara Palmeri — Facing stiffer competition, a new crew of writers—Ben Shapiro not included—is promising more scoops and scene as the O.G. political tip sheet reboots …

Discussion: @oliverdarcy, Washingtonian, @tarapalmeri, @politicopress and The Federalist

Maxwell Tani / The Daily Beast:

Some Politico staffers raised concerns internally about the decision to allow Ben Shapiro to guest-write Playbook; editor Matt Kaminski defended the move — Several staffers expressed dismay over handing the keys to the outlet's influential newsletter product to a pundit with a “long history of bigoted and incendiary commentary.”

Discussion: @erikwemple, @erikwemple, @erikwemple, Washington Post, @benyt, PRESS RUN, New York Times, @maxwelltani, @jayrosen_nyu, HuffPost, @jrubinblogger, @abdallah_fayyad, @wexler, @erikwemple, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, @elaheizadi, The Federalist, @glcarlstrom, @piersmorgan, @jayrosen_nyu, @marlownyc, @samthielman, @maxkennerly, @caitleg, @benyt, @arifleischer, @nycweboy, @tonydleonardi, @andizeisler, @wajahatali, @davidsirota, @sorayamcdonald, @elienyc, @futterish, @corb_the_lesser, @jeremypgordon, @megynkelly, @soledadobrien, @holmesjosh, @willmcavoyacn, @danpfeiffer, @eugene_scott, @katiehill4ca, @imleor, @clarajeffery, @maxwelltani, @bernybelvedere, @gina_goldberg, @adotsad, @justin_higgins2, @zac_petkanas, @senhorraposa, @jamisonfoser, @karlitaliliana, @gabby_hoffman, @sarahw, @nberlat, @jon_allsop, @emorwee, @tpcarney, @casmudde, @maxwelltani, @grace_segers, @susanbordson, @onlxn, @russcanread, @alqabadai, @blackamazon, @wagatwe, @kimcrayton1, @elienyc, @sethfriederman, @espiers, @libbycwatson, @erikwemple, Mediaite, The Hill, The Right Scoop and Daily Truth Report

Leia Idliby / Mediaite:

Politico draws criticism for having Ben Shapiro serve as a guest writer of Playbook; he wrote about “the real reasons” most Republicans opposed impeachment — Politico has drawn heat for handing over the most recent edition of their Playbook newsletter to conservative radio host Ben Shapiro.

Discussion: @olivianuzzi, @maxwelltani, @mattnegrin, @lpdonovan, @juddlegum, @sabrinasiddiqui, @benshapiro, Politico, Media Matters for America, Poynter, @wajahatali, @dfriedman33, @alexkotch, @charlesppierce, @taradublinrocks, @johniadarola, @jbouie, @pwthornton, @lollardfish, @lollardfish, @gothamgirlblue, @stevedeaceshow, @mehdirhasan, @joshsternberg, @juddlegum, @juddlegum, @danahoule, @sabrinasiddiqui, @green_footballs, @lollardfish, @meredithshiner, @slpng_giants, @froomkin, @jeffsharlet, @green_footballs, @justkelly_ok, @jonfavs, @jbouie, @katearonoff, @mattnegrin, @barry, @zachwritesstuff, @marcformarc, @theplumlinegs, @breenewsome, @soledadobrien, @mattzeitlin, @jeffhauser, @timodc, @jbarro, @mattzeitlin, @abrowngaywrites, @mattnegrin, @mattnegrin, @jonathanchait, @bridgeinit, @jbouie, @zackbeauchamp, @chrisgeidner, @shotpooter, @ryanlcooper, @zackbeauchamp, @jbouie, @tomscocca, @zackbeauchamp, @brianbeutler, @jbouie, @ravmabay, @scottnover, @froomkin, New York Magazine and The Wrap

Taylor Lorenz / New York Times:

As Snapchat starts competing with TikTok via its Spotlight program, some creators begin earning small fortunes and look for ways to expand — Top performers are raking in cash, as the company seeks to compete against TikTok and similar platforms. — In late November, Cam Casey …

Jim VandeHei / Axios:

Axios publishes a new Bill of Rights: no opinion section ever, most content free for all people, staff pledge to not take public political positions, more — Axios is expanding into local news this month, and broadening our mission to help restore trust in fact-based news with an audience Bill of Rights.

Discussion: @jimvandehei, Nieman Lab, @jayrosen_nyu, @juliewestfall, @mikeallen, @matt_pressman, @heidilegg, @mlcalderone, @charlesforelle and @bensherwood

The Information:

Sources: Apple is discussing launching a new subscription service that would charge people to listen to podcasts — Apple—long considered the sleeping giant in the podcast space—is waking up. The company, which runs the most widely used podcasting app in the industry …

Discussion: Reuters, AppleInsider, Engadget, MacRumors, 9to5Mac, @nwquah, @jessicalessin, @jbenton and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »

Nathan Bomey / USA Today:

Gannett CEO says the company, which passed 1M paid digital subscriptions in Q3 2020, is aiming for 10M subscribers within five years — Gannett, the owner of USA TODAY and more than 260 other daily publications, is aiming for 10 million paid digital subscriptions within five years, CEO Mike Reed said Thursday.

Alex Kantrowitz / OneZero:

Smaller services like Substack, Spotify, and Clubhouse are coming under scrutiny now that the big platforms have warmed to aggressive moderation — Smaller services are coming under scrutiny now that the big platforms have warmed to aggressive moderation — Glenn Greenwald was pissed.

Discussion: @kantrowitz, Boing Boing, @kantrowitz, @abbyatwork, @dlberes, @smorgasboredom, @markstenberg3 and Big Technology, more at Techmeme »

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Group Nine, owner of Thrillist, NowThis, the Dodo and more, goes public via a SPAC to raise $200M to fund acquisitions — The special purpose acquisition company set up by Group Nine Media announced that it priced its initial public offering of 20 million shares at $10 per unit, for total gross proceeds of $200 million.

Discussion: MediaPost, Adweek, @kerrymflynn and Axios

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

BBC's next chairman Richard Sharp says he is not in favor of decriminalization of UK's license fee, describing it as the “least worst” option to fund the BBC — The BBC's next chairman, ex-banker Richard Sharp, has said its coverage of Brexit was “incredibly balanced” …

Paul Bennun / KCRW:

California public radio station KCRW drops The Daily, over concerns about NYT's handling of issues surrounding Caliphate — We have concerns about how the Times has handled the aftermath of the erroneous reporting in its audio series Caliphate, which was featured on The Daily …

Discussion: @kcrw, KUT Radio …, @sorayanelson, @kausmickey, @thebenbergman, @nwquah, @mollydacious, @akmcglinchy and @reblavoie

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:

VOA staffers circulate a petition seeking resignations of execs Robert Reilly and Elizabeth Robbins, saying they failed to be independent of political influence — Simmering tensions between journalists and managers at Voice of America grew into open rebellion Thursday …

Discussion: @w7voa, @johnallengay, Voice of America, @camjourno, @w7voa, @brianstelter, @egkaur, @reinlwapo, @farhip, The Hill and Government Accountability …

Archived Page Info:

This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 1:50 PM ET, January 15, 2021.

View the current page or another snapshot:

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

Executive Editor, NM — Searchlight

News Assistant, NY — Quanta Magazine

Local Editor, NJ (Remote) — Patch

News Writer, CA — Hollywood Reporter

News Editor/Reporter, KS — Blade-Empire

Add your company here

See Also:

Mediagazer: site main

Mediagazer River: reverse chronological Mediagazer

Mediagazer Mobile: for phones

Mediagazer Leaderboard: Mediagazer's top sources

Subscribe:

Mediagazer RSS feed

Mediagazer on X

Mediagazer on Mastodon

More News:

Jessica Bursztynsky / CNBC:
NBCUniversal launches NBCU Academy, a journalism training program that's set to partner with 17 academic institutions across the US with $6.5M in funding

Rebecca Klar / The Hill:
Hagens Berman files suit against Amazon alleging it colluded with five big publishers to fix eBook prices; Hagens Berman previously sued Apple for the same

Discussion: hbsslaw.com, UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK, The Guardian, AppleInsider, Publishers Weekly, Business Insider and Publishers Lunch, more at Techmeme »

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
App Annie: app usage in the US surpassed time spent watching live TV in 2020 and consumers spent 40% more hours YoY streaming on mobile devices

Discussion: @appannie and @stathis65

Gerry Smith / Bloomberg:
A look at Judd Legum's Popular Information newsletter, which helped push companies to suspend donations to politicians who objected to election results

Discussion: @juddlegum, The World's Best Newsletter, @benyt, Columbia Journalism Review, @soledadobrien, @emrosenberg, @newsynick, @brianmrosenthal, @jesselehrich, @slpng_giants, @dictionarycom, @shitthepupsays, @rezaaslan, @simonowens, @lucas_shaw, @gerryfsmith and The Media Nut

Earlier Picks:

Laura Poitras / Praxis Films:
Laura Poitras says she was fired from First Look Media in November 2020 after speaking to the press about The Intercept's failure to protect Reality Winner

Kerry Flynn / CNN:
Medium is acquiring Glose, a digital platform for buying, reading, and discussing books; Glose's 20 employees, most of whom are based in Paris, will join Medium

Discussion: MediaPost, 3 min read, @anildash, @chronotope, @baekdal, TechCrunch, @mason, @martinsfp, @henrikberggren, @whatthebit, @jadagomez, @keccers, @caseynewton, @alex, @thebolditalic, @sandeeroston, @calexity, @yambhands and @alexislloyd, more at Techmeme »

Benjamin Mullin / Wall Street Journal:
Axios will launch AxiosHQ, its internal company communications service, starting at $10K a year with $1M already booked and Delta and AT&T among its clients

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

Sister Sites:

Techmeme
Top news and commentary for technology's leaders, from all around the web

memeorandum
What US political commentators are discussing online right now

WeSmirch
The top celebrity news from all around the web on a single page