Mediagazer: 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 (Charlotte Tobitt/Press Gazette)

2:35 PM ET, January 15, 2021

Top News:

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, The Media Nut, @paulkrugman, @jeff_jacoby, @jayrosen_nyu, HuffPost, @jrubinblogger, @abdallah_fayyad, @erikwemple, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, @elaheizadi, The Federalist, @glcarlstrom, @piersmorgan, @jayrosen_nyu, @marlownyc, @samthielman, @caitleg, @benyt, @arifleischer, @maxkennerly, @wexler, @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

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, @justinbaragona, @froomkin, @tarapalmeri, @rachaelmbade, @politicopress and The Federalist

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, @seungminkim, @jakesherman, @tarapalmeri, Media Matters for America, @wajahatali, Poynter, @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, @barry, @zachwritesstuff, @marcformarc, @theplumlinegs, @breenewsome, @soledadobrien, @mattnegrin, @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, XDA Developers, Bloomberg, AppleInsider, Engadget, MacRumors, @mgsiegler, @kantrowitz, @chrispirillo, @theinformation, 9to5Mac, @richlightshed, @nwquah, @jessicalessin, @niubi and @jbenton, 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.

Discussion: @niemanlab

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 »

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” …

Discussion: @nogoodgods and @pressgazette

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 …, @awalkerinla, @sorayanelson, @kausmickey, @thebenbergman, @nwquah, @mollydacious, @akmcglinchy and @reblavoie

The Daily Beast:

Sources: Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch are “disenchanted” with Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott and President Jay Wallace; total viewership is down 15% YoY since Dec. 28 — OUTFOXED — Amid sagging ratings, Rupert Murdoch has taken a more hands-on role at Fox, perhaps portending the end …

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

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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, AppleInsider, Publishers Weekly, The Guardian, Business Insider and Publishers Lunch, more at Techmeme »

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

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

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

Earlier Picks:

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

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

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:

Kent Walker / The Keyword:
Google says the DOJ's “wildly overbroad proposal goes miles beyond the Court's decision”, would hurt US consumers, and jeopardize the US' global tech leadership

Jay Peters / The Verge:
Adam Mosseri says Threads is rebalancing ranking to prioritize content from people that users follow, warns that creators' “unconnected” reach may go down

Paige Smith / Bloomberg:
The CFPB will supervise tech companies with digital wallets, like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Venmo, with 50M+ annual transactions, treating them more like banks

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