Mediagazer: Tencent Music acquires China-based Lazy Audio, which provides audiobooks, podcasts, and radio shows, for $417M (Eva Mathews/Reuters)

5:20 PM ET, January 16, 2021

Top News:

Without naming Fox, James Murdoch blasts media owners who enabled “toxic politics” and says their lies have unleashed “insidious and uncontrollable” forces — Comments from Rupert's son are his strongest rebuke of industry practices since leaving the family business

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

Discussion: CNN, Forbes, @jayrosen_nyu, @oliverdarcy, @brianstelter, @bruno_j_navarro, @brianstelter, @kim, @chunks_mommy, @justinbaragona, @janemayernyer, @patrickmcgee_, @ericbolling, Mediaite, @noahshachtman, @benyt, @benyt 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 …

Berny Belvedere / Arc Digital:

Politico staffers were upset about Shapiro guest-curating Playbook not because he is a conservative but because he is the apotheosis of culture war excess — Berny Belvedere DISSOLVES THE FLESH of Ben Shapiro's takes through a REVERSE OSMOSIS OF PAIN — Politico invited Ben Shapiro to guest-curate its Playbook newsletter.

Discussion: @tomzellerjr, @ngrossman81, @sheltondesigner, @brooks_bonny, @jennarmathias, The Rundown, @mattwelch, @trumwill, @sladesr, @ldburnett, @jimswiftdc, @edbott, @mehdirhasan and The Wrap

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, @maxwelltani, @erikwemple, @erikwemple, @mattnegrin, @willmcavoyacn, Washington Post, @brucebartlett, @benyt, PRESS RUN, @lifesafeast, @sirajahashmi, Washington Post, @surabees, @maxwelltani, @paulkrugman, @jeff_jacoby, @juddlegum, @jayrosen_nyu, @benshapiro, @sabrinasiddiqui, The Media Nut, @abdallah_fayyad, @glcarlstrom, @piersmorgan, @dfriedman33, @jayrosen_nyu, @benyt, @caitleg, @jrubinblogger, @elaheizadi, @marlownyc, @alexkotch, @erikwemple, @samthielman, @arifleischer, @maxkennerly, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, @wexler, @nycweboy, @tonydleonardi, @andizeisler, @wajahatali, @davidsirota, @sorayamcdonald, @futterish, @elienyc, @corb_the_lesser, Poynter, The Federalist, @jeremypgordon, @megynkelly, @jbouie, @pwthornton, @soledadobrien, @holmesjosh, @willmcavoyacn, @danpfeiffer, @eugene_scott, @katiehill4ca, @imleor, @clarajeffery, @maxwelltani, @bernybelvedere, @gina_goldberg, @adotsad, @lollardfish, @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, @sabrinasiddiqui, @meredithshiner, @froomkin, HuffPost, Mediaite, The Hill, The Right Scoop and Daily Truth Report

Columbia Journalism Review:

On Wikipedia's 20th anniversary, the need for nuance in reporting about the project is crucial as sites like Breitbart and Russian media try to discredit it — Last year, as the election approached, we heard that the founder of 8chan had become an active Wikipedia editor.

Alex Pasternack / Fast Company:

A look at the raging debate inside Wikipedia, where neutrality is prized above all, on what to call the attack on the Capitol — ‘Storming’? ‘Insurrection’? ‘Riot’? ‘Attempted coup’? On Wikipedia, where neutrality is prized above all, volunteers are still searching for the words.

Discussion: The Guardian, @ariannahuff, @krmaher, @martinsfp, @chrisalbon, @luis_in_brief, @bkeegan, @fuzheado, @harrymccracken, @pasternack, @thewikipedian and The Ringer, more at Techmeme »

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 …

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 …

William Turvill / Press Gazette:

Q&A with Pranay Prabhat, senior director of digital ad tech at NYT, about its new first-party data ad program, losing third-party cookie revenue, and more — From the outside, it may appear that advertising is now insignificant for the New York Times when compared with its soaring digital subscriptions business.

Discussion: @mrdylancollins

Paul Bennun / KCRW:
California public radio station KCRW drops The Daily, over concerns about NYT's handling of issues surrounding Caliphate

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

Janko Roettgers / Protocol:

Remote controls of new TVs show how streaming services and tech giants are vying for users' attention through branded buttons and voice assistants — Don't touch that dial: As TV manufacturers are unveiling their 2021 models at this year's virtual CES, they're also giving us a first look …

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.

Eva Mathews / Reuters:

Tencent Music acquires China-based Lazy Audio, which provides audiobooks, podcasts, and radio shows, for $417M — (Reuters) - China's Tencent Music Entertainment Group said on Friday it acquired audiobook platform Lazy Audio, owned by Shenzhen Lanren Online Technology Co, for 2.7 billion yuan ($417 million).

Discussion: PR Newswire, more at Techmeme »

Archived Page Info:

This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 5:20 PM ET, January 16, 2021.

View the current page or another snapshot:

Who's Hiring in Media?

Senior Data Journalist, NY — WSJ

Manager - Publishing Editorial, Manila — Reuters

Oil Reporter, Singapore — Bloomberg

Newsperson - State Govt. & Politics, CA — AP

Business Reporter, SC — Post & Courier

State Government Reporter, WA — Seattle Times

Climate Crisis Columnist — Prospect UK

Multimedia Journalist, CA — Paramount

Community Engagement Mgr., DC — Freedom Forum

Senior California Politics Reporter, CA — SFGATE

Staff Writer - Business, NY — WIRED

Team Editor - Opinion, ON — Toronto Star

Assistant Correspondent, DC — Kyodo News

Climate & Weather Reporter, MN — Star Tribune

Senior Tech Editor, Remote US — The Verge

Lead Business Reporter, TN — Daily Memphian

Managing Editor, WA — Everett Herald

Private Credit Reporter, NY — Debtwire

City Correspondent, London — Financial News

Legislative Reporter, CA — Sacramento Bee

Reporter, PA — Tribune-Review

Visual Editor, Remote — Rest of World

Staff Writer, MI — Watershed Voice

Senior Political Reporter, DC — The Lever

California Playbook Writer, CA — Politico

National Investigative Reporter, NY — HuffPost

Business & Gaming Reporter, NV — Las Vegas Sun

Coastal Climate Reporter, SC — Island Packet

Environment & Energy Reporter, CT — CT Mirror

Coordinating Editor, OR — OPB

Editor, Remote US — Daily Kos

Business Reporter, WA — Longview Daily News

Editor-in-Chief, AZ — Phoenix New Times

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:

Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
A look at early support for Trump from Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski and how that changed in 2017, as Scarborough now sees that support as a mistake

Discussion: @erikwemple and @postopinions

Ted Johnson / Deadline:
DOJ announces it won't move to end or modify the 80-year-old consent decrees governing ASCAP, BMI music licensing, citing lack of consensus among stakeholders

Discussion: Variety, AppleInsider, Los Angeles Times and Radio & Television …

Amaris Castillo / Poynter:
Journalists in Washington, DC, share how they're preparing to cover the inauguration of Biden amid safety concerns, limited access, and heavy security

Discussion: @marissa_jae, @itsren, @amariscastillo, Forbes, Politico and CNN

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

Discussion: @pressgazette and @nogoodgods

Earlier Picks:

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

Discussion: @raju and @niemanlab

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

Alex Kantrowitz / OneZero:
Services like Substack, Spotify, and Clubhouse are coming under scrutiny now that platforms like Facebook and YouTube have warmed to aggressive moderation

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

Todd Spangler / Variety:
Group Nine, owner of Thrillist, NowThis, and the Dodo, goes public via a SPAC to raise $200M+ to fund acquisitions; units closed up 11% Friday, at $11.10

Discussion: @xpangler, TechCrunch, MediaPost, @kerrymflynn and Axios

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

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

Hannah Lang / Reuters:
Sources: a16z, Ripple, Kraken, and Circle are jostling for a seat on Trump's promised crypto advisory council, which is expected to set up a bitcoin reserve

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