Top News:
The Daily Beast:
NYT Opinion editor says it was her decision to spike a Bret Stephens column criticizing Baquet's reasons for firing McNeil, not Sulzberger's as Stephens claims — The draft, tentatively titled “Regardless of Intent,” appeared to lambast executive editor Dean Baquet's handling of McNeil's alleged use of the …
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Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
A closer look at the departure of Donald G. McNeil Jr. from The NYT and the tensions his comments provoked for some students on a NYT-sponsored trip to Peru
A closer look at the departure of Donald G. McNeil Jr. from The NYT and the tensions his comments provoked for some students on a NYT-sponsored trip to Peru
Discussion:
Vanity Fair, The Wrap, @marcatracy, CNN, @katierogers, @miriamelder, @stevekrak, @clairesplan, @froomkin, @mlcalderone, @joepompeo, @conor64, @cd_hooks, Today in Tabs, Deregulator, @esotericcd, @katzonearth, @dangillmor, @chrislhayes, @conor64, @phl43, @banikarim, @chrislhayes, @andykroll, @lesserfrederick, @ijbailey, @ijbailey, @bendreyfuss, @jamessurowiecki, @lwoodhouse, @sarfrazmanzoor, @bazzinyu, @argojournal, @cd_hooks, @sonnybunch, @aaschapiro, @dangillmor, @tomgara, Between Rock and a Hard Place, @jillfilipovic, @lhfang, @bradfordpearson, @ggreenwald, @danielmarans, @ryangrim, @jeremymbarr and Fox News
Naman Ramachandran / Variety:
HBO Max to launch in Latin America and the Caribbean in June; existing HBO-branded streaming services in Europe will shift to HBO Max later this year — WarnerMedia's streamer HBO Max is set to launch across 39 Latin American and Caribbean territories in June.
Discussion:
Observer, The Verge, The Streamable, C21Media, Hollywood Reporter, @departedaviator, Light Reading, Engadget, Cord Cutters News and FierceVideo, more at Techmeme »
The Information:
Internal data shows only 11.3M US households regularly watch NBCU's Peacock; sources: NBCU has pitched ViacomCBS about bundling their streaming services — As Netflix and Disney cement their leads over an array of rivals in the video-streaming market, top executives at Comcast and its NBCUniversal arm are in a quandary.
Sheila Dang / Reuters:
Kantar: CBS generated a record $545M in ad spending during the Super Bowl, which had a record 57 minutes of ad time — (Reuters) - ViacomCBS' CBS network generated a record $545 million in advertising spending during the NFL's Super Bowl LV this past Sunday, according to preliminary estimates from research firm Kantar.
Discussion:
Digital TV Europe, @readdanwrite and @sheila_dang
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Angela Fu / Poynter:
Three Gannett newsrooms in New Jersey have announced they are jointly unionizing and forming the Record Guild, part of the NewsGuild of New York — The new union will include the Bergen Record, the Daily Record and the NJ Herald. — Three Gannett-owned newsrooms in New Jersey announced Wednesday morning they are jointly unionizing.
Discussion:
@mcdiduch, @poynter, @angelanfu, The NewsGuild - CWA and nyguild.org
Natalie Jarvey / Hollywood Reporter:
LightShed Partners' Rich Greenfield and others have launched a $75M tech and media investment fund and invested in Podchaser and audio startup Slipstream — The venture arm has already made investments into startups Podchaser, Slipstream and Antenna Analytics.
Discussion:
Barron's Online, Bloomberg, GlobeNewswire, @richlightshed, @richlightshed, @richlightshed and Variety
Reuters:
BBC World News has been barred from airing in mainland China — (Reuters) - BBC World News has been barred from airing in China, the Chinese state media CGTN said bit.ly/2Z51L43 early on Friday, citing the National Radio and Television Administration. — Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Discussion:
The Hill, Variety, @chinaresearchgp, @afp, news.cgtn.com, @bbcyaldahakim, @ezracheungtoto and @ezracheungtoto
Caroline Davies / The Guardian:
Meghan Markle wins her privacy case in summary judgment against the Mail on Sunday, which published extracts from a letter she wrote to her father — The Duchess of Sussex has won her privacy case against the Mail on Sunday after a judge gave summary judgment in her favour …
Discussion:
WWD, New York Times, Observer, Reuters, Associated Press, CNN, BBC, The Week, @jxb101, @judiciaryuk and @chrisshipitv
Sara Fischer / Axios:
The New York Times is testing NYT Kids, a standalone, ad-free digital subscription product for kids aged 8-11, which will feature a lot of “how to” content — The New York Times is in the early stages of developing a digital subscription product for families called NYT Kids, executives tell Axios.
Discussion:
@mikeorren and @sarafischer
Constance Grady / Vox:
With the release of “Framing Britney Spears”, the idea that the media treated her unfairly is accepted but it's revisionism to say it didn't know it was wrong — We're all complicit in what happened to Britney. But some of us more so than others.
Discussion:
Esquire, @constancegrady, @voxdotcom and The Media Nut
Diep Tran / Backstage:
SAG-AFTRA approves an influencer agreement, extending its coverage to anyone who is paid to advertise products via their social media platforms — If you make your living as an influencer on TikTok, Instagram, Twitch, or any other social media platform, you will soon have union protection.
Discussion:
@kid_vidh, @ea1co, @banditelli, @jamieson, @kathtx, @fail_lula and @karynspencer, more at Techmeme »
The Information:
Sources: Stir Money, whose software helps video and audio producers, writers, and performers manage their income, raises Series A led by a16z at $100M valuation — Andreessen Horowitz recently won a competitive deal to lead the Series A financing of Stir Money, a startup whose software helps video …
Discussion:
@kateclarktweets, @transitive_bs, @joshuaogundu, @k17ubha, @seyitaylor, @jessicalessin and @kateclarktweets, more at Techmeme »
Saqib Shah / Engadget:
Google launches Google News Showcase in UK and Argentina, after debuting the service in Australia last week, and says it now has over 450 publications globally — Google News Showcase is starting to roll out to more countries worldwide, including the UK and Argentina, on the heels of its Australian launch last week.
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