Mediagazer: SAG-AFTRA approves an influencer agreement, extending its coverage to anyone who is paid to advertise products via their social media platforms (Diep Tran/Backstage)

3:50 PM ET, February 11, 2021

Top News:

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 — A top New York Times columnist claims the paper's publisher shelved his opinion column defending Donald McNeil …

Oliver Darcy / @oliverdarcy:

Bloomberg is laying off employees as part of a “new structure to elevate editing”; sources: layoffs will affect about 90 employees — Bloomberg EIC John Micklethwait confirms layoffs in a memo to staff: “I am not going to pretend today is a happy day for the newsroom. It is always painful to tell journalists that they are losing their jobs.” I'm told the layoffs are affecting about 90 employees. https://twitter.com/...

Discussion: Insider, @perlberg, Talking Biz News, @caleweissman, @ejacqui, @jhilburg, @mattrosoff, @heathat, @ericlach, @fmanjoo, @aleksnotalex, @derekahunter, @oliverdarcy, @kerrymflynn, @froomkin, @perlberg and @tombevanrcp

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, MediaPost, Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, The Verge, The Streamable, Hollywood Reporter, Light Reading, FierceVideo, @departedaviator, Cord Cutters News, C21Media and Engadget, more at Techmeme »

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

Jabari Young / CNBC:
Sources: the NFL wants to finalize new TV rights soon; Fox, ViacomCBS, NBC, and ESPN currently pay ~$6B/year total, and DirecTV adds $1.5B for Sunday Ticket

Discussion: Observer and ProFootballTalk, Thanks:@mattrosoff

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: Axios, news.cgtn.com, TVNewser, The Hill, Al Jazeera, ABC News, The Indian Express, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, @shurufu, @ezracheungtoto, @ezracheungtoto, @afp, news.cgtn.com, @bbcyaldahakim and @chinaresearchgp

Wall Street Journal:

Sources: a deal for full control of Tribune Publishing by Alden Global Capital could be reached this month — The hedge fund already owns a big stake in the newspaper chain behind titles including the Chicago Tribune and New York Daily News — A hedge fund that owns a big stake …

Discussion: @kimjnews, @mattgertz, @brynstole, @royalpratt, @nwi_jsp, @petersagal, @localcelebrity, @byalisonbowen, @royalpratt, @rexhuppke, @lenfestinst and @lalpert1

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, @kaitlynkanzler8, The NewsGuild - CWA and nyguild.org

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 — Judge gives summary judgment in favour of royal over extracts of letter to estranged father, Thomas Markle

Discussion: Financial Times, New York Times, Reuters, Observer, The Mary Sue, The Week, Associated Press, Vanity Fair, CNN, BBC, @jxb101, @chrisshipitv and @judiciaryuk

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: GlobeNewswire, Bloomberg, Barron's Online, @rameeztase, @richlightshed, @richlightshed, @richlightshed and Variety

Kerry Flynn / CNN:

Staffers at Medium in editorial, engineering, design, and product units say they're unionizing; a majority of about 140 employees signed union cards with CWA — New York (CNN Business)Gawker Media made history five years ago for being the first digital news company to ratify a union contract …

Discussion: @mediumworkers, @jordanuhl, @lainnafader, @alex, @andreagonram, @davegershgorn, @meganmorrone, @emilylmullin, @mediumworkers, @alainakafkes, @kerrymflynn and @kerrymflynn, more at Techmeme »

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: @matthartman, @mikeorren and @sarafischer

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.

Discussion: @cityofthetown, @pkafka, @edmundlee, MediaPost, @lucas_shaw, @ballmatthew, @thecomixkid, @tzm_tmt, @ashkan, @susanlitv, The Quadrilateral, @automaticzen, @ballmatthew, @alexeheath, @richlightshed, John Bonini's Newsletter and nexttv.com

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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

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More News:

Jess Barnes / Cord Cutters News:
Tubi is expanding its News on Tubi section to include nearly 80 live local news stations from Cox Media Group, Scripps, Tegna, and Heart Television

Discussion: The Streamable, Light Reading and FierceVideo

Jeremy B. Merrill / The Markup:
Google says it will update its ad policies after an investigation found advertisers could exclude people who identify as “unknown gender” from job ads and more

Discussion: Engadget, more at Techmeme »

Sara Fischer / Axios:
Microsoft president says US and other countries should consider adopting rules like Australia's proposed laws forcing tech companies to pay for news content

Discussion: Microsoft On the Issues and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »

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

Discussion: Insider, @rachelmetz, @fdotny, @daveweigel, @diepthought, @banditelli, @jamieson, @fail_lula, @ea1co, @kid_vidh, @kathtx and @karynspencer, more at Techmeme »

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

Discussion: Esquire, CAFE, @constancegrady, @voxdotcom and The Media Nut

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

Discussion: @kateclarktweets, @transitive_bs, @joshuaogundu, @k17ubha, @seyitaylor, @jessicalessin and @kateclarktweets, more at Techmeme »

Earlier Picks:

Paul W. Valentine / Washington Post:
Larry Flynt, publisher of Hustler magazine and a self-proclaimed First Amendment champion, has died at his home in Los Angeles at 78

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter, Los Angeles Times, The Week, @michaeldweiss, @mboorstein, @jeannewhalen, @michaeldweiss, @bradmossesq, UPI, Associated Press, Decider, Fox News, Raw Story, CBS Los Angeles, Variety, The Wrap, CBS San Francisco and Boing Boing

E. Tammy Kim / Columbia Journalism Review:
Q&A with Burmese journalist Swe Win, who fled the country after being shot in the leg, about reporting on the coup, future of journalism in Myanmar, and more

Discussion: @cjr, @jon_allsop and UPI

Megan Graham / CNBC:
Shares of ad tech company Viant, which owns Myspace and debuted on Nasdaq, jumped 90% from its initial price after the company raised about $250M in its IPO

Discussion: @megancgraham, @jlafayette, @nasdaq, Reuters, Broadcasting Cable, Barron's Online and Viant

The Atlantic:
The Atlantic launches Inheritance, a multiyear project to make oral histories and other artifacts of Black history and ancestry widely accessible

Discussion: Digiday, @wagatwe and @jessedamiani

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

Discussion: CNBC, @niemanlab, The Keyword, @googlenewsinit, @googlenewsinit, @googlenewsinit, Press Gazette, @googleuk, @danrussell12000, The Verge, MacRumors, HoldtheFrontPage, 9to5Google, The Keyword and OneZero

Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
Twitter says it has suspended 500+ accounts in India for violating rules but has not taken any action on accounts of journalists, activists, and politicians

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

David Cassel / The New Stack:
An interview with Linus Torvalds at the Open Source Summit North America on the XZ Utils exploit, open source development, RISC-V, AI, and more

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