Mediagazer: Outside, previously known as Pocket Outdoor Media and owner of 22 active lifestyle publications, raises $150M and says average revenue per user is ~$70/year (Sara Fischer/Axios)

10:55 AM ET, February 22, 2021

Top News:

Investigation finds non-profit HFPA, which runs Golden Globes, makes substantial payments to members, as questions persist about its ethics and legitimacy — It appeared to be a moment of triumph in the long, tumultuous story of the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn.

Meg James / Los Angeles Times:

Soon-Shiong family denies WSJ reports about plans to sell LA Times, and both Union-Tribune's COO and publisher say no plans exist to sell the San Diego paper — Los Angeles Times owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong on Friday reaffirmed his commitment to the news organization.

Discussion: @drpatsoonshiong, @timcarman, New York Post, @jayrosen_nyu, @brittny_mejia, @latlands, @408nate, @drpatsoonshiong, @steffdaz, @ckrewson, @busblog, @gerrickkennedy, @melissamdaniels and Bloomberg

Lukas I. Alpert / Wall Street Journal:

Sources: Patrick Soon-Shiong is exploring a sale of LA Times and considered transferring management of The San Diego Union-Tribune to Alden's MediaNews Group — Patrick Soon-Shiong seeks exit after less than three years at the helm, as losses mount — Billionaire biotech investor Patrick Soon-Shiong …

Discussion: Columbia Journalism Review, @katie_robertson, @latguild, @rasmus_kleis, @brenden_tucc, @maxwelltani, @jacobrubashkin, @robenfarzad, @daviddebolt, @kenbensinger, @drpatsoonshiong, Insider, Los Angeles Magazine, @sewellchan, @chaykak, @katie_robertson, @edmundlee, Media Nation, @brooklynmarie, @suhaunah, @doree, @bigblackjacobin, @edmundlee, @edmundlee, @anniesciacca, @elanazak, @jimfriedlich, @sewellchan, @ckrewson, @pottsmark, @mattdpearce, @marcosantana, @petersterne, @edmundlee, @jeffjarvis, @pauledroberts, @ggreeneva, @timmarchman, @seungminkim, @bobshrum, @johnjcook, @alex_roarty, @loisbeckett, @mollymotoole, @johnmyers, @froomkin, @benfritz, @benfritz, @karavoght, @jbenton, @sarahsholder, @hshaban, @nycsouthpaw, @kenli729, @jbflint, @jbenton, @maxwelltani, @mikeisaac, The Wrap, Esotouric's Secret Los Angeles, Mediaite, The Hill and Reuters

Ben Smith / New York Times:

Russian investigative journalism is flourishing alongside “probiv”, the buying of data on phone calls, cell location, or air travel off Telegram or the dark web — A new wave of news outlets has used conventional, and unconventional, methods to pierce the veil of Putin's power.

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Google tells ad partners that it will lift its ban on all political ads starting Wednesday, after banning them following the Capitol riot — Google informed its advertising partners Monday that its platforms will resume accepting all political ads starting Wednesday, after banning them following …

Discussion: CNBC and @alaynatreene, more at Techmeme »

Elaine Low / Variety:

Discovery reports Q4: revenue of $2.9B, beating estimates, and Discovery+ has 11M subscribers after launching in January — The company reported earnings of 76 cents per share and revenue of $2.889 billion, vs. Street projections for per-share earnings of 72 cents on revenue of $2.83 billion.

Discussion: The Wrap, MediaPost, The Wrap, Discovery Communications, The Wrap and The Streamable

Rachel Abrams / New York Times:

Ahead of a hearing on Wednesday, Congressional Democrats ask cable and tech companies how they combatted misinformation from Fox News, OANN, and Newsmax — Before a hearing scheduled for Wednesday, Democratic members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee asked cable companies what they did to combat …

Discussion: @rachelabramsny, @oliverdarcy, @dylanbyers and @pkafka

Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:

Defector, the employee-owned site that began after a staff walkout at Deadspin, is doing surprisingly well and is financially self-sustaining six months in — Mahatma Gandhi didn't actually say “Be the change you want to see in the world,” but if he had, he probably wouldn't have been thinking …

Discussion: @sulliview, @ashleyfeinberg, @drewmagary, The Muffin por Mauricio …, @emmabaccellieri and @sulliview

Hanaa' Tameez / Nieman Lab:

Fort Worth Report, a nonprofit news outlet, will launch in the spring and start with coverage of education, government accountability, and arts and culture — Fort Worth, Texas is a special place. — Cowtown, as its lovingly known among residents, is an hour west of Dallas and is a city of just under a million people.

Discussion: @azirulnick, @spj_tweets, @chriscobler, @niemanreports, @hanaatameez, @sarahscire, @niemanlab, Poynter and Columbia Journalism Review

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Outside, previously known as Pocket Outdoor Media and owner of 22 active lifestyle publications, raises $150M and says average revenue per user is ~$70/year — Pocket Outdoor Media, the 4-year-old media company that's home to 22 active lifestyle publications and several technology groups …

Discussion: @sarafischer, @kerrymflynn and @sarafischer

Alex Barker / Financial Times:

Microsoft says it will work with Europe's four largest news publishing lobbying groups to “mandate payments” for content used by “gatekeepers” — Seattle-based company aligns with press industry and exploits difficulties of rivals — Microsoft has joined forces …

Discussion: Reuters, @rcostaricardo, @epc_angela, @rasmus_kleis, @jason_kint, @carolinwehrhahn, @benedictevans and Marketing BS …, more at Techmeme »

Sarah Stonbely / Columbia Journalism Review:

Study of New Jersey's local news finds communities in the lowest income bracket are twice as likely to be news deserts as news oases — EXECUTIVE SUMMARY — The findings below are simplified for the purpose of clarity; please see the full paper for definitions and variable operationalization.

Ian Carlos Campbell / The Verge:

App Annie: Australian Broadcasting Corporation's news app was briefly the most downloaded app on the AU App Store after Facebook's news ban and is now second — Readers may be going directly to the source — The Australian Broadcast Company's ABC News app shot to the top of Apple's App Store charts …

Sheldon Chanel / The Guardian:
Facebook's Australia ban is acute for people in places like Fiji, who rely on phone plans with cheap Facebook access as going to news websites costs more data

Discussion: BIG by Matt Stoller, @dailypostdan, @froomkin, @blackamazon, @politicoryan, @matthewstoller, @bendohertycorro, @matthewstoller, @ahawatson, @gavincostello, @bendohertycorro, @bendohertycorro, @blakereid, @blakereid, @mmasnick, @mmasnick, @mmasnick and @blakereid

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More News:

Georg Szalai / Hollywood Reporter:
Dish Network reports Q4: $4.56B revenue, up from $3.24B YoY, as pay TV subs dropped by 133K, down from 194K YoY; Sling TV added 16K subs, down from 203K in Q3

Discussion: The Streamable, MediaPost and Dish

Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Splice, which makes tools for musicians and offers royalty-free samples, raises $55M at a ~$500M valuation, bringing its total raised to $150M

Discussion: @lucas_shaw, @lucas_shaw, @lucas_shaw, @mpinc, Music Ally and @daniburgz, more at Techmeme »

Nilay Patel / The Verge:
Interview with CNBC anchor Jon Fortt on the GameStop news cycle and countering a crystallizing narrative, framing financial news for viewers, and more

Discussion: @reckless

The Tech:
MIT's student paper The Tech will no longer publish ads by individuals seeking egg donations from students of a particular race, urges others to do the same

Discussion: @universalhub

Earlier Picks:

Keith J. Kelly / New York Post:
Sources: Meredith, which sold Time to the Benioffs, has sent a cease-and-desist letter to try to stop Time from moving its bookazines from Meredith to Bauer

Discussion: @harrymccracken and MediaPost

Sarah Scire / Nieman Lab:
Column, a startup that charges a small fee to process the placement of public notices, has partnered with McClatchy, Wick Communications, and Ogden Newspapers

Discussion: @columnpbc, @jakeseaton0 and @niemanlab

Eugene Volokh / Reason:
A court has dismissed Rep. Devin Nunes' libel lawsuit against CNN, citing California law that requires a request for a correction within 20 days

Discussion: @jefftimmer, @devincow and @adamsteinbaugh

Poynter:
Three fact-checking organizations, including two members of Facebook's fact-checking program, haven't been able to operate their Facebook pages in Australia

Discussion: Washington Post, Nieman Lab, @rasmus_kleis, @scroll_in, @jason_kint, @ctardaguila and @mantzarlis

From Techmeme:

Wall Street Journal:
The FTC bans noncompete clauses that restrict job switching, the first time in 50+ years that the FTC has issued a regulation mandating an economy-wide change

Sergiu Gatlan / BleepingComputer:
The US OFAC sanctions four Iranian nationals over cyberattacks on the US government, defense contractors, and private companies, and the DOJ unseals indictments

Victoria Song / The Verge:
Meta's Ray-Ban Smart Glasses get support for video calling via WhatsApp and Messenger, hands-free Apple Music controls, and a new frame style

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