Top News:
ABC:
Australia says Facebook agreed to reinstate news content in Australia in the coming days after the government promised amendments to its proposed media bill — We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work.
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, New York Times, @kantrowitz, BBC, Financial Times, The Guardian, CNN, @mikeisaac, Techdirt, Mediaite, BBC, Washington Post, Wired, Sydney Morning Herald, Substack, Axios, @fbnewsroom, Wall Street Journal, @zsk, @yathinkn, @mathewi, @yathinkn, @rasmus_kleis, @caseynewton, @nytimesworld, @slpng_giants, @robpegoraro, @jason_kint, Breitbart, @profcarroll, @jason_kint, @likebutterfield, @braveheartsinc, @orskov, NBC News, Yahoo Finance, Engadget, Washington Times, Protocol, CNET, 9News, Gizmodo Australia, The Wrap, Beyond Search, Nieman Lab and Financial Times, more at Techmeme »
Adam Gabbatt / The Guardian:
Al Jazeera is launching Rightly, a digital media channel led by Fox News Veteran Scott Norvell, for those who “feel left out of conservative media” — Rightly will be led by a former Fox News journalist and is aimed at Republicans who ‘feel left out of conservative media’
The Information:
Source: ~40%, or 40M, of Disney+ subscribers are in the US, and Disney has said 30% are in India, so Europe and LatAm seem to make up less than a third of subs — Disney's flagship video-streaming service, Disney+, has quickly emerged as the only true competitor to Netflix …
Discussion:
Too Much TV Newsletter and @loudmouthjulia, more at Techmeme »
RELATED:
Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge:
Star, a new section on Disney+ for international customers that offers content Disney places on Hulu in the US, launches today — Here's why US customers still have to pay for Hulu — Today marks the launch of Star. It's a new section of Disney Plus for international audiences …
Discussion:
The Streamable, Musings on Mouse, Engadget, @loudmouthjulia and @loudmouthjulia
Emma Pinedo / Reuters:
Sources: Google is negotiating individual licensing deals with media outlets in Spain that may allow Google News to resume there after shutting down in 2014 — (This Feb. 22 story corrects to clarify Google's position, paragraph 5) — MADRID (Reuters) - Alphabet's Google …
Discussion:
@slpng_giants, more at Techmeme »
Deadline:
Movie theaters in New York City can reopen on March 5 at 25% capacity with health protocols including air filtration, mandatory masks, and social distancing — UPDATE AFTER EXCLUSIVE: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday said movie theaters in New York City will be brought into line …
Discussion:
CNN, Hollywood Reporter, Vulture, The Playlist, abc7NY, The Wrap, Associated Press, /Film, The Week, Forbes, Crain's New York Business, Insider, Reuters, IndieWire and Variety
Sahil Patel / Wall Street Journal:
VidMob, which provides tools to create and improve digital ads, raises $50M Series C with Shutterstock, Adobe among investors; source: VidMob is valued at $290M — Investors in funding round include ad industry veterans, Adobe, Shutterstock and Prefix Capital
Discussion:
MediaPost, @craigcoblenz, @vidmob and @shutterstock, more at Techmeme »
Kelsey McKinney / Defector:
Internal memo: Slate indefinitely suspended The Gist host Mike Pesca over a Slack discussion; sources: he argued for the use of the N-word in some cases — Mike Pesca, host of Slate's daily podcast, The Gist, has been suspended from the company indefinitely according to an internal memo sent …
Discussion:
New York Times, The Hill, TheBlaze, Reason, @nelliebowles, @moorehn, @danagoldstein, @jonathanchait, @kmele, @asteadwesley, @gladwell, Newser, @katie_robertson, @nytimes, @mtaibbi, @mckinneykelsey, @iramiof, @oz_f, @bookishfeminist, Hot Pod News, @espiers, @chsommers, @teasippinsherpa, @blackamazon, @drewmagary, @chsommers, @lhfang, @ijbailey, @justinnxt, @daveweigel, @urbanachievr, @kittypurrzog, @mckinneykelsey, @scottnover, @emilyctamkin, @jessesingal, The Wrap and Fox News
Reuters:
Police in India questioned Amazon India's head of original content for Prime Video over allegations that its show Tandav hurt religious sentiments — LUCKNOW, India (Reuters) - Indian police in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh questioned a top Amazon executive for nearly four hours …
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Rob Barrett is named president of media at Maven, where he will run Sports Illustrated and The Street; Barrett was previously president of digital at Hearst — Maven Media, which runs the publishing businesses of Sports Illustrated and TheStreet, has tapped digital-media veteran Rob Barrett as president of media.
Paul Farhi / @farhip:
WaPo names managing editor Cameron Barr as acting executive editor while the paper searches for a successor to Marty Baron, who steps down on February 28 — Some internal news: @washingtonpost publisher Fred Ryan has named managing editor Cameron Barr to serve as acting executive editor while the search for a permanent successor to editor Marty Baron continues, Ryan said in a staff memo today. Marty's last day as editor is Feb. 28.
Ashley Carman / The Verge:
Q&A with Spotify's Daniel Ek on growing the number of creators on the service and engaging with them, podcast success metrics, Clubhouse, and more — Spotify hosted an event on Monday to discuss its ambitions in audio, and one message came through loud and clear: the company wants to play …
Discussion:
@reckless, @jyarow, @ashleyrcarman, @dhh, @ashleyrcarman, @dcseifert, @jake_k, Engadget, The Muffin por Mauricio … and XDA Developers, more at Techmeme »
Dylan Byers / NBC News:
Spotify launches Renegades: Born in the USA, an exclusive, eight-episode podcast with Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen as co-hosts — Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen are making a podcast. — Spotify on Monday announced the launch of “Renegades: Born in the USA,” …
Discussion:
Politico, @dylanbyers, @sarafischer, @barackobama, Today in Tabs, That Eric Alper, CNN, New York Times, Variety, @axios, RAIN News, Firstpost Tech, @davidcorndc, @sisario, The Verge, @johnlevenstein, @timothys, @danfostertype, @dylanbyers, @heminator, @heminator, @sethamandel, @jonallendc, @brendelbored, @anthony, @lucas_shaw, @nickriccardi, @edglavin, @benlabolt, @mikedelmoro, WayneDupree.com, Slate, Axios, Breitbart, TechCrunch, The A.V. Club, The Daily Caller, Forbes, The Week, The Haps, The Big Lead, Mediaite, Hollywood Reporter, TheBlaze, Vanity Fair, CNBC, New York Post, Los Angeles Times, The Wrap, Reuters, The Verge, Spotify and The Western Journal
RELATED:
Chris Welch / The Verge:
Spotify says it will launch a subscription later this year called HiFi that will offer “CD-quality, lossless audio”; Spotify currently tops out at 320kbps audio
Discussion:
@eldsjal, TechCrunch, XDA Developers, @chrismaddern, Firstpost Tech, @njh287, @alex, @passantino, @reckless, @mlchild, @kerrymflynn, @tomwarren, @snazzyq, @lucas_shaw, @chriswelch, @iamkory, @stevekopack, @varadmehta, @chriswelch, @spotify, ScreenRant, Gizmodo Australia, Music Business Worldwide, 9to5Google, Spotify, CNET, Axios and Variety, more at Techmeme »
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Spotify says it will test paid podcast subscriptions in the US this spring through a new feature in Anchor
Discussion:
Matt on Audio and Spotify
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