Mediagazer: eMarketer: Spotify is on track to reach US monthly podcast listenership of 28.2M by the end of this year and surpass Apple's Podcasts for the first time (Sarah Perez/TechCrunch)

12:50 AM ET, March 3, 2021

Top News:

Dustin Jones / NPR:

Six journalists in Myanmar including AP reporter Thein Zaw have been charged under a public order law for covering protests and could face three years in prison — At least eight journalists in Myanmar have been detained by authorities while covering protests against a coup that took place last month.

Discussion: Associated Press, The Wrap, Committee to Protect … and Voice of America

Dylan Byers / NBC News:

Fox News says former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany will join the network as a contributor — Former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany will officially join Fox News, the network announced Tuesday. — The news, which was announced by Fox News host Harris Faulkner …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Variety, Fox News, The Wrap, CNN, The Week, @brianstelter, @alexweprin, @yashar, @exavierpope, @billpascrell, @billkristol, The Atlanta Voice, Newser, Media Matters for America, UPROXX, Insider, TVNewser, Mediaite, nexttv.com and Hollywood Reporter

Democracy Fund:

Democracy Fund, which gives grants to support newsrooms and press freedom, commits to confront systemic racism and to expand support for marginalized groups — Independent journalism is an essential instrument of accountability and critical to the health of our republic.

Discussion: @democracyfund, @jcstearns, @lmariahtrusty, @thedas, @thensim0nsaid, @mollydeaguiar, @jsamditis, @gteresa, @gteresa, @froomkin, @hdbacklund, @sarahaudelo, @carlamurphy, @abbyik, @thedas, @ckrewson and American Press Institute

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Sports-focused FuboTV, which went public in October, reports 548K subscribers at Q4 end, up 73% YoY, and net loss for 2020 of $570.5M, compared to $35M in 2019 — FuboTV grew its internet pay-TV subscriber rolls at a rapid clip last year — and it sustained heavy losses to get there.

Discussion: The Streamable, MediaPost, Deadline and Business Wire

Emily Atkin / HEATED:

Q&A with Emily Holden, whose just-launched climate news organization, Floodlight, partners with local outlets to cover corporate influence on the climate agenda — A little over a year ago, a few months after I launched HEATED, I got invited to speak at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard.

Discussion: Floodlight, @akshatrathi, @sarahscire, @sarahkaplan48, @michellemanafy, @emilyhholden, @sarahkaplan48, @sammy_roth, @kerrymflynn, @scottdetrow, @stopmoneypipe, @raju, @emorwee and The Guardian

Elaine Low / Variety:

Disney CEO says the company will let consumer behavior guide its decisions on theatrical windowing and that 50%+ of the Disney+ subscribers don't have kids — Speaking at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecommunications Conference on Monday, Walt Disney Company chief exec Bob Chapek said he's …

Discussion: The Wrap, Axios, ScreenRant, The A.V. Club, The Streamable, Too Much TV Newsletter, Forbes, Reuters, @great_katzby, Observer, Deseret News, Quartz and MediaPost

Elahe Izadi / Washington Post:

Filipino distributors wouldn't air A Thousand Cuts, a documentary on press freedom, so PBS Frontline bought distribution rights and is offering it free online — On the evening before Valentine's Day in 2019, journalist Maria Ressa was arrested by the Philippine government and charged with “cyber-libel.”

Discussion: @elaheizadi, @priyankaboghani, @elaheizadi, @elaheizadi, @akbarth3great, @cleggthis, @elaheizadi, @frontlinepbs and @raneyaronson

Kerry Flynn / CNN:

Wired names Gideon Lichfield of MIT Technology Review as global editorial director, replacing Nicholas Thompson, recently appointed CEO of The Atlantic — New York (CNN Business)Wired, the preeminent tech magazine, has its new leader: Gideon Lichfield of MIT Technology Review is coming on as its global editorial director.

Jacob Lorinc / Toronto Star:

Major Canadian publisher Torstar is launching an online gambling site to fund its journalism, pending government approval — Torstar is entering the online gaming market. The corporation announced Monday it intends to launch an online casino betting brand in 2021 pending approval from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.

Discussion: Globe and Mail, The Guardian, @jenwsheehan, CBC News, @wearecanproud, @johnocap, @thetowncrier, @tommytomlinson, NPR, @jrhennessy, @gramiq, @harryslaststand, @goldsbie and @standingthegaff

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

eMarketer: Spotify is on track to reach US monthly podcast listenership of 28.2M by the end of this year and surpass Apple's Podcasts for the first time — Investors have been waiting for Spotify's multimillion-dollar bet on podcasting to pay off, in terms of increased paid subscriptions or improved revenues.

Discussion: @ashleyrcarman, MacRumors, @blackamazon, 9to5Mac and eMarketer, more at Techmeme »

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Sony says the PlayStation Store will stop offering movie and TV show purchases and rentals on Aug. 31, citing users' preference for video streaming services — As of Aug. 31, 2021, the PlayStation Store will stop offering movie and TV show purchases and rentals.

Discussion: PlayStation.Blog, Kotaku, Engadget, Fortune, Gematsu, ScreenRant, BetaNews, /Film, Gizmodo, @ajci282002, Polygon, CNET, The Verge and Media Play News, more at Techmeme »

Christopher Zara / Fast Company:

MoffettNathanson: cable and satellite TV companies shed 6M subscribing US households in 2020; penetration was around 60% of households vs. ~90% in 2010 — Crank up the Weezer and throw yourself a My So-Called Life watch party tonight, because the cable-TV industry just hit a totally retro milestone.

Discussion: @trumwill and MediaPost

Sophia June / The Daily Beast:

How four alt-weeklies, Cleveland Scene, Seven Days, The Stranger, and The Austin Chronicle, have been surviving the pandemic after it crippled events revenue — ‘A WAY FORWARD’ — One year ago, the consensus was that alt-weeklies faced certain extinction amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

Discussion: Media Nation, @coreyhutchins, @thedailybeast, @sophianjune, @eddy_sarah and @shaboom

Archived Page Info:

This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 12:50 AM ET, March 3, 2021.

View the current page or another snapshot:

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

Executive Editor, NM — Searchlight

News Assistant, NY — Quanta Magazine

Local Editor, NJ (Remote) — Patch

News Writer, CA — Hollywood Reporter

News Editor/Reporter, KS — Blade-Empire

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:

The Hindu:
India's new digital news media ethics rules give the government leverage via a cumbersome regulatory mechanism that could have a chilling effect on free speech

Discussion: @yusufdfi, @nramind, @rasmus_kleis, @rasmus_kleis, @1br0wn, @nambath, @rkradhakrishn, @happymonjacob and @jeffjarvis

Josef Adalian / Vulture:
Nielsen: Golden Globes drew an average audience of just 6.9M people this year, compared to 18.3M in 2020

Discussion: @megjameslat, The Atlantic, @tvmojoe, @thewendyburch, theplaylist.net, Axios, @blackamazon, @mattbelloni, The Week and Vanity Fair

Tim Ingham / Music Business Worldwide:
Soundcloud to launch “fan-powered royalties” April 1; revenue from listeners' subscriptions or consumed ads is divided among artists they listen to, not pooled

Discussion: Variety, SoundCloud press releases, Engadget, @future_of_music, @opiumhum, @tankcrimes, @sharkyl, @tankcrimes, @ivorsacademy, @jetfury, TechCrunch and The Verge

Lindsey Ellefson / The Wrap:
BBC apologizes and says it fell for a “deliberate hoax” after broadcasting a radio interview with a man claiming to be Sen. Cory Booker last week

Discussion: Breitbart, @psawers, @dav_and_a_doge, @brianstelter, @amywilson, The Hill and Fox News

Naman Ramachandran / Variety:
Amazon Prime Video apologizes for its Indian original series Tandav, some parts of which offended Hindu nationalists, as India sets a strict content code

Discussion: The Wrap

Harry McCracken / Fast Company:
Flipboard expands its local news coverage to more than 1,000 cities and towns in the US and Canada

Discussion: TechCrunch, @kerrymflynn and Adweek, more at Techmeme »

Archie Bland / The Guardian:
BBC says youth-oriented channel BBC Three will return as a broadcast channel in January 2022, five years after it was taken online-only

Discussion: Variety, @martinsfp, @markmdownie, @raymondsnoddy, @adamadzp, @furquan, @archiebland, @greg_jenner, Forbes, Broadband TV News, The Wrap and Hollywood Reporter

Washington Post:
Reporters Without Borders files criminal complaint in Germany against MbS and top aides alleging crimes against humanity for the killing of Jamal Khashoggi

Discussion: @ninaburleigh, Voice of America, CNN, The Hill, Al Jazeera, Axios and The Guardian

Earlier Picks:

Reuters:
A BBC reporter and two translators working with journalists from the FT and AFP have been detained in Ethiopia, according to their employers

Discussion: Voice of America, Al Jazeera, Committee to Protect … and Financial Times

Jemele Hill / The Atlantic:
Major sporting events experienced significant falls in ratings in 2020, with the NBA Finals down 51% YoY, the NHL Finals down 61% YoY, and US Open down 45% YoY

Discussion: Insider, @escrimshaw, @ericaisbusy, @andygrewal, @thekendallbaker, @janesports, @nxthompson, @jamilsmith and @jemelehill

Marc Tracy / New York Times:
Profile of Democracy, a 15-year-old quarterly with 500 subscribers that incubated many of Biden team's policy ideas, publishing essays by six Cabinet officials

Discussion: Politico, @billkristol, @uchicagolaw, @mollyjongfast, @rafat, @michaelpollan, @karenkornbluh, @tomperriello and @ddiamond

Alex Sherman / CNBC:
Altice USA CEO says cable TV providers shouldn't be held accountable for misinfo on networks like Fox News, and cable TV will die as OTT platforms get better

Discussion: @sherman4949, @mattrosoff, @cnbc, @richlightshed, Forbes, @richlightshed, Light Reading, @sherman4949 and @sherman4949

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:
Fox News allowed host Pete Hegseth and contributor Dan Bongino to address CPAC this week, after it banned its hosts from speaking at partisan events last year

Discussion: @rightwingwatch, @jmartnyt, @thedailybeast, @b52malmet, The Daily Beast, Fox News and Mediaite

Brian Stelter / CNN:
Sources: George Stephanopoulos and David Muir to split leading breaking news at ABC News, after tensions over “chief anchor” title, which will no longer be used

Discussion: The Wrap, @brianstelter, @brianstelter, @benyt, TVNewser, Variety, @tvmojoe, @krolljvar, @jbarro, @hshaban, @thebenbergman, @bobbierman, @bryancurtis, @hshaban, @realjoeypoirier, @jbflint and @oliverdarcy

Todd Spangler / Variety:
Roku says it's acquiring Nielsen's Advanced Video Advertising business, positioning itself to offer a fully addressable advertising solution for TV programmers

Discussion: The Drum, Digital TV Europe, Ad Age, @xpangler, @xpangler, Broadband TV News, Adweek, Axios, Beet.TV, The Verge, AdExchanger, The Wrap, MediaPost, Radio & Television …, Cord Cutters News and Media Play News

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Instagram launches Live Rooms for live broadcasts with up to four creators, up from two, and says it will roll out new audio features in coming months

From Techmeme:

Alex Heath / The Verge:
Meta details Llama 3: 8B- and 70B-parameter models, a focus on reducing false refusals, and an upcoming model trained on 15T+ tokens that has 400B+ parameters

Raffaele Huang / Wall Street Journal:
Apple removes WhatsApp and Threads from its App Store in China, saying it was ordered to do so by China's cyberspace officials citing national security concerns

Ryan Morrison / Tom's Guide:
Microsoft researchers introduce VASA-1, an AI model that creates a realistic talking face video from a portrait photo and an audio file, in research preview

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