Mediagazer: How four alt-weeklies, Cleveland Scene, Seven Days, The Stranger, and The Austin Chronicle, have been surviving the pandemic after it crippled events revenue (Sophia June/The Daily Beast)

4:55 PM ET, March 2, 2021

Top News:

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, @tommytomlinson, CBC News, @wearecanproud, @johnocap, @goldsbie, @thetowncrier, @standingthegaff, @jrhennessy, @gramiq and @harryslaststand

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, @sarahscire, @akshatrathi, @kerrymflynn, @scottdetrow, @stopmoneypipe, @sarahkaplan48, @michellemanafy, @emilyhholden, @raju, @sammy_roth, @sarahkaplan48, @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, The Streamable, Ad Age, Reuters, Deseret News, Observer, @great_katzby, Quartz, MediaPost and UPROXX

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.

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 — The network's streaming service laid out $250,000 to sponsor CPAC and some of its personalities gave speeches in an unusual arrangement.

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

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, /Film, ScreenRant, Gizmodo, BetaNews, Fortune, Kotaku, Engadget, @ajci282002, The Verge, CNET, Siliconera and Polygon, more at Techmeme »

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: Variety, The Guardian, Fox News, The Wrap, Media Matters for America, nexttv.com, Insider, TVNewser, Mediaite, @brianstelter, UPROXX, @alexweprin, @yashar, @exavierpope and Hollywood Reporter

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 — Democracy, an unassuming policy journal with an office near the White House, is a place where members of the new administration …

Discussion: @uchicagolaw, @mollyjongfast, @tomperriello, @ddiamond, @karenkornbluh and @michaelpollan

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 — - Altice USA CEO Dexter Goei questions the future of cable providers providing bundles of video.

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

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 — This model sees streaming royalties paid out based on individual subscriber behavior - with a percentage …

Discussion: Variety, SoundCloud press releases, TechCrunch, Engadget and The Verge

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 and American Press Institute

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 — The British Broadcasting Corporation on Tuesday apologized for a radio interview broadcast last Friday that was presented …

Discussion: Fox News, The Hill, @psawers and @brianstelter

Archived Page Info:

This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 4:55 PM ET, March 2, 2021.

View the current page or another snapshot:

Who's Hiring in Media?

Accounting Specialist Editor, Remote US — Reuters

Senior Correspondent - Wealth, NY — WSJ

Asia Credit Reporter, Seoul — Bloomberg

Senior Social Media Specialist, NC — espnW

Associate Editor - Aviation, TN — Firecrown

Assistant Editor - Digital, NC — SBJ

Video Producer - YouTube, NY — Morning Brew

Senior Managing Ed. - Daily Desk — The Athletic

Multimedia Journalist, CA — Paramount

Content Managing Editor — Freedom Forum

Editor, MA — Nieman Reports

Team Editor - Breaking News, ON — Toronto Star

Senior Reporter & Event Host, NY/CA — Newcomer

Associate Editor, Remote — Tech Policy Press

Retail Reporter, MN — Star Tribune

Managing Ed. - Berks County, PA — Spotlight PA

News Editor - UK, Remote — The Verge

News Reporter, MA — Berkshire Eagle

Multimedia Journalist, PA — Observer-Reporter

Service Journalism Editor, CA — Sacramento Bee

Content Director, Remote — Campaigns & Elections

Los Angeles Issues Reporter, CA — CalMatters

Reporter - Middle East — Rest of World

Executive Editor, OR — Lookout Local

California Playbook Writer, CA — Politico

Senior Media Editor — Digiday

National Investigative Reporter, NY — HuffPost

Lexington County Reporter, SC — The State

Reporter - Offshore Wind — Canary Media

General Assignment Reporter, FL — County Record

Staff Reporter, CA — Daily Kos

Data Editor, NY — ProPublica

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:

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

Discussion: MediaPost

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

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

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, Adweek and @kerrymflynn, 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, Forbes, @martinsfp, @raymondsnoddy, @adamadzp, Broadband TV News, @furquan, @archiebland, @greg_jenner, 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: Voice of America, CNN, Axios, Al Jazeera, @ninaburleigh, The Guardian and The Hill

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

Earlier Picks:

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

Todd Spangler / Variety:
Vizio IPO filing reveals its SmartCast OS, which offers free streaming content and OTT apps, had 12.2M active accounts at the end of 2020, up 61% YoY from 7.6M

Discussion: The Streamable, nexttv.com, Engadget, MediaPost, @richlightshed, United States, The Verge and Bloomberg

Kate Kaye / Digiday:
As Google starts news partnership talks in the US, its VP of news says publishers don't want collective bargaining; USA Today and other publishers disagree

Discussion: @jeffjarvis, @rasmus_kleis, @newsceo, @rafat, @jason_kint and Insider

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

Charles Riley / CNN:
Axel Springer says it won't join Facebook News when it launches in Germany in May, due to “inappropriately low remuneration” offered for journalistic content

Discussion: Reuters, @oliverdarcy, @jason_kint, @wblau, @mattnavarra, @campbell_brown, @torstenbeeck, @sofus_d, @samuelstolton, @rasmus_kleis and Facebook

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

Donald G. McNeil Jr / Medium:
Donald McNeil writes a four-part rebuttal to the allegations against him, says what happened to him is “a series of misunderstandings and blunders”

From Techmeme:

Bloomberg:
Sources: Canadian authorities arrest Alexander “Connor” Moucka, who is allegedly behind the June and July 2024 hacks of up to 165 Snowflake users including AT&T

Marshall Cohen / CNN:
CCDH: before the election, Elon Musk made 87 X posts that were debunked by fact-checkers, hitting 2B+ views; his political posts had 17.1B views since July 2024

Financial Times:
In its annual report, Apple warns of future products perhaps never exceeding the iPhone's profitability, “geopolitical tensions”, and AI features' safety risks

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