Mediagazer: 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 (The Hindu)

7:00 PM ET, March 2, 2021

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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, Forbes, The Streamable, Reuters, Too Much TV Newsletter, Ad Age, Deseret News, Observer, @great_katzby, MediaPost, Quartz and UPROXX

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

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, @kerrymflynn, @scottdetrow, @sarahscire, @stopmoneypipe, @sarahkaplan48, @michellemanafy, @emilyhholden, @raju, @sammy_roth, @sarahkaplan48, @emorwee and The Guardian

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.

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

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, The Verge, CNET, Engadget, Siliconera, Polygon and @ajci282002, more at Techmeme »

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 »

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, @tankcrimes, TechCrunch, Engadget, @future_of_music and The Verge

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

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

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, @thedailybeast, @sophianjune, @shaboom, @coreyhutchins, American Press Institute and @eddy_sarah

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: MediaPost

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, @michaelpollan, @rafat, @karenkornbluh, @tomperriello and @ddiamond

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, @psawers, @brianstelter and The Hill

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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: @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

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Naman Ramachandran / Variety:
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Harry McCracken / Fast Company:
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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

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Washington Post:
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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

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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

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

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

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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

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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

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Charles Riley / CNN:
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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”

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