Mediagazer: Facebook says Facebook Journalism Project's Accelerator program delivered “$60M in customer lifetime value” over three years to ~175 news organizations (Facebook)

10:00 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, @kenroth, Voice of America, Committee to Protect …, @sophia_yan, @williamsjon, @mannymaung, @f_potkin, @1amychew, @bcarovillano, @wai_moe, @jpacedc, newslaundry.com and The Wrap

Joe Flint / Wall Street Journal:

Former Disney exec Kevin Mayer named chairman of sport streaming service DAZN, replacing ex-ESPN president John Skipper — Service has substantial boxing and international soccer rights and is looking to expand — Kevin Mayer, a former senior executive of the Walt Disney Co. and architect …

Discussion: Variety, The Wrap, @taralach, @sherman4949 and @jbflint

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

Brent Lang / Variety:

Alamo Drafthouse files for bankruptcy as part of an asset purchase agreement with Altamont Capital Partners, and says it will close some of its 40 locations — Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, the Texas-based theater chain that has become a favorite with cinephiles for it dine-in service …

Discussion: @brentalang, @wellsdunbar, @drewkerr and @bklynactivemama

Kristen Hare / Poynter:

Two professors documented the pandemic's effects on local newsrooms, working with press associations to gather histories in seven states in the center of the US — Last year, two journalism professors started an oral history project to document the work of local newsrooms in mid-America.

Discussion: Columbia Journalism Review, @manshipschool, @brownonbusiness, @amariscastillo, @kujournalism, @craigtimes, @michaelsocolow, @hannaraskin, @emilybradburyks and The Rural Blog

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, @rasmus_kleis, @priyankaboghani, @elaheizadi, @cleggthis, @frontlinepbs, @raneyaronson, @elaheizadi, @elaheizadi and @elaheizadi

Mark Sweney / The Guardian:

Daily Mail owner DMGT buys The New Scientist for £70M, says the weekly science magazine is forecast to make £7M in profits and £20M+ in revenues this year — The 65-year-old title is forecast to make £7m in profits this year — The publisher of the Daily Mail …

Facebook:

Facebook says Facebook Journalism Project's Accelerator program delivered “$60M in customer lifetime value” over three years to ~175 news organizations — Accelerator publishers reported $60 million* in customer lifetime value over the last three years of the Facebook Journalism Project's Accelerator program.

Discussion: @bgrueskin and @bgrueskin

Christopher Palmeri / Bloomberg:

Filing: ad sales at Disney's DTC businesses like Hulu and ESPN+ rose 47% to $882M last quarter and sales at ABC grew 5% to $984M — - Online ad revenue grew 47% last quarter, with broadcast up 5% — Company has been consolidating teams to create a one-stop shop

Discussion: MediaPost

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

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 …

Press Gazette:

The Mail On Sunday refused permission to appeal against High Court ruling in Meghan Markle privacy case, and faces an “extraordinary” legal costs bill of £1.5M — The Mail On Sunday has been refused permission to appeal against a High Court ruling granting the Duchess …

Discussion: @pressgazette and @rasmus_kleis

Scott Roxborough / Hollywood Reporter:

Disney to sell its 50% stake in Europe's largest children's channel Super RTL to RTL Group, which will pivot to become an online-first broadcaster — The entertainment giant held 50 percent of Europe's largest children's channel, but is shifting its focus to its streaming platform Disney+.

Discussion: C21Media, Digital TV Europe and Broadband TV News

Archived Page Info:

This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 10:00 AM ET, March 3, 2021.

View the current page or another snapshot:

Who's Hiring in Media?

Output Producer, CA — AP

China Markets Correspondent, Shanghai — Reuters

Senior Assignment Editor, DC — WaPo

Breaking News Editor, Tokyo — Bloomberg

Senior Correspondent - Wealth, NY — WSJ

Reporter - Ottawa Bureau — Globe & Mail

Local Government Reporter, IA — The Gazette

Research Director, CA — OCBJ

Immigration Enforcement Reporter — Documented

Presque Island Reporter, ME — Bangor Daily News

Contributing Parks Ed. - SW, CA — SFGATE

AI Content Editor, WA — Outlier

Legislative Reporter, TN — Daily Memphian

Editorial Assistant, Remote US — Launch Potato

Elon Musk Reporter, NY or CA — The Information

Government & Politics Editor, WA — Seattle Times

Business & GA Reporter. VT — VTDigger

Sports Reporter, WA — Everett Herald

Energy Reporter, TX — Houston Chronicle

Senior Reporter, SC — Island Packet

Trade & Climate Correspondent, DC — FT

Reporter, WI — Racine County Eye

Political Newsletter Writer, CO — The Lever

Jackson Reporter, MS — Verite

Music Editor, AZ — Phoenix New Times

Breaking News Reporter, NV — Las Vegas Sun

Fearless Reporter/Producer, IA — BPC

Reporter II - Technology, Remote — NPR

Editor, Remote US — Daily Kos

City Reporter, WA — Tacoma News Tribune

Executive Editor, OR — Lookout Local

Education & Budget Reporter, CA — Politico

Senior Writer/Editor, FL — Gulfshore Business

Media Editor, Remote — Axios

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:

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
UK business paper City AM says its website reached 3.2M unique visitors in February, up 125% YoY, as it considers an autumn return for its print edition

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

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: @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

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

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

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

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

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

Earlier Picks:

Kerry Flynn / CNN:
Wired names Gideon Lichfield of MIT Technology Review as global editorial director, replacing Nicholas Thompson, recently appointed CEO of The Atlantic

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

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

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, @dav_and_a_doge, ВІС …, @amywilson, @psawers, @brianstelter, The Hill and Fox News

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

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

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

Jacob Lorinc / Toronto Star:
Major Canadian publisher Torstar is launching an online gambling site to fund its journalism, pending government approval

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

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 and @b52malmet

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

From Techmeme:

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is working on a smart doorbell system with advanced facial recognition that can wirelessly connect and unlock third-party smart locks

Wall Street Journal:
Gina Raimondo says holding back China in the chips race is a “fool's errand”, and investment, more than export controls, will keep US ahead of Beijing

Kevin Roose / New York Times:
A look at Amazon's revamped drone delivery program near Phoenix, Arizona, where the company's new MK-30 drones deliver dozens of packages a day to customers

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