Mediagazer: Interview with Brandy Zadrozny of NBC News, on working as a researcher at Fox News, the odd politics of 2016, QAnon, and the sadness of dark stories (Brad Esposito/Very Fine Day)

3:35 PM ET, March 17, 2021

Top News:

Alex Sherman / CNBC:

Interview with Kevin Mayer, passed over for a job as Disney CEO, then sidelined as TikTok CEO after Trump said he'd ban the app, on SPACs and pay TV's decline — - Kevin Mayer speaks about how he was disappointed when he didn't get the Disney CEO job and how he got railroaded by the Trump administration when at TikTok.

Discussion: The Wrap, @dylanbyers, @sherman4949, @blowryontv, @dylanbyers, @scottgustin, @sfiegerman, @pkafka, @ballmatthew, @sarafischer and @loudmouthjulia

Sara Guaglione / Digiday:

Vox says podcast revenue doubled across its network, which has 200+ podcasts, in 2020, as it tests spinning off podcast episodes into standalone shows — Vox Media is testing out how one popular podcast can be an incubator for more audio shows not tied to the news.

Discussion: @jason_kint

Sam Schechner / Wall Street Journal:

France says Apple's upcoming IDFA ad privacy changes are not abusive but will investigate if Apple has stricter rules for third-party apps than for its own apps — French competition authority says Apple's changes 'don't appear to be abusive' — France's competition regulator rejected …

Discussion: Reuters, TechCrunch, MediaPost, @samschech, MacRumors, 9to5Mac and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »

Substack Blog:

Substack shares details on its Pro program after criticism, saying 30+ writers with a “diverse set of viewpoints” have signed up, none of whom are anti-trans — In recent days, we've heard from some people who are concerned that we might have been using Substack Pro …

Discussion: Garbage Day, @caseynewton, devils & fools, Jen the Libertarian, @benyt, @asymmetricinfo, @yashar, @joshgerstein, @jeannakadlec, @hamishmckenzie, @qjurecic, @femme_thoughts, @davidklion, @sadydoyle, @benyt and You've Escaped, more at Techmeme »

Arol Wright / XDA Developers:

YouTube is testing a tool that checks for copyright violations during the upload process — If you want to be able to upload your own content to YouTube and maybe even making money off that content, you need to abide by copyright laws. And that's enforced.

Discussion: Plagiarism Today, Engadget, 9to5Google and @mattnavarra

Julia Ainsley / NBC News:

Sources: Biden administration is restricting the information Border Patrol can share with media about migrant surge at the southern border — WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is restricting the information Border Patrol agents and sector chiefs can share with the media as a surge …

Discussion: @gopleader, @mikebalsamo1, @juliaeainsley, @mikedelmoro, @dlind, @lews___therin, @yamiche and @zekejmiller

Brad Esposito / Very Fine Day:

Interview with Brandy Zadrozny of NBC News, on working as a researcher at Fox News, the odd politics of 2016, QAnon, and the sadness of dark stories — Well, it's March again. Get 50% off a paid subscription to VFD - forever. Check it out HERE. — Don't know what Very Fine Day is?

Discussion: @tomnamako, @taylorlorenz, @vestaljen, @walldo and @brandyzadrozny

Thomas Seal / Bloomberg:

GroupM says global smart TV advertising grew 7.4% to $12B in 2020; DoubleVerify estimates the number of smart TV fraud impressions tripled in 2020 — - Ad industry plays whac-a-mole to tackle fake ad views — The $12 billion smart-TV ad market is biggest area of fraud

Shirley Zhao / Bloomberg:

Sources: China told media to stagger Oscars telecast, after nomination of a HK protests documentary and concern over views of Best Director contender Chloe Zhao — - The awards ceremony shouldn't be broadcast in real time — Outlets should only report on awards not deemed sensitive

Discussion: Variety, Mediaite, Hollywood Reporter, @micahflee, New York Post, @lucas_shaw, IndieWire and Fast Company

TJCX:

Analysis of New York Times' A/B tests of its headlines, which often use dramatic, emotionally-charged language to boost engagement — The New York Times is a big deal. As they tell their advertisers, the NYT is the #1 news source for young, rich thought leaders:

Discussion: @jackisnotabird, @joshsternberg, @wolfiechristl, @dvg, @peterkoechley, @chrismoranuk, @craigsilverman and @brianfishman

Seth Berkman / New York Times:

A look at South Korean TV shows' extensive use of product placement to get around restrictions on commercial breaks, resulting in many shows featuring Subway — The sandwich chain's aggressive use of product placement has made it a ubiquitous presence on the country's television shows.

Discussion: @goawaywithjae, @theericgoldman and @shiraovide

Chris Roush / Talking Biz News:

Report: Fortune employees are staging a day-long strike to protest performance targets like byline counts and traffic goals and to push for diversity measures — Staffers at Fortune are staging a day-long work stoppage on Tuesday, reports Steven Perlberg of Insider.

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More News:

Kurt Wagner / Bloomberg:
Facebook unveils a policy on human rights standards and says it's starting a fund to pay for security and support for human rights activists and journalists

Discussion: The Verge and About Facebook, more at Techmeme »

James Ball / New Statesman:
BuzzFeed and HuffPost showed digital sites can reach huge audiences and create social value; what's missing are involved owners who don't seek VC-scale profits

Discussion: Passage, @raju, @nycsouthpaw, @jamesrbuk, @pressgazette, @jamesrbuk, @michellemanafy and American Press Institute

Ray Schultz / MediaPost:
Multichannel News, which was bought by Future PLC in 2018, will be combined with sister site Broadcasting + Cable on April 1; no staff cuts are planned

Discussion: @rafat

Jeanine Poggi / Ad Age:
TV mogul Byron Allen threatens legal action against major brands, citing the Civil Rights Act of 1866, if they don't allocate more ad money to Black-owned media

Discussion: @riverofjordann, @nabjbptf, @maraeinstein, @jessicawohl and @jpoggi

Kayleigh Barber / Digiday:
Publications like Insider, Yahoo Finance, and Cosmopolitan are flocking to Clubhouse, with plans to monetize the popularity of their reporters on the platform

Discussion: @adicrazy and @mediaevan

Sarah Scire / Nieman Lab:
Google's GNI awards $3M to new orgs to fight vaccine misinfo, including to India's The Quint, which provides fact checks to rural women via a grassroots network

Discussion: The Keyword, @kent_walker, @themediaisdying, @niemanlab, @ctardaguila, @mantzarlis, @gkangind and Engadget

Earlier Picks:

Adam Tinworth / One Man & His Blog:
The Telegraph's plan to reward journalists who attract and retain subscribers will not reward clickbait

Discussion: @chrismoranuk, @ingridlunden, @michaelejigu, @jamesrbuk, @jamesrbuk, @nickgibbs, @james_brabazon, Beyond Search, @mathewi, @benwhitelaw, @martincloake, @travelfish, @berendvdkolk, @healthuntodeath, @thhamilton and Press Gazette

Sara Rimer / BU Today:
BU and Boston Globe Opinion to launch The Emancipator, an antiracist multimedia project, this summer, with op-eds, debates, and more by journalists and scholars

Discussion: NPR, @binajv, @kimberlyeatkins, @ameshiacross, @emarvelous, @ndungca, @associatesbpl, @errrica, @morrisonjean1, @alexleff, @eramshaw, @mitrakalita, @kimberlyeatkins, @the_emancipator, @sulliview and bookforum.com

Sara Fischer / Axios:
Facebook will begin testing its publishing platform, including website and newsletter tools, with a small group of writers, some of whom will be paid

Archie Bland / The Guardian:
UK columnist Julie Burchill apologizes to journalist Ash Sarkar and will pay damages after accusing her of being an Islamist, worshipping a pedophile, and more

Scott Feinberg / Hollywood Reporter:
In response to a letter from PR firms, HFPA issued a statement promising to increase its membership to over 100, 13% of which will be Black, among other changes

Discussion: The Grapevine, @inclusionists, Los Angeles Times, /Film, @kristenmeinzer, @thr, The A.V. Club and The Wrap

From Techmeme:

Emilia David / The Verge:
Microsoft debuts Phi-3 Mini, a small 3.8B-parameter model about as capable as GPT-3.5, and plans Phi-3 Small and Phi-3 Medium models with 7B and 14B parameters

Counterpoint Research:
iPhone sales in China fell 19.1% YoY to a 15.7% share in Q1 2024; Vivo fell 0.4% YoY to 17.4%, Honor rose 11.5% YoY to 16.1%, and Huawei rose 69.7% YoY to 15.5%

Washington Post:
Google fires ~20 more staff the company says participated in protests denouncing an Israeli cloud contract; an activist workers' group says the total is now 50+

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