Mediagazer: Substack is only a “scam” in the same way that modern media is, where star pundits profit and talented reporters go underemployed (Eric Levitz/New York Magazine)

10:35 PM ET, March 24, 2021

Top News:

[Thread] Mel, the men's magazine backed by Unilever's Dollar Shave Club, is stopping publishing, ending its ties with Dollar Shave Club, and seeking a new owner — Some news: After six years of successful partnership and transforming the men's health and media spaces for the better, MEL and Dollar Shave Club's financial relationship will come to an end in 60 days.

Casey Newton / Platformer:

Interviews with 14 current and former Medium employees portray a dysfunctional company; Medium started 2021 with 700K paid subs, on track for $35M+ in revenue — I. — Last week, a partnerships manager at Medium working with the White House found that there was a strange problem with the platform …

Ev Williams / Medium:
Medium announces buyout offers to everyone in its editorial division and the departure of Siobhan O'Connor, VP of editorial, as it adjusts publication strategy

Eric Levitz / New York Magazine:

Substack is only a “scam” in the same way that modern media is, where star pundits profit and talented reporters go underemployed — If you aren't sufficiently broken inside to be an extremely-online journalist — or, worse, a non-journalist who diligently monitors the beefs within …

Discussion: @sacca, @amywestervelt, @ericlevitz, @claireefallon, @zachwritesstuff, @ginamizell, @alexmcdaniel, @milehighrobert, @caseyjohnston, Trashberg, @rachelconnoll14, @annacod, @sadydoyle, @hannahrkeyser, @danismcnally, @ninabernstein1, @kantrowitz, @lizzieohreally, @amywestervelt, @lizzieohreally, @thrasherxy, @delia_cai, @annaleen, Jen the Libertarian, @frankicookney, @annehelen, @augustjpollak, @mollywood, @lizzieohreally, Crème de la Crème, @amywestervelt, @patrick_hruby, @michellemanafy, @stevemullis, @mcmansionhell, @jowrotethis, @jilliancyork, @sethwemerson, @karaswisher, @karaswisher, @davidubben, @amywestervelt, @thrasherxy, @mollywood, @amywestervelt, @sacca, @annanowo, @benpopper, @edroso, @rachelmetz, @bdhowald, @mollywood, @amywestervelt, @ntavakolifar, @alex, @goldietaylor, @lindseyadler, @kyleaglaser, @cameronwilson, @tnwhiskeywoman, @davegershgorn, @espiers, @adavidhalejoint, @jilliancyork, @sacca, @tomnamako, @alec_lewis, @sacca, @wudanyan, @thelincoln, @marisa_ingemi, @mollywood, @hkesvani, @amywestervelt, @anne_elizabeth, @howelloneill, @davidfolkenflik, @hkesvani, @jason, @caseyjohnston, @rklein90 and Persuasion, more at Techmeme »

David Leonhardt / New York Times:

Analysis finds 87% of COVID-19 coverage in the national US media last year was negative, compared to 51% in international media and 64% in scientific journals — The U.S. media is offering a different picture of Covid-19 from science journals or the international media, a study finds.

Maxwell Tani / The Daily Beast:

Sources: HuffPost has picked Danielle Belton as its new EIC; Belton is currently the EIC at G/O Media's Black-focused news and culture outlet The Root — The left-leaning digital media pioneer will be helmed by The Root's current top editor Danielle Belton, The Daily Beast has learned.

Discussion: Axios, Insider, @blacksnob, @hilella, Tubefilter, @reignofapril, @stephentotilo, @jawnita, @ryanjreilly, @maxwelltani, @lpolgreen, @nytimes, @yeshacallahan, @sfreynolds, Variety, @huffpostunion, @alexckaufman, @pressgazette, @jeremymbarr and @raju

Axios:

Ahead of House hearing, Mark Zuckerberg calls for Section 230 reform that makes protections conditional on platforms' ability to identify and remove content — Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will tell lawmakers his plan for “thoughtful reform” of a key tech liability shield rests …

Taylor Lyles / The Verge:

Disney+ will cost $1 more per month from March 26, increasing to $7.99/month or $80/year, the first price hike by Disney for the service — The price is going up to $7.99 a month for subscribers in the US starting on March 26th — You have just two days left to lock in Disney Plus at its current price.

Discussion: io9, Rolling Stone, Cord Cutters News, TVLine, MacRumors, Variety, 9to5Mac, Insider, Android Police, Heroic Hollywood and GameSpot, more at Techmeme »

Joe Pompeo / Vanity Fair:

Sources: WaPo is looking for a “Journalistic Unicorn” to replace Marty Baron, someone with his stature but a stronger connection to “journalists of tomorrow” — The most buzzed-about candidate isn't on the short list, as a trio of Times editors' names make the rounds.

Discussion: @hshaban, @hshaban, @joepompeo, @joepompeo, @jayrosen_nyu, @mlcalderone and @ethartley

Robert Channick / Baltimore Sun:

Filings: Stewart Bainum Jr. offered $650M to purchase all of Tribune Publishing even as its board endorsed a $630M offer from Alden Global Capital — A Maryland businessman has offered $650 million to purchase all of Tribune Publishing, the parent of The Baltimore Sun …

Discussion: New York Times, @benestes, @lizbowie, @friscojosh, @mattdpearce, @mcallguild, @raju, @bencjacobs, Poynter and @ssdance

Matt Donnelly / Variety:

Jay Leno apologizes for jokes told over his career targeting Asian communities, saying it is not “another example of cancel culture but a legitimate wrong” — Late night host and comedian Jay Leno has issued an apology for a series of jokes told over his career targeting Asian communities.

Kaitlyn Tiffany / The Atlantic:

A look at Remember the Internet, a series of pocket-sized books dedicated to immortalizing subcultures and combating the ephemerality of being online — How do we memorialize life online when it's constantly disappearing? — For many of us, for better or for worse, the internet is home.

Discussion: @ahmed, @adriennelaf, @lambdaliterary, @instarbooks, @owenthomas, @manwhohatesfun, @caseyplett, @quinmyers, @internetarchive, @kait_tiffany and @sunaina_patnaik, more at Techmeme »

Kevin Roose / New York Times:

NYT turns one of its articles about NFTs into a NFT and puts it up for auction, with proceeds going to NYT's Neediest Cases Fund — Why can't a journalist join the NFT party, too? — Normally, I'm not allowed to make sales pitches in my columns. — But this time is an exception, because what's for sale is the column itself.

Discussion: @kevinroose, @taylorlorenz and @halhod

Tommy Christopher / Mediaite:

Politico Playbook criticized for an item that cast Trump's administration as having been more transparent than Biden's on migrant detention at the border — Journalists, progressives, and others hammered Politico for a Playbook item that cast the Trump administration as having been more transparent …

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