Top News:
Katie Robertson / New York Times:
The Texas Tribune's editorial director, Stacy-Marie Ishmael, and chief product officer, Millie Tran, say they will leave next month, both citing an intense year — The Texas Tribune, a digital news outlet in Austin, is losing two of its leaders. — Stacy-Marie Ishmael, the editorial director …
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Spotify buys app developer Betty Labs, creator of Locker Room, a live social audio app where fans can talk about sports, which Spotify plans on expanding — The acquisition will allow creators of all kinds to host anything from debates to live concerts.
Discussion:
@dylanbyers, NBC News, Spotify, The Verge, @ashleyrcarman, @caseynewton, Wall Street Journal, @lockerroomapp, @spotifynews, @harthanson, @isocialfanz, @parkermolloy, @mmasnick, @leavittalone, @joshelman, @tomcampbell, @bmkibler, @pitdesi, @dada_drummer, @gvteam, @gadyepstein, @barleyscotch, @andizeisler, @dylanbyers, @cheriehu42, MaC VC, @bmccandless, ScreenRant, @howardakumiah, @lazchance, @richlightshed, The Wrap, Variety, Music Business Worldwide and CNBC, more at Techmeme »
Marcela García Globe / The Boston Globe:
By normalizing Trump's former senior adviser Stephen Miller, Politico and others are helping launder his white supremacist ideas into the mainstream — Journalists who normalize Trump's former senior adviser ‘are helping him launder his white supremacist ideas into the mainstream.’
Discussion:
@alexpadilla4ca, @globeopinion, @brooklynmarie, @mattnegrin, @joncoopertweets, @ezhurb, @susanbchurch11, The Daily Beast and Mediaite
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Time Out Media reports revenue of £9M in H2 2020, down 59% YoY, and a loss of £1.7M, vs. earnings of £675K in H2 2019; both digital and print ad revenue fell — Revenue at Time Out Media was down 59% to £9m in the second half of 2020 as continued worldwide Covid-19 lockdowns …
Jon Allsop / Columbia Journalism Review:
The broadcast of Derek Chauvin's trial, allowed due to intense interest and limited physical access due to COVID, reignites debate over cameras in the courtroom — Earlier this month—with jury selection set to begin in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the white former Minneapolis police officer …
Discussion:
NPR, Mediaite, @jon_allsop, @athenacnn, USA Today, Associated Press and NBC News
Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
Dominion's suit against Fox News lists a torrent of disinformation and says the few stories that told the truth show that Fox knew it was spreading lies — Media critic — Back in December, Dominion Voting Systems warned Fox News and other spreaders of election-related conspiracy theories that lawsuits were imminent.
Discussion:
@oliverdarcy
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Linkedin launches a Creator mode, like its Influencer network but letting anyone be a creator, launches video Cover Stories, adds Service pages for freelancers — LinkedIn, the social network now with 740 million users around the world, has carved out an identity for itself as the place online …
Discussion:
@caseynewton, @lanceulanoff, The Official Microsoft Blog and ZDNet, more at Techmeme »
Brandon Katz / Observer:
LightShed Partners: SVOD subscribers will nearly double by 2024 to 1.25B from 650M at the end of 2020 — Of the 11 major legacy media and tech companies that have a direct hand in Hollywood, all but one house some sort of over-the-top (OTT) streaming service.
Discussion:
@richlightshed, @richlightshed, @richlightshed and The Streamable
High Country News:
Jennifer Sahn, formerly editor of Orion and executive editor at Pacific Standard, starts April 1 as new EIC of High Country News — Sahn will lead coverage of the Western United States as the magazine heads into its second half-century. — High Country News is happy to announce …
Discussion:
@ssteingraber1, @paigeblank, @nbj914, @kapoor_ml, @nijhuism and @ghanscom
Substack Blog:
Substack raises $65M Series B led by Andreessen Horowitz — When we started Substack to build an alternative media economy that unlocks the full potential of the internet and gives more power to writers and readers, we didn't know if the model would work. A lot of people told us that no one would pay for newsletters.
Discussion:
@sarafischer, @jammastergirish, @kantrowitz, @asymmetricinfo, @somospostpc, @chaykak, @danprimack, @andrewchen, @simonowens, @kmikeym, TechCrunch, Axios, @ericnewcomer, @jayshams, @hunterwalk, @lucas_shaw, @jason, @eoinhiggins_, Awful Announcing, @pt, The Hill, The Wrap and Axios, more at Techmeme »
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Radio and podcasting company Entercom is rebranding itself to Audacy and retiring Radio.com — After more than 50 years as Entercom Communications, the radio and podcasting company is unfurling a new banner: Effective immediately, it is changing its name to Audacy. … The company's new website is audacyinc.com.
Discussion:
Axios, @bothompsonwbt, @jason_kint, RAIN News, RadioInsight, Hot Pod News and Radio & Television …
Max Willens / Digiday:
Kantar: Medium spent <$500K on advertising in 2020; its publications asked for more marketing, but Medium couldn't make it seem like it favored its own content — For most of the past three years, Medium spared no expense producing content for its platform and its publications.
Discussion:
@simonowens and @sarahmarshall