Mediagazer: Bustle Digital Group confirms it is reviving Gawker under former Gawker writer Leah Finnegan (Michael Grothaus/Fast Company)

4:00 PM ET, April 12, 2021

Top News:

Substack strikes deals with trans writers, amid claims it supports allegedly anti-trans writers and is a kind of lucrative off ramp for “cancel culture” victims — A company that makes it easy to charge for newsletters has captivated an anxious industry because it embodies larger forces and contradictions.

Discussion: Nieman Lab, @benyt, The Guardian, @ezraklein, @hunterw, @anthony, @ezraklein, @benyt, Politico, @davewiner, @kittypurrzog, @mccarthyryanj, @caseynewton, @crtejada, @seamushughes, @mattyglesias, @karaswisher, @athertonkd, One Man & His Blog, @dlind, @clairlemon, @sethamandel, @nicktagliaferro, @harrysiegel, @ggreenwald, @katienotopoulos, @taylorlorenz, Boing Boing, Connecting Thoughts, Quorum, @mattyglesias, @wolfejosh, @jamesfdennin, @jordanzakarin, @espiers, @espiers, @chrisalbon, @joshsternberg, @espiers, @lwoodhouse, @dnvolz, @lindseyadler, @benjamingoggin, @alicefromqueens, @lisatozzi, @eisingerj, @will_bunch, @bernybelvedere, @davidsirota, @jmrivera02, @davidgross_man, @taylorlorenz, @digiphile, @joshconstine, @parkermolloy, @waxpancake, @nytimes, Inkcap, @nbashaw, Sunday Snapshots, @karaswisher, @emilygould, @noonanjo, @sorayaroberts, @sarthakgh, @blgtylr, @bro_pair, @davidyelland, @lukeplunkett, @ggreenwald, @oneunderscore__, bookforum.com and The Wazzock's Review, more at Techmeme »

Charlie Warzel / Galaxy Brain:

Charlie Warzel announces he is leaving NYT Opinion to launch a new Substack called Galaxy Brain, aiming to forge a deeper relationship with readers — Why I'm leaving (The) New York (Times). — 3 hr ago — Hello! Hi! I have a new job — you're looking at it. Welcome to Galaxy Brain, my humble internet outpost.

Michael Grothaus / Fast Company:
Bustle Digital Group confirms it is reviving Gawker under former Gawker writer Leah Finnegan

Discussion: @leahfinnegan, @chaykak, @petersterne, @mcoatney, @keithpandolfi, @thousandfabrics, @kod, @leboism, @laurkrouse, @imjasondiamond, @stevekovach, @neontaster, The Wrap and @alexweprin

Benjamin Mullin / Wall Street Journal:

Vox Media says it's buying Cafe Studios Inc., which publishes podcasts including one hosted by ex-US attorney Preet Bharara; Café Studios will remain as a brand — Bharara, a former Manhattan U.S. attorney, will join Vox Media as a host and creative director

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter, Vox Media, Variety, MediaPost, @matthewkeyslive, @jayshams, @nishatjaan, The Hill, @mtmoe1, @karaswisher, @ashleyrcarman, @jason, @nwquah, @alissamarie, @preetbharara, @jbenton, @preetbharara, @yashar, @joycewhitevance, @akruglov, RAIN News, The Wrap and @mtmoe1

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:

Sources: Apple is in early stages of developing a product that combines an Apple TV with a HomePod speaker and has a FaceTime camera and smart home functions — - Company also exploring Amazon-like speaker with iPad as screen — Apple has trailed Amazon, Google in the connected home market

Mike Fleming Jr / Deadline:

Will Smith says his film Emancipation will not shoot in Georgia due to the state's new voting law; Apple bought the film last June for a reported $130M — Said star Will Smith and director Antoine Fuqua: “At this moment in time, the Nation is coming to terms with its history and is attempting …

Discussion: Variety, USA Today, Mediaite, New York Times, Insider, /Film, Rolling Stone, Forbes, The Playlist, The A.V. Club, Collider, @scottporch, @ethanbearman, @elizlanders and Just Jared

Nicholas Kulish / New York Times:

Across the US, billionaires have decided that a newspaper is an essential part of the civic fabric and are buying local papers, often with mixed results — Billionaires aren't usually cast as saviors of democracy. But one way they are winning plaudits for civic-minded endeavors is by funding the Fourth Estate.

Lukas I. Alpert / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Bainum had a side arrangement with Alden CEO Heath Freeman to buy Baltimore Sun, but made his own Tribune bid after suspecting Alden changed terms

Discussion: @jayrosen_nyu, @katerinareports, @timafranklin, @jowens510, @bangebguild, @stevedaniels27, @bgrueskin, @justingeorge, @roncharles, @ltaford and @lalpert1

Pranav Dixit / BuzzFeed News:

Reporting on tech from India “feels like having a front-row seat to the country's rapid slide into authoritarianism”, as Big Tech companies remain silent — I love writing about tech. But covering how a Hindu nationalist government is using it to destroy a secular democracy isn't what I signed up for.

Discussion: @beingmirchi, @nehapoonia, The India Cable, @nilanjanaroy, @roopalisriv, @deblebrown, @reckless, @sbengali, @pranavdixit, @shivamshankars, @carolecadwalla and TechCrunch

Kayleigh Barber / Digiday:

Vice launches an affiliate vertical called Rec Room, after a post during its six month trial led to more than 600 sales with a conversion rate of 9% — Refinery29 set the example for what a successful commerce strategy looks like at Vice Media. With that inherited foundation …

Youkyung Lee / Bloomberg:

Kakao Entertainment, the digital comic and movie unit of South Korean mobile giant Kakao, says it is considering a US IPO, seeking a valuation of $17.8B+ — - Kakao's digital comics arm seeks more than $17.8 billion value — KakaoBank and Kakao Pay are other Kakao units that could list

Discussion: @wolfofharcourt and @cestlavie9090

Edmund Lee / New York Times:

Inside a power struggle at WSJ between editor Matt Murray and publisher Almar Latour over how the paper should remake itself to attract new digital readers — A special team led by a high-level manager says Rupert Murdoch's paper must evolve to survive. But a rivalry between editor and publisher stands in the way.

Discussion: Media Nation, @edmundlee, @dmitryshishkin, @jbarro, @margotpatrick, Poynter, @ronlieber, Columbia Journalism Review, @raju, @jayrosen_nyu, @danielleiat, @nickkristof, @samhaselby, @briannawu, @knottmatthew, @mylesudland, Sree's Sunday Note, @niubi, @markberman, @davecbenoit, @karaswisher, @karaswisher, @fvogelstein, @jayrosen_nyu, @janemayernyer, @matthewstoller, @ryanchittum, @sdkstl, @tonyromm, @fenitn, @kvox, @janebsinger, @jenrossa, @jswatz, @moorehn, @krmaher, @adrianweckler, @sherman4949, @nytimes, @picardonhealth, @andreasharsono, @brianstelter, @bradleyhope, @bradleyhope, @tomgara, @edmundlee, @edmundlee, @edmundlee, @edmundlee, @edmundlee, @edmundlee, @edmundlee, @mattietk, @gorskon, @thirdwaykessler, @matinastevis, @nancook, @waltmossberg, @bakerluke, @crtejada, @iansalisbury, @lionelbarber, @raju, @batess, @davidclinchnews, @mccarthyryanj and @raju

Edmund Lee / New York Times:
A look at WSJ's internal study, The Content Review, which recommended ways for WSJ to attract new readers, specifically, women, POC, and younger professionals

Discussion: @edmundlee, @derjarjour, @edmundlee, @jbflint, @tomnamako, @cristymsilva, @cristymsilva, @cristymsilva, @tomcritchlow, @edmundlee, @edmundlee, @edmundlee, @edmundlee, @edmundlee and @edmundlee

Wall Street Journal:

Erroneously unredacted court docs reveal Google ran a secret program called “Project Bernanke” that used past bid data to boost its win rate in ad auctions — Program used past bid data to boost tech giant's win rate in advertising auctions, according to court filing

Freddy Mayhew / Press Gazette:

BuzzFeed UK had revenues of £18.9M in 2020, down from £22.4M YoY, with operating losses down 60% to £2.9M, driven by the sale of Germany and Brazil units — Buzzfeed has said the Covid-19 pandemic contributed to a 16% drop in revenues from its editions outside the US …

Discussion: @pressgazette

Clayton Davis / Variety:

In 2020 Oscar nominations, only 4 of the 23 categories had any form of Latino representation; 2021 is likely to have more Latino nominations — Rosie Perez hasn't been invited back to the Oscars since she attended the ceremony as a nominee in 1994 for “Fearless,” where she played a plane crash survivor crippled by grief.

Discussion: @ms_lizc, @dennsgonzalez, @ashkan, @anantlife, @antonionegret, @rosasreviews, @seranzoategui, @josemolinatv, @chrissiefit, @awardscircuit, @variety and @analydiamonaco

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Jim Waterson / The Guardian:
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Christopher Cadelago / Politico:
How a gamer calling themselves Kacey Montagu posed as a reporter for fictitious White House News and managed to fool journalists and the Biden administration

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Alan C. Miller / Poynter:
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