Mediagazer: 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% (Kayleigh Barber/Digiday)

5:45 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, @katienotopoulos, The Guardian, Mediaite, Where's Your Ed At, @hunterw, @anthony, @benyt, @ezraklein, @ezraklein, 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, @karaswisher, @emilygould, @noonanjo, @sorayaroberts, @mathewi, @sarthakgh, @blgtylr, @bro_pair, @davidyelland, @lukeplunkett, @ggreenwald, @oneunderscore__, Sunday Snapshots, bookforum.com, The Wazzock's Review and Wild West, 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 — Over the weekend The New York Times published an interesting read by Ben Smith on the rise of Substack and its effect on the publishing industry. Yet buried deep in the piece was another little gem …

Discussion: MediaPost, @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

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

Oliver Darcy / CNN:

In a letter, Lachlan Murdoch dismisses ADL complaint and claims a review of Tucker Carlson's comments found Carlson “decried and rejected replacement theory” — New York (CNN Business)Fox Corporation chief executive Lachlan Murdoch dismissed the Anti-Defamation League's demand …

Discussion: @adl, @rochadietz, @davidfolkenflik, @ericboehlert, @mattgertz, @vivian, @oliverdarcy, @pbump, @pbump, @wkamaubell and @digiphile

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

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 …

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

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

Daniel Tilles / Notes From Poland:

Polish court suspends state oil giant Orlen's purchase of hundreds of local media outlets, as it considers competition watchdog's authorization of the takeover — A court in Poland has suspended the purchase of hundreds of local newspapers and websites by state oil giant Orlen.

Discussion: @globalfreemedia, @notesfrompoland and Balkan Insight

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

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

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.

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

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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

Discussion: @pressgazette

Jim Waterson / The Guardian:
Sources: a record ~110K viewers complained about BBC coverage of Prince Philip's death; 116 complained that BBC is making it too easy to complain about coverage

Discussion: The Daily Beast, @jaspjackson, @ascottreid, @scottygb, @jimwaterson, @lizsly, @tinabop29, @lauraph222, @ianvisits, @claire_phipps and The Guardian

Bloomberg:
Sources: Ofcom chair shortlist includes former UK culture secretary Ed Vaizey, former Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre, and others

Discussion: @jasminedotiwala

Rebecca Ratcliffe / The Guardian:
Cambodia condemns Vice for publishing colorized victims of the Khmer Rouge genocide, with some apparently edited to add smiles to the victims' faces

Discussion: @vinkjohn, @theycallmelyd, Hong Kong Free Press HKFP, @williamcson, @whoresofyore, @rob_hoffman, @williamcson and Boing Boing

Yuan Yang / Financial Times:
Sources: Tencent Music, a joint venture with Spotify, gave up some licensing deals in recent months as it prepares for a Chinese antitrust investigation

Discussion: New York Times and @andreaslandwehr

Earlier Picks:

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

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

Priya Sippy / Rest of World:
Tanzania's late president limited broadcasters' political coverage and revoked newspapers' licenses; activists hope his successor restores their digital rights

Discussion: @yinkawrites, @mvzelenks and @rasmus_kleis

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

Discussion: @mathewi, Public Sphere, Mashable, @mrtegdif, @isavage_pi, @kennerly, @evandonovan, @mikebarnicle, New York Post, @emilcdc, @nycsouthpaw, @nycsouthpaw, @secmontagu, @anthony and @mattzeitlin

Alan C. Miller / Poynter:
An interview with Emily Ramshaw, co-founder and CEO of The 19th, after the outlet's first year: it has ~10K subscribers and a 2021 budget 50% higher than 2020's

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

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Donald Trump announces that Sriram Krishnan, until recently a general partner at a16z, will serve as senior policy advisor for AI at the White House OSTP

Financial Times:
Sources: Palantir and Anduril are in talks with OpenAI, SpaceX, and more to form a consortium to bid for US defense contracts and plan to announce it in January

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