Top News:
Hamish McKenzie / Substack Blog:
Substack announces Substack Local, a $1M initiative to help up to 30 independent writers build local subscription news outlets via a cash advance, advice, more — A panel of independent judges will work with Substack to select up to 30 local news writers to participate in the program.
Discussion:
Vox, @wongmjane, Nieman Lab, @azirulnick, @graphicmatt, Media Nation, The Hill, American Press Institute, TechCrunch, @mediaevan, @dicktofel, @mayakauf, @craigsilverman, @ubiquity75, @amywestervelt, @kateyrich, @bmorrissey, @aaronhuertas, @gordonrussell1, @travelinganna, @markstenberg3, @annehelen, @brianmrosenthal, @mattyglesias, @craigsilverman, @joshi, @mathewi, @pkafka and @sethabramson
Katie Robertson / New York Times:
Reuters is introducing a paywall: after registration and a free preview period, subscriptions will cost $34.99/month; it also plans to launch newsletters — Reuters will begin charging for access to its website as it tries to capture a slice of the digital subscription business.
Discussion:
@nytimes, The Wrap, Mediaite, Reuters, Variety, @mathewi, @jessebenn, @film_girl, Bloomberg, @dnvolz, The Hill, @kitoconnell, @mradamtaylor, @jeffjarvis, @doubleeph, @genepark, @realbengilbert, @rafat, @josephfcox, @film_girl, @owillis, @alex, @mmasnick, @jamesrbuk, @stephennellis, @alexweprin, @samir_madani, @ourobororoboruo, @selenalarson, @jenwunder, @karlbode and @fawfulfan
Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
Study: of the five values espoused by journalists, including oversight, transparency, and factuality, only factuality has the support of a majority of Americans — Ask almost any group of journalists to name the core values of their profession, and they'll probably deliver a list like this:
Mark Stenberg / Adweek:
Ziff Davis union is staging a 24-hour walkout after failing to reach a contract establishing a $65K salary floor with Ziff Davis, owner of PC Mag and others — The union represents the editorial staffs of Mashable, PC Mag, Ask Men, and Geek
Discussion:
@zdcreatorsguild, @morgan_sung, @dimeford, @jordanwminor, @realkrauswife, @markhachman, @andrewwrites and @futureboy
Cassandra Garrison / Reuters:
Televisa Univision is launching its planned streaming platform in the US and Mexico next year before expanding elsewhere in Latin America and Europe — MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Television Univision, a newly formed Spanish media venture, will launch its planned streaming platform in the United States …
Discussion:
Variety and Digital TV Europe
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Rick Porter / Hollywood Reporter:
Univision and Mexico's Televisa unveil a $4.8B deal to merge, partly financed by a $1B Series C led by SoftBank's Latin American Fund
Discussion:
@gtzarcelia, @giancarlosopo, @megjameslat, Los Angeles Times, Pink's Bottom Line on Media …, @aquinas82nd, @fidmart85, The Hill, @w7voa and FierceVideo
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
CBS, ABC, NBC, and other networks are demanding that Nielsen submit to a third-party audit, alleging it undercounted TV viewership during the pandemic — CBS, ABC, NBC and other TV networks want the company that audits their audiences every day to submit to an audit of its own.
Discussion:
Adweek and Hollywood Reporter
Sarah Scire / Nieman Lab:
A look at theguardian.org, The Guardian's US-based philanthropic arm, which raised $9M in the last year and seeks out subject-specific funding — There has been much (understandable!) handwringing over how the pandemic would affect big donor support for news organizations.
Discussion:
What's New in Publishing
Megan Greenwell / @megreenwell:
[Thread] Megan Greenwell, editor of Wired.com and former EIC of Deadspin, announces she is leaving Wired next week, saying she's drained and needs a break — Hi, some news: I'm leaving @WIRED next week. Several journalists I admire, most recently @millie and @s_m_i, have been open about leaving their jobs because of burnout. Like them, I am totally drained, and I've realized I cannot do my best work without a break.
Alex Weprin / Hollywood Reporter:
Amazon says it spent $11B on video and music content in 2020 for Amazon Prime Video and Amazon Music, up from $7.8B in 2019, as Prime passes 200M subscribers — In his final letter to Amazon shareholders, Jeff Bezos says new CEO Andy Jassy “will muster the energy needed to keep alive in us what makes us special.”
Discussion:
CNBC, Observer, @alexweprin, Insider, Engadget, @dee_bosa, The Verge and Cord Cutters News, more at Techmeme »
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Pearpop, which has built a marketplace for buying and selling TikTok collaborations among creators, has raised $16M and plans to expand to other social networks — Pearpop is turning social-media capital into real dollars — and the startup has banked $16 million to build out its marketplace …
Discussion:
Fast Company, Rolling Stone and TechCrunch
Wall Street Journal:
Sources detail how Amazon uses its power across markets to compel companies like WarnerMedia, Viacom, and AMC Networks to accept its terms — A heavyweight in retail, cloud computing, digital advertising, streaming and smart speakers, the tech giant compels vendors in one market to engage with it in others
Discussion:
@danamattioli, FierceVideo, @wsj, Beyond Search, @danamattioli, @wsj, @hawleymo and Insider
Justin Baragona / The Daily Beast:
Tucker Carlson used the J&J vaccine pause to suggest the US government knows that COVID-19 vaccines don't work but is purposely “not telling you that” — “Well, you'd hate to think that especially if you've gotten two shots but what's the other potential explanation?
Discussion:
NPR, @jesselehrich, Washington Post, Media Matters for America, @mattgertz, @vermontgmg, @jon_allsop, Today's Edition Newsletter, @mattnegrin, @davidfrum, Columbia Journalism Review, @chelseaclinton, @aravosis, @rschooley, @drkomanduri, @oliverdarcy, @patterico, @parkermolloy, @ericboehlert, @mattgertz, Washington Post, Fox News, The Hill and Mediaite
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