Mediagazer: Following conversations with Black-owned media outlets, GM will hold a dedicated upfront with BIPOC-owned and -targeted media outlets (Jeanine Poggi/Ad Age)

Top News:

Some staff at a think tank called No Labels have objected to its hiring of Mark Halperin, fired in 2017 by NBC and MSNBC after accusations of sexual misconduct — A nonpartisan political organization is facing blowback from its employees after hiring journalist Mark Halperin …

Discussion: @jayrosen_nyu, Talking Points Memo, @seungminkim, @dceiver, @sarahellison, @authorkimberley, @laurachapin, @meredithshiner, @paulwaldman1, @yashar, @sfpelosi, @jbarro, @jkarsh, @edbott and @clarajeffery

Anne Steele / Wall Street Journal:

Sources: Spotify to announce an Apple Podcasts Subscriptions competitor next week that will let podcasters set prices without charging them or taking a cut — Podcasts exploded in popularity during the lockdown and are on track to bring in more than $1 billion in U.S. ad revenue this year

Discussion: Variety, ScreenRant, The Wrap, The Verge, @clew_less, MacRumors, 9to5Mac and AppleInsider, more at Techmeme »

Kate Kaye / Digiday:

NYT says that, unlike WaPo, it won't be using cookie-replacing tech like Unified ID 2.0 and is instead interested in exploring contextual ad targeting — As other publishers kick the tires on identity technologies designed to replace third-party cookies, The New York Times is ruling them out.

Discussion: @petersontee and MediaPost

Megan Graham / CNBC:

Disney says it's sold out of ad inventory for the Oscars on Sunday despite falling ratings; Kantar: a 30-second spot in 2020 was $2.15 million, up 9% from 2019 — - Disney Advertising Sales said it's sold all ad inventory for the 93rd Oscars telecast on Sunday.

Discussion: New York Times, MediaPost, Ad Age and Digiday

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty:

Russia labels Latvia-based independent Russian-language news outlet Meduza as a foreign agent: it will have to label itself as such and be subject to scrutiny — The Russian government has designated the Latvia-based independent Meduza news outlet as a foreign agent …

Discussion: Meduza.io and Reuters

Jeanine Poggi / Ad Age:

Following conversations with Black-owned media outlets, GM will hold a dedicated upfront with BIPOC-owned and -targeted media outlets — Plans include hosting diverse media upfront and creating a $50 million incubation fund — General Motors is revamping its model for working with diverse-owned …

Discussion: Variety

Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter:

Federal judge rejects motion to dismiss a lawsuit against Apple that alleges the “Buy” option in iTunes is deceptive as Apple can still terminate access — Rejecting a motion to dismiss, a federal judge says it is plausible that consumers don't know that access to purchased content can be revoked.

Discussion: Ars Technica, @alandesmet, @benimated, @calebaborchers, The Verge, 9to5Mac, The A.V. Club, AppleInsider, MediaPost and /Film, more at Techmeme »

Ashley Carman / The Verge:

Instagram says it's going to start testing ads in Reels in India, Brazil, Germany, and Australia before expanding to other countries — Plus a test of Sticker ads — Instagram puts ads just about everywhere in its app, and now, they're coming to Reels. The company says today it'll start testing ads …

Discussion: Reuters, more at Techmeme »

Allissa V. Richardson / Vox:

TV news outlets should be fined under the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act for airing fatal police shootings, footage that doesn't deserve casual viewing — What's the purpose of sharing violent police videos anymore, other than to traumatize Black communities? — George Floyd cried out for his mother in his final moments.

Discussion: Fast Company, Columbia Journalism Review, @jamilsmith, @cbcsteve, @bkcharvard and The Undefeated

Mark Stenberg / Adweek:

FT's digital subscriptions grew 6% YoY in 2020 to 960K; it also has 140K print subscribers and a 150-person team for subscriber acquisition and retention — After a windfall year of subscriber acquisitions, the Financial Times has found itself in the enviable position of needing to solve …

Discussion: @niemanlab, @raju and Simon Owens's Media Newsletter

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Facebook launches a series of global News Feed ranking tests to solicit user feedback on posts they're seeing and what posts users find valuable — Facebook may be reconfiguring its News Feed algorithms. After being grilled by lawmakers about the role that Facebook played in the attack …

Discussion: About Facebook, @ddudgeon, CNET, TechRadar, Reuters, The Verge, Social Media Today, 9to5Mac and Nieman Lab, more at Techmeme »

Nieman Lab:

A study based on interviews with 488 readers in the US and four other countries explores why people still get print newspapers, including to fire up the grill — The persistence of print — and why it matters — In a digital era dominated by mobile and social media, why do people still get print newspapers?

Discussion: @aboutmattlaw, @hkingsmores, @billadairduke, @dankennedy_nu, @c_gorski, @laurahazardowen, @kevinokeefe and @laurahazardowen