Mediagazer: TikTok has earned loyalty from the musicians on its platform by paying college tuition, providing tech support, connecting them with brands, and more (Shelly Banjo/Bloomberg)

2:15 PM ET, April 25, 2021

Top News:

Steven Perlberg / Insider:

Sources: Substack has approached NYT writers including Liz Bruenig, who was offered a $200K advance, double her salary, and Taylor Lorenz, who was offered $300K — - The New York Times is readying a newsletter push as Substack comes after top journalists. — Substack offered opinion …

Discussion: @perlberg, @stevenlevy, @lpolgreen, @mitrakalita, @samoburja, @joemccann, @sethabramson, @blackamazon, @aviwoolf, @carnage4life, @therealhoarse, Freddie deBoer, @perlberg, @nberlat, @bariweiss, @mtaibbi, @craigcalcaterra, @steakscience, @alicefromqueens, @willoremus, @swodinsky, @swodinsky, @swodinsky, @swodinsky, @danprimack, @jakebackpack, @ryanlizza, @davidsirota, @lollardfish, @eliotwb, @willoremus, @carnage4life, @ruthbenghiat, @fka_tabs, @mathewi, @lionel_trolling, @jakebackpack, @davidastinwalsh, @mathewi, @gaberivera, @mlcalderone, @mattgertz, @nickdeplume, @razibkhan, @mattyglesias, @genepark, @champagnesharks, @matthewstoller, @rkylesmith, @shoton35mm, @yashar, @seangriffey, @davidsirota, @oliverdarcy, @mathewi, @adriana_lacy, @s_m_i, @mayalau, @natsfert, @patrickmcgee_, @labuzamovies, @akaautonomy, @thrasherxy, @ggreenwald, @smc90, @keithrhernandez, @annierothnews, @jbenton, @jbenton, @ggreenwald, The Wrap, Jen the Libertarian, Mediaite and Residuum

Will Oremus / Slate:

News outlets can respond to Substack poaching their best-known opinion writers by embracing more diverse perspectives in op-ed pages and by refocusing on news — This week, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg granted a rare, live, hourlong interview to a tech journalist, where he revealed the company's plans for a slew of new audio products.

Discussion: On my Om, @om, @cwarzel, @oliverdarcy, @carnage4life, @oliverdarcy, @dabeard, @willoremus, @kegill, Insider, @andyorin, @aaschapiro, @schandur, @aaronmesh, @stevekrak, @willoremus, @janebsinger, @jayrosen_nyu, @alex, @elieraine, @blackamazon, @jmadelman, @ggreenwald, @williamturton and @elienyc

Sarah Scire / Nieman Lab:

Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma has been increasingly in demand for its newsroom training sessions on covering traumatic events and coping tactics — “We were changed by the practicalities of the pandemic. But we're also changed by a radical shift of awareness in journalism …

Discussion: @columbiajourn, @akeefe, @dartcenter, @niemanlab, @jsource, @dartcenter, @williams_paige, @niemanlab, @janebsinger, @mclarkmadison, @oliviamesser and American Press Institute

Benjamin Toff / Nieman Lab:

Reuters Institute study: trust in media is based more on feelings about news brands and how articles are presented rather than on specific editorial standards — What do people really mean when they say they do not trust the news media? And what can news organizations do to restore trust where it is deserved?

Discussion: @moniguzman, @julianelischka, reutersinstitute …, @benjamintoff, @nicoleblanchett, @risj_oxford, @emilythorson, @dragz, @jeremyreesnz, @risj_oxford, @rasmus_kleis and @niemanlab

Shelly Banjo / Bloomberg:

TikTok has earned loyalty from the musicians on its platform by paying college tuition, providing tech support, connecting them with brands, and more — When Megan Thee Stallion took off her bright orange mask and walked onstage to accept her Grammy on March 14, she fought back tears and thanked God …

Discussion: @alexosterwalder, @michaelmacleod1, @kittyonceee, @venkatananth, @shiraovide, @bw, @niranvinod, @lanceulanoff, @timsteno, @tinssoldier, @dzuidijk, @texasvc, @simonowens and TechCrunch

Michael Schneider / Variety:

As major studios and streamers increasingly turn to in-house production, a look at the independent TV production companies that have eschewed overall deals — While running NBCUniversal's boutique TV studio UCP, Dawn Olmstead thought of the company behind such shows as “Dirty John” and …

Katie Robertson / New York Times:

Profile of new NY Post EIC Keith Poole, who previously made The Sun UK's biggest online brand, as sources say he sees The Daily Mail as NY Post's main rival — Keith Poole arrived last month with plans to make the tabloid more digital. Many on his staff have yet to hear from him.

Discussion: @jimwindolf, @benyt and @katie_robertson

Jonathan O'Connell / Washington Post:

Labor Dept. found in 2019 that Alden likely mismanaged $294M of staff pensions by putting them into its own funds; Alden agreed to pull the money and pay $20.7M — Alden Global Capital admitted no wrongdoing but agreed to pull employees' pension money out of its own funds and pay them $20.7 million …

Discussion: @jcfphotog, @eileenappelbaum, @daviddebolt, @brndnpr, @thamburger, @washingtonpost, @gaufre, @ckrewson and Media Nation

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: Below the Line …, Protocol, Media Nation, Variety, TechRadar, @freedaaron, @srussolillo, The Verge, @clew_less, ScreenRant and The Wrap

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: Ad Age and Digiday

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

Matthew Kassel / Jewish Insider:

Interview with Sharon Waxman, founder and CEO of The Wrap, on streaming services dominating Oscar nominations, diversity in HFPA, and growth at The Wrap — As the streaming industry has taken off during the pandemic, The Wrap, Waxman's entertainment industry website, has grown along with it

Discussion: @matthewkassel, @sharonwaxman, @matthewkassel and @j_insider

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Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg / Wall Street Journal:
Malcolm Gladwell's new book is part of Pushkin Industries' push into being a major provider of highly produced audiobooks with original scores and archival tape

Discussion: @edborgato, @bgurley, @wsj, @pushkinpods, @david_marcelis, @jeffreyt1, @jbflint, @mediaevan and @benmullin

Taylor Lorenz / New York Times:
Allegations of harassment and exploitation, including poor remuneration, at Jake Paul's collab house point to the need for laws to safeguard child influencers

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

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Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty:
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Discussion: Meduza.io, New York Times and Reuters

Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter:
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Earlier Picks:

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

Discussion: Reuters

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

Discussion: @raju and @niemanlab

Washington Post:
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

Discussion: @jayrosen_nyu, @sfpelosi, @dceiver, @seungminkim, @authorkimberley, @laurachapin, @meredithshiner, @paulwaldman1, @jkarsh, @edbott, @clarajeffery, @sarahellison, @yashar, @jbarro and All in Her Head

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

Discussion: Digital Information World, @ddudgeon, MediaPost, CNET, TechRadar, Reuters, The Verge and About Facebook

Katie Robertson / New York Times:
NYT says it won't voluntarily recognize the NYT tech workers' union, telling it to put the effort to a formal vote through the NLRB

From Techmeme:

Andy Greenberg / Wired:
Cisco details a hacking campaign that penetrated multiple governments' networks using two zero-day flaws in its VPN and firewall Adaptive Security Appliances

Ben Glickman / Wall Street Journal:
IBM agrees to buy HashiCorp, which helps companies manage cloud infrastructure, in a deal valuing HashiCorp at $6.4B and expected to close by the end of 2024

David Pierce / The Verge:
Hands-on with the Rabbit R1: a fun and funky AI device that feels pretty nice and does a solid job with basic AI questions, but the Rabbithole app is unfinished

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