Top News:
Stephen Battaglio / Los Angeles Times:
A look at the implosion of NewsNation, as Nielsen data shows it averaged 27,000 viewers in prime time during April, compared to 2.2M for Fox News and 1M for CNN — In 2020, there was nothing hotter on TV than cable news. — A bruising presidential campaign and a historic pandemic brought …
Discussion:
@rpetty, @latimes, @rachelbitecofer, @jaspar, @jayrosen_nyu, @joanespositochi, @the_moviebob, @jbenton, @rriproarin and Los Angeles Times
Sheila Dang / Reuters:
Facebook says it is giving $5M to support local journalists using its new newsletter service; candidates covering communities of color will be given priority — Facebook Inc said Thursday it will give $5 million to pay local journalists in multi-year deals as part of its new publishing platform …
Jill Goldsmith / Deadline:
Comcast Q1: Peacock has 42M signups, up from 33M in Q4 2020 with addition of The Office and WWE; NBCU income fell ~12% YoY to $1.5B, revenue down 9% YoY to $7B — NBCUniversal's streaming service Peacock had 42 million signups in the first quarter — up from the 33 million it reported three months ago …
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Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal:
The Association of National Advertisers begins search for consultants to help it better understand the flow of marketers' money in automated digital ad buying — The study will focus on billions of dollars that marketers say are unaccounted for in the automated ad-buying process, as well as other transparency concerns
Discussion:
@anamarketers, @jason_kint, MediaPost and @profcarroll
Alex Weprin / Hollywood Reporter:
Apple says it has 660M subscriptions for music, TV, and other services on its platform; Apple Q2 Services revenue hit a record $16.9B, up from $13.3B a year ago — The tech giant's overall revenue hit $89.6 billion, up 54 percent from a year prior. — Apple's services business is off to a hot start in 2021.
Discussion:
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Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Verizon Communications is exploring a sale of its media assets, including Yahoo and AOL, which could yield a price of $4B-$5B — Private-equity firms including Apollo are among possible bidders for Verizon media assets, sources say — Verizon Communications Inc. is exploring …
Discussion:
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Pew Research Center:
In first 100 days, about two-thirds of news coverage dealt with Biden's policy, while most early Trump coverage was framed around his character and leadership — About two-thirds of news coverage dealt with Biden's policy agenda, while about three-quarters of early Trump coverage was framed around leadership skills
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
UK Advertising Association: in 2020, national papers' ad revenue fell 24% YoY to £775M, regional papers' fell 35% YoY to £470M, magazines' down 29% YoY to £462M — The UK advertising market shrank by 7% (£1.8bn) last year to £25.3bn, with regional news brands …
Discussion:
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Matt Kristoffersen / The Reporters Committee …:
In a letter, media organizations urge DOJ to include law enforcement's treatment of the press in DOJ's civil rights probe into police departments in KY and MN — RCFP is urging AG Merrick Garland to “examine whether force, arrests ... have been misused to chill legitimate journalistic work.”
Alex Sherman / CNBC:
WarnerMedia will charge $9.99/month for its ad-supported tier of HBO Max debuting in June; it now charges $14.99 for the ad-free tier, same as its pay-TV add-on — - HBO Max will charge $9.99 per month for its advertising-supported streaming service, which will launch in June, sources say.
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PR Newswire:
Meredith Q3: adjusted earnings of $111M on revenue of $664.5M, down 5% YoY; digital ad revenue grew 21% YoY, licensing revenue grew 31% driven by Apple News+ — Continued Strong Double Digit Growth in Digital Advertising, Digital Consumer, and Licensing Revenues
Laura Spinney / Columbia Journalism Review:
Some publications are increasingly passing the legal risk of investigative work to freelancers with contracts requiring them to cover potential court costs — Two years before reporting on Harvey Weinstein's serial abuse spawned the global #MeToo movement, Michael Balter, a science journalist …
Discussion:
@wudanyan, American Press Institute, @revkin, @liorphillips, @cgseife, Digiday, @lfspinney, @gwill29, @thekimkavin, @lfspinney and @lfspinney