Mediagazer: The Intercept says it stands behind reporter Mara Hvistendahl and her reporting on Oracle's ties with China, and condemns “bullying” by Oracle EVP Ken Glueck (The Intercept)

10:15 PM ET, April 30, 2021

Top News:

EU charges Apple with antitrust violations, alleging it squeezed rival music streaming apps by requiring them to use Apple's in-app payments system — EU accuses Apple of forcing many apps to use its in-app payment system on which it takes commissions, saying it ‘distorted competition’ in music streaming

Chris Welch / The Verge:

Roku has removed YouTube TV from its channel store after Roku and Google failed to come to a distribution agreement; existing users will continue to have access — If you've already got the app, be careful not to delete it — Roku has pulled YouTube TV from its channel store.

Bente Birkeland / Colorado Public Radio:

Newsmax settles with a Dominion Voting Systems staffer after airing false claims of voting machine manipulation, issuing an apology; the staffer dropped suit — The far-right media outlet Newsmax, which amplified former President Trump's false allegations of election rigging and widespread voter fraud …

Discussion: Mediaite, Insider, The Hill, The Wrap, Washington Post, @kimmasters, RSS Daily News, Forbes, Associated Press, @mastersonmv, @billchristeson, @mattcrane_, @markos, @votinggeek, @cprnews, Law & Crime and @bentebirkeland

Gerry Smith / Bloomberg:

Source: Stewart Bainum offers to double his stake to $200M in a bid for Tribune and would tap $100M in debt financing; he seeks a partner to buy Chicago paper — - Stewart Bainum offers to include $200 million of his own money — Bid partner Hansjoerg Wyss dropped out of an earlier proposal

Discussion: @davidfolkenflik, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, @harrysiegel, @jenwsheehan, @stevenkjohnson, @ctguild, @agrimm34, @missryley, @zoegalland, @royalpratt, @ndhapple, @hopnotes, @lat_iliana, @jkbjournalist, @jayrosen_nyu, @froomkin and @davidfolkenflik

Julie Reynolds / DFM Workers:
Alden has said it will pay $375M to buy remaining Tribune shares, but its financial issues indicate it may force Tribune to take on debt to finance the purchase

Discussion: @realbankreform, @lillianereed, @theoreticalb, @darrendcarroll, @darrendcarroll, @ctguild, @mcallguild and @darrendcarroll

Dorany Pineda / Los Angeles Times:

Joshua Wolf Shenk resigns as EIC of The Believer magazine and from Black Mountain Institute posts, saying he made a dumb choice about attire for a Zoom meeting — Joshua Wolf Shenk, author of the books “Lincoln's Melancholy” and “Powers of Two,” has resigned from his positions as editor …

Amanda Meade / The Guardian:

In Australia, 20+ News Corp regional newspaper sites have been merged with city papers, putting local papers' content behind a paywall on the metro paper's site — Local websites absorbed by the Daily Telegraph and Courier-Mail in what it calls ‘world-class, hyperlocal news technology’

Discussion: @mrkrudd, @awelder, @mrkrudd, @manjusrii, @davispg, @pilhofer, @mrkrudd, @aushiker, @wheatwatcher and @mrkrudd

The Intercept:

The Intercept says it stands behind reporter Mara Hvistendahl and her reporting on Oracle's ties with China, and condemns “bullying” by Oracle EVP Ken Glueck — Editor's Note: In response to The Intercept's recent coverage of Oracle, the company's executive vice president …

Discussion: @aaschapiro, @tracyweber, @marahvistendahl, @marahvistendahl, @bigblackjacobin, @marahvistendahl, @aaschapiro, @marahvistendahl, @marahvistendahl, @craigcalcaterra, @kimzetter, @theintercept, @marahvistendahl, @eisingerj, @mdraznin, @marahvistendahl, @pathedger18 and @a_greenberg

Max Seddon / Financial Times:

Russia designating Meduza as a foreign agent may spell the end of independent journalism in the country; its editor says new restrictions may force it to close — Independent news site designated ‘foreign agent’ as Russian government puts pressure on journalists

Discussion: @stewartmcdonald, @risj_oxford, @meduza_en, @mccarthyryanj, @alexey__kovalev, @polinaivanovva, @raju, @maxseddon and @meduza_en

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Nine ViacomCBS networks, including Comedy Central and MTV, are now available on Hulu + Live TV, four years after Hulu launched the service — Starting Friday (April 30), nine ViacomCBS networks will be available on Hulu + Live TV: Comedy Central, BET, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., VH1, CMT, MTV, TV Land and Paramount Network.

Discussion: Gizmodo, The Streamable, The Desk, The Verge, TV Technology, Cord Cutters News, Engadget and Media Play News

David Pierce / Protocol:

ByteDance announces that its CFO Shouzi Chew will now also become the CEO of TikTok; TikTok's interim CEO Vanessa Pappas will be TikTok's COO — Shouzi Chew, the CFO of ByteDance, got a new job title on Friday: CEO of TikTok. Vanessa Pappas, who's been running the company …

Discussion: TikTok, The Wrap, Variety, Los Angeles Times, @loudmouthjulia, Daily Herald, @pierce, Tubefilter, Bloomberg, @jessicalessin, Adweek, TechCrunch and Engadget, more at Techmeme »

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Jeff Bezos says Prime Video streaming hours are up over 70% YoY, with more than 175M Prime members having streamed TV shows and movies in the past year — Amazon knocked the cover off the ball again in the first quarter of 2021 — and released a new data point: More than 175 million Prime members …

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter, IGN India, Today in Digital Marketing, MediaPost, MediaNama, CNBC, Amazon Inc., Ad Age, Quartz, @ukonwaojo, @xpangler, ZDNet, Deadline, IndieWire, The Verge, The Streamable and The Wrap

Megan Graham / CNBC:
Amazon says its “other” unit, comprised mostly of advertising, had Q1 revenue of $6.9B+, up 77% YoY, beating expectations and up from 44% YoY growth in Q1 2020

Discussion: Fast Company, Breitbart, @nolanantonucci and AdExchanger

Iris Chyi:

Study on COVID-19's impact on 20 US newspapers: digital subscriptions grew 64% between 2019 and Q3'20, print fell 21%, and the median digital sub was $181/year — What happens When Digital Transformation Finally Works — A persistent problem facing U.S. newspapers is users' lukewarm response to their digital offerings.

Discussion: @mikelizun and @dw_grant

Keith J. Kelly / New York Post:

WNYC lays off 14 staff members, including Gothamist EIC, saying a 27% plunge in sponsorship funding during the pandemic had left it with “a sizeable deficit” — Three years after being rescued by listener-supported WNYC radio, NYC-focused website Gothamist suffered a jolting round …

Discussion: @johndelsignore, @carolinedraws, @carolinedraws, @traciehunte, @wperiyasamy, @jangelooff, @stu_rush, @wyszniewski, @wyszniewski, @jangelooff, @annietodd96, @ryeh, Current, @joshnathankazis, @christrobbins and @gwynnefitz

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Energy & Commodities Editor, Tokyo — Bloomberg

Politics Reporter, TX — Texas Tribune

Consumer Brands Reporter, GA — AJC

Deputy Editor - Health Care, VA — Politico

Product Editor, CA — CalMatters

Indigenous Affairs Editor, Sydney — Guardian US

China Markets Correspondent, Shanghai — Reuters

Bangor Reporter, ME — Bangor Daily News

Commerce Editor - Health, Remote US — Yahoo

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More News:

Keith J. Kelly / New York Post:
WWD reporter Kali Hays was let go, sources say because she refused to delete a document where staff discussed newsroom issues, including lack of diversity

Discussion: @jeremymbarr

Bloomberg:
Endeavor, owner of UFC and WME, rose 5% in its trading debut after raising $511M in its IPO; shares opened at $24 and closed at $25.20

Discussion: @crystalttc, Variety, Los Angeles Times, @heidi_chung, Fast Company, Business Wire, MMA Fighting, The Wrap, New York Post, Insider and Deadline

Ina Fried / Axios:
Coalition of groups including Pen America, EFF, and more call on Biden to form a task force to combat deliberate disinformation without limiting free expression

Discussion: Breitbart, @alanmillernlp, @rossgarber, @blackamazon, @blackamazon, @jillgeisler, @jenniferm_q, @cendemtech and @oliverdarcy

Earlier Picks:

Reuters:
Sources: Forbes Media, bought by Integrated Whale Media in 2014, is in talks to go public via merger with a SPAC; it also is taking bids from private investors

Discussion: @kenli729, @tomgara, @rafat, @readkrystalhu, @bmorrissey, @jyarow, @bmorrissey and Talking Biz News

@usatoday_pr:
[Thread] In a letter, Gannett disputes specific wage and demographic data shared by the NewsGuild after a study of 14 unionized Gannett newsrooms

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

From Techmeme:

Sara Fischer / Axios:
Meta adds Dina Powell McCormick, who served as deputy national security adviser to Trump in his first term, and Stripe CEO Patrick Collison to its board

Financial Times:
Sources: Ilya Sutskever's Safe Superintelligence raised $2B led by Greenoaks at a $32B valuation; SSI last raised $1B at a $5B valuation in September 2024

Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Binance asked the US Treasury last month to loosen oversight on its AML compliance, after Binance entered into deal talks with Trump's crypto venture

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