Mediagazer: HFPA pledges new reforms, including raising membership by 50% over next 18 months with a focus on underrepresented groups and hiring a chief diversity officer (Dominic Patten/Deadline)

7:45 AM ET, May 4, 2021

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Dominic Patten / Deadline:

HFPA pledges new reforms, including raising membership by 50% over next 18 months with a focus on underrepresented groups and hiring a chief diversity officer — Aiming to beat a self-imposed reform deadline and a Tinseltown firestorm, the board of the besieged Hollywood Foreign Press Association …

Discussion: The Guardian, The Wrap, @thewrap, IndieWire, Los Angeles Times, Hollywood Reporter and Variety

Kalina Newman / Washington Post:

A look at some TikTok creators, unaffiliated with any traditional media outlet, who are aggregating news, and delivering it to their mostly young followers — On the evening of Election Day 2020, Marcus DiPaola kept hearing the same thing: People were turning off cable news because results were coming in slowly.

Discussion: Understanding TikTok, @dianaelbasha, @kalinanewman and @shiratarlo

Meg James / Los Angeles Times:

The Los Angeles Times names Kevin Merida as its executive editor; Merida has previously been the EIC of ESPN's Undefeated — The Los Angeles Times has named veteran journalist Kevin Merida as its top editor and tasked him with transforming the storied 139-year-old newspaper into a digital powerhouse that thrives for decades to come.

Dade Hayes / Deadline:

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Benjamin Mullin / Wall Street Journal:

Sports betting media company Action Network, which has raised $20M and had ~$15M in 2020 revenue, to be sold to Denmark-based rival Better Collective for $240M — Denmark-based Better Collective to buy U.S. betting-analytics firm for $240 million, seeking more scale in dealings with gambling operators

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Alex Weprin / Hollywood Reporter:

Amazon strikes deal for exclusive rights to Thursday Night Football starting in 2022, one year earlier than first planned, buying out games set to air on Fox — Fox will drop ‘Thursday Night Football’ starting in 2022, with the tech giant set to take over exclusive video rights.

Washington Post:

WaPo integrates with text-to-speech service Amazon Polly, making audio articles available across platforms, after launching them on its iOS, Android apps — The Washington Post today announced it has integrated Amazon Polly, giving readers the ability to listen to Post technology stories across platforms.

Chris Young / The Reporters Committee …:

RCFP's 2020 US Press Freedom report: police were responsible for 80% of assaults at protests, affecting 324 reporters, with 195+ seemingly deliberately targeted — The fourth annual report reveals the startling extent of police violence against journalists during a year of protest.

Discussion: @rcfp, Twitter, @joshuahol, @uspresstracker, @spj_tweets, @froomkin, @uspresstracker, @rcfp, @elizlanders, @freedomofpress, @digiphile, @digiphile, @pressfreedom, South China Morning Post, GOV.UK and euronews

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