Mediagazer: Knight Foundation announces $3M initiative to help local news outlets expand AI use; it will initially fund four projects to address knowledge and skill gaps (Paul Cheung/Knight Foundation)

9:50 AM ET, May 14, 2021

Top News:

Senator Brian Schatz / U.S. Senator Brian Schatz …:

Three US senators and a US representative reintroduce the Future of Local News Act, which would create a group to study the state of local news and offer fixes — Local News Provides Important Public Service By Covering Stories That Matter To Communities, Holding Local Governments Accountable

Discussion: @cforman, @notaaroncraig and @spj_tweets

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Jeff Blackburn, an Amazon exec who recently left after two decades, is returning as SVP of Global Media and Entertainment, reporting to Bezos, then Andy Jassy — Jeff Blackburn, a former high-level Amazon exec who just recently left after more than two decades, is coming back …

Discussion: Protocol, @pkafka, @quinnypig, Deadline and The Wrap, more at Techmeme »

Paul Cheung / Knight Foundation:

Knight Foundation announces $3M initiative to help local news outlets expand AI use; it will initially fund four projects to address knowledge and skill gaps — A new, $3 million Knight initiative will help local news organizations harness the power of artificial intelligence to drive success.

Discussion: Knight Foundation, Poynter, @jenniferpreston, @partnershipai, @pcheung630, @browninstitute, @knightfdn and @dankennedy_nu

Brian Welk / The Wrap:

Sundance Film Festival will return to Utah in January 2022 for in-person events but will also remain online, after 2021's online festival saw record attendance — The Sundance Film Festival will return to Park City for 2022, setting Jan. 20-30 as the dates for next year's in-person event.

Discussion: Salt Lake Tribune, Park Record and Variety

CNBC:

Disney misses on subscriber estimates for Disney+, reaching 103.6M subscribers, below the expected 109M; revenue was $15.61B vs. $15.87B expected, down 13% YoY — - Disney reported second quarter results Thursday, posting lower-than-expected revenue and subscriber counts for its streaming service.

Jeff Kotuby / The Streamable:

ESPN renews rights deal with MLB until 2028, including ESPN+ simulcasts but not weekday games; report: the deal cost $560M/yr, down from prior deal's $700M/yr — Disney CEO Bob Chapek dropped some big news during his company's Q2 2021 call, announcing that ESPN and Major League Baseball …

Discussion: MLB.com, Sports Business Journal, @keitholbermann, Advanced Television, Sportico, Awful Announcing, Chicago Sun-Times, Variety, Sports Media Watch, Cord Cutters News and Adweek

Benjamin Wallace / New York Magazine:

Behind the online battle between notable tech figures including a16z partners and Balaji Srinivasan, and the journalists who tweet and report on the industry — Late last fall, the New York Times was preparing a bombshell article about Coinbase, a financial exchange that had become …

Discussion: @nickconfessore, @rmac18, @josheidelson, @paulbradleycarr, @cyantist, @micsolana, @markskrikorian, @mgsiegler, The Save Journalism Committee, @nbj914, @harrymccracken, @yudhanjaya, @jeffjarvis, @matthaber, @intelligencer, @riceid, @dskok and @tomgara

Taylor Hatmaker / TechCrunch:

Discord announces Stage Discovery, a tool to help people find communities through live audio events, and says it will soon test paid, ticketed audio events — If you're new to Discord, you might be thrown off by the lack of an endless feed peppered with ads.

Discussion: The Information, @chrismessina, Vincos Newsletter, @tayhatmaker, @roka371, @blitzrick, @mattnavarra, @dhof and @caseynewton, more at Techmeme »

Committee to Protect Journalists:

IDF destroyed two buildings in Gaza City housing 12+ media outlets; IDF says the buildings were targeted as sites of Hamas' intelligence and military offices — Israeli forces must refrain from bombing media outlets, and should ensure that journalists can work safely and without fear, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal:

Ad agency Dentsu has created a division aimed at helping minority-owned media businesses grow and connect with ad buyers — Veteran ad buyer Mark Prince to lead division that will consult with minority-owned media businesses and marketers seeking increasingly diverse audiences

Jill Goldsmith / Deadline:

Amazon signs multi-year deal with the WNBA giving Prime Video exclusive global streaming rights to 16 regular season games and the Commissioner's Cup game — Amazon and the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) announced a multi-year agreement giving Prime Video exclusive global streaming rights …

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter, Front Office Sports, WNBA.com, @caiti326, @ramonashelburne, Awful Announcing, The Verge, Engadget and The Streamable

RTDNA:

Among 1,762 non-satellite TV stations, a record 1,116 aired local news in 2020, up 18 from the 2019 high; 29.3% report budget cuts vs. 9.1% in 2019 — Graphics credits: Talia Nikole Trackim / Syracuse University … TV — Despite facing revenue shortfalls, budget cuts …

Discussion: The Streamable and Poynter

Archived Page Info:

This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 9:50 AM ET, May 14, 2021.

View the current page or another snapshot:

Who's Hiring in Media?

Commissioning Editor - Practical Law — Reuters

Energy Markets Reporter, London — WSJ

Oil Reporter, Singapore — Bloomberg

Newsperson - State Govt. & Politics, CA — AP

Business Reporter, SC — Post & Courier

State Government Reporter, WA — Seattle Times

Climate Crisis Columnist — Prospect UK

Multimedia Journalist, CA — Paramount

Community Engagement Mgr., DC — Freedom Forum

Staff Writer - Business, NY — WIRED

Editor, MA — Nieman Reports

Team Editor - Breaking News, ON — Toronto Star

Senior Reporter & Event Host, NY/CA — Newcomer

Climate & Weather Reporter, MN — Star Tribune

Senior Tech Editor, Remote US — The Verge

News Reporter, MA — Berkshire Eagle

Multimedia Journalist, PA — Observer-Reporter

Managing Editor, WA — Everett Herald

Private Credit Reporter, NY — Debtwire

Legislative Reporter, CA — Sacramento Bee

Reporter, PA — Tribune-Review

Visual Editor, Remote — Rest of World

Staff Writer, MI — Watershed Voice

California Playbook Writer, CA — Politico

Senior Media Editor — Digiday

National Investigative Reporter, NY — HuffPost

Business & Gaming Reporter, NV — Las Vegas Sun

Coastal Climate Reporter, SC — Island Packet

Environment & Energy Reporter, CT — CT Mirror

Coordinating Editor, OR — OPB

Staff Reporter, CA — Daily Kos

Data Editor, NY — ProPublica

Editor-in-Chief, AZ — Phoenix New Times

Add your company here

See Also:

Mediagazer: site main

Mediagazer River: reverse chronological Mediagazer

Mediagazer Mobile: for phones

Mediagazer Leaderboard: Mediagazer's top sources

Subscribe:

Mediagazer RSS feed

Mediagazer on X

Mediagazer on Mastodon

More News:

Peter Guest / Rest of World:
After sweeping up politicians and dissidents, Myanmar's junta is targeting digital media figures and online creators, many of whom have fled or been jailed

Discussion: @kyawhsanhlaing1, @kenroth, @womenofburma and @restofworld

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Pinterest says it will test livestreaming events this month through a three-day virtual event featuring sessions with around 21 top creators

Discussion: Ad Age, @maxthecomrade and Engadget, more at Techmeme »

Hamish McKenzie / Substack Blog:
Substack acquires People & Company, which focuses on community building, to expand its support infrastructure for writers, including workshops and legal support

Discussion: One Man & His Blog, @lennysan, @kevinhuynh, @hamishmckenzie, @substackinc, @hamishmckenzie, @zebriez, @randybrown_, @hamishmckenzie, @blackamazon, @ewhitmore, Get Together, TechCrunch and Writers' Library

Lanre Bakare / The Guardian:
UK's Channel 4, commercially funded but owned by the government, could be privatized in the next three years, the British culture secretary says

Discussion: @ali4bs, @dianehain, @matt_walsh and @simonubsdell

Ashley Carman / The Verge:
Slate launches an audiobook store, partnering with Penguin-Random House, Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, and Hachette, with titles accessible via podcast apps

Discussion: @evoterra, @ashleyrcarman, Hot Pod News, Podcast Movement and Slate

Richard Lawler / Engadget:
Vizio says Q1 profits from its Platform+ business, which sells viewer data and ad space, hit $38.4M, up 152% YoY; profit from its hardware division was $48.2M

Discussion: @jwgoerlich, @kylerankin, @benlikestocode, @samfbiddle, @joshbloch, @karlbode and Ars Technica

Earlier Picks:

Reuters:
A reporter covering protests against Myanmar coup has been jailed for three years for “incitement”, among the first guilty verdicts against media by the junta

Discussion: Reuters, Japan Times, Committee to Protect … and Associated Press

TikTok:
TikTok launches #FactCheckYourFeed, a media literacy campaign with creators and public figures discussing recognizing fake news, balanced news diets, and more

Discussion: @pressgazette

Todd Spangler / Variety:
Roku will debut Roku Originals on the Roku Channel on May 20, starting with 30 Quibi shows

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, @scott_tobias, Android Central, Collider, Gizmodo, The Streamable, The Wrap, Light Reading, Advanced Television, The Verge, TechCrunch, Cord Cutters News and Hollywood Reporter

John General / CNN:
Profile of DeShuna Spencer, who founded the streaming service kweliTV in 2015 to focus on Black stories; kweliTV now has 43,000 users despite lack of VC funding

Discussion: @deshuna

A.D. Amorosi / Variety:
Podcaster Joe Budden fires his co-hosts Rory Farrell and Jamil “Mal” Clay, and the future of his eponymous six-year-old show appears uncertain

Discussion: HipHopDX News, @joebudden, @joebudden, @joebudden, Complex, The Wrap and New York Post

From Techmeme:

Emma Roth / The Verge:
Mark Zuckerberg says Threads is testing custom feeds for certain profiles or topics; the Threads' version seems easier to use than Bluesky's custom feeds

Jibin Joseph / PCMag:
UK mobile operator Virgin Media O2 creates Daisy, an AI-generated “scambaiter” tool that mimics the voice of an elderly woman to waste scammers' time

Financial Times:
Sources: xAI raised $5B at a $45B valuation, almost double its valuation a few months ago; SpaceX prepares a tender offer that would value the company at $250B+

Sister Sites:

Techmeme
Top news and commentary for technology's leaders, from all around the web

memeorandum
What US political commentators are discussing online right now

WeSmirch
The top celebrity news from all around the web on a single page