Mediagazer: 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 (RTDNA)

3:30 AM ET, May 14, 2021

Top News:

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

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

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, Variety, Sports Media Watch, Awful Announcing, Chicago Sun-Times, Sportico, Cord Cutters News and Adweek

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

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

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.

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

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 — The day after Thingyan, the festival of water that marks the Burmese New Year, Win Ko Ko Aung slipped across the Burmese border into Thailand …

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

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 — In 2014, journalist Anna Codrea-Rado, publisher of Lance, pitched a story to editors at a major news outlet …

Discussion: @lennysan, @kevinhuynh, @hamishmckenzie, @substackinc, Get Together, @hamishmckenzie, @zebriez, @randybrown_, @hamishmckenzie, @blackamazon, @ewhitmore, TechCrunch and Writers' Library

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, Engadget, The Verge and The Streamable

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 — Including from Penguin-Random House, Simon & Schuster, and HarperCollins — Slate is getting into the audiobooks business.

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

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 — Pinterest is expanding into live events. The company is planning to host a three-day virtual event that will feature live-streamed sessions from top creators …

Discussion: @maxthecomrade and Engadget, more at Techmeme »

Archived Page Info:

This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 3:30 AM ET, May 14, 2021.

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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

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More News:

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 and @simonubsdell

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

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

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

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

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

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, 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, Gizmodo, Collider, The Streamable, The Wrap, Light Reading, Advanced Television, The Verge, TechCrunch, Cord Cutters News and Hollywood Reporter, more at Techmeme »

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

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

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+

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

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