Top News:
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Sources: Tucker Carlson accused the NSA of spying on him after he learned US officials knew he was talking to Kremlin intermediaries to set up a Putin interview — Tucker Carlson was talking to U.S.-based Kremlin intermediaries about setting up an interview with Vladimir Putin shortly …
RELATED:
BuzzFeed News:
FOIA docs show that a Fox News producer sent a very broad FOIA request to the NSA last week seeking evidence that officials were spying on Tucker Carlson
FOIA docs show that a Fox News producer sent a very broad FOIA request to the NSA last week seeking evidence that officials were spying on Tucker Carlson
Discussion:
The Federalist, @justinbaragona, @katz_mum, @jasonleopold, @mikaelthalen, Raw Story and Gizmodo
Brian Schwartz / CNBC:
Foreign lobbying disclosures show Saudi Arabia is funding a yet-to-be-announced digital news service with a DC studio and English-language content — - Saudi Arabia is funding a digital news platform that will feature some U.S.-based media professionals as it begins a new lobbying effort aimed at the White House and Congress.
Discussion:
Washington Post
Anna Nicolaou / Financial Times:
Jonah Peretti says BuzzFeed “invested in news beyond where the revenue could support it” in 2014-2016, thinks commerce will make up 31% of revenue by 2024 — Jonah Peretti says he has learned from earlier ‘mistake’ and promises to grow in ‘sustainable way’
Discussion:
@annaknicolaou, @martinsfp, @rachaelkrishna and @jane__bradley
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Publicis Media launches the Once & For All Coalition, a multi-year effort aimed at getting advertisers to invest in minority-owned media — Publicis Media said it would launch a “multi-year” effort aimed at getting advertisers to invest more regularly in media outlets that cater to people …
Bonnie Kristian / The Week:
Trump's lawsuits that claim Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube violated his First Amendment rights are just PR and fundraising tools, and likely legally doomed — One member of this class action is not like the others — Former President Donald Trump announced himself on Wednesday …
Discussion:
Axios, Techdirt, NBC News, Raw Story, Fortt Knox, The Verge, Reason, @barbmcquade, @zoetillman, @djrothkopf, @jackischechner, @tribelaw, @mmasnick, Input, @reckless, Poynter, @jeffjarvis, @mmasnick, @jeffjarvis, @jeffjarvis, CNN, WWD, Media Matters for America, Washington Post, Vanity Fair and Vox, more at Techmeme »
James Hercher / AdExchanger:
The Trade Desk launches a demand-side dashboard, Solimar, for ad buying and a venture capital arm; its first startup investment is in Chalice Custom Algorithms — The Trade Desk's investment in Chalice is another example of the company positioning as a voice of the open internet against walled gardens.
Todd Spangler / Variety:
NFL and Twitter renew their content partnership with the NFL making a full-season commitment to produce over 20 Twitter Spaces audio chats with players — The NFL and Twitter have renewed their content partnership — which dates to 2013 — and are now kicking their collaboration into live audio.
Discussion:
NFL.com, Awful Announcing and Adweek, more at Techmeme »
Dr Richard Fletcher / Reuters Institute:
Examining differences in people's perceptions of fairness of media coverage, based on gender, age, and ethnicity in Brazil, Germany, Japan, Spain, UK, and US — Diversity is now a key priority for many newsrooms across the world. Although improving diversity has been a decades-long process …
Naomi Osaka / TIME:
Naomi Osaka says the press conference format should be less “subject v. object”, suggests allowing “sick days” where players are excused from press commitments — Naomi Osaka is a professional tennis player who will represent Japan in the upcoming Olympics.
Discussion:
The Sun, Japan Times, Sports Illustrated and @time
Marc Tracy / New York Times:
USA Today becomes the final major national daily to launch a paywall, although breaking news remains free; Gannett's digital outlets have 90M visitors per month — When USA Today was introduced nearly 40 years ago, its short articles, copious charts and detailed weather coverage were disdained …
Discussion:
USA Today, Talking Biz News, @gannett, Digiday, @peteforsyth, @nicole_carroll, @raju, @kerrymflynn, @jaytcannon, @lindsdee, @grace_hauck, @lauraftrujillo, @josh1rivera, @jilldlawrence, @jefftayloredits, @usatoday, @swapnavenugopal, @brettmmurphy, @rlocker12, @nytimesbusiness, @robertslawrence, @marcatracy, @doliver8, @gregorynyc, @kerrymflynn, Nieman Lab, Awful Announcing, Media Nation, American Press Institute, The Hill and The Wrap
Stitcher:
Stitcher releases its second annual podcasting report, and top listening hours remain from 11am to 2pm instead of during peak commuting times — What listening behaviors, show preferences and listener profiles looked like during the COVID-19 pandemic. — It's no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic …
Discussion:
RAIN News and Hollywood Reporter
Sara Fischer / Axios:
MEL Magazine will be revived after Recurrent Ventures acquires the men's health and culture outlet from Dollar Shave Club; 18 of MEL's ~24 staff will be rehired — Recurrent Ventures, a venture-equity-backed digital media company, is acquiring MEL Magazine, a men's health and culture publication, from Dollar Shave Club