Top News:
The Daily Beast:
Sources: Rachel Maddow, intrigued by streaming and podcasting opportunities, is considering leaving MSNBC when her contract ends early next year — As her contract draws to a close, sources told The Daily Beast, the MSNBC icon has been weighing taking her brand elsewhere.
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Sara Fischer / Axios:
The New York Times is launching seven subscriber-only opinion newsletters and making 11 other existing newsletters exclusive to subscribers beginning August 16 — The New York Times is rolling out a slew of new, subscriber-only newsletters from news and opinion writers.
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Drew Harwell / Washington Post:
Right-wing video platform Rumble is paying some media personalities, including Glenn Greenwald, to post videos to its site with a two-hour exclusivity window — The video site has exploded during the pandemic as a home for anti-vaccine misinformation and conservative complaints about Big Tech censorship
Mike Isaac / New York Times:
Reddit raises $410M+ led by Fidelity Investments at a $10B+ valuation, up from $6B six months ago when it raised $250M; the new round could reach $700M — Reddit, the virtual town square of the consumer internet, has raised a fresh $410 million in funding, valuing it at more than $10 billion, the company said on Thursday.
Discussion:
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Reuters:
A Philippine court dismisses a libel case against Rappler CEO Maria Ressa; the case is one of several against Ressa, who calls the suits a harassment campaign — A Philippine court has dismissed a libel case against Maria Ressa, a lawyer said on Thursday, one of several lawsuits filed …
Rachel Abrams / New York Times:
Profile of former National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard, who runs Grazia USA, bought OK Magazine's website and Radar Online, and has signed a podcasting deal — Dylan Howard, known for the “catch and kill” deals during the #MeToo reckoning, teams up with an Italian publisher for a publication aimed at the Hamptons crowd.
Discussion:
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Kayleigh Barber / Digiday:
Reader's Digest parent company Trusted Media Brands acquires Jukin Media, which buys and licenses user-generated videos, to help build out its video business — Trusted Media Brands the publisher of Taste of Home, Reader's Digest and Family Handyman, today announced it has acquired Jukin Media …
Discussion:
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Andrew Deck / Rest of World:
As Substack expands abroad, writers say it needs local payment options and customer service in other languages; some worry about legal support in hostile states — From India to Brazil, Substack is awarding grants and lending journalists editorial resources. How far will that support really go?
CNBC:
Snap creators say they are leaving Snapchat's Spotlight feature as payments have dried up after June 1, with some moving to YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok — - Creators say they're leaving Snapchat's Spotlight feature after payments on the service had dried up.
Discussion:
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Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Nielsen announces it is putting its Media Ratings Council accreditation on hiatus as it faces pressure from the TV industry for undercounting viewers — Nielsen said it would move forward without the backing of the media industry's Media Rating Council, the latest eyebrow-raising maneuver …
Discussion:
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Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:
Q&A with Center for Public Integrity's new CEO Paul Cheung and EIC Matt DeRienzo on CPI's plans for a membership program, diversified revenue strategy, and more — “I'm not worried about the journalism. But if you don't have the business and technical infrastructure to support the journalism, then it's just not going to thrive."
Joseph Cox / VICE:
Google bans location data company SafeGraph, which collects Android app data that NYT used last year to show where people spent their time after lockdowns — SafeGraph sells smartphone location data to essentially anyone. Google banned the company in June. — Joseph Cox
Discussion:
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