Mediagazer: Q&A with Maria Salazar Ferro, director of CPJ's Emergencies team, on its work to help journalists leave Afghanistan, and on its support of those who remain (Committee to Protect Journalists)

10:45 PM ET, August 29, 2021

Top News:

Profile of Robert Allbritton, son of a Houston TV mogul and now among the top media investors of the century after Axel Springer agreed to buy Politico for ~$1B — From “son of” to mogul in his own right: Robert Allbritton just became the unlikeliest winner of the new media sweepstakes.

Discussion: @benyt, @hotlinejosh, @greenhousenyt, @joshsternberg, @ron_fournier, @laurenshirsch, @jessicalessin and @john_hudson

CNBC:
Axel Springer agrees to acquire Politico, the remaining 50% share in Politico Europe, and Protocol; sources say the deal is worth around $1B

Charlotte Klein / Vanity Fair:

How Western news outlets are grappling with how to continue their Afghanistan coverage, amid a chaotic US withdrawal and the departure of many staffers — The chaotic withdrawal and ongoing security threats, along with the departure of many Western and Afghan journalists …

Discussion: @jimlaurie_asia, @juliaioffe, @miriamelder, @miriamelder, @miriamelder, @wolfe321, @fawfulfan and @lizzieblove

Committee to Protect Journalists:

Q&A with Maria Salazar Ferro, director of CPJ's Emergencies team, on its work to help journalists leave Afghanistan, and on its support of those who remain — Since Afghanistan fell under the control of the Taliban, CPJ has been deeply concerned for the safety of hundreds of local journalists and media workers.

Discussion: @pressfreedom, @pressfreedom, @jahootsen, @pressfreedom and @pressfreedom

Pulitzer Prize Office:
Pulitzer Prize Board issues special citation to honor people in Afghanistan who create and support journalism, along with a $100K emergency relief grant

Discussion: @danieljjonesus, @giacomonyt, @robertmmahoney, @joelcpj, @risj_oxford, @pulitzerprizes, @pressfreedom, @kathleencarrll and @sbg1

Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:

A look at the numbers behind Apple's reduced 15% commission for its Apple News partners, and how the changes could benefit NYT — For the vast majority of news outlets, Apple's cut of a subscription sold on an iPhone will now drop from 30% to 15%. Will that change any publishers' minds?

Discussion: Apple, @adriana_lacy, @colincornaby, Reclaim The Net, @jacknicas, @matthewstoller, TechCrunch, The Verge, @niemanlab, @mikeorren, @drbarnard, @evleaks, @jbenton, @jbenton, David Heinemeier Hansson, @jason_kint and New York Times, more at Techmeme »

Alex Sherman / CNBC:

Penske Media calls SPACs “an investor fad” as sources say it rejected eight SPAC approaches; Bustle is still pursuing a SPAC deal and Vox is considering one — - There's disagreement among digital media founders about whether or not to pursue SPACs as the market has soured.

Discussion: @sherman4949 and @sherman4949

Philip Bump / Washington Post:

By constantly engaging with Peter Doocy during press briefings, Biden and Psaki are trying to fight right-wing misinformation while getting airtime on Fox News — In a sense, Peter Doocy's arrival in the White House press briefing room has been to his employer's detriment.

Discussion: @dangillmor, @djrothkopf, The Hill, @johnjharwood and @johnjharwood

Ryan Broderick / Garbage Day:

Digital media, as a business, is broken because outlets are being SPAC'd into vague network blobs publishing the same content, not because people no longer read — Thanks for reading Garbage Day! If you subscribe, you'll get Discord access and bonus content every Thursday. And it's pretty cheap! $5 a month!

Discussion: @hkesvani, @kyurieff, contextisking.com, @pdglenn, @broderick, @derektmead, @shockleysmith, @caseynewton, @stokel, @jahhills, @markgongloff, @markgongloff and @mediaevan

Wall Street Journal:

Sources: ESPN has held talks to license its brand to sports betting companies including Caesars Entertainment and DraftKings, seeking $3B+ over several years — Sports-media giant has held talks to license its brand to sportsbooks including Caesars Entertainment and DraftKings

Discussion: @mattcareygc, @astraffon, @haralabob, @tzm_tmt, @aquinas82nd, @thekendallbaker, @stoolpresidente, @stoolpresidente, @frazierapproves, @jbarro, @nycsouthpaw, @jeremylittau, @benmullin, The Wrap, SportsHandle, MediaPost, Reuters and Front Office Sports

Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter:

How Scarlett Johansson's lawsuit against Disney could change Hollywood dealmaking and entertainment contracts, which traditionally accepted some ambiguity — In the past, a little ambiguity in entertainment contracts wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but Disney's reaction to Scarlett Johansson …

Discussion: @gracerandolph, @entlawpartners, @mtfiii, @redpenoflex, @aliaaaloha and @scarlettjo4ever

Associated Press:

Belarusian Association of Journalists forced to close in a ruling by the country's supreme court on Friday amid a crackdown including jailing of ~30 journalists — KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Belarus has ordered the closure of the country's largest independent journalists' organization …

Discussion: Committee to Protect …, @pierrecrom, @pressfreedom, @tsihanouskaya, @pressfreedom, belsat.eu and European Federation …

Brett Arends / MarketWatch:

Bari Weiss says her Substack has 14K subs paying $5/month, effectively a yearly gross revenue of $800K+, and her previous job was “really ugly” in retrospect — If you're fed up with your employer and you want to quit your job, you probably don't want to do it the way Bari Weiss did it.

Discussion: @khanyisile, @mcbyrne, @andyswan, @exavierpope, @_shamgod, @sarthakgh, @carnage4life, @bethanyshondark, @lis_smith, @quidditch424, @carpethefish, @chrismattmann, @levinejonathan, @namansour26 and @mastertimblais

Michael Harriot / The Root:

Media coverage doesn't single out the behavior of white people as a group, but does so for other races, signaling the persistence of whiteness as a default — If there's nothing wrong with discussing Black voters, Hispanic neighborhoods and Native American culture, why is the media so afraid to mention whiteness?

Discussion: @readjack, @blitz_y, @chrismessina, @alexanderrusso, @bijanstephen, @carlamurphy, @anushayhossain, @hakeemjefferson, @karenattiah, @karenattiah, @ellenbarkin and @reghud

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Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism:
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Discussion: @risj_oxford and @asadatoor

Rick Edmonds / Poynter:
McClatchy is expanding Wednesday and Sunday print editions, hiring more journalists, and improving its e-editions at the Kansas City Star and three other papers

Discussion: @jayrosen_nyu, @tequiladankc, @tequiladankc, @froomkin, @jayrosen_nyu, @froomkin, @nicdawes, @kodacohen and Media Nation

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Discussion: @alex, TechCrunch, Tubefilter, Benzinga and Social Media Today

Hanaa' Tameez / Nieman Lab:
Canopy Atlanta, a nonprofit community news project, trains local fellows and pairs them with seasoned journalists to tell stories reflecting local concerns

Discussion: @niemanlab, @marianliou, @skamidi, @rosemfrench, @skamidi and @madbair

Earlier Picks:

Daniel Garcia / AAJA Voices:
Of 73 EICs at award-winning college newsrooms in spring 2021, less than 6% were Black, ~10% were Latinx, much less than the share of the colleges' population

Liena Zagare / Bklyner:
Liena Zagare, the editor and publisher of local news site Bklyner, announces the site will stop publishing on Sept. 10; archives will remain online

Discussion: @lienazagare, @caipigliucci, @wperiyasamy, @losowsky, @lincolnrestler, @reelectnydia, @micahlasher, @walldo, @palewire, Crain's New York Business, @ericadamsfornyc, @jeffjarvis, @groushevaia, @dangillmor, @elizwgreen, @evgrieve, @sokane1, @shahanafrombk, @kyleconstable, @ndhapple, @scottbrodbeck, @harrysiegel, @benbrachfeld, @alykatzz, @rachelsilby, @koviebiakolo, @billyrichling, @loud_socialist, @agounardes, @noah_gardy, @rachelholliday, @walexandram, @mlevnews, @meganmcgibney, @andy_keatts, @supriyayelimeli, @goodiehey, @megmcgold, @radbrowndads, @sambojarski, @stevenvolynets, @nberke, @cwebcruzer, @jonahallon, @brooklyn11211, @keirarenee, @laurenveganyc, @sulliview, @salazarsenate, @eugeneresnick, @nickrizzo, @bradlander, @ayreport, @mr_berman, @kadiagoba, @jonathanrosenbr, @planetzainab, @cliffordlevy, @maggienyt, @mkkaishian, @nydiavelazquez, @michaelelsenroo, @leoniehaimson, @ckrewson and @benyt

Lindsey Ellefson / The Wrap:
Vice has another round of layoffs, and sources say the cuts affect Vice Digital and Refinery29 employees in North America, with fewer than 20 let go

Discussion: @viceunion, @maxwelltani, @__gabbymiller, @saraqdavid, @caseyjohnston, @meredithbalkus, @maxwillens, @film_girl, @kerrymflynn, @kerrymflynn, @_arianaromero, @gordonshumway, @joshhterry, @alex_abads, @themaxburns, @garywhitta, @garywhitta, bookforum.com, @brandyzadrozny, @baddestmamajama, @doctoryasmin, @kmiversen, @jesshopp, @ashleyalese, @meredithbalkus, @lacymb, @clearing_fog, @onionincunion, @conniewang, @byalexzaragoza, @thekimkavin, @claireefallon, @a_w_gordon, @a_w_gordon, @ryepastrami, @broderick, @kevincollier, @oliviamesser, @ohheyjenna, @parismartineau, @moorehn, @caseynewton, @aaschapiro, @peterslattery3, @byalexzaragoza, @the_rewm, @tatianatenreyro, @imgarysuarez, @gordonshumway, @thatwitchmia, @jorcru, @meredithbalkus, @meredithbalkus, @maxwillens, @maxwillens, @maxwillens, @ckrewson, @maxwillens, @ljmontello, @tvgrimreaper, @jordanchariton, @rynprry, @scottnover, @janusrose, @ungarino, @nkulw, @jannwolfe, @alexeheath, @panzer, @alex_norcia, @jscros, @samitsarkar, @andrewglazer, @andrewglazer, @sherman4949, @parkermolloy, @film_girl, @film_girl, @maxberger, @aaschapiro, @jessicaschulb, @grimkim, @film_girl, @aaschapiro, @sdkstl, @benyt, @thelincoln, @wagatwe, @maggieofthetown, @mcwm, @presgang, @danawollman, @carolinemoss, @parismartineau, @shanpalus, @blackamazon, @heyveronica, @grahamstarr, @lemonsand, @patbits, @mindyisser, @hannahsmothers_, @libbycwatson, @youngvulgarian, @jeremypgordon, @vincemancini, @karlbode, @annamerlan, @robzacny, @amil, @noahpasaran, @kerrymflynn and @ashleyfeinberg

Forbes:
Forbes is going public via SPAC at a valuation of $630M; the transaction is expected to close in late 2021 or early 2022

Discussion: Digiday, Talking Biz News, @rafat, @mike_federle, @jyarow, TechCrunch and @djohnson_cpa

From Techmeme:

Lee-Anne Mulholland / The Keyword:
Google files its proposed remedies in the DOJ's search antitrust lawsuit, including letting browser companies have multiple default agreements across platforms

Andrew J. Hawkins / The Verge:
The US NHTSA suggests easing rules allowing for fully driverless cars and urges companies operating driverless cars to share more data for greater transparency

Wall Street Journal:
Gina Raimondo says holding back China in the chips race is a “fool's errand”, and investment, more than export controls, will keep US ahead of Beijing

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