Top News:
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Vox Media is buying Hot Pod to make it The Verge's first paid subscription product; Ashley Carman will replace Nick Quah, who launched the podcasting newsletter — Vox Media is acquiring Hot Pod, the independent news outlet focused on the podcasting industry, as part of a bid to expand offerings from its technology site, The Verge.
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, @markstenberg3, Axios, @bristei, New York Magazine, Hot Pod News, RAIN News, @nwquah, @ashleyrcarman, @austin_rief, @nwquah, @xpangler, @jamescridland, @ashleyrcarman, @reckless, @caleweissman and @lucas_shaw
Amanda Meade / The Guardian:
At a Senate hearing, Sky News Australia CEO says it “self-censored” 18 videos about COVID-19 to avoid a permanent YouTube ban, denies broadcasting Covid misinfo — CEO Paul Whittaker also tells media diversity inquiry Sky News Australia does not deny climate change, and accepts it is happening
Discussion:
Sydney Morning Herald, New York Times, Insider, Vanity Fair, @ketanj0, @michaelemann, @wendy_harmer, @lesstonehouse, SBS News, @jayrosen_nyu, @nytmedia, @turnbullmalcolm, @pt, @jftaveira1993, @mikecarlton01, @markdistef, @murpharoo, @davidfolkenflik, @zerowastechef, @natecochrane, @mrkrudd, The Hill, @rmac18, @rasmus_kleis, @jayrosen_nyu, @edmundlee, @dana1981, @damiencave, @mikecarlton01, @summersanne, @stephenjonesmp, @danawollman, @leohickman, Brisbane Times, Sky News Australia and Mumbrella
Tom Ley / Defector:
One year in, Defector has 40K+ paying subscribers, 23 full-time employees, and about $3.2M in revenue, roughly 95% of which comes from subscribers — This week marks one year since the lights here at Defector flickered on and we began publishing blogs. The question that you were probably asking during …
Ben Smith / New York Times:
As Gawker reboots, with its former features editor Leah Finnegan at the helm, it promises to no longer seek out articles that are “sanctimonious” or “cruel” — “I'm not interested in ruining people's lives,” says its top editor, Leah Finnegan, who once insulted a baby in a headline.
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Hulu is raising the prices of its two on-demand plans by $1/month on October 8; Hulu with ads will now cost $6.99/month and Hulu without ads will cost $12.99 — On Tuesday, Hulu began notifying subscribers that as of Oct. 8, the price of Hulu's two on-demand plans — with ads and without commercials …
Discussion:
SlashFilm, Insider, MediaPost, The Wrap, Hollywood Reporter, The Streamable, TechCrunch, CNBC, The Desk, 9to5Mac, Decider, FierceVideo and Cord Cutters News, more at Techmeme »
Kate Kaye / Digiday:
Salon turns off comments after finding less than 0.5% of its ~10M MAUs used them, and says its newsletter open rate rose from 16% to 32% over the last 6 months — It was especially notable when one post this week on Salon, the site named after the practice of gathering for intellectual discussion, had no comments.
Discussion:
Salon and @katekayereports
Lorenzo Reyes / USA Today:
Gannett launches USA Today Sports+, a digital subscription product with reporting, interactive features, and sports betting content, in seven markets — Gannett Co., the parent company of USA TODAY, announced the launch of USA TODAY Sports+, a new, premium digital subscription product …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Editor and Publisher, @elgazzarblvd, @gannett, @golfweek, @chrismsutcliffe, @injuryexpert, @usatodaysports and @raysototech
Jim Waterson / The Guardian:
Fran Unsworth, BBC veteran and director of news since 2018, will leave amid worsening relations with the government and internal fights over a staff reorg — Exit likely to set off competitive and politicised recruitment process to find replacement at corporation
Discussion:
Variety, The Guardian, @jimwaterson, @dafydd_62, @shivanidave, The Independent, BBC, Press Gazette, @ian_fraser, @sophiasgaler, BBC, Guido Fawkes, @stewartcadman, @cden128, @dannyshawnews, @nick_miles_, @jimwaterson and City A.M.
New York Times:
Comscore data shows North American theaters sold about $2.2B in tickets so far in 2021, compared with $7.8B for the same period in 2019 — With box office numbers way down in the pandemic and streaming numbers hard to come by, the film industry is often unable to determine whether a movie is a hit or a miss.
Discussion:
The A.V. Club, @nytimesbusiness, @hamrahrama, @johannadc, @ennisnyt and @goldman
ProPublica:
WhatsApp data helped prosecutors build a case against whistleblower May Edwards that cited hundreds of “encrypted” messages between her and a BuzzFeed reporter — When Mark Zuckerberg unveiled a new “privacy-focused vision” for Facebook in March 2019, he cited the company's global messaging service, WhatsApp, as a model.
Discussion:
Gizmodo, New York Post, @janelytv, Insider, @brendannyhan, @knowtheory, @evacide, @davidfolkenflik, @danielschuman, @rmac18, @tomgara, @propublica and 9to5Mac, more at Techmeme »
Douglas Busvine / Reuters:
Roku is launching its streaming devices in Germany, its second big European rollout after the UK, where it was a software partner to smart TV maker Hisense — BERLIN, Sept 6 (Reuters) - (This Sept. 6 story corrects final paragraph on UK pricing of Roku player)
Discussion:
Digital TV Europe and Light Reading
Drew Holden / @drewholden360:
[Thread] Rolling Stone's story claiming ivermectin overdoses clogged Oklahoma hospitals was poorly sourced and wrong, but Insider, Maddow, and more picked it up — 🧵THREAD🧵 We've got to talk about the Rolling Stone invermectin article. Turns out the story about rural hospitals so flooded with ODs that they couldn't treat other patients was made up, entirely invented. A lot of people took the bait, and I've got the screenshots.⤵️
Discussion:
Gawker, @ddale8, @ddale8, @jholmsted, @ddale8, @msignorile, @redsteeze, @ddale8, @mediaite, @kayleighmcenany, @ddale8, @dkthomp, @claytravis, @ggreenwald, Mediaite, National Review, @charlesarthur, @saifedean, @chrismasterjohn, @davidvdegraw, @marybethpf, @dylanmatt, @vprasadmdmph, @primalpoly, @jjcouey, @vprasadmdmph, @timrunshismouth, @evacide, @ggreenwald and @jimmy_dore
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