Mediagazer: The dustup between YouTube TV and NBCUniversal serves as a harbinger that bundling and contract disputes for streaming could be similar to cable TV disputes (Angela Watercutter/Wired)

2:20 PM ET, October 2, 2021

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Ozy Media says it is shutting down, after coming under scrutiny for its business practices in recent days — The digital media start-up had come under scrutiny for its business practices in recent days following articles in The Times. — Read in app

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David Folkenflik / NPR:

Ozy CEO Carlos Watson resigns as a corporate director of NPR, just before the board's governance committee meeting to weigh his future with NPR — Carlos Watson resigned as a corporate director of NPR on Friday after the spectacular public meltdown of the digital media company that he leads and co-founded.

Kerry Flynn / CNN:

Some former Ozy employees say they were overworked to the point of exhaustion: “They brought in very talented, motivated, excited people and just used them up” — New York (CNN Business)Around midnight one Saturday late last year, Eva Rodriguez, 24, had trouble breathing.

Discussion: New York Magazine, CNN, @benyt, Insider, CNBC, @lmoses, @sarafischer, Entrepreneur, @gerryfsmith, The Daily Beast, @mediainsider, @intelligencer, @saraashleyo, @silviakillings, @aprjoy, @shannonpareil, @julie188, @eevasita, @lisatozzi, Fortune, @jbarro, @perlberg, @larakiara, Current, Sparrow One and Ad Age

Ben Smith / New York Times:
Ozy built a TV interview show for CEO Carlos Watson based on false claims it was for A&E and that it would then be a YouTube Original, its ex-producer says

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Axios:
Axel Springer says it gave up its Ozy board seat after investing $300K in its Series C in 2019, but Ozy listed Axel's rep as a director in a July 2021 filing

Discussion: Axios, @sarafischer, @sarafischer, @schwartzbcnbc, @nick4iezos, @tomgara, Forbes and Mediaite

Sebastian Murdock / HuffPost:

Judge issues default judgments against Alex Jones in two Sandy Hook cases for routinely failing to comply with requests, making him liable for all damages — A judge issued default judgments — a rarity in the legal world — against Jones and Infowars after the conspiracy theorist failed to produce discovery records.

Angela Watercutter / Wired:

The dustup between YouTube TV and NBCUniversal serves as a harbinger that bundling and contract disputes for streaming could be similar to cable TV disputes — Streaming was supposed to help people cut the cord, but it mostly just replaced it. — THE MONITOR IS a weekly column devoted …

Discussion: @youtubetv, The Streamable, The Streamable, The Streamable, The Verge, @jenlucpiquant, Ars Technica, @wiredculture, @wired, Variety, @davidpoland, nexttv.com, Hollywood Reporter, Android Central and USA Today

Kim Cross / Nieman Storyboard:

Q&A with The Atlantic's Ed Yong on interviewing sources that range from top scientists to the hands-on nurse in a hospital during the pandemic — Pulitzer Prize winner Ed Yong of The Atlantic takes the same open approach with COVID scientists and frontline nurses

Brian Welk / The Wrap:

Todd Boehly, co-founder and CEO of investment firm Eldridge Industries, has been appointed interim CEO of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association — The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) has named hedge fund billionaire Todd Boehly as its interim CEO.

Discussion: Variety, Hollywood Reporter, @sharonwaxman and Deadline

Clayton Davis / Variety:
HFPA adds 21 members, increasing its membership by 20%, of which 48% identify as women, 29% as Black, 24% as Asian, 29% as Latinx, and 19% as MENA

Discussion: @danamo, @mariocinema, @jreidespn, @lachinarobinson, @jemelehill, Vanity Fair and The Wrap

Choe Sang-Hun / New York Times:

South Korea shelves a bill banning “fake news” after outcry that it would discourage journalists from investigating corruption scandals and powerful people — Right groups warned that a proposed new law would discourage the media from reporting critically on powerful people.

Discussion: @etammykim, @jeffjarvis, @azi and @crtejada

Josef Adalian / Vulture:

South Korean show Squid Game, topping Netflix charts in 90 countries, vindicates Netflix's strategy of creating franchises using content from around the world — At your service. — This story also ran in Buffering, Vulture's newsletter about the streaming industry. Head to vulture.com/buffering and subscribe today!

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Substack is launching paid month-long stints for “writers in residence”, putting a spotlight on a new Substack user as they build their newsletter — Substack is launching a “Writer in Residence” program that will spotlight one new creator throughout their journey in building a Substack for one month.

Joyce Lee / Reuters:

South Korean ISP sues Netflix over costs for traffic surge from hit shows, after a court said Netflix should “reasonably” pay ISPs for network usage — South Korean Internet service provider SK Broadband has sued Netflix (NFLX.O) to pay for costs from increased network traffic …

Discussion: ScreenRant, @reuters, @seldo, @bergmayer, CNBC, Forbes, UPROXX, The Verge, New York Post, Input, The Wrap, Decider, Variety, Light Reading and Insider

William Turvill / Press Gazette:

An in-depth look at Google's News Showcase deals; sources: Australian outlets got better offers than outlets in other countries due to political pressure — It is one year this week since Google launched News Showcase, an aggregation service with a $1bn budget to spend with the global journalism industry.