Mediagazer: As well-written obituaries of prominent figures attract large online readership, outlets are bolstering their pre-written obituaries, including 1,850 at NYT (Paul Farhi/Washington Post)

12:05 AM ET, November 18, 2021

Top News:

As well-written obituaries of prominent figures attract large online readership, outlets are bolstering their pre-written obituaries, including 1,850 at NYT — When Rush Limbaugh died this year, the mainstream media he had so long railed against gave him the kind of immaculately choreographed send-off …

Discussion: @katierosman, @oknox, @dlippman, @john_p_carvalho, @richardjustice, @ironicsans, @davidmaraniss, @ashkan, @ktumulty, @dlippman, @paulschwartzman and @amyargetsinger

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

Daily Mail editor Geordie Greig steps down; Ted Verity will become Mail Newspapers editor overseeing Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, and You magazine — Daily Mail editor Geordie Greig is leaving his role this week, with the Mail on Sunday's Ted Verity stepping up to take charge of a new seven-day operation.

Discussion: The Guardian, @domponsford, @jimwaterson, @brexit_sham, @jolyonmaugham, Vanity Fair, @andrew_adonis, @hautepop, @warrenmorgan, @brokenbottleboy, @pressgazette, The Independent and @jimwaterson

The Hollywood Reporter:

Sources: Disney held talks with betting operators about an ESPN partnership, with BetMGM, Caesars, and DraftKings seen as frontrunners — Now that major leagues are getting on board with gambling, the family-friendly Hollywood giant is eyeing that revenue and may start with a splashy ESPN licensing deal.

Discussion: @erik_hayden, @news_maker, @stearnsseattle, @mediaevan and @brianroemmele

Agence France-Presse:

Google will begin paying Agence France-Presse for news content in Europe as part of a 5-year partnership, the first with a news agency under a 2019 EU directive — Under the agreement with Google, AFP will also offer fact-checking training on several continents (AFP/Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD)

Discussion: Reuters

Reuters:

Rupert Murdoch accuses Google and Facebook of trying to silence conservative voices and cites a lawsuit claiming they colluded on digital ad market manipulation — Rupert Murdoch renewed his attacks on Google and Facebook during News Corp's annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday …

Discussion: Axios, New York Post, Mumbrella, The Hill, Mediaite, The Guardian, Bloomberg and Vanity Fair

Peter White / Deadline:

Bad Robot launches a podcast division, to be led by former Audible and Spotify exec Christina Choi, and strikes a multiyear first-look deal with Spotify — JJ Abrams' Bad Robot is moving into the audio space. — The production company is launching its own podcast division …

Discussion: Engadget, Spotify, @baekdal, Tubefilter and Los Angeles Times

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Spotify expands Podcast Subscriptions from the US to 33 new markets globally and now includes 20 price points for creators, from $0.50 to $150 — Just a few months after launching support for podcast subscriptions to U.S. creators, Spotify today is making the service available to creators in global markets.

Discussion: Variety, Mumbrella, XDA Developers and Waivly, more at Techmeme »

Chrissy Towle / The Keyword:

Google selects 25 projects from local news outlets to receive a share of $3.2M+ in the North America Innovation Challenge to build ties to their communities — We can't write about our communities without understanding them and being part of them. We don't want to just parachute ourselves …

Discussion: Google News Initiative, @jkealing, @raju, @pennyriordan1, @ncnewsworks, @nicdawes, @localmediaassoc, @reillykneedler, @eugwklycamilla, @ncnewsworks, @localmediaassoc, Editor and Publisher and Local Media Association …

Antoinette Siu / The Wrap:

Substack expands its health insurance program to all US writers making over $5,000 in gross annualized revenue on the service — Substack on Tuesday expanded its health insurance program to all writers making $5,000 a year on its newsletter platform. — The health insurance program …

Discussion: Substack and @caseymlewis

Rebecca Davis / Variety:

In a five-year plan, China wants domestic films to make up 55% of box office, encourages film companies to invest abroad, plans for 100K movie screens, and more — Over the next five years, China plans to expand its fleet of movie screens to more than 100,000 and release …

Discussion: Insider, @zeeshanaleem, @mattzeitlin, @comfortablysmug and Deadline

Giving Compass:

Institute for Nonprofit News Index finds 90%+ of ~400 nonprofit newsrooms tracked over the past 12 years are operating; ~70% have at least four revenue sources — Earlier this year, residents in Southwest Memphis received some good news. An oil pipeline project they were fighting against was called off.

Discussion: @michellemanafy

Micah Singleton / Billboard:

Tidal launches a free tier in the US and direct-to-artist payments with fan-centered royalties based on HiFi Plus subscribers' streaming activity — Tidal is launching a free tier in the U.S. and is introducing a user-centric payment model for its premium subscription offerings, the company announced Wednesday (Nov. 16).

Discussion: @tidal, PR Newswire, @micahsingleton, 9to5Mac, CelebrityAccess, @tidal, CNET, @alex, @aaronesilvers, @tidal, Engadget, Digital Trends, @mqamusic, Gizmodo, @jack, Variety, Music Business Worldwide, Music Ally and The Verge

Archived Page Info:

This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 12:05 AM ET, November 18, 2021.

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Who's Hiring in Media?

Output Producer, CA — AP

China Markets Correspondent, Shanghai — Reuters

Senior Assignment Editor, DC — WaPo

Breaking News Editor, Tokyo — Bloomberg

Senior Correspondent - Wealth, NY — WSJ

Reporter - Ottawa Bureau — Globe & Mail

Local Government Reporter, IA — The Gazette

Research Director, CA — OCBJ

Immigration Enforcement Reporter — Documented

Presque Island Reporter, ME — Bangor Daily News

Contributing Parks Ed. - SW, CA — SFGATE

AI Content Editor, WA — Outlier

Legislative Reporter, TN — Daily Memphian

Editorial Assistant, Remote US — Launch Potato

Elon Musk Reporter, NY or CA — The Information

Government & Politics Editor, WA — Seattle Times

Business & GA Reporter. VT — VTDigger

Sports Reporter, WA — Everett Herald

Energy Reporter, TX — Houston Chronicle

Senior Reporter, SC — Island Packet

Trade & Climate Correspondent, DC — FT

Reporter, WI — Racine County Eye

Political Newsletter Writer, CO — The Lever

Jackson Reporter, MS — Verite

Music Editor, AZ — Phoenix New Times

Breaking News Reporter, NV — Las Vegas Sun

Fearless Reporter/Producer, IA — BPC

Reporter II - Technology, Remote — NPR

Editor, Remote US — Daily Kos

City Reporter, WA — Tacoma News Tribune

Executive Editor, OR — Lookout Local

Education & Budget Reporter, CA — Politico

Senior Writer/Editor, FL — Gulfshore Business

Media Editor, Remote — Axios

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Gene Maddaus / Variety:
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Diane Haithman / The Wrap:
The California Film Commission says the state's Film & TV Tax Credit Program is expected to generate $2.6B in in-state spending in its first fiscal year

Discussion: Variety

Axios:
Analysis: the top five most-followed accounts on TikTok do not rank in the top 50 on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, or Instagram

Discussion: @nrothschild3, Beyond Search, @jimvandehei, @liahaberman, @sarafischer, @sarafischer, @sarafischer and Reuters Institute …

Todd Spangler / Variety:
Netflix expands its Top 10 lists to display the most-viewed shows and movies, for English and non-English titles, ranked by aggregate viewing hours

From Techmeme:

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is working on a smart doorbell system with advanced facial recognition that can wirelessly connect and unlock third-party smart locks

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Donald Trump announces that Sriram Krishnan, until recently a general partner at a16z, will serve as senior policy advisor for AI at the White House OSTP

Financial Times:
Sources: Palantir and Anduril are in talks with OpenAI, SpaceX, and more to form a consortium to bid for US defense contracts and plan to announce it in January

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