Top News:
Paul Farhi / Washington Post:
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
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:
The Guardian, Newser, The Wrap, Vanity Fair, Axios, New York Post, The Hill, Bloomberg, Mumbrella and Mediaite
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 »
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.
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 content in Europe as part of a five-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, more at Techmeme »
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:
@baekdal, Tubefilter, Engadget, Los Angeles Times and Spotify
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 …
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
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
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
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, CelebrityAccess, @tidal, CNET, @alex, @aaronesilvers, @tidal, @mqamusic, Gizmodo, @jack, Variety, Digital Trends, Engadget, 9to5Mac, Music Business Worldwide, Music Ally and The Verge