Mediagazer: Substack expands its health insurance program to all US writers making over $5,000 in gross annualized revenue on the service (Antoinette Siu/The Wrap)

10:45 PM ET, November 17, 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

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

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, Vanity Fair, @domponsford, @jimwaterson, @brexit_sham, @jolyonmaugham, @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

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 Hill, Mumbrella, Mediaite, The Guardian, Insider, Vanity Fair and Bloomberg

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

Archived Page Info:

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Who's Hiring in Media?

Deputy Ed. - Gen. Assignment Desk, DC — WaPo

EU Technology Reporter, Brussels — Bloomberg

Breaking News Reporter, NY — Guardian US

Harrisburg Reporter, PA — PCBC

Senior Editor - Styles, NY — NYT

Part-time Editor, Remote — Techmeme

Home & Travel Reporter, Ireland — Newsweek

Assistant Digital Editor, MA — Boston Globe

Senior Editor - Visuals (Temporary), DC — NPR

South Reporter, GA/Remote — ProPublica

Private Capital Reporter, London — FT

Staff Writer, MI — Watershed Voice

Articles Editor, CA — SF Standard

Pharma Reporter, Remote US — Endpoints

Metro Reporter, TN — Daily Memphian

Higher Ed. Reporter, Remote CA — EdSource

Politics Reporter, Brussels — Politico

Investigations & Enterprise Ed., WI — Cap Times

Social Strategy Editor, NY — WSJ

Business Reporter, TX — Fort Worth Report

Senior Narrative Editor, CA — Cloud Chamber

News Correspondent, MS — Magnolia Tribune

Accountability Reporter, NC — Charlotte Observer

Editor-in-Chief, NY (flexible) — The 74

Housing Reporter, OK — The Frontier

Writer/AI Content Reviewer, CA — Outlier

Writer/Editor, Remote — Mediaite

Political Reporter, TX — Courier Newsroom

Afternoon/Night Editor, NH — Keene Sentinel

Education Lab Editor, WA — Seattle Times

Staff Writer, MA/Remote — Tech Advisor

State Worker Reporter, CA — Sacramento Bee

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Reporter, NC — NC Newsline

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More News:

Patrick Hipes / Deadline:
National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences says the Children's & Family Emmy Awards will be a standalone show starting in 2022

Discussion: Variety, The Wrap, nexttv.com and Hollywood Reporter

Steve Inskeep / @nprinskeep:
[Thread] Complaints that journalists should have published Trump info sooner rather than holding it for books is mistaken, as reporting with context takes time

Discussion: @scarylawyerguy, @owillis, @norsemythnews, @dangillmor, @ericboehlert, @digiphile, @nprinskeep, @nprinskeep, @digiphile, @nprinskeep, @nprinskeep, @nprinskeep, @nprinskeep and @brianstelter

USAGM:
USAGM reports that it reached 394M people in 62 languages each week in 2021, up 42% since 2017, with top audiences in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Palestine

Michael D. Shear / New York Times:
US agrees to provide renewable yearlong visas to Chinese journalists, while China lets WSJ, WaPo, and NYT reporters return

Steve Dent / Engadget:
Google partners with PBS Student Report Labs and other journalism organizations to create programs that promote media literacy

Discussion: American Press Institute, @googlenewsinit, The Keyword and The Keyword

Gene Maddaus / Variety:
Miramax sues Quentin Tarantino over copyright infringement for selling NFTs based on Pulp Fiction screenplay excerpts; Miramax says it owns screenplay rights

Earlier Picks:

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

Katie Robertson / New York Times:
More than 100 NYT workers and their supporters protest outside the outlet's Manhattan headquarters, accusing the company of delaying union contract talks

Discussion: Poynter, @wirecutterunion, @poynter, @timesupnow, The NewsGuild - CWA, Off the Record, @woko_haraam, @anastasiakeeley, @nzle, @nancylcoleman, @brandonetc, @nyguild and WWD

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

Peter White / Deadline:
Vox Media acquires podcast studio Criminal Productions, producer of Criminal and This Is Love

Discussion: @nishatjaan, @radiotopia, @audreyyyrose, @jatomic, @bankoff, @nicktheandersen, @mtmoe1, @ericmennel, @jodyavirgan and Current

From Techmeme:

Andy Greenberg / Wired:
Cisco details a hacking campaign that penetrated multiple governments' networks using two zero-day flaws in its VPN and firewall Adaptive Security Appliances

Ben Glickman / Wall Street Journal:
IBM agrees to buy HashiCorp, which helps companies manage cloud infrastructure, in a deal valuing HashiCorp at $6.4B and expected to close by the end of 2024

David Pierce / The Verge:
Hands-on with the Rabbit R1: a fun and funky AI device that feels pretty nice and does a solid job with basic AI questions, but the Rabbithole app is unfinished

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