Mediagazer: Some librarians fight efforts to ban some books from libraries, with the ALA recording 60% more book challenges in September than a year earlier (Nadra Nittle/The 19th)

1:10 PM ET, November 18, 2021

Top News:

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Spotify expands real-time lyrics to all users globally in partnership with Musixmatch, after initially launching in 26 markets — After years of ignoring consumer demand for in-app lyrics, particularly in the U.S., Spotify announced today it will make a new Lyrics feature available to all global users …

Discussion: Spotify, ScreenRant, @eldsjal, Fast Company, Trusted Reviews, Digital Trends, Variety, XDA Developers, 9to5Mac, @spotifynews, @richlightshed and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Spotify expands Podcast Subscriptions globally with 20 price points from $0.50 to $150 and will let creators download subscribers' contact info — 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: Fast Company, RAIN News, Podcast Movement, Variety, What's New in Publishing, Music Ally and XDA Developers

Mark Stenberg / Adweek:

Axios Local expands to 11 new cities for a total of 25, with plans for 25 more cities in 2022; CFO says it is on pace to earn $5M in revenue by year end — Axios Local is going bicoastal. The city-based network of free, local newsletters announced Thursday morning that it is expanding to 11 new locations …

Discussion: @mikeorren, @jimvandehei, @djtweets, @jonathanvswan, @ssavitsky, @adweek, @russcontreras, @adamwren and @markstenberg3

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: Newser, The Guardian, Axios, Vanity Fair, @martysilkhack, @thetowncrier, Press Gazette, @jonkudelka, Columbia Journalism Review, @mrkrudd, New York Post, Insider, The Wrap, Bloomberg, Mumbrella, The Hill and Mediaite

The Marshall Project:

The Marshall Project is launching a newsroom in Cleveland in 2022, which will collaborate with local outlets and is partially funded by a Gund Foundation grant — New support from the Gund Foundation to drive expansion of local investigative reporting — The Marshall Project …

Discussion: Scene and Heard, @danmoulthrop, @schwartzapfel, @davidfolkenflik, @marshallproj, @geraldinesealey and @racheldissell

Tarpley Hitt / Gawker:

A look at the issues at Jezebel since G/O Media hired Lea Goldman as deputy editorial director in March; nine writers and editors have left since her hiring — In March, G/O Media — the parent company of several former Gawker Media websites including the feminist blog Jezebel …

Discussion: @gawker, @roslyntalusan, @roslyntalusan, @stephentotilo, @libbycwatson, @dhm, @mckinneykelsey, @femmefeministe, @roslyntalusan, @jenniferreitman, @alex_abads and @andreagonram

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Hulu launches Shop Hulu, a site selling limited-edition collections of clothes and lifestyle products related to its content library — This summer, Netflix launched its own shopping site that allowed fans to purchase apparel, accessories and other lifestyle products from their favorite shows, like “Stranger Things.”

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

Russian tech exec Aleksej Gubarev drops his defamation lawsuit against BuzzFeed over its publication of Steele dossier — A Russian internet entrepreneur has dropped a four-year legal battle against BuzzFeed over its publication of the so-called Steele dossier, a politically charged compendium …

Discussion: emptywheel, @emptywheel, @joshgerstein and TK News

Nadra Nittle / The 19th:

Some librarians fight efforts to ban some books from libraries, with the ALA recording 60% more book challenges in September than a year earlier — “Gender Queer.” “Sex Is a Funny Word.” “The Hate U Give.” — These are just a few of the hundreds of books targeted for banning amid …

Discussion: @misskubelik, @mekki, @misskubelik, @misskubelik, @misskubelik, @amydentata, @nadrakareem and Intellectual Freedom Blog

Amanda Silberling / TechCrunch:

Fourthwall, an all-in-one creator commerce service that provides tools to set up merch stores, membership programs, tipping, and more, raises $17M — Let's say you're a YouTube star — honestly, it's not impossible, given that now, some estimate that over 20,000 YouTubers have at least 1 million subscribers.

Discussion: Fast Company, @garrytan, Tubefilter, Fourthwall and @fourthwallhq

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: American Press Institute, Editor and Publisher, @risenc, @katierosman, @ashkan, @ktumulty, @alexvadukul, @raju, @john_p_carvalho, @davidmaraniss, @richardjustice, @dlippman, @dlippman, @ironicsans, @oknox, @paulschwartzman and @amyargetsinger

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 and @risj_oxford

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Part-time Editor, Remote — Techmeme

Home & Travel Reporter, Ireland — Newsweek

Assistant Digital Editor, MA — Boston Globe

Senior Editor - Visuals (Temporary), DC — NPR

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More News:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Earlier Picks:

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, nexttv.com, The Wrap and Hollywood Reporter

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

Discussion: Substack and @caseymlewis

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:

Foo Yun Chee / Reuters:
Sources: EU may accept Apple's proposal to open its NFC payments tech to rivals, and may close its antitrust probe in May, letting Apple avoid hefty fines

Gaby Del Valle / The Verge:
The US Senate reauthorizes FISA's Section 702; some communication service providers had threatened to stop cooperating with the US government in case of a lapse

George Steer / Financial Times:
Nvidia closed down 10% on Friday, falling the most since March 2020 and losing more than $200B of its market value, as investors pull back from AI bets

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