Mediagazer: NBCUniversal names Valari Dobson Staab as the chair of its local content division and says NBC's RSNs will launch a direct-to-consumer offering later this year (Alex Weprin/The Hollywood Reporter)

3:40 PM ET, January 31, 2022

Top News:

Daniel Ek / Spotify:

Spotify publishes its long-standing Platform Rules and says it is working to add a content advisory to podcast episodes that discuss COVID-19 — A decade ago, we created Spotify to enable the work of creators around the world to be heard and enjoyed by listeners around the world.

Discussion: New York Times, @mikeisaac, Insider, Billboard, Wall Street Journal, The Verge, Columbia Journalism Review, @justinjm1, Protocol, CNET, The Hill, Bloomberg, @spotifynews, TechCrunch, @sarafischer, @reckless, @eldsjal, @lucas_shaw, Tubefilter, NPR, JOMO, Hollywood Reporter, CNN, The Daily Beast, Reclaim The Net, @caseynewton, Gawker, CNBC, @mathewi, Reuters, @pkafka, Bustle, Los Angeles Times, @stanphylcap, The Crucial Years, @kevinroose, The A.V. Club, @davidgura, @rvawonk, @mikeisaac, @shannonrwatts, @loudmouthjulia, @brianstelter, @scobie, The Grapevine, Ty Burr's Watch List, @solomonmissouri, Mashable, @lucas_shaw, New York Post, Complete Music Update, @reckless, MediaPost, Don't Let It Go, RAIN News, Breitbart, @eaton, Bastonate per Posta, Podcast Movement, NBC4 Washington, Music Ally, @dfsparks, @mmasnick, The Why Axis, @danahull, Axios, @ericboehlert, @jason, @paulbernaluk, @jeffjarvis, @nandoodles, @molly0xfff, @maxnordau, @future_of_music, @shanselman, @texasinafrica, Digital Threat Digest, @intelwire, The Morning Dispatch, @davidbix, @amlwhere, @ejdickson, @darnelsugarfoo, Fioremonte, Mindless Drivel, Webb Chatham Report, The Guardian, @naveedajamali, @noupside, insideradio.com, @lethalityjane, @juliarosen, @abbieasr, Associated Press, @lionelralaurent, Mediaite, @lucas_shaw, @vladsavov, @amaditalks, @karaswisher, @pkafka, @jbflint, @kazweida, @carnage4life, @dada_drummer, Light Reading, @timmarchman, @djolder, UPROXX, @bostonjoan, Crikey, @lorakolodny, @oneunderscore__, @ruckcohlchez, Variety, E! Online, Engadget, Ad Age, The Wrap, Rolling Stone, Deadline, Music Business Worldwide, AppleInsider, Glenn Greenwald, Barrett Media, Digital gefesselt, SPIN, NewsNation Now, Newsweek and EchoLocator, more at Techmeme »

Sam Byford / The Verge:

Joe Rogan posts a video to Instagram defending booking contentious guests, apologizes to Spotify for the backlash, and says he may book more “experts” — 'I'm very sorry that this is happening to them.' — Joe Rogan has issued a response to the ongoing controversy …

Ryan Broderick / Garbage Day:

Spotify made an editorial choice by paying $100M to be Joe Rogan's publisher and can't shirk its responsibility by just adding a content warning to his episodes — Read to the end for Pumpkin Cowboy — Please Do Not Let Spotify Convince You That Joe Rogan Is A Content Moderation Problem

Discussion: @broderick, @kevinroose, Secular Left Nuggets, @xor, @scottnover, @jaspar, @karlbode, @no_nazis_please, @codinghorror, USA Today, @mathewi, @lackofrealism, @lucas_shaw, New York Times, Reclaim The Net, James's Newsletter and Barrett Media

Chris Eggertsen / Billboard:
Joni Mitchell pulls her music from Spotify in solidarity with Neil Young, saying “irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives”

Ashley Carman / The Verge:
Internal messages detail Spotify's lax health content policy; the company told staff multiple Joe Rogan podcast episodes “didn't meet the threshold for removal”

Elahe Izadi / Washington Post:

Capital B, a national and local nonprofit news organization focused on Black audiences, launches with $9M in philanthropic backing and 16 employees — Capital B, a new digital-media start-up, will provide hard news and investigative reporting aimed at Black audiences.

Wall Street Journal:

Antenna: Apple TV+, Disney+, HBO Max, and others struggle to retain US subscribers who joined to watch a hit show or movie; many unsubscribe within a few months — Roughly half of U.S. viewers who joined right after ‘Hamilton’ and ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ were gone in six months, data show

Discussion: @benmullin, The Wrap, @benmullin, @great_katzby, @rwhelanwsj, @jbflint, @alexsalvinews, @ballmatthew, @david_marcelis, @kimmasters, @asharma, @ryangirdusky and @richlightshed, more at Techmeme »

Josh Eidelson / Bloomberg:

The FT's US journalists seek to unionize with the NewsGuild, ask for voluntary recognition from the FT, and say their 40-person unit has over two-thirds support — Journalists at the Financial Times are seeking to unionize the publication's U.S. operation, the latest in a wave of organizing efforts in the news media.

Discussion: Talking Biz News, @josheidelson, @greenhousenyt, @demfromct, @bigblackjacobin, @davidgura, @moisenoise, @mshannahmurphy, @josheidelson, @josheidelson and The NewsGuild

Helen Davidson / The Guardian:

Survey: at least six foreign journalists have left China amid increased intimidation through online trolling, physical assaults, hacking, and visa denials — Report says heightened dangers have prompted at least six to leave and many others to develop emergency exit plans

Discussion: Committee to Protect …, Bloomberg, @birgitmschwarz, BBC and Hong Kong Free Press HKFP

Richard J. Tofel / Second Rough Draft:

ProPublica's Richard Tofel reflects on 20+ years as a newsroom attorney: preventing cases from being filed, the need for newsroom counsel independence, and more — Reflections on retiring from practice, with gratitude. — Welcome to Second Rough Draft, a newsletter about journalism in our time …

Discussion: American Press Institute, @jackshafer, @leszaitz, @ginnylaroe, @nicdawes, @tracyweber and @stephenjadler

Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:

With SCOTUS eager to revisit precedent, Sarah Palin's NYT lawsuit is a serious challenge to the press-friendly standard for libel set by Times vs. Sullivan — But none of these landmark cases are as potentially consequential as Sarah Palin's suit against the New York Times

Discussion: @porter_anderson, @matthewschafer, @moiradonegan, @terri_rupar, @stormmela, @sarafischer, @sulliview and The Guardian

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:

NBCUniversal names Valari Dobson Staab as the chair of its local content division and says NBC's RSNs will launch a direct-to-consumer offering later this year — Staab will oversee NBC and Telemundo's local stations, as well as the NBC Sports RSNs. — NBCUniversal has tapped Valari Dobson Staab …

Discussion: Next TV and Deadline

William Turvill / Press Gazette:

The Seattle Times says it now has 81,000 digital-only subscribers, up 10% over the past 12 months and almost doubling its 41,000 subscribers in January 2019 — The Seattle Times now has 81,000 digital-only subscribers, establishing its position as one of America's leading metropolitan news titles for paid online readers.

Discussion: @pressgazette and @pressgazette

Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:

Sources: Amazon paid $100M+ for exclusive rights to the podcast My Favorite Murder and all other shows from Exactly Right Media — Two Canadian folk singers have forced Spotify to do what thousands of angry social media users could not. — Spotify on Sunday outlined a series of steps …

Discussion: Ad Age

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More News:

Josh Sandiford / BirminghamLive:
UK police seek court order under the Terrorism Act to reveal sources from a journalist who helped overturn convictions related to 1974 IRA Birmingham bombings

Discussion: The Guardian, @lisaocarroll, Press Gazette and The Times

Sharon Moshavi / International Center for Journalists:
Velocidad, a media accelerator that invested nearly $1.5M in 10 Latin American news outlets, says its grantees generated new revenue over six times their grants

Discussion: @icfj, @icfj, @icfj, @niemanlab, @icfj and @icfj

Glen Owen / Daily Mail:
Source: UK Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries is planning legislation where the DMU force Meta, Google, and others to negotiate payment deals with news publishers

Discussion: @lukejohnsonrcp, The i Paper, The Times, @benedictevans, @matthewlesh, @benedictevans, The Sun, @s8mb and @benedictevans

Sarah Scire / Nieman Lab:
Pigeon 605, which sells ads and sponsored posts, emails news to 4K of 200K residents in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, based on interest topics users pick

Discussion: Pigeon605, @paulglader, @shashib, @sarahscire, @niemanlab and American Press Institute

J. Clara Chan / Hollywood Reporter:
Podcast network Lemonada Media, which grew its annual revenue from $1.5M in 2020 to over $5M in 2021 and reaches 2M+ listeners per month, raises an $8M Series A

Discussion: @aslavitt, @heymadisonwells and Lemonada Media

Earlier Picks:

Reuters:
Meta says it has paused new users from joining its social media tracking tool CrowdTangle as it works “through some staffing constraints”

Discussion: @shayan86, @stevekovach, @film_girl, @kendallostrow, @mattnavarra and @iansherr

Stefanie Murray / Center for Cooperative Media:
A look at Ad Lab, which launched last year as an advertising network of 16 independent media organizations in New Jersey with a shared sales representative

Discussion: @elzbthtilis, @stefaniemurray and @mitrakalita

Vipal Monga / Wall Street Journal:
Shopify denies copyright infringement claims from publishers and says court is the wrong venue to force changes in copyright laws that shield tech companies

Discussion: @wsj and Reuters

Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Stephen Hayes, The Weekly Standard's former EIC who broke ties with Fox to protest Tucker Carlson's January 6 special, joins NBC News

Discussion: @nbcnewspr, @stevegrzanich, @timrobbins1, @davidafrench, @drvolts, Media Matters for America, @jesseltaylor, @ericboehlert, @ryangirdusky, @jayrosen_nyu, @stephenfhayes, @owillis, @johnnydollar01, @davidfolkenflik, @ggreenwald, The Daily Beast, Deadline and Barrett Media

From Techmeme:

Alphabet:
Alphabet Q1: revenue up 15% YoY to $80.5B, net income up 57% to $23.7B, Google Cloud revenue up 28% to $9.6B, and headcount down 5%; GOOG jumps 11%+ after hours

Reuters:
Sources: ByteDance prefers a TikTok shutdown in the US rather than a sale if legal options fail, deeming TikTok's algorithm as core to overall ByteDance systems

Microsoft:
Microsoft Q3: revenue up 17% YoY to $61.9B, net income up 20% to $21.9B, Office Commercial revenue up 13%, LinkedIn revenue up 10%; MSFT jumps 4%+ after hours

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