Top News:
Insider:
Sources detail the tumult inside Spotify's podcast division, which is yet to release any shows from marquee deals with Ava DuVernay and others after over a year — - Spotify inked deals with Ava DuVernay, Jordan Peele, and more but many of them have released no podcasts.
Discussion:
CNET, @walthickey, @thebenbergman, New York Post, Hollywood Reporter, @exavierpope, 9to5Mac, @hotlinejosh, @perlberg, @dlberes, @natjarv, @oliverdarcy and Billboard
Clare Malone / New Yorker:
Q&A with Dean Baquet on star journalists, the rise of off-the-cuff opinionating in journalism, not caring about the “unnuanced voices on Twitter”, and more — Ahead of his expected retirement, the Times' executive editor reflects on his newsroom's unprecedented growth …
Bloomberg:
Len Blavatnik's Access Industries agrees to a $4.3B recapitalization of DAZN, clearing the streamer's debt, and subscribes to another $250M in new shares — Len Blavatnik has agreed a $4.3 billion recapitalization of DAZN, as the billionaire doubles down on his loss-making sports entertainment company …
Discussion:
Front Office Sports, @fightoracle, Reuters, Financial Times and @ray__diggs
Harold Brubaker / The Philadelphia Inquirer:
Philadelphia NPR station WHYY has had 49% turnover since January 2021 as staff complain about poor communication, organization, and focus on short news pieces — Thirty-four WHYY journalists signed a letter to top managers last February complaining about how they were running the newsroom …
Discussion:
@andreawenzel, @andreawenzel, @jayrosen_nyu, @mollydeaguiar, @rw_briggs, @dpearsonphl and @phillyaflcio
James Hibberd / The Hollywood Reporter:
Netflix announces four comedy specials to be hosted and produced by Dave Chappelle, with a focus on other veteran comedians — The controversial comic will host and produce four comedy specials focusing on other veteran comedians. … The streamer announced Friday the release …
Wall Street Journal:
How advertisers are dealing with Facebook ad price increases prompted by Apple's ATT changes, with some shifting their ad budgets to Google, Amazon, and TikTok — Privacy features prompt e-commerce businesses to slash ad spending; ‘Apple has changed the game’ — Facebook was long one of the surest bets in digital advertising.
Knight Foundation:
In December 2021, 33% of Americans said they pay a “great deal” of attention to national news, down from 54% in November 2020 — Fewer Americans are paying attention to national news now than at any time since early 2018. In December 2021, a third of Americans (33%) said they pay …
Discussion:
@iohnsands and @marklittlenews
Hadeel Ibrahim / CBC News:
Postmedia, Canada's largest newspaper company, buys BNI, which publishes three daily newspapers and six weeklies in New Brunswick — Brunswick News Inc. is being sold for $7.5M in cash and $8.6M in variable voting shares of Postmedia — Brunswick News Inc., which publishes three daily newspapers …
Discussion:
Postmedia, @aditrao, @jm_mcgrath, @dred_tory, @nadineyousif_, @alau2, @craigsilverman, @aditrao, @bransfieldrob and @trapdinawrpool
Jon Allsop / Columbia Journalism Review:
Journalists should tell their audiences that the media itself is in the crossfire of an information war, amid repeated alarms over a Russian invasion of Ukraine — “With Buildup on Land and Sea, Russia Closes Noose on Ukraine” (two columns, below the fold).
Discussion:
@bettedam, @mbalter, The Daily Beast, Politico, @jon_allsop and Defector
What's New in Publishing:
A look at Gazeta Wyborcza, one of Poland's leading dailies with 280K digital subscribers and a premium tier offering direct contact with the editorial team — For any newspaper, 280,000 digital subscribers is a hefty achievement. It propels a title into the rarified ‘100K Club’ and for Gazeta Wyborcza …
Joseph P. Fried / New York Times:
Martin Tolchin, a former New York Times reporter and the founding publisher and editor of The Hill, dies at 93 — He covered Congress in the 1970s and '80s before heading up a successful Capitol Hill newspaper. — Martin Tolchin, a former reporter for The New York Times who covered Congress …
Discussion:
The Hill, Barrett Media, @wuerker, @kenvogel, @azi, @adamlashinsky, @rickberke, @jenseniorny and @harrispolitico
Dawn Chmielewski / Reuters:
Universal Music Group partners with NFT marketplace Curio to develop and sell NFT collectibles for its record labels and artists starting in March — Universal Music Group has struck a partnership with NFT platform Curio to develop non-fungible token (NFT) collections for its record labels and artists, the companies said on Thursday.
Discussion:
@reutersshowbiz, TechSpot, Waivly, PR Newswire, The Block, Billboard, Music Business Worldwide and Variety, more at Techmeme »