Mediagazer: Hedge fund Cannell Capital announced this week it increased its stake in Lee Enterprises to 9.1%; Cannell's head says Lee needs new, digitally savvy leadership (Josh Funk/Associated Press)

12:00 PM ET, April 15, 2022

Top News:

Quartz CEO Zach Seward says the outlet is dropping its paywall after three years to focus on “the right kind of subscription”; Quartz has ~25K subscribers — Co-founder Zach Seward says site will focus on ‘right kind of subscription’ as it tries to build traffic and influence

Discussion: Adweek, Quartz, The Wrap, Newslit Daily, Press Gazette, @qz, @fromedome, @adampasick, @rafat, @matthewherper, @rafat, @firstadopter, @kiruti, @kendallbaker, @adamscochran, New York Times, @qz, @mcwm, @abnormalreturns, @markstenberg3, @bmorrissey, Nieman Lab and Talking Biz News

Chicago Tribune:

Chicago Reader editorial union says co-owner Len Goodman has blocked its sale to become a nonprofit and asked to appoint members to the board to retain control — Len Goodman, honor your word and free the Reader. — In February, the Tribune published an op-ed in which Invisible Institute …

Discussion: @imleor, @marthabayne, @imleor, @sujay721, @imleor, @nina_metz and @katie_prout

Leonard Goodman / scheerpost.com: Chicago Reader's Len Goodman says its nonprofit transition is stalled because management won't accept the board's demand it guarantee space for dissenting views

Kate Cox / The Counter:

The Counter, a nonprofit newsroom that investigated the forces shaping how and what Americans eat, will cease publication on May 20 after nearly seven years — I'm writing with news I hoped I'd never have to report. After nearly seven years publishing some of the most provocative …

Axios:

Fox News says it didn't authorize a verified account on Truth Social, which for months has had unverified bot accounts for Fox Sports, TMZ, the NFL, and others — Just days after a verified account for Fox News appeared on former President Trump's social media app, Truth Social …

Discussion: @devincow, @jayrosen_nyu, @grahamdavida, @robertmaguire_, @pittgriffin, @danprimack, New York Magazine, Forbes, Mediaite and Insider

Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:

A year after Facebook launched podcasts and other audio tools for creators, sources say Meta has shifted its focus to metaverse events and online shopping — Facebook's interest in podcasts is fading, barely a year after it began. — Last April, during a hot market for audio …

Discussion: @mattnavarra, @ashleyrcarman, @lucas_shaw, @emilyrpeck, @evoterra, @jimprosser, @mgsiegler and Protocol, more at Techmeme »

Reuters:

Sources: a consortium led by radio industry veteran Jeff Warshaw offers to acquire Cumulus Media for close to $1.2B including debt; the stock closes up 39.86% — A consortium led by U.S. radio station industry veteran Jeff Warshaw has offered to acquire Cumulus Media Inc (CMLS.O) …

Discussion: Radio & Television …, insideradio.com, TALKERS magazine and insideradio.com

Josh Funk / Associated Press:

Hedge fund Cannell Capital announced this week it increased its stake in Lee Enterprises to 9.1%; Cannell's head says Lee needs new, digitally savvy leadership — OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Newspaper publisher Lee Enterprises is facing renewed pressure from a hedge fund to speed up its transition …

Discussion: The Rural Blog, @2xaught7, @suarez_cm, @lvernonsparks and @juwanthewriter

Stephen Battaglio / Los Angeles Times:

A look at Fox News Books, an effort to “transcend” the news; the marketing department develops the book ideas and matches them with on-air talent for promotion — Shannon Bream, an anchor on Fox News, doesn't get into the kinds of noise-making controversies that propel the careers …

Discussion: @shannonbream and @johnnydollar01

Mia Sato / The Verge:

YouTube Shorts now lets creators splice in 1- to 5-second clips from eligible long-form videos and Shorts; previously, creators could only add short audio clips — Creators can use clips from YouTube's billions of videos in their own content — Creators making YouTube Shorts will now be able …

Discussion: @lavrusik, Tubefilter, Mashable, TechCrunch and Engadget, more at Techmeme »

Denise Lavoie / Associated Press:

CNN and other news outlets sue VA governor, claiming he is violating FOIA by not turning over emails sent to a tip line about “divisive practices” in schools — RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Gov. Glenn Youngkin is violating the state's public records law by refusing to turn over emails sent …

Discussion: WTTG-TV

Michael Warren / CNN:

RNC votes unanimously to withdraw from its participation in the Commission on Presidential Debates — The Republican National Committee voted unanimously on Thursday to withdraw from its participation in the Commission on Presidential Debates, the organization that has long governed general-election presidential debates.

Discussion: Reason, @politicussarah, @politicussarah, @dcexaminer, Brookings, New Statesman, Fox News, CBS News and New York Magazine

Diane Haithman / The Wrap:

HFPA interim CEO confirms plans to add 200 non-member voters and turn it into a private, for-profit company, with profits going to member freelance journalists — Hollywood Foreign Press Association Interim CEO Todd Boehly on Thursday confirmed his intention to institute radical changes …

Discussion: @sharonwaxman

Archived Page Info:

This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 12:00 PM ET, April 15, 2022.

View the current page or another snapshot:

Who's Hiring in Media?

Senior Data Journalist, NY — WSJ

Manager - Publishing Editorial, Manila — Reuters

Oil Reporter, Singapore — Bloomberg

Newsperson - State Govt. & Politics, CA — AP

Business Reporter, SC — Post & Courier

State Government Reporter, WA — Seattle Times

Climate Crisis Columnist — Prospect UK

Multimedia Journalist, CA — Paramount

Community Engagement Mgr., DC — Freedom Forum

Senior California Politics Reporter, CA — SFGATE

Staff Writer - Business, NY — WIRED

Team Editor - Opinion, ON — Toronto Star

Assistant Correspondent, DC — Kyodo News

Climate & Weather Reporter, MN — Star Tribune

Senior Tech Editor, Remote US — The Verge

Lead Business Reporter, TN — Daily Memphian

Managing Editor, WA — Everett Herald

Private Credit Reporter, NY — Debtwire

City Correspondent, London — Financial News

Legislative Reporter, CA — Sacramento Bee

Reporter, PA — Tribune-Review

Visual Editor, Remote — Rest of World

Staff Writer, MI — Watershed Voice

Senior Political Reporter, DC — The Lever

California Playbook Writer, CA — Politico

National Investigative Reporter, NY — HuffPost

Business & Gaming Reporter, NV — Las Vegas Sun

Coastal Climate Reporter, SC — Island Packet

Environment & Energy Reporter, CT — CT Mirror

Coordinating Editor, OR — OPB

Editor, Remote US — Daily Kos

Business Reporter, WA — Longview Daily News

Editor-in-Chief, AZ — Phoenix New Times

Add your company here

See Also:

Mediagazer: site main

Mediagazer River: reverse chronological Mediagazer

Mediagazer Mobile: for phones

Mediagazer Leaderboard: Mediagazer's top sources

Subscribe:

Mediagazer RSS feed

Mediagazer on X

Mediagazer on Mastodon

More News:

The Moscow Times:
Russia blocks the Russian-language site of the Moscow Times for publishing a “false report” on riot police officers refusing to fight in Ukraine

Discussion: Radio Free Europe/Radio …, Reuters, @maryilyushina, @cliffordlevy, @samberkhead and Мед …

Rick Porter / Hollywood Reporter:
MLB renews its YouTube deal to stream 15 baseball games this season; the league has streaming deals with Apple TV+ for Friday games and Peacock for Monday games

Discussion: The Streamable, @lucas_shaw, @ericfishersbg, The Verge, Awful Announcing, Sports Business Journal and CNET

Bobby Ghosh / Bloomberg:
Q&A with Saad Mohseni, founder and CEO of Moby Group, which owns Afghanistan's TOLO TV, on hosting debates between Taliban factions, hiring more women, and more

Discussion: @bopinion, @astronoodlecat, @omsamad, @cpeterkessler, @dearzari, @khalilnoori, @heatherbarr1, @kathygannon and @bbcyaldahakim

Dave Cantor / Poynter:
Vox Media signs ad partnerships with Gastropod and The Longform Podcast and is considering subscription audio, where paying listeners get bonus content

Discussion: @poynter, @poynter and Digiday

Sarah Scire / Nieman Lab:
The Texas Tribune plans to hire reporters outside of big Texas cities, including its first Report for America position, to broaden perspectives on state policy

Discussion: American Press Institute, @amzam, @fahrenthold, @davidmcswane, @rebekahallen, @lerdody, @sewellchan and @chriscookttu

Earlier Picks:

Saritha Rai / Bloomberg:
India's ban on Chinese apps, including TikTok, has allowed homegrown short-video apps like Josh to thrive; Josh has 150M+ MAUs and a $5B valuation as of April

Discussion: Tubefilter and @saritharai

Timothy B. Lee / Ars Technica:
Wikipedia editors vote 232 to 94 to request that the Wikimedia Foundation stop accepting crypto donations; the foundation is not legally bound by the proposal

Discussion: Memex 1.1, @smdiehl, Gizmodo, @smdiehl, @dystopiabreaker, @dystopiabreaker, @groby, @molly0xfff, @theresnotimefor, Engadget, @molly0xfff, @lsanger, @binarybits, @gladstein, Micky, Slashdot, CNET, Protocol and The Register

Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Source: CNN+ passed 100K subscribers in its first week; the most popular shows so far are Chris Wallace's daily interview show and Kate Bolduan's 5 Things

Discussion: @lucas_shaw, Junghoon's Direct Media …, @samro, The Desk, The Streamable, AdExchanger, The Addition, @ballmatthew, @barroldbonds, @davidclinchnews, @lucas_shaw, @lucas_shaw, @sarafischer, @ckrewson, @jeremylittau and Puck

The Washington Post Guild:
The Washington Post Guild report on diversity and retention finds that “The Washington Post operates with systems that create and perpetuate inequalities”

Discussion: @timothynoah1, Ladyparts, Columbia Journalism Review, @karenattiah, @notesfromhel, @deggans, @kristenchick, @taylorlorenz, @laurenmlumpkin, @millie, @clarajeffery, American Press Institute, @scottnover, @byardduncan, @byardduncan, @byardduncan, @byardduncan, @byardduncan, @byardduncan, @byardduncan, @bendreyfuss, @fatimafarha_, @genepark, @cjr, @genepark, @genepark, @pererajh, @riogringa, @lillianbarkley, @jordanlray, @genepark, @nrnaik20, @justiceaudre, @kaylaepstein, @jfmclooney, @celenerz, @bernstein, @evystadium, @elysetoribio, @elvialimon, @anildash, @jaredbkeller, @forrestmilburn, @lessismoh, @leximcmenamin, @joshua_bote, @manishakrishnan, @adriana_lacy, @postguild, @jeffjarvis, @teddyamen, @abtran, @kemettler, @kemettler, @cristymsilva, @kaylaepstein, @samthielman, @kemettler, @espiers, @gerritd, @sophanho, @sophanho, @fenitn, @fenitn, @sarahkaplan48, @feliciasonmez, @marissa_jae, @jamiezega, @misssoniarao, @dataeditor, @sarahkaplan48, @emgusk, @dataeditor, Amy Explains and Today in Tabs, Thanks:@vtuss

From Techmeme:

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Anthropic raised another $4B from Amazon, will make AWS its primary training partner, and is working with Annapurna Labs to develop new Trainium accelerators

The Information:
Sources: OpenAI considered developing a browser, discussed deals to power AI features on Samsung devices and search on sites and apps from Condé Nast and others

Tim Hardwick / MacRumors:
A UK CMA report finds that Apple's policies hold back innovation in mobile browsers and recommends investigating Apple and Google's mobile ecosystem activities

Sister Sites:

Techmeme
Top news and commentary for technology's leaders, from all around the web

memeorandum
What US political commentators are discussing online right now

WeSmirch
The top celebrity news from all around the web on a single page