Mediagazer: Newsmax is complaining on air and online about DirecTV dropping the channel; any new deal can affect the terms of Newsmax's pacts with other pay TV providers (Stephen Battaglio/Los Angeles Times)

6:30 PM ET, February 15, 2023

Top News:

Over 100 New York Times contributors and others call on the newspaper to stop “bias, fringe theories, and dangerous inaccuracies” in its trans people coverage — Hannah Gadsby, Joey Soloway, Margaret Cho, Jameela Jamil, Lena Dunham, Jonathan Van Ness and Jazz Jennings were also among …

Discussion: nytletter.com, Hell Gate, Nieman Lab, GLAAD, BuzzFeed News, @glaad, @binarybits, @jessesingal, HuffPost, @froomkin, @tomscocca, The Hill, @parkermolloy, @indyfromspace, GLAAD, @wfkars, @briannawu, @parkermolloy, @melissagira, @aridrennen, @binarybits, @melissagira, Mediaite, @harronwawker, The Wrap, @sasha_velour, @kmele, @hollywoodintoto, @athertonkd, @alexanderchee, @nora_jsr, @owillis, @silviakillings, @sarahkateellis, @jeopardamy, @docstockk, @parkermolloy, @rgay, @muna_mire, @glaad, @thetonymorrison, @luxalptraum, @msmagazine, @glaad, @shaneferro, Deadline, @budrykzack, @jmkliegman, @byjudedoyle, @lyzl, @bykatesmith, @mattyglesias, @parkermolloy, @melissagira, @discourse_blog, @isle_mcelroy, @alexkleeman, The Daily Beast, @parkermolloy, @markharrisnyc, @thefrankiedlc, @glaad, @lpolgreen, @ggreenwald, @macfathom, Press Gazette, @espiers, @mckinneykelsey, @hellgateny, @jfrejnyc, @parkermolloy, @jack_turban, @bykatesmith, @theradr, @tomcoates, @leximcmenamin, @nikostratis, @parkermolloy, @lyzl, @melissagira, @parkermolloy, @shiramstein, @joshgondelman, @elongreen, @femme_thoughts, @tabathasouthey, @_zeets, @natachakennedy, @rcolesworthy, @ericthurm, @davidklion, @leftistwriter, @sdkstl, @megrowler, @wcruz73, @tombevanrcp, @tithenai, @tithenai, @nikilsaval, @transscribe, @muna_mire, Forbes, Rolling Stone and New York Daily News

The Guardian:

France's BFMTV suspended presenter Rachid M'Barki in January and launched an internal probe into news packages linked to Israeli disinformation unit Team Jorge — Rachid M'Barki, one of channel's longest-serving hosts, suspended during inquiry into news packages linked to ‘Team Jorge’

Discussion: The Guardian, @burke_jason, @paullewis, @manisha_bot, @david_conn and @emilybell, more at Techmeme »

Jessica Toonkel / Wall Street Journal:

AMC Networks Chairman James Dolan appoints his wife, Kristin Dolan, as the network's CEO, starting on February 27; Kristin is a former COO of Cablevision — Cable-TV company known for hits like ‘The Walking Dead’ has discussed potential deals with Roku, Sony and others; transition to streaming has been rocky

Discussion: @jtoonkel, Next TV, Adweek, CNBC, MediaPost, Variety, The Wrap, Deadline, @patiencehaggin, Media Play News, @jtoonkel, @vanthebrand, The Hollywood Reporter, @asharma, IndieWire, @bubbaprog and @pkafka

Tiyashi Datta / Reuters:

Roku reports Q4 revenue flat YoY at $867.1M, vs. $801.7M est., streaming hours up 23% YoY to 23.9B, and Q1 2023 revenue guidance above est.; ROKU jumps 10%+ — Roku Inc (ROKU.O) forecast first-quarter revenue above analysts' estimates on Wednesday, betting on its streaming devices and content platform to drive growth.

Discussion: The Streamable, TechCrunch, Variety, The Wrap and Deadline, more at Techmeme »

Stephen Battaglio / Los Angeles Times:

Newsmax is complaining on air and online about DirecTV dropping the channel; any new deal can affect the terms of Newsmax's pacts with other pay TV providers — Viewers who have tuned into the conservative news channel Newsmax in recent weeks may think they are watching a telethon.

Discussion: CNN, @thetweetofjohn, @jayrosen_nyu, IndieWire, The Desk and Next TV

Carlos Greer / Page Six:

Sources: CNN last week terminated Federico Quadrani, Jake Tapper's executive producer, over a relationship with a subordinate, amid a separate HR investigation — It's been one year since former CNN chief Jeff Zucker resigned over his relationship with top exec Allison Gollust …

Discussion: The Wrap, Fox News, @katiecouric, Mediaite and @johnnydollar01

Matthew Yglesias / Slow Boring:

More competition has made mainstream media better than ever; Bari Weiss, Fox News, and others are incentivized to exaggerate the issues to sell their own wares — More competition means it's better than ever, but you hear more about the flaws — Fresh episode of Bad Takes is out today …

Discussion: @mattyglesias, @mattyglesias, @joeycoleman, @mattyglesias, @anthony, @gregbudzban, @jayrosen_nyu, @mattzeitlin, @semaforben, @campussources, @jamespmanley, @mattyglesias and @mattyglesias

NewsNation:

Ohio's attorney general says charges against NewsNation reporter Evan Lambert have been dismissed; Lambert was arrested on February 8 at a press conference — (NewsNation) — Charges against NewsNation reporter Evan Lambert have been dismissed, the Ohio attorney general said Wednesday.

Discussion: Fox News, The Wrap, Mediaite, WKYC-TV, Slate, CBS News, Associated Press, @statter911, @couts@mastodon.social, The Desk, @newsnation, New York Daily News and WKBN-TV

Ava Benny-Morrison / Bloomberg:

After outlets sought the names of SBF's bail guarantors, a judge reveals Stanford Law emeritus dean Larry Kramer and Stanford computer scientist Andreas Paepcke — Two people who co-signed Sam Bankman-Fried's $250 million bail package have been have been publicly identified as a former dean …

Discussion: New York Magazine, CoinDesk, New York Post, Fortune, Financial Times, Forbes, Insider, @eamonjavers, The Daily Beast, @eamonjavers, @eriqgardner, @eamonjavers and @eriqgardner

MPR News:

Star Tribune names Steve Grove, Minnesota's commissioner of employment and economic development and a former Google executive, as its publisher and CEO — The Star Tribune has tapped Minnesota's commissioner of employment and economic development to take the paper's top job.

Discussion: @launchminnesota, Star Tribune and MediaPost

Brendan Coffey / Sportico:

Sinclair Broadcast's Diamond Sports Holdings skipped a $140M debt payment due on February 15, 2023, formally starting a 30-day grace period to resolve the debt — Regional sports network operator Diamond Sports Holdings has skipped a $140 million debt payment due Wednesday …

Discussion: Radio & Television …, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Awful Announcing, Sports Business Journal and Barrett Media

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Twitter updates its policies to allow cannabis ads targeting US states where cannabis is legal, promoting brands or providing info but not offering direct sales — Twitter on Wednesday updated its advertising policies to allow cannabis ads to run on its service in states where cannabis is legal, in accordance with federal guidelines.

Discussion: Ad Age, Twitter for Business, Reuters, Politico and @junglejava1, more at Techmeme »

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