Mediagazer: Private equity firm Ethical Capital Partners acquires Pornhub owner MindGeek, which had $460M in 2018 revenue and sources say profit margins near 50% at times (Patricia Nilsson/Financial Times)

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5:45 PM ET, March 16, 2023

Top News:

Emily Baker-White / Forbes:

Sources: the FBI and DOJ are investigating what led TikTok's parent company ByteDance to use the app to surveil US journalists; source: ByteDance was subpoenaed — Months before the U.S. government demanded ByteDance divest from TikTok, the Department Of Justice's Criminal Division subpoenaed …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, @ebakerwhite, @ericjhonsa, @gabewildau, @badams, @iblametom, Quartz, Gizmodo, @alexrkonrad, Bloomberg, NPR, Observer and The Hill, more at Techmeme »

Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:

Afternoon shows on Fox News, MSNBC, and CNN rate higher than the networks' prime-time shows, as big stars move on, core audiences turn to streaming, and more — The biggest draw on Fox News is no longer Tucker Carlson or Sean Hannity; it's “The Five.” And daytime shows on CNN and MSNBC are outranking evening programming.

Discussion: @thebeatwithari, @joshkraushaar, @kellycnbc and @brianstelter

Brian Morrissey / The Rebooting:

Digital media companies are shifting from ad-driven scale models into something smaller, which should benefit publishers that have flexible models and low costs — The year of efficiency heralds a longer chill for publishing — I've been thinking lately about how we are between eras in lots of areas.

Discussion: @niemanlab, Variety, @jbenton, @simonowens@newsie.social and Digiday

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Simon Owens / Simon Owens's Media Newsletter:
A look at the business model issues for Morning Brew, which had layoffs in November 2022 and March 2023 and like many outlets is largely dependent on ad revenue

Discussion: MediaPost, @simonowens, @rafat and Substack

A survey of 338 US Fox News viewers: 21% trust the channel less due to the testimony and texts from the Dominion lawsuit and 9% say they watch the network less — More than a fifth of Fox News Channel viewers are less trusting of the cable network in the wake of publicly disclosed text messages …

Discussion: Mediaite, The Week, @genecollier, @melissadderosa, @iwriteok, @ameshiacross, Wall Street Journal, @mehdirhasan, @noliewithbtc, The Hill, @yair_rosenberg, @delpercios, @davidafrench, @victorshi2020 and @amandacarpenter

Blake Brittain / Reuters:

The US Copyright Office says protection for AI-assisted artistic works will depend on whether AI's contributions reflect the author's “own mental conception” — The U.S. Copyright Office issued new guidance on Wednesday to clarify when artistic works created with the help of artificial intelligence are copyright eligible.

Discussion: Billboard, The Information, Plagiarism Today and Music Ally, more at Techmeme »

Patrick McGee / Financial Times:

Q&A with Dina Srinivasan, author of The Antitrust Case Against Facebook, on Meta and Google's ad duopoly, the US antitrust cases, concerns about Apple, and more — In February 2019, Dina Srinivasan, then an independent scholar, published an academic paper entitled ‘The Antitrust Case Against Facebook’ …

Discussion: @markscott82, @anshublog, @dinasrinivasan, @patrickmcgee_ and @spignal

Roger Vincent / Los Angeles Times:

Fox Corp submits plans for a $1.5B expansion of the historic Fox Studio Lot, including adding nine soundstages, for a total of 24, as streaming drives demand — The historic Fox Studio Lot, one of Hollywood's most celebrated movie factories, is set to get a $1.5-billion upgrade that would change …

Discussion: Deadline, The Wrap and The Hollywood Reporter

Barbara Kandek / Wikimedia Foundation:

Q&A with Jareen Imam of Women Do News, which aims to increase the recognition of women in journalism, particularly by using Wikipedia to tell their stories — This is Open the Knowledge: Stories, a blog series highlighting Wikimedia movement volunteers and groups that are working …

Discussion: @mollystarkdean

Patricia Nilsson / Financial Times:

Private equity firm Ethical Capital Partners acquires Pornhub owner MindGeek, which had $460M in 2018 revenue and sources say profit margins near 50% at times — MindGeek acquired by Ethical Capital Partners for undisclosed sum — MindGeek, one of the world's largest and most controversial porn companies …

Discussion: Variety, @pkedrosky, Bloomberg and @mroliverbarnes, more at Techmeme »

Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:

YouTube raises YouTube TV's price by $8 to $72.99/month, citing a rise in “content costs”, effective for new users on March 16 and existing users on April 18 — YouTube has announced that it's raising the price of its YouTube TV subscription to $72.99 per month.

Taylor Hatmaker / TechCrunch:

Twitch CEO Emmett Shear steps down after 16 years at the company, replaced by president Dan Clancy, effective immediately; Shear is a Justin.tv co-founder — After serving as its chief executive for more than a decade, Twitch CEO Emmett Shear will take a step back at the company.

Discussion: Variety, Gizmodo, Deadline, Tubefilter, @dieselttv, IGN, New York Times, The Information, @rhymestyle and @chilledchaos, more at Techmeme »

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

Elliot Resnick, a former editor of The Jewish Press, faces charges of civil disorder, impeding police officers, and misdemeanors at the US Capitol on January 6 — The former editor of an Orthodox Jewish newspaper in New York City — identified two years ago as a member of the Jan. 6 mob by POLITICO …

Discussion: Associated Press, abc7NY, @egavactip, FBI and @kyledcheney

Archived Page Info:

This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 5:45 PM ET, March 16, 2023.

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Who's Hiring in Media?

Output Producer, CA — AP

China Markets Correspondent, Shanghai — Reuters

Senior Assignment Editor, DC — WaPo

Breaking News Editor, Tokyo — Bloomberg

Senior Correspondent - Wealth, NY — WSJ

Reporter - Ottawa Bureau — Globe & Mail

Local Government Reporter, IA — The Gazette

Research Director, CA — OCBJ

Immigration Enforcement Reporter — Documented

Presque Island Reporter, ME — Bangor Daily News

Contributing Parks Ed. - SW, CA — SFGATE

AI Content Editor, WA — Outlier

Legislative Reporter, TN — Daily Memphian

Editorial Assistant, Remote US — Launch Potato

Elon Musk Reporter, NY or CA — The Information

Government & Politics Editor, WA — Seattle Times

Business & GA Reporter. VT — VTDigger

Sports Reporter, WA — Everett Herald

Energy Reporter, TX — Houston Chronicle

Senior Reporter, SC — Island Packet

Trade & Climate Correspondent, DC — FT

Reporter, WI — Racine County Eye

Political Newsletter Writer, CO — The Lever

Jackson Reporter, MS — Verite

Music Editor, AZ — Phoenix New Times

Breaking News Reporter, NV — Las Vegas Sun

Fearless Reporter/Producer, IA — BPC

Reporter II - Technology, Remote — NPR

Editor, Remote US — Daily Kos

City Reporter, WA — Tacoma News Tribune

Executive Editor, OR — Lookout Local

Education & Budget Reporter, CA — Politico

Senior Writer/Editor, FL — Gulfshore Business

Media Editor, Remote — Axios

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More News:

Georg Szalai / The Hollywood Reporter:
Paramount+ plans to launch Basic, its first mobile-only plan, on April 18, for ~$2.82/month or ~$25.36/year in Brazil and ~$4.18/month or ~$37.48/year in Mexico

Discussion: The Streamable, Deadline, Broadband TV News, Variety, WORLD SCREEN, Media Play News and Advanced Television

BBC:
NUJ expected 1,000+ BBC journalists to join the 24-hour strike that ended on March 16 at 11am GMT; some radio stations used syndicated shows or stand-in hosts

Discussion: Deadline, @rosiehuz, @sannyr1985, @dsmithradio, @robgurneyonair, The Sun, @looknorthbbc, Inside Radio and Press Gazette

Matthew Keys / The Desk:
The FCC fines radio operators under the PIRATE Act: $2.3M for César Ayora and Luis Angel Ayora of Queens, New York, $80K for Thomas Barnes of La Grande, Oregon

Discussion: Federal Communications …, @fcc, @fcc, @fcc, Inside Radio and Federal Communications …

Earlier Picks:

Financial Times:
With the “easy money” era over, Disney CEO Bob Iger wants to bring focus to the company, which could mean selling its Hulu stake or an ESPN investment or sale

Discussion: @robyncurnow, @carlquintanilla, @richlightshed, @ourand_sbj and @kerrymflynn

Jon Allsop / Columbia Journalism Review:
A journalists' union in Athens apologized for downplaying repeated warnings about Greece's rail system; some blame a larger deficit of accountability journalism

Discussion: Fox News, @cjr, @lydiaemman, @brunotersago, @risj_oxford, @ebersi, @cjr, @investigate_eu, @jon_allsop, @alohamoira and Agence France-Presse

Charlotte Klein / @charlottetklein:
Axios fires Tampa Bay-based reporter Ben Montgomery after he replied to an email about a Governor DeSantis event, “This is propaganda, not a press release.”

Discussion: Washington Post, @alexlanfran, Talking Points Memo, Poynter, @jake_bernstein, @katzonearth, @gangrey, @joshtpm, Florida Politics, @colmorrisdavis, @greta, @bydavidgardner, @justingeorge, @lizzieohreally, @tommytomlinson, @gregggonsalves, @hunterw, @kattenbarge, @tomscocca, @rachelbitecofer, @kvanvalkenburg, @schwarz, @tiffanydcross, @imillhiser, @rachelbitecofer, @nytliz, @ruthbenghiat, @oliverdarcy, @poynter, The Hill, @deanbaker13, @brianbeutler, @hunterw, @johnmcquaid@journa.host, @lindyli, @moorehn, @brettarends, @natemonroetu, @alexkoppelman, @what46hasdone, @lavern_spicer, @vabvox, @lighttweeting, @hunterw, @hunterw, @hunterw, @laurarbelin, @bfriedmandc, @dellcam, @jeffreyasachs, @ashtonpittman, @jeffjarvis, @cjciaramella, @dcwoodruff, @rcohen, @donmoyn, @thor_benson, @donmoyn, @tvietor08, @mpdillon, @ijbailey, @lansdallius, @thesarahkelly, @thesarahkelly, @thesarahkelly, @bfriedmandc, @_cingraham, @wajahatali, @mcbyrne, @bruce_arthur, @hemantmehta, @samthielman, @eric_jotkoff, @eric_jotkoff, @3fecta, @natalieweiner, @chuckrossdc, @samyoungman, @thesarahkelly, @lukeoneil47, @christinapushaw, @simonhernandez, @curtishouck, @kept_simple, @espiers, @theseantcollins, @russbengtson, @ggreenwald, @mobute, @helenkennedy, @theinsneider, @domdifurio, @karlbode, @anandwrites, @carigervin, @jeffpearlman, @sayssimonson, @christinapushaw, @bryandgriffin, @mattdpearce, New York Post, @dangillmor@mastodon.social, Breitbart, Creative Loafing Tampa Bay, The Desk, The Wrap, @justin_hart, Fox News, HuffPost, Mediaite, @kevinrns@mstdn.social, @mjk_4mjk@mastodon.ie and Fox News

From Techmeme:

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is working on a smart doorbell system with advanced facial recognition that can wirelessly connect and unlock third-party smart locks

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Donald Trump announces that Sriram Krishnan, until recently a general partner at a16z, will serve as senior policy advisor for AI at the White House OSTP

Financial Times:
Sources: Palantir and Anduril are in talks with OpenAI, SpaceX, and more to form a consortium to bid for US defense contracts and plan to announce it in January

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