Mediagazer: Bellingcat founder Eliot Higgins says Midjourney banned him after he made images of a Donald Trump arrest; the company banned the word “arrested” in its tool (Chris Stokel-Walker/BuzzFeed News)

2:50 PM ET, March 22, 2023

Top News:

Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:

Memo: Spotify has spent less than 10% of its $100M Creator Equity Fund, announced in February 2022 to promote diversity in music after the Joe Rogan controversy — Spotify Technology SA's $100 million Creator Equity Fund, designed to promote diversity in music and podcasts following controversial comments …

Discussion: @jbfromdc89, The Daily Beast, @ashleyrcarman, @karenattiah, @lucas_shaw, @doctorjonpaul, @flynnwaslike, @andijarvis, @charlespulliam, @exavierpope and @lucas_shaw, more at Techmeme »

Meg James / Los Angeles Times:

Newsmax will return to DirecTV after the companies reach a new distribution agreement — DirecTV's dispute with conservative network Newsmax — which turned bitter when the small channel enlisted support from Republican politicians — is ending with Newsmax returning to programming lineups of satellite TV customers.

Andrew Marchand / New York Post:

Source: ESPN fired EVP Rob King, at the company for ~20 years, after harassment accusations; King tweeted that he “decided the time is right for me to leave” — ESPN has fired executive vice president Rob King after he was accused of harassment, The Post has learned.

Discussion: @espn_robking, @sarahspain, Variety, Columbia Journalism Review, OutKick, Poynter, Front Office Sports, Inside Radio, Fox News and Awful Announcing

Max Tani / @maxwelltani:

JAF Communications, which publishes The Messenger, acquires DC-based Grid, which will be integrated into The Messenger for its May 2023 launch — Inbox: New media startup the Messenger has acquired Grid News https://twitter.com/...

Discussion: Press Gazette, @clairehoworth, @kailijoy, @sarafischer, @learmonth and @jbenton

Sahil Patel / The Information:

Sources: Meta rehires veteran manager Nick Grudin, who left to join NFT startup Dapper Labs in August 2022, to oversee media company and creator relationships — Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg's effort to cut back on middle managers isn't stopping the company hiring more middle managers.

Discussion: @sizpatel, @pkafka and Inc42 Media, more at Techmeme »

Jaron Schneider / PetaPixel:

Amazon-owned digital photography site DPReview is closing on April 10; people can request to download photos or texts they've uploaded to the site until April 6 — DPReview, easily one of the most beloved publications among photography enthusiasts, will shut down and its content will be deleted.

Jaron Schneider / PetaPixel:
Chris Niccolls and Jordan Drake, departing hosts of DPReview TV on YouTube, plan to join PetaPixel to lead its new YouTube Channel that launches in May

Discussion: @lgworld, @raywongy and @jaronschneider

Chris Stokel-Walker / BuzzFeed News:

Bellingcat founder Eliot Higgins says Midjourney banned him after he made images of a Donald Trump arrest; the company banned the word “arrested” in its tool — “I suspect it was pushing my luck when I did the [Twitter] thread,” said Bellingcat founder Eliot Higgins.

Discussion: Mediaite, The Daily Dot, The Hill, Ars Technica, The Present Age, @glynmoody, PetaPixel, @stokel and @stokel, more at Techmeme »

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

Reach offers staff earning £60K or less a 4% pay rise; a source says Reach will employ ~1,200 journalists, down from 2,862 in 2022, after planned redundancies — Reach is doubling down on growing direct audiences and data-driven digital revenues. — Reach has offered staff earning £60,000 …

Reuters Institute:

An analysis of 100 news outlets in Brazil, Germany, South Africa, the UK, and the US in 2022: 23% of the 81 top editors are POC with none in Brazil and Germany — In this Reuters Institute factsheet, continuing work started in 2020, we analyse the percentage of people of colour …

Discussion: @risj_oxford, American Press Institute, @rasmus_kleis, @johnycassidy, @kirstenaeddy, @luizferteixeira, @rasmus_kleis and @mitalilive

Jef Feeley / Bloomberg:

Lawyers for Dominion and Fox News try to persuade a judge to resolve the defamation lawsuit against Fox without the jury trial scheduled to start on April 17 — Ask lawyers about Eric Davis, the judge overseeing the $1.6 billion defamation suit against Fox News by Dominion Voting Systems …

Oliver Darcy / CNN:
Fox News drops its lawsuit seeking a restraining order against producer Abby Grossberg but places her on leave after she filed two lawsuits against the network

Gene Maddaus / Variety:

Sources: the WGA proposes allowing writers to use AI for scripts without sharing credit or residuals, after previously considering regulating AI use in writing — The Writers Guild of America has proposed allowing artificial intelligence to write scripts, as long as it does not affect writers' credits or residuals.

Discussion: The Verge, @jsjdarling, @louisathelast, @bensolohope, @cadebrigade, @tedhope and @filmupdates

Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:

Instagram plans to roll out ads in search results globally in the coming months after initial tests and debuts Reminder Ads for opt-in upcoming event reminders — Meta is introducing two new tools on Instagram designed to open up additional avenues for advertising as the company grapples with weak advertising demand.

Discussion: MarTech, The Verge, 9to5Mac and MediaPost, more at Techmeme »

Sarah Spicer / Committee to Protect Journalists:

News reporters and journalists say at least 28 members of the press were obstructed, harassed, or attacked covering Nigerian elections on March 18 and 19 — Nigerian authorities should thoroughly investigate incidents involving at least 28 journalists and media workers being harassed …

William Turvill / Press Gazette:

UK publishers criticize new guidelines which could give police across England and Wales the option of not releasing the names of people charged with offenses — The proposed guidance states that forces “can” name charged suspects. The current advice is they “should”.

Discussion: HoldtheFrontPage

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Dan Kennedy / Media Nation:
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Elizabeth Dilts Marshall / Billboard:
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David Robb / Deadline:
WGA East members who work for Hearst Magazines plan a half-day walkout on March 23 to demand a fair contract; rallies are planned at four Hearst office sites

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The Guardian:
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