Mediagazer: Axios HQ, the software business spun off from Axios in 2022, raised a $20M Series A at a nearly $100M valuation to build communication tools with OpenAI's help (Alexandra Bruell/Wall Street Journal)

2:00 PM ET, March 24, 2023

Top News:

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Twitter plans to wind down its legacy verified program and remove legacy verified checkmarks starting on April 1, 2023 — The social network, which the mega-billionaire bought last year in a debt-heavy $44 billion deal, announced on Thursday that starting April 1, it will remove …

Discussion: @verified, Boing Boing, @mattnavarra, The Atlantic, Engadget, CNET, @oneunderscore__, Insider, Fast Company, @evacide, The Verge, The A.V. Club, @aoc, PCMag UK, AppleInsider, @davidclinchnews, @film_girl@mastodon.social, @drewisgooden, @scottmonty, @eve6, @datruthdt, @charles_gaba, @fordfischer, @basicallyidowrk, @allbrightnfl, @goldengateblond, @christaylor_nyc, @dloesch, @georgehahn, @adamweinstein, @richsignorelli, @rotopat, @ordinarygamers, @gaufre, @edzitron, @cricketaakash, @maxwelltani, Telangana Today, @variety, @wolfiesmom, @ashtonpittman, @scalzi, @film_girl@mastodon.social, @karnythia, @benedictevans, @wajahatali, @petergleick, @mattdpearce, @kevinmkruse, Quartz, @vinn_ayy, @cowboysnation, @shanselman, @froomkin, @marshall89hd, @xiranjayzhao, @slooterman, @mike_petriello, @lindseyyok, @neeleshmisra, @andyboxall, @katearonoff, @binchcity, @muellershewrote, @jamesfallows, @blackamazon, @danprimack, @ynb, Bloomberg, TechCrunch, Droid Life, The Wrap, TechCrunch, The Intersect, The Desk, IGN, 9to5Google, Forbes and Rolling Stone, more at Techmeme »

Erin Doherty / Axios:

As lawmakers ripped TikTok CEO Shou Chew in a congressional hearing on March 23, creators on the app defended the platform with the tag #tiktokhearing — It was a near-perfect split screen: As lawmakers ripped TikTok in a congressional hearing with the company's CEO on Thursday, the app's users took to the platform to defend it.

Jameel Jaffer / New York Times:

A TikTok ban likely would have to satisfy the most stringent form of First Amendment review in court because it would operate as a prior restraint on speech — The First Amendment has so far played only a bit part in the debate about banning TikTok. This may change.

Discussion: Washington Post, Freedom of the Press …, @rasmus_kleis, @ingrahamangle, @shiraovide, @cendemtech, @jameeljaffer, @drewharwell, Boston.com, Just Security, @jeffjarvis@mastodon.social, @scottgreenfield and The Hill, more at Techmeme »

NPR:

NPR stops producing the Invisibilia, Louder Than a Riot, Rough Translation, and Everyone & Their Mom podcasts, and cuts 10% of staff to close a $30M+ budget gap — NPR moved this week to cut 10 percent of its staff and stop production of a trio of acclaimed seasonal podcasts - Invisibilia …

Bloomberg:

Sources: Apple plans to spend $1B per year to produce movies for release in thousands of theaters, a big increase from years past, seeking to grow TV+ awareness — Apple Inc. plans to spend $1 billion a year to produce movies that will be released in theaters, according to people familiar …

Giles Turner / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple considers bidding for the streaming rights to a range of English soccer games, including to show Premier League games in the UK, following Amazon

Discussion: Macworld, Broadband TV News, @newsynick, Front Office Sports, @imbadatlife, @irishtimesbiz, @bloomberguk, @graceonfootball, @bloomberguk, IndieWire, The Streamable, Deadline and 9to5Mac

Martin Baron / Washington Post:

Marty Baron defends objectivity as a journalistic principle, arguing it is neither false balance nor neutrality, but a call for open-mindedness in reporting — Martin Baron was executive editor of The Post from January 2013 through February 2021 and, before that, editor of the Boston Globe for more than 11 years.

Discussion: @ijbailey, @ijbailey, @ijbailey, @ijbailey, @ijbailey, @tatecurtis, @ijbailey, @ktumulty, @ktumulty, @ijbailey, @jayrosen_nyu and @bylenasun

New York Times:

The ALA says 2022 saw 1,269 attempts to ban books and other resources in libraries and schools, the most since the group began tracking censorship 20 years ago — A new report from the American Library Association showed a spike in censorship efforts, with 1,269 attempts.

Discussion: Publishers Weekly, @alalibrary, @amandalitman, @pgourevitch, @victorerikray, Truthout, The Hill, Boing Boing, New York Daily News, CBS News and Al Jazeera

Adi Robertson / The Verge:

The FTC proposes banning difficult-to-cancel subscriptions via “click to cancel” rules requiring companies to make ending a subscription as simple as signing up — The US Federal Trade Commission is proposing a formal ban on subscriptions that are simple to start but difficult to stop.

Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal:

Axios HQ, the software business spun off from Axios in 2022, raised a $20M Series A at a nearly $100M valuation to build communication tools with OpenAI's help — Axios HQ to use ChatGPT maker OpenAI to improve tools that help clients write emails, headlines

Discussion: Axios, @roylschwartz, @jz, @chaykak, @mikerugnetta and @scottnover, more at Techmeme »

Michael E. Kanell / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Atlanta Journal-Constitution EIC Kevin Riley is retiring, to be succeeded by Leroy Chapman Jr., the first Black editor-in-chief in the outlet's 155-year history — Managing Editor Leroy Chapman to succeed Kevin Riley as editor-in-chief. Riley announced retirement Thursday.

Katie Robertson / New York Times:

Fox lawyers argue the company shouldn't be found liable in the Dominion case as the Murdochs and other executives were not directly involved in Fox News content — Lawyers for the company, which faces a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit, are pushing for a judge to rule in their favor before a trial.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, The Hill, The Guardian, @brianstelter, @froomkin@journa.host, @jackshafer, @leetravis_, @oliver_drk, @tonywalker1, @rolandsmartin, Media Matters for America, Slate and TVNewsCheck

Law & Crime:

Law&Crime announces plans to expand its YouTube presence through a series of acquisitions and partnerships with other channels in the true crime genre — Leading legal and true crime network Law&Crime announces plans to expand its YouTube presence through a series of upcoming acquisitions …

Discussion: Media Play News and TVNewsCheck

Archived Page Info:

This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 2:00 PM ET, March 24, 2023.

View the current page or another snapshot:

Who's Hiring in Media?

Deputy Ed. - Gen. Assignment Desk, DC — WaPo

EU Technology Reporter, Brussels — Bloomberg

Breaking News Reporter, NY — Guardian US

Harrisburg Reporter, PA — PCBC

Senior Editor - Styles, NY — NYT

Part-time Editor, Remote — Techmeme

Home & Travel Reporter, Ireland — Newsweek

Assistant Digital Editor, MA — Boston Globe

Senior Editor - Visuals (Temporary), DC — NPR

South Reporter, GA/Remote — ProPublica

Private Capital Reporter, London — FT

Staff Writer, MI — Watershed Voice

Articles Editor, CA — SF Standard

Pharma Reporter, Remote US — Endpoints

Metro Reporter, TN — Daily Memphian

Higher Ed. Reporter, Remote CA — EdSource

Politics Reporter, Brussels — Politico

Investigations & Enterprise Ed., WI — Cap Times

Social Strategy Editor, NY — WSJ

Business Reporter, TX — Fort Worth Report

Senior Narrative Editor, CA — Cloud Chamber

News Correspondent, MS — Magnolia Tribune

Accountability Reporter, NC — Charlotte Observer

Editor-in-Chief, NY (flexible) — The 74

Housing Reporter, OK — The Frontier

Writer/AI Content Reviewer, CA — Outlier

Writer/Editor, Remote — Mediaite

Political Reporter, TX — Courier Newsroom

Afternoon/Night Editor, NH — Keene Sentinel

Education Lab Editor, WA — Seattle Times

Staff Writer, MA/Remote — Tech Advisor

State Worker Reporter, CA — Sacramento Bee

Executive Editor, NM — Searchlight

Reporter, NC — NC Newsline

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:

Sky News:
The BBC shelves its next Top Gear season after presenter Andrew Flintoff was injured in a December 2022 crash at the show's test track

Discussion: @stokesy1966, The Guardian, Deadline, Daily Mail, BBC and London Evening Standard

David Robb / Deadline:
WGA East members at Hearst Magazines offices in Alabama, Michigan, New York, and Pennsylvania held a half-day March 23 walkout and rally for a fair contract

Discussion: @dominicknero, @joeycapparella, @bombur, Lehigh Valley Live and al.com

Mark Jacob / Nieman Lab:
Journalism schools aren't interested in banning Fox News, despite the Dominion case appearing to reveal that the network committed a breach of journalism ethics

Discussion: @taraemcg, @melanie_asu, @markjacob16, @jayrosen_nyu, @froomkin, @markjacob16 and @niemanlab

Nathan Grayson / Washington Post:
Current and former Twitch staff describe how the service lost its way: out-of-touch leaders, losing big creators, cost cutting, many irrelevant ads, and more

Discussion: @pucknorris, @adribbleofink, @vahn16, @vahn16, @vahn16, @vahn16, @vahn16, @vahn16 and The Information, more at Techmeme »

Brian Steinberg / Variety:
CNN plans to launch The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper, a 60 Minutes-style show, on April 16 at 8pm, as part of its plans for Sunday night premium programming

Discussion: Poynter, TVNewser, @brianstelter, FTVLive, New York Post, TVLine, CNN, Deadline, The Wrap, The Hollywood Reporter and New York Daily News

Earlier Picks:

Ashley Belanger / Ars Technica:
A look at the Internet Archive's and the major publishers' arguments in a New York court as publishers struggle to prove IA's book lending hurt their revenues

Discussion: @jaspergregory, @jamiexml, @internetarchive, @quinnnorton, @jziskina, @jenreadsromance, @mariabustillos and @clancynewyork

Naman Ramachandran / Variety:
Ofcom lays out rules for the BBC's new operating license, which requires adherence to 70+ quotas and comprehensively regulates its online services, from April 1

Discussion: Advanced Television, Broadband TV News and Deadline

Laura Hazard Owen / Nieman Lab:
Q&A with Center for Cooperative Media Research Director Sarah Stonbely residents' top needs from local news outlets, especially calendars of municipal meetings

Discussion: The Rural Blog, @sarahstonbely, @rispolimike, American Press Institute, @aliciak2010, @niemanlab and @spj_tweets

Gretchen A. Peck / Editor and Publisher:
A look at local news publishers' views on grants and government funding: one skeptic views tech company grants as “business-building projects”, not philanthropy

Discussion: New York Times, @localnewsini, @viacristiano and @robatkinsonitif

Cory Doctorow / Pluralistic:
Cory Doctorow plans to sell a third audiobook via Kickstarter after refusing to consent to Amazon's DRM for Audible, which gets 90%+ of genre audiobook sales

From Techmeme:

Andy Greenberg / Wired:
Cisco details a hacking campaign that penetrated multiple governments' networks using two zero-day flaws in its VPN and firewall Adaptive Security Appliances

Ben Glickman / Wall Street Journal:
IBM agrees to buy HashiCorp, which helps companies manage cloud infrastructure, in a deal valuing HashiCorp at $6.4B and expected to close by the end of 2024

Bob Van Voris / Bloomberg:
US prosecutors charge two founders of the Samourai Wallet crypto mixing service, saying it facilitated more than $100M in money laundering transactions

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