Mediagazer: An interview with Kenyan data journalists Eunice Magwambo, Purity Mukami, and Juliet Atellah on data journalism's impact, training reporters, and key challenges (Maurice Oniang'o/Reuters Institute)

2:05 PM ET, April 3, 2023

Top News:

Twitter removed the verified badge from The New York Times' main account after Elon Musk responded to a meme taunting the outlet's decision not to pay for Blue — The Times and other news organizations say they won't pay for the icon, which is designed to protect against impersonation

Aaron McDade / Yahoo Finance:

In a now-deleted tweet, Elon Musk said Twitter would give verified accounts “a few weeks grace” but take away their checkmarks if “they tell they won't pay now” — - The first day of Twitter's previously announced axing of “legacy” verified checks nearly passed without incident.

Discussion: Axios, Insider, @drewharwell, Washington Post, Associated Press, Gizmodo, @kalhanr, @dancow, @kenjennings, Gadgets 360, Bloomberg, Variety, @brianstelter, IndieWire and The Hill, more at Techmeme »

Sara Fischer / Axios:
Email: The White House will not pay for Twitter Blue for its staff; the White House and top officials' accounts like POTUS will likely maintain gray checkmarks

Amy Thomson / Bloomberg:

Endeavor acquires WWE in a deal that values WWE at $9.3B including debt; the combined company, valued at $21B+, will be led by Endeavor CEO Ariel Emanuel — Endeavor Group Holdings Inc. has agreed to buy World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. in a deal that values the company at $9.3 billion including debt.

Discussion: Axios, The Hollywood Reporter, New York Times, Observer, Variety, Variety, CNBC, New York Times, MediaPost, The Wrap, @sarafischer, The A.V. Club, Bloomberg, Mashable, Investis Digital, Endeavor, The FADER, New York Post, Fox News, Associated Press, Sportico, Fox Business, Financial Times, @jonalba, The Comeback, @sherman4949, Awful Announcing, @claytravis, Pro Wrestling Torch, @sherman4949, Reuters, @sherman4949, Reuters, @fightoracle, ClutchPoints, @benmullin, Yahoo Finance, @sherman4949, @alexweprin, Front Office Sports, @abrahamjoseph, Forbes, @lucas_shaw, @dennyburkholder, @lanceulanoff, Deadline, @jimpethokoukis, CNBC, Barrett Media, New York Post, @brentsobleski, Front Office Sports, Variety, ClutchPoints, The Wrap, @chrisvannini, Gadgets 360, Wall Street Journal, Popverse Latest, New York Daily News and WORLD SCREEN

Sara Fischer / Axios:

An interview with WWE President Nick Khan on WWE and UFC pursuing separate linear TV rights negotiations, continuing WWE's Saudi relationship, and more — WWE and UFC will pursue separate media rights negotiations for linear TV, but there could be an opportunity to pursue a combined streaming deal …

Discussion: The Streamable, Variety, Los Angeles Times, @brandonthurston, Next TV, @aaronbronsteter, Bloomberg, @sarafischer, Associated Press, The Information, The Hollywood Reporter, Media Play News, Fox Business, @sarafischer, Pro Wrestling Torch and Sportico

Wall Street Journal:

A profile of Evan Gershkovich, the 31-year-old WSJ reporter detained by Russia whose parents fled the USSR for the US and who later made Moscow his second home — The Wall Street Journal correspondent, whose parents fled the Soviet Union, made Moscow a second home.

Discussion: New York Times, @facethenation, @nickkristof, @wsjpr, The Moscow Times, Talking Biz News, CBS News, @picardonhealth, @nickkristof, @yarotrof, Al Jazeera, @vmsalama, New York Post, @chrislhayes, @w7voa, @repmiketurner, Fox News, @nytimes, @dreamgirls, @williamyang120, @benmullin, @tggrove, The Comeback, @katie_robertson, @_karenhao, @biettetimmons, @maxseddon, CNN, @lindsayaellis, @paulsonne, @isabelcoles, @tggrove, @mjluxmoore, @fatmafaizi, @cliffordlevy, @mjluxmoore, @cgrantwsj, @piperk, @antontroian, @stephenkalin, @emilyzfeng, @mollyjongfast, @jrezaian, The Guardian, @mtthwrose, @jrezaian, @cathyarnst, @rohded, Insider, @biannagolodryga, @peterbakernyt, @nicktimiraos, @alecmacgillis, @mims, @srussolillo, @davidenrich, Reporters Without Borders, @drewhinshaw, @geraldfseib, @reevellp, @jmalsin, The Guardian, @austinramzy, @joewsj, @dinasrinivasan, @mjluxmoore, @georgikantchev, @pjotrsauer, @gtcost, @joshkraushaar, @_silversmith, @wsj, @bychunhan, @alanmillernlp, @mikevorkunov, @elizacollins1, @daiwaka, @aosipovich, @johnwest, @benpershing, @shalini, @nickkristof, New Yorker, @sgurman, @maxseddon, @laobserved, @joelsimonsays, @dabeard, NBC News, USA Today and Wall Street Journal

Alyssa Lukpat / Wall Street Journal:
Top editors at 38 outlets globally sign a letter condemning the detention of The Wall Street Journal's Evan Gershkovich and calling for his immediate release

Thomas E. Patterson / Nieman Lab:

A survey of 253 NPR member stations finds that 60% have 10 or fewer news staff and average just over one hour of locally produced news programming per day — “Local public radio has a staffing problem. Stations have considerable potential but aren't yet in a position to make it happen."

Discussion: Journalism.co.uk, @anelsona, @kennedy_school, @dhiott, @stphnfwlr, @johnupton, @stevenwaldman, @jimallthetime, @lauren_bavis, @niemanfdn, @spj_tweets and @stphnfwlr

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

A Meta-commissioned report argues Facebook is not a “must-have” for publishers, saying news links account for less than 3% of posts people see in their feeds — News links account for less than 3% of posts people see in their Facebook feeds. — A report commissioned by Meta …

Discussion: Nieman Lab and @jamesrbuk

Max Tani / Semafor:

A look at fissures within The Guardian over its trans coverage after years of strife, as the anti-trans wing is widely viewed internally as ascendant — The wars at The Guardian reached one of their periodic peaks in September of 2021, when the philosopher Judith Butler said in an interview …

Discussion: @maxwelltani, @paulduanefilm, @transscribe, @brokenbottleboy, @semaforben, @rswirling, @ginarush and @bigmeaninternet

Drew Taylor / The Wrap:

CBS' 60 Minutes faces a backlash for an interview with Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, which aired on Sunday evening — The CBS news magazine profiles the congresswoman who questioned whether 9/11 happened and defended the events of Jan. 6 in an upcoming interview

Discussion: Semafor, CBS News, Fox News, The Guardian, @60minutes, CNN, Variety, The Hill, The Daily Dot, Decider, @briankarem, Jezebel, @iampoliticsgirl, New York Post, @wcruz73, al.com, @stphnfwlr, @sddphoto, @jeffjarvis, @cornellwbrooks, @bradleywhitford, @jbendery, @zaleskiluke, Poynter, @joeneguse, @mattgertz, @alexandrachalup, @marcoafrieri, @ynb, @stevepasquale, @owillis, @akjakalope, WGN-TV, @adamkinzinger, @mollyjongfast, @fawfulfan, @mtgreenee, @briannawu, @zigmanfreud, Forbes, @marston4ca42, @andrewkimmel, @neontaster, @realdeancain, @katiehill4ca, @lindyli, Mediaite, @7veritas4, @elienyc, @vabvox, @kaivanshroff, @sawyerhackett, @anandwrites, @blackamazon, @petestrzok, @david_hemond, @gloriacampos, @professajay, @sifill_, @repriggleman, @victorshi2020, @markjacob16, @bryanbehar, @jemelehill, @thewrap, @davidcorndc, @mehdirhasan, @meidastouch and Decider

Karl Rasmussen / Sports Illustrated:

Nielsen: the NCAA women's basketball tournament semifinals averaged 4.5M viewers on ESPN's platforms, the highest average on record for the Women's Final Four — The Women's Final Four captivated millions across the country on Friday evening, and the viewership numbers back it up.

Discussion: New York Times, Sports Media Watch, @espnpr, Sports Media Watch, Axios, USA Today, @drlindseydarvin, Front Office Sports, ClutchPoints, The Ringer, Barrett Media, @paulsen_smw, @coachcoriclose, @uvahoopsriffs, @codyworsham, @hassel_chris and Awful Announcing

Georg Szalai / The Hollywood Reporter:

Cineworld announces a restructuring agreement with lenders, reducing its debt by about $4.53B, and expects to emerge from bankruptcy during H1 2023 — The cinema giant hopes to emerge from Chapter 11 proceeding by mid-year, with CEO Mooky Greidinger calling the agreement with lenders “a ‘vote-of-confidence’ in our business.”

Discussion: The Wrap, MediaPost, Reuters, Deadline, Media Play News, CNN and Variety

Tom Hals / Reuters:

The judge in the $1.6B Fox-Dominion case denies Fox's summary judgment motions and partially grants Dominion's motions ahead of the trial scheduled for April 17 — A jury will decide whether Fox Corp (FOXA.O) defamed Dominion Voting Systems with false vote-rigging claims aired by Fox News …

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More News:

Reuters:
The Financial Times acquires a majority stake in Kansas-based medical news publication Endpoints News, which has more than 163,000 subscribers

Discussion: Financial Times, Talking Biz News, ENDPOINTS NEWS, @markstenberg3, ENDPOINTS NEWS, @armstrongdrew and @armstrongdrew

Associated Press:
The Taliban close Sadai Banowan, Afghanistan's only women-run radio station, for playing music during Ramadan; the station launched in 2013 and has eight staff

Discussion: Fox News, @marielamensch84, @declarationon, @salmma1997, @open_spectrum, @pressfreedom, @behlihyi, @pressfreedom, @news_pug, Newser, Voice of America and Committee to Protect …

Maurice Oniang'o / Reuters Institute:
An interview with Kenyan data journalists Eunice Magwambo, Purity Mukami, and Juliet Atellah on data journalism's impact, training reporters, and key challenges

Discussion: @gijnafrica

Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
Sources: NPR has held multiple, tense all-hands meetings in which impacted employees grilled executives about layoffs and the four canceled seasonal podcasts

Discussion: @global_occupant, @andrewtwalk and @noahcrothman

Earlier Picks:

Perry Michael Simon / AllAccess.com:
Senators Klobuchar and Kennedy reintroduce The Journalism Competition and Preservation Act to let news orgs negotiate pay with tech firms like Meta and Google

Discussion: @ben@werd.social

Mike Hume / Washington Post:
The Washington Post vows to continue covering gaming after its gaming vertical Launcher, which debuted on October 15, 2019, officially closes on March 31, 2023

Discussion: GamesIndustry.biz, @pithyalyse, @mikehumepost, @mikehumepost, @mikehumepost, @walldo, @rcmacleod, @rcmacleod, @rcmacleod, @genepark, @diegoarguello66, @teddyamen and @launcherwp

Jeffrey Rousseau / GamesIndustry.biz:
Roblox plans to hide advertisements from users 13 and younger, after nonprofit Truth in Advertising filed an FTC complaint in April 2022 against the company

New York Times:
After months of keeping some distance, Fox News hosts back Donald Trump, denouncing his indictment as “politically motivated persecution” and a cause for unrest

From Techmeme:

Wall Street Journal:
Gina Raimondo says holding back China in the chips race is a “fool's errand”, and investment, more than export controls, will keep US ahead of Beijing

Timothy B. Lee / Ars Technica:
Exploring the scaling challenges of transformer-based LLMs in efficiently processing large amounts of text, as well as potential solutions, such as RAG systems

Reuters:
Albania bans TikTok for a year from January 2025, part of a broader plan to make schools safer following the killing of a 14-year-old near a school in November

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