Mediagazer: 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 (Karl Rasmussen/Sports Illustrated)

12:00 AM ET, April 2, 2023

Top News:

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.

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 — The editors condemned Mr. Gershkovich's detention in a letter to the Russian ambassador to the U.S.

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 …

Discussion: @goangelo, New York Times, @goangelo, New York Times, @elizlanders, @sarahellison, CNN, Washington Post, Associated Press, NPR, @johnlegere, @normornstein, @gabrielsterling, @gtconway3d, @katrinanation, The Week, Mediaite, @jefftimmer, @jayrosen_nyu, @jrubinblogger, @mattgertz, @badfoxgraphics, @kiminsley, @nytimesbusiness, @tristansnell, TVNewser, @keitholbermann, @karaswisher, Financial Times, @peterjukes, @bendreyfuss, @nycsouthpaw, @crookedknight, @existentialfish, @klasfeldreports, @farhip, @jamesrbuk, @jaketapper, @therickwilson, @mariashriver, @pamkeithfl, @tempdiaries, @jswatz, The Hill, @edmundlee, @reddit_ama, CNBC, @awzurcher, @oliverdarcy, @themaxburns, @demfromct, @rl_miller, @goangelo, @reuterslegal, @chancery_daily, Wall Street Journal, @jeremymbarr, Law & Crime, Newser, Politico, @JillWineBanks@ohai.social, Gizmodo and The Wrap

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 — The White House will not pay to have its staff's official Twitter profiles continue to be verified, according to guidance issued to staffers via an email obtained by Axios.

Discussion: @kingjames, @nathanchubbard, @jemelehill, TMZ.com, @bendreyfuss, Forbes, @govmikehuckabee, @jayzawaski, Mashable, Fox Business, @kyleynfl, @glen_mcgregor, The Hollywood Reporter, @mikeisaac, @robl_l, @mollyjongfast, @bmkibler, @toluogunlesi, @elienyc, Politico, @itsborys, The Wrap, @derushaj, @niubi, @saskiapopescu, @clarajeffery, @noclador, @keithedwards, @nathanchubbard, @nathanchubbard, @nathanchubbard, @nathanchubbard, @nathanchubbard, @doctoryasmin, Telangana Today, @realrclark25, @estellecostanza, @mariedenee, @sahilkapur, @taylorrooks, @digiphile, @dan_bernstein, @lawrencehurley, @keithedwards, @edzitron, @mattdizwhitlock, @bobcesca_go, @ashleygjovik, @wutangkids, @iamsophianelson, @reichlinmelnick, @fordm, @broderick, @evanmcmurry, @danpfeiffer, @delpercios, @rory_johnston, The Hill, @rob_sheridan, ClutchPoints, New York Post, Deadline, The Information, The Verge and Twitter, more at Techmeme »

BuzzFeed News:

The NYT, LAT, and WaPo won't buy Twitter Blue; NYT, LAT, BuzzFeed, and Politico won't reimburse reporters for Blue, but Semafor and other small outlets plan to — BuzzFeed isn't ponying up, but for other outlets, paying might make sense. — Pranav Dixit

Discussion: @sarafischer, @oliverdarcy, The Daily Dot, Insider, @oalexanderdk, @brooklynmarie, @alex_panetta, @pkafka, @hansmahncke, @oliverdarcy, @spj_tweets, @jbenton, @maxwelltani, @oliverdarcy, @bdherzinger, @mattnavarra, @scalzi, @scottnover, @jessespector, @rmac18, @roslyntalusan, @thekidskoob, @ryangrim, @claire_goforth, @thomaschattwill, @timfullerton, @skooks, @paleofuture, @boydhilton, @davidclinchnews, @williamshatner, @stevelackmeyer, @ndrew_lawrence, @stevanzetti, @dancow, @moorehn, @andrewmarchand, @roslyntalusan, @katebevan, @studentactivism, @bobmoorenews, @johniadarola, @mikeisaac, @tinu, @helenkennedy, @kt_so_it_goes, @cfidd, @pkafka, @charles_gaba, @dellcam, @scottnover, @benjysarlin, @wfkars, @chrismessina, @kimmasters, @bruce_arthur, @ewong, @jacobrubashkin, @nicosgonzalez, @andybcampbell, @joshtpm, @themaxburns, @moorehn, @adrianweckler, @wtfis2bdone, @ryanhanrahan, @lxeagle17, Vox, Boing Boing, The Wrap, @hammancheez@c.im, Awful Announcing and New York Times

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: Sports Media Watch, Awful Announcing, @espnpr, @paulsen_smw, @coachcoriclose, @codyworsham, @hassel_chris, @uvahoopsriffs and Front Office Sports

Drew Taylor / The Wrap:

CBS' 60 Minutes faces a backlash after promoting Lesley Stahl's interview of Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, scheduled to be broadcast on April 2 — The CBS news magazine profiles the congresswoman who questioned whether 9/11 happened and defended the events of Jan. 6 in an upcoming interview

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 — Despite recent criticism, the network's star personalities joined other leading conservatives in denouncing …

Associated Press:

Taliban close Sadai Banowan, Afghanistan's only women-run radio station, for playing music during Ramadan; the station started 10 years ago and has eight staff — A women-run radio station in Afghanistan's northeast has been shut down for playing music during the holy month of Ramadan, a Taliban official said Saturday.

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

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 — Eunice Magwambo, Purity Mukami and Juliet Atellah discuss their work and the challenges faced by data journalists in their country

Discussion: @risj_oxford, @risj_oxford, @risj_oxford, @risj_oxford and @johnallannamu

Safi Bugel / The Guardian:

Gal-Dem, an outlet for women and non-binary POC, shuts down after eight years, citing the difficulty of sustaining growth via brand partnerships and memberships — After eight years of operation, staff statement blames financial challenge of running independent media outlet

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 — Welcome back to Thursday and to Soundbite. This week we're looking at the scene inside NPR since the organization's layoffs last week.

Discussion: @global_occupant, @andrewtwalk and @noahcrothman

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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

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Contributing Parks Ed. - SW, CA — SFGATE

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Trade & Climate Correspondent, DC — FT

Reporter, WI — Racine County Eye

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More News:

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: RADIO ONLINE, @ben@werd.social, Inside Radio, CLP Blog, Public Knowledge and News/Media Alliance

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: @pithyalyse, @mikehumepost, @mikehumepost, @mikehumepost, @walldo, @rcmacleod, @rcmacleod, @rcmacleod, @genepark, @diegoarguello66, @teddyamen and @launcherwp

Luke Winkie / Slate:
Interviews with writers who publish daily Wordle hints, published by Digital Trends, Mashable, NME, and others since they reliably generate substantial traffic

Discussion: Mashable, @jbenton, @luke_winkie and @iethics

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

Alan Jones / AOL:
BBC journalists in England plan to stage a 24-hour strike on May 5 to coincide with the reporting of local election results, after a first walkout on March 15

Discussion: RXTV info and HoldtheFrontPage

Sara Fischer / Axios:
Sources: crypto outlet The Block laid off roughly one-third of its staff, including interim CEO Bobby Moran, and promoted head of research Larry Cermak to CEO

Discussion: @rafat, @raph_bloch, @kylesgibson, @timccopeland and @pressgazette

Earlier Picks:

Jeremy Fuster / The Wrap:
UCLA's Hollywood Diversity Report finds that among 2022's top 100 original streaming films, 64% had casts with at least 30% POC vs. 57% for theatrical films

Discussion: @joaquincastrotx, @jamesthetang, @indiewire, @dranachristina, @beingjanine and @thewrap

BBC:
The BBC asks ex-ITN CEO John Hardie to lead an independent review of its social media guidelines for freelance, non-news presenters after the Gary Lineker furor

Discussion: @lucympowell, Reuters, Yahoo News, The Irish News, Sky News, Deadline and Variety

Ben Cohen / Wall Street Journal:
Apple's classical music app fixes the genre's main problem of search and discovery using metadata from Amsterdam-based Primephonic, which Apple acquired in 2021

Discussion: @omnirarab, @textfiles, @textfiles, @donnelly_b, @chris_cohen_, @cadwego, @thatericalper and @whet

Alyssa Boyle / AdExchanger:
A 2023 bipartisan Senate bill almost identical to a 2022 bill would force companies with $20B+ in annual digital ad revenue to sell part of their business

Discussion: @senmikelee, Engadget, AdExchanger, @swodinsky, @senmarcorubio, Mike Lee US Senator for Utah, @jason_kint, Marketing Brew, @digiphile, @berinszoka, @jason_kint, @jason_kint, @dcnorg and Digiday

Jeremy Fuster / The Wrap:
Hollywood producers and unions say COVID-19 safety protocols end on May 12, after the Biden administration is set to lift national pandemic emergency measures

Discussion: Deadline, @lidsville and Deadline

Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Netflix restructures to make fewer but better movies and plans to combine its small and midsize film units; executives Lisa Nishimura and Ian Bricke are leaving

Discussion: @lucas_shaw, Deadline, IndieWire, Engadget, @bqprime, Variety, @masasoncap, @stanphylcap, @lucas_shaw, @lucas_shaw, @variety_pats, @jenny8lee, @susanlitv, The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline

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

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

Paresh Dave / Wired:
Google says it wouldn't force its device makers, browser, and wireless carrier licensees to distribute Gemini to US users for three years, in a proposed remedy

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