Mediagazer: Podcast and video editing tool Descript acquires SquadCast, which lets hosts record episodes, another sign of podcast consolidation; Descript has raised $100M (Ashley Carman/Bloomberg)

3:40 PM ET, August 15, 2023

Top News:

Analysis: X adds a five-second delay on t.co links to Instagram, the NYT, Reuters, Facebook, Threads, Bluesky, Substack, and other sites Elon Musk often attacks — The site formerly known as Twitter has added a five-second delay when a user clicks on a shortened link to the New York Times …

Rick Porter / The Hollywood Reporter:

Nielsen: in July, linear TV made up less than 50% of all US TV usage, a first in over two years of tracking, and streaming hit a record 38.7% high of TV usage — Nielsen's monthly platform rankings show broadcast and cable making up less than half of all TV use.

Discussion: Nielsen, The Streamable, TechCrunch, TVLine, Cord Cutters News, Gizmodo, Deadline, MediaPost, @digitalshields, WORLD SCREEN, Nielsen, Variety, Consequence, Next TV, Media Play News, Wall Street Journal and Collider, more at Techmeme »

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

ESPN sportscaster Sage Steele says she is leaving the network having settled her lawsuit that alleged ESPN violated her free speech rights — Sage Steele, the veteran ESPN sportscaster who became better known in recent years for her stances on hot topics like coronavirus vaccinations, has left the Disney sports giant.

Jon Porter / The Verge:

YouTube starts mass removing videos promoting “cancer treatments proven to be harmful or ineffective” or discouraging “seeking professional medical treatment” — YouTube will remove content that promotes “cancer treatments proven to be harmful or ineffective” or which …

Discussion: CNET, Gizmodo, Mashable, TechCrunch, Engadget, @rvaughnmd@med-mastodon.com, 9to5Google and Beyond Search, more at Techmeme »

Andrew Paul / Popular Science:

To comply with a state law requiring that school library books be “age appropriate”, an Iowa school district used ChatGPT to find books depicting “a sex act” — Faced with new legislation, Iowa's Mason City Community School District asked ChatGPT if certain books 'contain …

Discussion: Mashable, Gizmodo, Engadget, @dkbgeek@noc.social, @kiplet@social.tchncs.de, @dangillmor@mastodon.social, @emilymbender, @paisleycurrah, @drewharwell@mastodon.social, @andrewpaul.bsky.social, @bkreit, @Mer__edith@mastodon.world, @meredithmeredith.bsky.social, Shelly Palmer and The Register, more at Techmeme »

Jim Waterson / The Guardian:

Sources: Vice reporters' critical coverage of Saudi Arabia has been repeatedly blocked by corporate execs who cite concerns for safety of staff in Saudi Arabia — Exclusive: Media company recently signed lucrative deal with Saudi government-controlled MBC Group

Discussion: @nkulw, @direthoughts, @jamesballiol, @marcowenjones.bsky.social, @patrickgaley, @rolandoliphant, @aymondo, @taniabranigan, @bbhorne@kolektiva.social, @acookiecrumbles … and @jimwaterson.bsky.social

Jay Peters / The Verge:

Substack now lets users follow an individual writer without having to subscribe to their newsletter, a further expansion into social networking after Notes — Substack now lets you follow writers, offering a way for you to keep tabs on what a writer is doing without having to subscribe to their newsletter.

Discussion: TechCrunch, @ryansingel@writing.exchange and On Substack, more at Techmeme »

Christian Paz / Vox:

A look at Pop Crave and Pop Base, two pop culture X accounts doing newsgathering and aggregation, and sharing headlines that eliminate the need to click through — Are Pop Crave and Pop Base the future of political journalism? — If you've spent any time on Instagram, Threads, or …

Discussion: New York Times, MIT Technology Review, @studyhallxyz and @jazzmineabriana

Meduza.io:

An investigation concludes that two Russian journalists, Elena Kostyuchenko and Irina Babloyan, were most likely poisoned while abroad in October 2022 — The independent outlet The Insider has published an investigation into a series of poisoning attacks targeting Russian journalists and activists in Europe.

Discussion: Нов …

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Fantasy Life, NBC Sports analyst Matthew Berry's fantasy sports media firm, raised $2M; Berry says it's profitable, has seven-figure revenue and 350K email subs — Fantasy Life, the fantasy sports and sports betting media company founded by NBC Sports analyst Matthew Berry …

Discussion: Sportico and @mbfantasylife

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Progressive news group Courier Newsroom is launching a newsroom in Nevada and plans to open two more in Texas and New Hampshire in the coming months — Courier Newsroom, a local news group with a progressive perspective, is launching a new newsroom in Nevada Tuesday, and it's planning …

Raphael Satter / Reuters:

Filing: ex-WSJ reporter Jay Solomon voluntarily dismisses his claims against law firm Dechert LLP, which he accused of getting him fired from the Journal — Former Wall Street Journal reporter Jay Solomon has ended his lawsuit against Dechert LLP and two of its former partners …

Alex Cranz / The Verge:

Roku adds over 30 local and national news channels from CBS and Fox News, in addition to existing ABC and NBC news channels, a MrBeast channel, and others — The Roku Channel is adding a whole mess of new linear channels, and while some are fun times like Murder, She Wrote and MrBeast …

Discussion: The Desk, The Streamable, Deadline, Cord Cutters News and The Hollywood Reporter

Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:

Podcast and video editing tool Descript acquires SquadCast, which lets hosts record episodes, another sign of podcast consolidation; Descript has raised $100M — Descript, an editing tool for podcasts and video, has acquired SquadCast, which helps podcast hosts record their conversations with guests …

Discussion: PRWeb and RAIN News

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This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 3:40 PM ET, August 15, 2023.

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Senior Data Journalist, NY — WSJ

Manager - Publishing Editorial, Manila — Reuters

Oil Reporter, Singapore — Bloomberg

Newsperson - State Govt. & Politics, CA — AP

Business Reporter, SC — Post & Courier

State Government Reporter, WA — Seattle Times

Climate Crisis Columnist — Prospect UK

Multimedia Journalist, CA — Paramount

Community Engagement Mgr., DC — Freedom Forum

Senior California Politics Reporter, CA — SFGATE

Staff Writer - Business, NY — WIRED

Team Editor - Opinion, ON — Toronto Star

Assistant Correspondent, DC — Kyodo News

Climate & Weather Reporter, MN — Star Tribune

Senior Tech Editor, Remote US — The Verge

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City Correspondent, London — Financial News

Legislative Reporter, CA — Sacramento Bee

Reporter, PA — Tribune-Review

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National Investigative Reporter, NY — HuffPost

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More News:

Abner Li / 9to5Google:
YouTube updates YouTube Music on iOS and Android with Samples, a music discovery feed featuring vertically cropped, 30-second clips uploaded directly by artists

Discussion: TechCrunch, Tubefilter, Engadget, YouTube Official Blog, Engadget, Music Ally, Wired and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Patrick Frater / Variety:
Disney-owned Lucasfilm plans to close its VFX and animation facility in Singapore, which employs 300+ staff, due to “economic factors affecting the industry”

Discussion: Screen Rant, Gizmodo, Bloomberg, Insider and Deadline

Sara Fischer / Axios:
Sources: The New York Times' union briefed several dozen staff from The Washington Post union on walkout best practices, suggesting the latter may also walk out

Discussion: @jigolden, @steve_e, @azagata.bsky.social and @mediaevan

Sara Fischer / Axios:
Email: X no longer lets advertisers promote accounts within the platform's timeline to gain followers; a source says Follower Objective ads made $100M+ annually

Discussion: Search Engine Land, @digitalshields, @wexler, The Drum and @riddle245, more at Techmeme »

Matt Burgess / Wired:
How a scam tied to ad firm CPABuild hosts malicious PDFs, indexed by search engines, on hacked .gov, .org, and .edu sites, often luring Fortnite or Roblox users

Discussion: @mattburgess@infosec.exchange, more at Techmeme »

Earlier Picks:

Bloomberg:
Sources: the AMPTP offers writers a new deal that includes sharing viewer streaming data, a 20%+ residual payments increase, and a 5% base pay hike in year one

Discussion: CBS News, New York Post, NBC 7 San Diego, Los Angeles Times, @mescottvrooman, @jfafilms, @news_by_nick, @hatemdhiab, The Wrap, Variety, @teroterotero.bsky.social and Wall Street Journal

Greg Stohr / Bloomberg:
Filing: the Biden administration urges SCOTUS to review key parts of Florida's and Texas' laws meant to restrict how social media companies can moderate content

Discussion: Reclaim The Net, Fox Business, The Hill, @netchoice, @jess_miers, @wendyndavis, @gregstohr, @wendyndavis, MediaPost, @carnage4life@mas.to, Washington Examiner, NetChoice, New York Times, Washington Post, CNN and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal:
Simplify Inventions plans to buy a ~65% stake in Sports Illustrated owner Arena Group; the deal includes a $50M investment and a five-year ~$60M ad commitment

Discussion: Bridge Media Networks, Awful Announcing, Inside Radio, @kerrymflynn, The Street, The Arena Group and MediaPost

Emily Jane Fox / Vanity Fair:
An interview with Barstool CEO Erika Ayers Badan, on the Penn deal, returning to “being comfortable on the edge”, building the site into a business, and more

Discussion: Awful Announcing, @kerrymflynn and @erika_

Jay Peters / The Verge:
Netflix begins a “limited beta test” of its cloud-streamed games on the web, TVs, and streaming devices from Roku, LG, Amazon, and more, in Canada and the UK

Discussion: About Netflix, MediaPost, ZDNet, The Sun, Metro, 9to5Google, Decrypt, CNET, Mashable, The Hill, ComingSoon.net, Gizmodo, MobileSyrup, Engadget, TechCrunch, CBS News and 9to5Mac, more at Techmeme »

From Techmeme:

Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority:
Source: Google has canceled the development of a second-generation Pixel Tablet, planned for release in 2025, due to concerns that it wouldn't sell very well

The Information:
Sources: OpenAI considered making a browser, discussed deals to power AI features on Samsung devices and search on sites and apps from Condé Nast and others

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is testing a more conversational version of Siri, dubbed “LLM Siri”, with plans to release it in spring 2026 as part of iOS 19 and macOS 16

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