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

Archived Page Info:

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

View the current page or another snapshot:

Who's Hiring in Media?

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

Presque Island Reporter, ME — Bangor Daily News

Contributing Parks Ed. - SW, CA — SFGATE

AI Content Editor, WA — Outlier

Legislative Reporter, TN — Daily Memphian

Editorial Assistant, Remote US — Launch Potato

Elon Musk Reporter, NY or CA — The Information

Government & Politics Editor, WA — Seattle Times

Business & GA Reporter. VT — VTDigger

Sports Reporter, WA — Everett Herald

Energy Reporter, TX — Houston Chronicle

Senior Reporter, SC — Island Packet

Trade & Climate Correspondent, DC — FT

Reporter, WI — Racine County Eye

Political Newsletter Writer, CO — The Lever

Jackson Reporter, MS — Verite

Music Editor, AZ — Phoenix New Times

Breaking News Reporter, NV — Las Vegas Sun

Fearless Reporter/Producer, IA — BPC

Reporter II - Technology, Remote — NPR

Editor, Remote US — Daily Kos

City Reporter, WA — Tacoma News Tribune

Executive Editor, OR — Lookout Local

Education & Budget Reporter, CA — Politico

Senior Writer/Editor, FL — Gulfshore Business

Media Editor, Remote — Axios

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:

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:

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

Kevin Roose / New York Times:
A look at Amazon's revamped drone delivery program near Phoenix, Arizona, where the company's new MK-30 drones deliver dozens of packages a day to customers

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