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Subscription-based sports site The Athletic is launching 20 ad-free podcasts across its app and website on Tuesday, produced by 12 new hires — The Athletic, a subscription-based digital sports media company, is launching a multi-million dollar podcasting business.

YouTube has disabled comments on a livestream of the House Judiciary Committee's hearing on hate crimes because it was generating too much hate speech — WASHINGTON — YouTube has disabled the commenting function on a livestream of a House Judiciary Committee hearing on hate crimes …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Mediaite, YouTube, @donie, @jjmacnab, @mehdirhasan, FOX 61, The Verge, @tonyromm, The Hill, @oneunderscore__ and The Daily Beast

After suing Twitter, Rep. Devin Nunes is suing McClatchy and others for alleged defamation, referring to a McClatchy-owned Fresno Bee article, seeks $150M — Congressman Devin Nunes is filing another lawsuit. — Following the lawsuit he filed last month against Twitter, Liz Mair …
Discussion:
New York Times, Fox News, @bradheath, @bradheath, @bradheath, @bradheath, @emlas, @verambergen, @mollyjongfast, @jennycohn1, Gizmodo, @juddlegum, @pittgriffin, @realjameswoods, Politico, @briantylercohen, @palafo, @jaycaruso, @jeremyherb, @jeffreyguterman, @greta, Washington Examiner, HuffPost Australia, Raw Story, New York Post and Splinter

Amazon is rolling out an Alexa feature in the US that provides radio-like long-form news from Bloomberg, CNBC, CNN, Fox News, Newsy, and NPR — Hey, owners of an Amazon Echo! (Or hell, owners of that voice-controlled Amazon microwave!) Ever ask Alexa for some news?
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Engadget, @jbenton, @jbenton and Mashable

Sources: Netflix is in talks to buy the Egyptian Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, which would be its first brick and mortar theater acquisition — EXCLUSIVE: Netflix is in preliminary talks with American Cinematheque to buy the venerable Egyptian Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard.
Discussion:
/Film, The Week, Bloomberg, @laurasmiscmovie, @uhnet, @theflitecast, @r2b2walton, @davidscottjaffe, The Playlist, @functionalnerd, @thathagengrrl and The A.V. Club
Lauren Easton / Associated Press:
AP announces it will expand its fact checking of false and misleading information that appears on Facebook, now also vetting video and Spanish-language content — The Associated Press announced today it will expand its robust efforts to debunk false and misleading information …
Discussion:
Poynter
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YouTube says it will begin developing choose-your-own-adventure-style shows under a new unit, following the success of Netflix's “Bandersnatch” and others — - Video site is steering program dollars into new technology — Company to announce new slate of shows next month in New York
Discussion:
Variety, Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap and Engadget, more at Techmeme »

Magna Global: OTT-based advertising reached $2.7B in revenue in 2018, up 54% YoY, and is expected to grow 39% in 2019 to $3.8B and 31% in 2020 to $5B — Disney, WarnerMedia and other media giants are going “direct to consumer” with new subscription streaming services.
Discussion:
Broadcasting & Cable and FierceVideo

The Wall Street Journal has redesigned its comments section, renaming it “Conversations”, in an attempt to engage readers who do not comment often — Our readers this week will see a lot of changes built around the goal of elevating the quality of community discourse on WSJ.com.

At CinemaCon in Las Vegas last week, movie distributors and theater owners alike said streaming services like Netflix were not impacting theater ticket sales — - At CinemaCon in Las Vegas last week, movie distributors and theater owners alike say there is little to fear from a growing population of streaming services.

A study of 11 California newspapers and 46 municipalities shows that cities with sharp declines in newsroom staffing had reduced competition in mayoral races — “In a well-functioning system, citizens need to be actively engaged in their government and aware of decisions made by their elected representatives.
Discussion:
SAGE Journals, @marcusgilmer, @newsbyschmidt and @jbenton

A video from K-pop group Blackpink, Kill This Love, hits milestones on iTunes and YouTube, surpassing 100M YouTube views within two days and 14 hours — Destiny's Child held the iTunes record for 15 years before Blackpink came along. — What do Destiny's Child and Psy have in common?
Discussion:
TechCrunch, The Verge, YouTube Blog, Mashable and Engadget

Major ad industry associations, including ANA and IAB, are launching Privacy for America, a new lobby group that will advocate for a federal data privacy law — A group of major ad industry associations is launching a new organization, Privacy for America, that aims to shape federal privacy laws.

ABC News producer Alexa Valiente passed away over the weekend at the age of 27 — She will be remembered for her bright personality and infectious love of life. — Alexa Valiente, a producer for ABC News for six years, passed away over the weekend. — Valiente, who had been facing health issues …

Sources: CBS is struggling to recruit a CEO, as potential candidates are wary of the Redstones and the company's culture; Richard Plepler turned down the job — Plepler is a no. Katzenberg is a no. Ianniello wants to stay—but he's a Moonves guy. Will an A-lister come to clean up Redstone's mess?
Discussion:
@gerryfsmith and @media_evan

Brooklyn-based online news site Bklyner is producing a free print compilation of its best stories about once a month, supported in part by local advertisers — Last Thursday, at 8:30am in Brooklyn's Park Slope neighborhood, Liena Zagare, editor of the hyperlocal news site Bklyner …
Discussion:
@bklyner

Mother Jones CEO Monika Bauerlein and Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery have been awarded the 2019 I.F. Stone Medal for Journalistic Independence — In recognition of their enduring support of investigative reporting and independent journalists, Monika Bauerlein and Clara Jeffery of Mother Jones magazine …
Discussion:
@tasneemraja, @carletoncollege, @niemanfdn, @niemanfdn, @davidcorndc, @nobleideas, @jayrosen_nyu, @juliachanb and @7im

Rising Kashmir editor Syed Shujaat Bukhari's murder remains unsolved after 10 months, perpetuating a climate of fear and censorship among Kashmiri journalists — Ahead of India's national elections, the mystery of Shujaat Bukhari creates a climate of fear and censorship
Discussion:
@cjr, @pressfreedom, @jameelyusuf, @aliyazeba, @pressfreedom, @pressfreedom, @pressfreedom, @pressfreedom, @pressfreedom, @gijn, @jclassrooms and @stphnfwlr