Mediagazer: Classical music has been an awkward fit for major streaming platforms because their metadata schemes and algorithms are mostly designed to favor pop music (Ben Sisario/New York Times)

The NRA is ceasing production of live content on NRATV and cutting ties to the ad firm that operated the site — The National Rifle Association has shut down production at NRATV. — The N.R.A. on Tuesday also severed all business with its estranged advertising firm, Ackerman McQueen …

Shawn McCreesh / New York Times:

Following tradition, even in toxic times, media toasted departing Press Secretary Sarah Sanders; “You'd better not say I was here,” one reporter said — “You'd better not say I was here,” said one White House reporter, who attended the awkward drinks at a nearby steakhouse.

Antonia Noori Farzan / Washington Post:

During her time as Republican press secretary in Arizona, Stephanie Grisham was repeatedly accused of trying to rescind press credentials for critical coverage — On April 5, 2016, Hank Stephenson checked his email and saw that he had a new message from Stephanie Grisham.

Discussion: @anthony, @amy_siskind, @sephspeaks and @milbank

Kate Bennett / CNN:
Melania Trump announces that her spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham, will be both the next White House press secretary and the communications director

ESPN:

Bob Ley, ESPN's longest-tenured anchor, is retiring at the end of the month after 40 years at the company — Bob Ley, after a 40-year career at ESPN, announced his retirement from the network Wednesday. — Ley, who had taken a leave of absence in October, said in a statement that he will be retiring at the end of this month.

Discussion: @bobleyespn, CNN, Deadline, USA Today, The Wrap, TVNewser, @dannykanell, New York Post, @wojespn, @espn_recedavis, @jemelehill, @bomani_jones, @timbrando and The Big Lead

Alex Sherman / CNBC:

The Office will move from Netflix to NBC's new streaming service in 2021; a source says Netflix was willing to pay up to $90M/year, but NBC offered $100M — KEY POINTS — NBC announced Tuesday it is taking back The Office from Netflix when the show's contract expires in 2021.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, /Film, Hollywood Reporter, Slate, NBCUniversal, @asharma, Fox News, @sherman4949, @sherman4949, @kasey__moore, @richbtig, @tvmojoe, TechCrunch, @pkafka, @richbtig, @pkafka, Multichannel News, The Wrap, Engadget and Mashable

Rick Edmonds / Poynter:

How The New York Times' Metro department got away from print-first habits and dutiful incremental coverage to focus on consequential local news — When high-ranking editor Cliff Levy took over The New York Times' Metro department just under a year ago, it was clear a shakeup was coming.

Discussion: American Press Institute, @nbj914 and @laura_nelson

Apple:

Apple News launches a candidate guide, composed of articles from sources like WaPo, NYT, WSJ, curated by editors, covering candidate positions and biographies — A Comprehensive Guide to the Democratic Presidential Candidates This Election Season — Apple today introduced a new candidate guide …

Discussion: CNN, TechCrunch, Fast Company, The Verge, Engadget and CNET

Sarah Schiff / Facebook:

Facebook now requires authorization of political and issue ad buyers in Ukraine and Canada, will do the same in Singapore and Argentina in the next few months — We believe that transparency leads to increased accountability and responsibility over time - not just for Facebook but advertisers as well.

Discussion: TechCrunch, The Drum, @facebook, @ziadramley, MediaPost, Engadget, Reuters, Mashable, Adweek and USA Today

Mark Sweney / The Guardian:

London's the Evening Standard reports £11.5M loss in 2018, and £23M+ in the last two years, amid ad struggles and consolidation of print and online operations — Free London newspaper edited by George Osborne has not been in the black since 2016

Discussion: Press Gazette and Yahoo Finance

Alexandria Villaseñor / Columbia Journalism Review:

Climate activist who protested NYT says media fails daily by practicing climate silence or by propagating misinformation; strike planned for Fox News HQ Friday — This past Saturday, I was among hundreds of activists with the group Extinction Rebellion NYC who protested outside The New York Times …

Discussion: The Guardian

Ben Sisario / New York Times:

Classical music has been an awkward fit for major streaming platforms because their metadata schemes and algorithms are mostly designed to favor pop music — When Roopa Kalyanaraman Marcello, a classical music aficionado in Brooklyn, asked her Amazon Echo for some music recently …

Discussion: @a2im, @laurenweinstein, @krmarko, @zoecello and Financial Times, more at Techmeme »

Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:

Subscription e-book and audiobook service Scribd introduces Snapshots, bite-sized distillations of nonfiction books' key points — Subscription e-book and audiobook service Scribd is unveiling a new content type that it calls a Snapshot — a distillation of a nonfiction book's key points …

Discussion: Publishers Weekly and Scribd