Mediagazer: Washington Post executive editor responds to Bernie Sanders' suggestion that Bezos influences coverage, calling it a “conspiracy theory” (CNN)

5:40 PM ET, August 13, 2019

Top News:

CBS and Viacom to merge in an all-stock deal creating a company valued at ~$30B; Shari Redstone to be chair, Bob Bakish CEO, Joe Ianniello chairman/CEO of CBS — Companies seek greater scale to survive in a media landscape dominated by major tech companies and bulked-up rivals

Peter Kafka / Vox:

A combined CBS and Viacom will still not be big enough to compete with Netflix, Apple, and Disney, and will have to become a buyer of smaller companies — Shari Redstone controls both Viacom and CBS, and has wanted to merge them for years. Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Viacom

Discussion: TechCrunch, @ranimolla, @pkafka, @taralach, @pkafka, Bloomberg, Washington Post and CNN

Jane Lytvynenko / BuzzFeed News:

Detailed post about Epstein's death was on 4Chan 38 minutes before officials announced it; NYC Fire Department investigating if a first responder is responsible — The New York City Fire Department is investigating whether a first responder posted about Jeffrey Epstein's death …

Discussion: CBS News, Mediaite, The Daily Dot, CNET, Rolling Stone, Gizmodo, Business Insider, The Hill, @profcarroll, Boing Boing, New York Post and Wall Street Journal

Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:

The Twitter-fed misinformation disaster following Epstein's death makes a case for slow news consumption, where readers disengage from breaking news — If, by some crazy chance, you wanted to be well-informed these past few days about the sudden death of Jeffrey Epstein, there was a way.

Discussion: VICE, @emilybell, @mathewi, @dabeard, @tefomohapi, Fox News, The Daily Beast and PolitiFact Facebook …

CNN:

Washington Post executive editor responds to Bernie Sanders' suggestion that Bezos influences coverage, calling it a “conspiracy theory” — (CNN)The executive editor of The Washington Post hit back at Sen. Bernie Sanders' suggestion that the paper's coverage of the presidential candidate …

Discussion: Reason, The Daily Beast, The Wrap, @trinitymustache, Politico, Vanity Fair, Washington Post, NPR, Politico, @b_fung, @rmc031, Fox News, The Hill, Poynter and @sulliview

Ashley Carman / The Verge:

Spotify for Podcasters comes out of beta, giving podcasters valuable listener data like age, gender, location, music taste, and episode listening duration — Spotify for Podcasters comes out of beta today — Spotify is going to give podcasters listener data they can't get anywhere else.

Discussion: Spotify, @ashleyrcarman and @mims, more at Techmeme »

Lucinda Southern / Digiday:

Report: UK to give Ofcom new legal powers to penalize video-sharing platforms that fail to establish robust age verification checks and parental controls — European politicians have been tightening the screws on U.S. tech platforms on multiple fronts. Now, a European-wide directive …

Discussion: Press Gazette, @hadas_gold, @joshajhall, Telegraph, The Independent, BBC and CNET

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy openly threatens to fire employees engaged in union organizing, which would violate federal labor laws — Dave “El Presidente” Portnoy, founder of media company Barstool Sports, really, really hates unions. Now he's made explicit threats to fire employees …

Discussion: Bloomberg, Fox News, Business Insider, Rolling Stone, @aoc, @xpangler, @nyslabor and @nyslabor

Tom Ley / Deadspin:
The editorial staff of The Ringer announces it has formed a union with WGA East and seeks voluntary recognition from management

Discussion: The Wrap, Nieman Lab, @ringerunion, digitalwritersunion.org, @oneunderscore__, @kevinmdraper, @ringerunion, @rodger, @jasonschreier, @yourmandevine, @jbenton, @latguild, @onlxn, @haleymlotek and bookforum.com

Tom Jones / Poynter:

Layoffs hit GateHouse newsrooms: five at the Oklahoman, two at the Palm Beach Post, two at the Cape Cod Times; many non-newsroom staff have also been laid off — Last week, GateHouse and Gannett announced their intent to merge and form the largest newspaper chain in the country, a consolidation designed to save money.

Discussion: New York Post, @apantazi, @henderson_mark and @dankennedy_nu

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Memo: Facebook is funding two new BuzzFeed shows, including a daily news roundup, as a part of its effort to bolster news video on Watch — Facebook is funding 2 new BuzzFeed shows as a part of its effort to bolster news video on Watch, according to an internal memo by BuzzFeed editor …

Discussion: Journalism.co.uk

New York Times:

How some of Kashmir's journalists keep publishing despite India's lockdown of online communications and imposition of travel restrictions — SRINAGAR, Kashmir — Ever since Kashmir's autonomy was suddenly revoked last week, Raja Mohi-ud-din, an editor at one of the few Kashmiri newspapers still operating …

Discussion: Columbia Journalism Review, Foreign Policy, @gbahadur, @cjr and @mayalau

Lily Kuo / The Guardian:

Chinese state media outlets went from near silence and blanket censorship on the protests in Hong Kong to actively pushing propaganda, over the past two months — China's media used to ignore the turmoil. Now the state is waging a campaign that could pave the way for intervention

Discussion: Politico and PEN America

Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:

In Australia, after recent raids on media organizations, new government directive adds some protections for journalists, but not for sources and whistleblowers — Back in June, Australian Federal Police (AFP) raided the headquarters of the country's main public broadcaster, the ABC …

Discussion: Associated Press, The Conversation and The Conversation

Archived Page Info:

This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 5:40 PM ET, August 13, 2019.

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Who's Hiring in Media?

Deputy Ed. - Gen. Assignment Desk, DC — WaPo

EU Technology Reporter, Brussels — Bloomberg

Breaking News Reporter, NY — Guardian US

Harrisburg Reporter, PA — PCBC

Senior Editor - Styles, NY — NYT

Part-time Editor, Remote — Techmeme

Home & Travel Reporter, Ireland — Newsweek

Assistant Digital Editor, MA — Boston Globe

Senior Editor - Visuals (Temporary), DC — NPR

Copy Editor, Remote US — ProPublica

Markets Reporter, NY/CA — Sherwood Media

Staff Writer, MI — Watershed Voice

Food Reporter, CA — SF Standard

Staff Writer, NV — Las Vegas Weekly

Pharma Editor, Remote — Endpoints

Higher Ed. Reporter, Remote CA — EdSource

Politics Reporter, Brussels — Politico

Investigations & Enterprise Ed., WI — Cap Times

Social Strategy Editor, NY — WSJ

Senior Narrative Editor, CA — Cloud Chamber

Editor-in-Chief, NY (flexible) — The 74

Housing Reporter, OK — The Frontier

Writer/AI Content Reviewer, CA — Outlier

Writer/Editor, Remote — Mediaite

Multi Media Reporter, NC — Cardinal & Pine

Afternoon/Night Editor, NH — Keene Sentinel

Education Lab Editor, WA — Seattle Times

Senior Editor, Remote US — PCWorld

State Worker Reporter, CA — Sacramento Bee

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More News:

Oliver Darcy / CNN:
NYT says deputy Washington editor Jonathan Weisman has been demoted and will no longer oversee the team covering Congress or be active on social media

Discussion: Washington Examiner, The Daily Beast, @karenkho, @mottel, @blackamazon, @gothamgirlblue, @drphilgoff, @farhip, @craigsilverman, @marcatracy, @andrewperezdc, @pareene and @oliverdarcy

Sara Fischer / Axios:
The Spectator, which has been published in the UK since 1828, is launching a US monthly print version in October, after starting a US digital presence last year

Discussion: @jason_pontin

Matt Lopez / The Wrap:
FuboTV launches its ad-supported Fubo Sports Network on Roku's streaming service, The Roku Channel, and plans its first foray into original content soon

Discussion: The Streamable and Multichannel News

Sara Fischer / Axios:
This fall, Group Nine Media will begin to launch podcasts across its four brands (NowThis, The Dodo, Seeker, and Thrillist) in an exclusive iHeartMedia deal

Discussion: @groupninemedia and Yahoo Finance

Jessica Davies / Digiday:
Content compensation company Sourcepoint releases a consent-authentication tool that eliminates the need for pubs to use third-party cookies

Earlier Picks:

Emine Saner / The Guardian:
Susan Wojcicki talks about the crises that have engulfed YouTube recently, the power of its platform, and being a working parent of five

Discussion: @marconav, The Verge and Business Insider

Maryam Saleh / The Intercept:
Arab “sahafiyat”, women reporters in the Middle East and North Africa, reflect on producing journalism in and for their home countries and for Western audiences

Axios:
WordPress.com owner Automattic says it will buy Tumblr from Verizon, take on ~200 staffers, and keep the porn ban; source says Automattic paid less than $10M

Discussion: @danprimack, @danprimack, Tumblr, MediaPost, American Press Institute, The Verge, Vox, @marcoarment, Crunchbase News, TechCrunch, TechCrunch, Ad Age, The Next Web, Marketing Land, The Week, @mathewi, @beigeshiba, The Guardian, @__apf__, BetaNews, @numbersmuncher, @brooklynmarie, @mcmansionhell, @nycsouthpaw, @yashar, @mmasnick, @ericajoy, @hello_tailor, @dansinker, @workforfood, @jacknicas, @juliaferraioli, @blackamazon, @danprimack, @jnadeau, Silicon Republic, @loudmouthjulia, @reckless, @chillmage, @whatthebit, @chronotope, @alicegoldfuss, @hunterwalk, @mathewi, @gaberivera, @photomatt, @mikeisaac, @anthony, @karlbode, @markarms, @bluechoochoo, Know Your Meme Blog, @stevekovach, @stevekovach, @shiraovide, @stephgwhiteside, @danprimack, NME, MacDailyNews, Fortune, Engadget, Adweek, Fast Company, Consequence of Sound, Boing Boing, Variety, Business Insider, 9to5Mac, CNET and Wall Street Journal, more at Techmeme »

New York Times:
How YouTube radicalized Brazil, diverting users to conspiracy and far-right channels, elevating Bolsonaro's party, and possibly creating a public health crisis

Discussion: @max_fisher, @kenroth, @dcurtis, @derekwillis, @katestarbird, @lutherlowe, @youtubeinsider, @youtubeinsider, @max_fisher, @max_fisher, @max_fisher, New York Times, @ggreenwald and Ars Technica, more at Techmeme »

From Techmeme:

Foo Yun Chee / Reuters:
Sources: EU may accept Apple's proposal to open its NFC payments tech to rivals, and may close its antitrust probe in May, letting Apple avoid hefty fines

George Steer / Financial Times:
Nvidia closed down 10% on Friday, falling the most since March 2020 and losing more than $200B of its market value, as investors pull back from AI bets

Foo Yun Chee / Reuters:
Pornhub, Stripchat, and XVideos will have to comply with additional obligations, such as submitting risk assessment reports, under the EU DSA starting next week

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