Mediagazer: Sources: ByteDance, owner of TikTok, made $7B-$8.4B in revenue in H1 2019, and posted a profit in June after operating at a loss in H1 2019 (Reuters)

2:35 PM ET, September 30, 2019

Top News:

Sources: Facebook is planning to pay only about a quarter of the 200 publishers that will be featured in its news tab, set to launch as soon as the end of Oct. — Social-media giant plans to pay about a quarter of news organizations whose content will be featured

Discussion: Nieman Lab, NBC News, @matthewstoller, @whatthebit, @mattnavarra, @backlon, @rafat and @juddlegum, more at Techmeme »

Jim Waterson / The Guardian:

Leaked messages show the complaint that led to BBC disciplining Naga Munchetty was also about her co-host, Dan Walker, despite the BBC saying otherwise — Exclusive: Walker also subject of original complaint - but BBC standards chief claimed only Munchetty was targeted — Play Video

Discussion: Nieman Lab, @stephenkb, @afuahirsch, @sophierunning, @alexhern, @charlenewhite, @joannajarjue and @charlesarthur

Jacob Granger / Journalism.co.uk:

A look at The Stonehouse Voice, a bi-annual newspaper launched by a hyperlocal community journalism project in Plymouth, UK to let locals tell their own stories — A former national and regional editor has set up The Stonehouse Voice newspaper to offer local readers a more creative alternative in their news diet

Reuters:

Sources: ByteDance, owner of TikTok, made $7B-$8.4B in revenue in H1 2019, and posted a profit in June after operating at a loss in H1 2019 — BEIJING/HONG KONG (Reuters) - China's ByteDance, owner of video-sharing app TikTok and one of the world's most valuable unicorns …

Discussion: MediaPost, more at Techmeme »

Bloomberg Law:

NLRB sues The Federalist's parent company, after the magazine's publisher tweeted in June that he would send staff “back to the salt mine” if they unionized — The federal government wants the publisher of conservative online magazine The Federalist to delete his apparently anti-union June 6 tweet.

Discussion: Reason

Mark Coddington / Nieman Lab:

Interviews with 80+ news aggregators and their editors on how professional identity shapes their work in an industry that gives the most value to news reporting — I've never met an editor who was as eager as Jennifer was to show me one of her organization's worst stories.

The Daily Beast:

Biden campaign officials write to the major networks including NBC, CBS, and CNN, demanding that they stop booking Rudy Giuliani because he “will knowingly” lie — In a Sunday letter, the former vice president's aides say that it is editorially irresponsible to book the president's personal lawyer.

Discussion: TVNewser, CNN, Fox News, Poynter, The Daily Caller, Slate, Variety, The Guardian, Mother Jones, The Hill, Mediaite and Politico

Brett Worthington / ABC:

Australia's attorney general signs directive forbidding charging journalists under certain secrecy laws without his approval; three journalists may face charges — The Federal Attorney-General has granted limited protection that could shield ABC and News Corp employees from facing charges over their reporting.

Lakeidra Chavis / ProPublica:

ProPublica journalists recommend books and articles that inspired them — ProPublica Illinois is an independent, nonprofit newsroom that produces investigative journalism with moral force. Sign up for our newsletter to get weekly updates written by our journalists.

Discussion: @penamerica, @spj_tweets and @dailycopywriter

Alison Flood / The Guardian:

PEN America says the country's largest book ban is in state and federal prisons where book restrictions are “often opaque, subject to little meaningful review” — George Orwell, John Updike and Barack Obama are among the names PEN America says have been illogically withheld from prisoners

Discussion: @rorymargraf, @nylsacs, @penamerica and @shane_bauer

Benjamin Mullin / Wall Street Journal:

The Chernin Group buys a majority stake in Food52 for $83M, valuing the ecommerce and media startup which offers recipes and home-improvement tips at $100M+ — Food52, a media and e-commerce business, was founded by food journalists from the New York Times

Discussion: Vox, FiveThirtyEight, @rafat, @rafat, @rafat, @benmullin and @benmullin, more at Techmeme »

Greg Dool / Folio:

Interview with New York magazine EIC David Haskell, on the acquisition by Vox Media, which surprised many staffers, his first six months as EIC, and more — David Haskell on the Vox sale, succeeding Adam Moss and prioritizing journalism in a time of change.