Mediagazer: FreeTime Unlimited, Amazon's subscription service with curated content for kids that starts at $2.99 per month for Prime users, launches on Fire TV (Janko Roettgers/Variety)

3:10 PM ET, October 7, 2019

Top News:

Sara Jerde / Adweek:

Quartz to search for new editor-in-chief as Kevin Delaney steps down; co-founder Zach Seward to replace Delaney and Jay Lauf as CEO, Katie Weber named president — Kevin Delaney is leaving the business media organization — Quartz co-CEO and editor in chief Kevin Delaney …

Discussion: Quartz, MediaPost, Talking Biz News, @jbenton, @jbenton, @pkafka and @zseward

Marc Tracy / New York Times:

Filings: Quartz lost more than $24M on $18M in revenue through the first six months of this year — Kevin Delaney co-founded the digital publication in 2012. — Kevin Delaney, the editor in chief of Quartz and one of the digital publication's co-founders is stepping down as part of a shake-up of the company's leadership.

Discussion: Talking Biz News, @rafat and Politico

Nellie Andreeva / Deadline:

NBC Entertainment co-chairman George Cheeks shifts to vice chairman of NBCUniversal Content Studios in major restructure, leaving Paul Telegdy as sole chairman — NBCUniversal is making sweeping changes, restructuring its broadcast, studio and digital operations and assigning new roles …

Discussion: Variety, Observer and Broadcasting & Cable

Lesley Goldberg / Hollywood Reporter:

Matt Strauss to run NBCU's Peacock, replacing Bonnie Hammer, who now oversees Content Studios, a consolidation of Universal TV and Universal Content Productions — Comcast's Matt Strauss will take over as the head of the streamer, while George Cheeks moves to become vice chair at the studios …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Adweek, The Wrap, @ballmatthew, @awallenstein and @lucas_shaw

Ronan Farrow / New Yorker:

First excerpt from Ronan Farrow's Catch and Kill describes how private investigators working for Harvey Weinstein surveilled Farrow and NYT's Jodi Kantor — How two operatives tasked with surveilling reporters became embroiled in an international plot to suppress sexual-assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein.

Discussion: @ronanfarrow, The Week, The Independent, The Daily Beast, @michaelluo, @razhael, @janemayernyer, @rohded, @newyorker, @kaibiermann, @josephfcox, @will_bunch, @rohded, @brianstelter, @dabeard, @seanlavery and Variety

Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:

As interviews get more insistent, the White House isn't sending their usual representatives to Sunday shows, instead seeking to get their message out via ads — On Sunday's “Meet the Press,” NBC News moderator Chuck Todd was insistent. — He had asked Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) …

Discussion: @stuartemmrich

Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter:

Facebook agrees to pay $40M in proposed settlement with several advertising agencies that claimed the company misstated video metrics by 150-900% — Advertisers would collect the bulk of the money after alleging Facebook inflated the average time users viewed video on the platform.

Discussion: Ad Age, Variety, MediaPost and Fortune, more at Techmeme »

Financial Times:

Sources: Apple has recently approached big music labels about bundling together Apple Music and Apple TV+ for one flat monthly fee — Apple's hopes of creating a super-bundle of media content for one flat monthly fee have run into early opposition, with some record labels nervous …

Discussion: The Streamable, Music Business Worldwide, CNET, @loudmouthjulia, MacRumors, @kantrowitz and 9to5Mac, more at Techmeme »

Janko Roettgers / Variety:

FreeTime Unlimited, Amazon's subscription service with curated content for kids that starts at $2.99 per month for Prime users, launches on Fire TV — Amazon is bringing its Freetime kids service to Fire TV, starting with its Fire TV stick devices: The app allows parents to set age limits …

Discussion: TechCrunch and The Streamable

Jane Mayer / New Yorker:

How rumors about Biden and Ukraine began with a dark-money group and a Peter Schweizer book before hitting Fox News, mirroring the path of Clinton Cash theories — How a conservative dark-money group that targeted Hillary Clinton in 2016 spread the discredited story that may lead to Donald Trump's impeachment.

Discussion: The Nation, @stuartpstevens, @pastpunditry, @jonlemire and @kgvseb

Pema Levy / Mother Jones:
John Solomon, a former columnist at The Hill whose work helped push Ukraine-related conspiracies and was mentioned in whistleblower complaint, joins Fox News

Discussion: @mikebrestdc, Washington Examiner, @jkbjournalist, @maxwelltani and Mediaite

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

Interview with David Muir of World News Tonight, now one of ABC's most-watched programs, on reaching people via Instagram or Hulu as well as gaining TV viewers — Here's some news David Muir probably won't deliver on ABC: In recent months, his “World News Tonight” has become …

Discussion: @spj_tweets

BBC:

Ofcom says Naga Munchetty did not breach its rules around impartiality, criticizes BBC's “lack of transparency” around the original ruling — Media watchdog Ofcom has said it has “serious concerns around the transparency of the BBC's complaints process” following its handling of the Naga Munchetty case.

Discussion: Press Gazette

Henry Mance / Financial Times:

Interview with the Daily Mail Editor Geordie Greig on changing tack on Brexit, overtaking Murdoch's The Sun, his first year since replacing Paul Dacre, and more — There is one thing that a journalist can count on, said a character in Evelyn Waugh's 1938 novel Scoop: “popularity”.

Discussion: @rasmus_kleis, @henrymance, @greenslader, @ppls2ndref, @henrymance, @kadhimshubber, @miketomillar, @financialtimes and @barneyfarmer

Li Yuan / New York Times:

How China is using social media and films to stir patriotism and get communist party propaganda enthusiastically embraced by young people — Leveraging celebrities, the know-how of tech companies and images built for social media, the Communist Party can effectively stir patriotism among the youth.