Mediagazer: Comcast Q3: $26.8B in revenue with net loss of 238K video subscribers; NBCU had earnings of $2.09B, up 1.6% YoY, on $8.3B in revenue; Sky had revenue of $4.55B (Neha Malara/Reuters)

8:00 AM ET, October 24, 2019

Top News:

Facebook to unveil news tab at an event Friday with News Corp's Robert Thomson; sources: direct payments to 200 publishers will go up to millions of dollars — Facebook plans to launch a “News” tab on Friday that will offer stories from hundreds of news organizations, some of which will be paid fees …

Discussion: The Wrap, The Verge, Politico, The Wrap, @craigtimberg, CNET, @b52malmet, CBS News, Observer and Mediaite, more at Techmeme »

Sarah Lacy / Pando:

Sarah Lacy and Paul Carr sell Pando to ad-tech company BuySellAds, which bought Digg in 2018; Lacy announces she is leaving journalism — If there is a single moment when it seemed like my journalism career suddenly caught fire, it was the 2006 Business Week cover story I wrote about the rise of Web 2.0 companies.

Discussion: @sarahcuda, @edzitron, @mcarney, @jenlankford, @lkherman, @mathewi, @yaelwrites, @profjeffjarviss, @johnjcook, @simonowens, @ajdomanico, @davezatz, @martinsfp, Talking Biz News and Business Insider, more at Techmeme »

Jeremy Barr / Hollywood Reporter:

Fox Business, CNN, CNBC, Bloomberg, NYT, and FT say they will not serve as media partners at Saudi Arabia's Future of Investment Initiative event this year — Jared Kushner and Steven Mnuchin are attending, but major media firms are still a no-go at the Saudi conference following the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.

Discussion: Axios, @teddyschleifer, @peter_tl, @p_brady, @jeremymbarr and Axios

BBC:

BBC News launches dark web mirror of its international site, accessible via Tor, as it seeks to thwart censorship from states such as China, Iran, and Vietnam — The BBC has made its international news website available via Tor, in a bid to thwart censorship attempts.

Discussion: The Verge, @amywebb, @darkdotfail, @mshelton, @ridt and @opentechfund, more at Techmeme »

Press Gazette:
BBC launches an interactive voice news service for Alexa, allowing users to skip stories or ask for more details about the ones they are interested in

Discussion: bbc.co.uk, @antzahra, @jan_bruck, Financial Times and RAIN News

Neha Malara / Reuters:

Comcast Q3: $26.8B in revenue with net loss of 238K video subscribers; NBCU had earnings of $2.09B, up 1.6% YoY, on $8.3B in revenue; Sky had revenue of $4.55B — (Reuters) - Media and communications company Comcast Corp (CMCSA.O) beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter profit on Thursday …

Discussion: Variety, Financial Times, Broadcasting & Cable, CNBC, Hollywood Reporter and Business Wire

Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:

While CNN's news aggregation app will probably not succeed, wanting to protect its brand by becoming more than a tiny icon in another company's app makes sense — Like News Corp with Knewz, it's trying to build its own platform for news, using its own content and work from other news organizations, to compete with the tech giants.

Discussion: The Atlantic

Jessica Toonkel / The Information:
CNN says it is planning a news aggregation service, internally called “NewsCo”, which will likely be a mix of subscription- and advertising-based content

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter, @jessicalessin, @thesheetztweetz, 9to5Mac, Engadget and AppleInsider

Associated Press:

AP is using Data Skrive automation and Sportradar data to produce automated text previews of Major League Soccer games — The Associated Press announced today that it is using automation technology from Data Skrive and data from Sportradar to produce data-driven text previews of all Major League Soccer games.

Discussion: @cltledger and @herosportsnews

Laura Hazard Owen / Nieman Lab:

Profile of Storyful's 11-member investigative team, which has worked with NYT, WSJ, and others to mine social media for stories about the 2020 election — In some cases, newsrooms have specific ideas or topics they need researched. In other cases, Storyful has an idea that it looks to find a home for.

Discussion: Editor & Publisher Magazine

Peter Rubin / Wired:

A behind-the-scenes look at Ron Moore's For All Mankind, launching on Apple TV+ on November 1, for which Moore pitched Apple a detailed map of seven seasons — With Ron Moore's space-race drama For All Mankind, Apple is betting on marquee names and lush production to get its TV+ service off the ground.

Gretchen Frazee / PBS NewsHour:

The US Postal Service is honoring the late Gwen Ifill with a stamp in 2020; she worked at PBS NewsHour for 17 years and covered eight presidential campaigns — The U.S. Postal Service is honoring the late PBS NewsHour anchor Gwen Ifill with a commemorative Forever stamp.

Discussion: ABC News, @jelani9, @yamiche, @sifill_ldf, @kamalaharris, Baltimore Sun, theGrio, NBC News, The Hill and The Week

Christine Schmidt / Nieman Lab:

A deep look at local news newsletters from individual reporters, who often use tools like Substack and Revue and sometimes earn subscription revenue — Just as blogging allowed a new cadre of journalists to work outside established news organizations in the early 2000s, the email newsletter boom has done the same in local communities.

Discussion: @journalismfest, @tcb, @chassisk, Talking Biz News, @carigervin, @ash_detroit, @newsbyschmidt, @newsbyschmidt, @newsbyschmidt, @newsbyschmidt, @newsbyschmidt, @newsbyschmidt, @newsbyschmidt and @newsbyschmidt

Knight Foundation:

Knight Foundation announces funding for Charlotte's West End, including $125,000 for a journalism initiative with Qcitymetro, to host events and hire a reporter — Contact: Lauren Dickinson, Communications Officer, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, 305.908.2694, [email protected]

Discussion: @svalder, @cthomasclt, @melaniesill and @westside_clt

Archived Page Info:

This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 8:00 AM ET, October 24, 2019.

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Who's Hiring in Media?

Technology Companies Editor, CA — WaPo

ESG & Climate Senior Editor, HK — Bloomberg

Breaking News Reporter, NY — Guardian US

Reporter, Remote US — TechCrunch

Story Editor - Graphics, NY — NYT

Part-time Editor, Remote — Techmeme

Freelance News Reporter, London — Newsweek

Arts & Entertainment Editor, MA — Boston Globe

Assignment Editor, CT — NBCUniversal

Deputy Washington Editor, 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

Reporter/Newsletter Writer, CO — BRL

Politics Reporter, Brussels — Politico

Managing Ed. - News, Remote US — The Athletic

Features Editor, GA — Gainesville Times

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

Law and Justice Editor, WA — Seattle Times

Senior Editor, Remote US — PCWorld

State Worker Reporter, CA — Sacramento Bee

Executive Editor, NM — Searchlight

News Assistant, NY — Quanta Magazine

Local Editor, NJ (Remote) — Patch

News Writer, CA — Hollywood Reporter

News Editor/Reporter, KS — Blade-Empire

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More News:

Siri Holstad Johannessen / INMA:
How Norway's Aftenposten increased subscriber revenue and decreased churn through Wine Club, its wine-focused newsletter started in 2017

Peter Oborne / openDemocracy:
UK journalists should stop letting themselves be used as a tool for anonymous government sources to spread lies, misrepresentations, smears, and falsehoods

Discussion: Jon Slattery, @carolecadwalla, @dilliekeane, @ukdemockery, Peter Osborne, @rowanscott, @mariehelenetho2, @carolecadwalla, Polis and Spectator

Kerry Flynn / CNN:
Tinder says it will roll out its “Swipe Night” choose-your-own adventure series globally in February, after messages rose 12% compared to a typical Sunday night

Discussion: @kerrymflynn and @72andsunny, more at Techmeme »

Andrew Nusca / Fortune:
A look at the revival in digital music sales, which have grown from $14.3B in 2014 to $18.1B in 2018, mainly thanks to paid streaming services like Spotify

Kerry Flynn / CNN:
A look at LinkedIn's efforts to curate news using human editors, with a 65-strong team globally, as it seeks to boost engagement

Discussion: @jeffweiner, @andrewmseaman, @kerrymflynn, @media_evan and @kerrymflynn, more at Techmeme »

Emily Bloch / Teen Vogue:
The Florida Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists has applied to trademark the term “fake news” to stop Trump from using it

Discussion: @annemariebridy, @dceiver, @teenvogue, @twolemonades, @briansolis, @spj_tweets, @emdrums, The Daily Caller, The Hill and Techdirt

Earlier Picks:

Jessica Davies / Digiday:
CNN says its short-form video subsidiary, Great Big Story, now accounts for 15% of CNN International Commercial's digital revenue

Discussion: Editor & Publisher Magazine

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
BBC opens up Local News Partnership, its scheme created in 2017 to fund “local democracy reporters”, to black, Asian, and minority ethnic publications in UK

Discussion: Black On White TV and HoldtheFrontPage

Anthony D'Alessandro / Deadline:
Disney's Bob Iger defends the $66M in compensation he received in 2018, saying the amount included a one-time stock grant and reflected Disney-Fox merger work

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, The Daily Caller, @lionelmedia, @deadline and Fast Company

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Snap reports it added 7M DAUs in Q3 to hit 210M, up 13% YoY, revenue of $446M, up 50% YoY, and a net loss of $227M, down from $325M a year ago

Discussion: MediaPost, Tubefilter, @joshconstine, @peterhamby, @alex, @alex, @alexeheath, @thestalwart, @joshconstine, IPG, AdExchanger, VentureBeat, CNBC, Ad Age, AgencySpy, Business Wire, Hollywood Reporter, The Verge, Bloomberg, Reuters, Engadget and Variety

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:
The author of an anonymous 2018 NYT column identified as a senior Trump admin official has written a book, titled A WARNING, to be published in November

Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:
Medium says it will now pay its Partner Program writers based “primarily” on reading time, not claps; the platform has paid $6M+ to 30,000+ writers since 2017

Discussion: @noahchestnut, @profjeffjarviss, The Wrap, @caseynewton, @dlberes, @gustavgoosen, @annehelen, @chaykak, @alex, @martinsfp, @laurahazardowen and 3 min read

From Techmeme:

Financial Times:
Microsoft invests $1.5B in Abu Dhabi-based AI startup G42 for a minority stake, after G42 severed ties with Chinese suppliers; Brad Smith will join G42's board

Raphael Satter / Reuters:
The Open Source Security Foundation and the OpenJS Foundation say the attempt to insert a secret backdoor into XZ Utils “may not be an isolated incident”

Connor Jones / The Register:
UnitedHealth says the February ransomware attack on Change Healthcare cost the company $872M in Q1; another ransomware group appears to be extorting the company

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