Mediagazer: Belarusian Association of Journalists: at least 69 journalists were detained since 9 August, the day of the election, with 36 of those beaten and injured (Charlotte Tobitt/Press Gazette)

8:20 AM ET, August 19, 2020

Top News:

Brent Lang / Variety:

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Variety:

Sources: NBCU's Ron Meyer had reached a settlement with actress Charlotte Kirk, who was linked to the resignation of Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara in 2019 — NBCUniversal Vice Chairman Ron Meyer was involved in an affair with actress Charlotte Kirk that ultimately led to his ouster …

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Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

Belarusian Association of Journalists: at least 69 journalists were detained since 9 August, the day of the election, with 36 of those beaten and injured — Almost 70 journalists were detained in Belarus and half were beaten and injured after pro-democracy protests began against the contested re-election …

Discussion: Committee to Protect … and The Times

DW.COM:
After initially failing to cover protests, employees of Belarus state broadcaster went on strike Monday and demanded an end to media censorship

Discussion: @pressfreedom, @lisang, @demianvonosten, @kenroth and The Guardian

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

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Discussion: Variety, Engadget, The Independent, @baekdal, The Verge, @deliacabe, Deadline and The Streamable, more at Techmeme »

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Group Nine's NowThis is launching NowThis Kids aimed at children aged 6 to 11, starting with a YouTube channel, podcast, and newsletter — NowThis, the millennial-focused video brand from Group Nine Media, is launching a new brand aimed at children of millennials called “NowThis Kids,” executives tell Axios.

Discussion: The Wrap, @thewrap, @naomiwadler, @niemanlab, @naomiwadler, @mralexalba, @sarafischer and MediaPost

Wall Street Journal:

Sources: ViacomCBS is in talks to sell CNET for ~$500M to Red Ventures, which runs consumer sites Bankrate and Reviews.com, as it looks to shed noncore assets — Discussions value CNET at about $500 million; media company has been looking to shed noncore assets after last year's merger

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Aaron Gordon / The Mail:

Motherboard launches an email newsletter about the US Postal Service and a printed zine on the subject delivered monthly by mail, to run through end of November — For years, Motherboard has cared deeply about election security. We were the first to talk to Guccifer 2.0 …

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Nicholas Quah / Nieman Lab:

Vice's VP of audio discusses Vice's audio expansion with 11 hires and the upcoming launch of four podcasts, including the flagship Vice News Reports — Welcome to Hot Pod, a newsletter about podcasts. This is issue 270, dated August 18, 2020. — Hmm... Spotify appears to be hiring …

Discussion: @shaunagh and @vicecomms

Laura Wagner / VICE:

A proposed Vox Media settlement of three lawsuits would split $2.5M among 450+ bloggers who managed or wrote for SB Nation; $1.5M would go to legal fees — Hundreds of unpaid and lowly paid bloggers who worked for SB Nation will split $2.5 million. — Laura Wagner

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Charlie Warzel / New York Times:

The White House flood of EOs and pronouncements is meant to be exhausting for media and consumers, requiring careful news coverage and mindful readers — Trump is “flooding the zone.” It's a form of modern censorship. — Opinion writer at large. — In the Trump era, news doesn't break, it invades.

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Alex Shephard / New Republic:
By embracing conservative talking points about government agencies, media missed the story about the decimation of USPS long before Trump was elected

Discussion: The A.V. Club, Real Clear Politics, @newrepublic, @newrepublic, @newrepublic, @coracurrier, New York Times and Written Up

Variety:

As the flow of new content dries up, studios are capitalizing on demand from streamers by licensing films for shorter, one to three month runs — When HBO Max debuted in late May, it made a surprise announcement: The eight original “Harry Potter” films — among the biggest-ever movie franchises …

Peter Weber / The Week:

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticizes NBC News for its “totally false and divisive” tweet saying she did not endorse Joe Biden in her DNC speech — The Democratic National Convention formally nominated Joe Biden as its presidential candidate on Tuesday night …

Discussion: Mediaite, CBS News, @aoc, @aoc, @nbcnews and ABC News

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