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Google will pay publishers $1B+ through 2023 to create and curate high-quality journalism for the new Google News Showcase, starting in Germany and Brazil — Google will pay publishers more than $1 billion over the next three years to create and curate high-quality journalism for a new set …
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The Keyword, Nieman Lab, Reuters, CNN, Financial Times, Digiday, Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, MediaPost, @sundarpichai, Search Engine Land, Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, Breitbart, @pierrechappaz, @travelfish, @percykaren, @raju, TechCrunch, @charliebeckett, Engadget, Press Gazette, The Hill, @sarafischer, @quentindempster, Adweek, @jason_kint, @sarafischer, Fortune, @jeffjarvis, CNBC, New York Post and CNET, more at Techmeme »

A coalition representing 3,000+ US newsrooms is pushing a way to support local journalism with tax credits for subscriptions or donations to nonprofit newsrooms — A coalition representing more than 3,000 local newsrooms today took the unusual step of backing a plan for the government …
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Poynter, Columbia Journalism Review and The Rural Blog

In letter to Congress, directors and Hollywood trade bodies say 69% of small and mid-sized theater companies will go bankrupt or shutter without government help — Dozens of established filmmakers joined with the Directors Guild of America, the National Association of Theater Owners …
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Los Angeles Times, The A.V. Club, ComingSoon.net, The Playlist, EW.com, Top Celebrity News …, Reuters, Hollywood Reporter, UPROXX and Forbes
Francesca Chambers / @fran_chambers:
The Commission on Presidential Debates says it is considering adding “additional structure” to the format “to ensure a more orderly discussion of the issues” — The Commission on Presidential Debates speaks: https://twitter.com/...
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@norahodonnell, @porter_anderson, @abbydphillip, @jayrosen_nyu, Washington Post, CBS News, New York Times, Fortune, @imillhiser, @juliaioffe, @kevinbohncnn, Fast Company, @rachelbitecofer, @benmullin, Variety, @grynbaum, @larrysabato, @jeffjarvis, @digiphile, The Sun, @pegobry, @shakirasison, @cmclymer, @lanceulanoff, @becketadams, @dduane, @elisacardnell, @kfile, @ninaburleigh, @jayrosen_nyu, @geoffrbennett, @ashleyfeinberg and Axios
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Failing some radical reform in the debate format that gives moderators more power, there's no reason for the next two debates to take place as scheduled
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Tiffany Hsu / New York Times:
Hundreds of thousands watched the Trump-Biden debate on Twitch, with streamers who normally narrate gaming sessions providing real-time commentary
Hundreds of thousands watched the Trump-Biden debate on Twitch, with streamers who normally narrate gaming sessions providing real-time commentary
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@nkulw, @hzguo616, @slasher, @splitharegames, @tiffkhsu, @ryangrim, @connortmurph, @kellen_browning, @hutchinson, @slasher and @dpakman
Brian Stelter / CNN:
Nielsen: 73M+ people watched the first Trump-Biden debate across 16 TV channels, lower than the first Trump-Clinton debate, but higher than almost all others
Nielsen: 73M+ people watched the first Trump-Biden debate across 16 TV channels, lower than the first Trump-Clinton debate, but higher than almost all others
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Ad Age, Insights - Nielsen, Axios, The Hill, The Atlantic, @bmorrissey, New York Post, @tvmojoe, @nymag, @usatodaydc, @brianstelter, @mgsiegler, @brianstelter, @juqual87, @hasanthehun, New York Times, MediaPost, Breitbart and The Wrap
Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:
In an interview on Wednesday, Chris Wallace conceded he was initially reluctant to step in during the Trump-Biden debate, saying he doesn't favor muting mics
In an interview on Wednesday, Chris Wallace conceded he was initially reluctant to step in during the Trump-Biden debate, saying he doesn't favor muting mics
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Essence magazine furloughs some staff but says it doesn't anticipate the furloughs lasting longer than six months — MAJOR LOSSES — One of America's oldest and best-known major publications dedicated to Black women readers has furloughed some staff. In a press release on Tuesday …

Condé Nast hires its first-ever chief of diversity and inclusion officer, Yashica Olden, and reverses the pay cuts it implemented in April — Condé Nast has announced Yashica Olden as its global chief diversity and inclusion officer, a new role recently created by the legacy publishing company.
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WWD

Online News Association, OpenNews, and the Maynard Institute announce the Vision25 initiative to build anti-racist and collaborative newsrooms — Today, we're announcing Vision25: Building Racial Equity in Newsrooms, a catalyst in a social change movement that seeks to build journalistic institutions …
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@onaconf, @onaconf, @onaconf, @onaconf and @wendi_c_thomas

Questions have arisen before about the reporting of NYT's Rukmini Callimachi, whose work faces review after charges against a character in her Caliphate podcast — In May 2018, Rukmini Callimachi, a star reporter for the New York Times, faced some questions about her reporting.
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The Daily Beast, New Republic, @silvermanjacob, @jhensonpogue, @harrysiegel, @chanders, @jscros, @davidfolkenflik, @davidfolkenflik, @jscros, @jscros, @davidfolkenflik, @maxwelltani, @raju, @bgrueskin, @aliamalek, @lailaalarian, @pspoole, @davidfolkenflik, @mlcalderone, @ggreenwald, @jeremymbarr and The Daily Beast

Playboy to go public again via SPAC after going private in 2011; the deal values the magazine at $415M and its current owners will retain a 66% share — The company, which pivoted to brand licensing and commerce, is valued at $415 million — Playboy is going public again after being acquired …

ABC is instituting inclusion standards, overseen by Executive VP Simran Sethi, to increase inclusion of underrepresented groups on screen and behind the screen — Exec vp development and content strategy Simran Sethi has been working alongside entertainment president Karey Burke on the detailed protocols for a year.

Marc Rosen, EVP of entertainment for Authentic Brands Group, says Sports Illustrated is profitable, due in large part to 15 active licensing deals for the brand — When Sports Illustrated was purchased by Authentic Brands Group for $110 million from Meredith in May 2019 …

Portland tech news site Digital Trends has laid off at least 13 editorial staffers, including Lisa Marie Segarra, Meira Gebel, and Mathew Katz — Portland technology news site Digital Trends has laid off at least 13 editorial staffers. — Among those laid off was Lisa Marie Segarra …
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@slaughterwrites, @genevievexp, @gonzotorpedo, @nwoodard25 and @mathewkatz

Sweden's national radio broadcaster is pairing journalists' pre-publication ratings of news stories with an algorithm to improve the personalization for users — How can we produce more relevant news stories and at the same time promote the values of outstanding public service journalism?