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Sources: NYT told Lauren Wolfe, who had a temporary position, that her name and NYT's name were in headlines after her “chills” tweet, and “we can't have that” — The paper of record's treatment of a freelance editor getting “chills” on Twitter drew accusations …
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NBC's Peacock signs a deal for exclusive streaming rights for WWE Network content in the US from March; source says the deal runs five years and is worth $1B+ — World Wrestling Entertainment content will move to Peacock starting March 18 in deal worth more than $1 billion
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Insider Inc. says it was profitable in 2020 and added 200 jobs as revenue grew 30% YoY; sources: it generated $150M+ in revenue as subscribers doubled to 100K+ — Business-news site generated 30% revenue growth in 2020 despite Covid-19 crisis thanks to subscriptions, automated ads

a16z plans to launch a “new and separate media property” later this year focused on “the future” and names ex-CNN editor Maggie Leung executive editor — We embraced speaking directly to our audience — from the builders of the future to the tech-curious — right as the firm was started in 2009.
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Forbes drops plans for a trip to Bermuda for 75 people on its “30 under 30” list, meant to provide an escape from pandemic “gloom”, after facing criticism — Invitation for people on magazine's ‘30 under 30’ list is dropped hours after Guardian inquiry

Rupert Murdoch says free speech is being suppressed by an “awful woke orthodoxy” and says he is “far from done” — Mr. Murdoch of News Corp, who spoke in a video, has been relatively quiet publicly in recent years. He called conformity on social media “a straitjacket on sensibility.”
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Ex-CNN exec S. Mitra Kalita and PA radio exec Sara Lomax-Reese launch URL Media, a newsletter seeking to expand local news on Black and brown communities — Former CNN executive S. Mitra Kalita and Philadelphia radio executive Sara Lomax-Reese have launched a newsletter seeking to expand local news …
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AMC Entertainment says it signed deals for $917M in funding to survive the COVID-19 pandemic for months and avoid bankruptcy — World's largest movie theater chain buys time with debt and equity deals as it continues to burn cash during the Covid-19 pandemic
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An in-depth look at Laurene Powell Jobs' Emerson Collective, which a source says has spent $250M on journalism, buying stakes in The Atlantic, Axios, and others — With the Emerson Collective, Laurene Powell Jobs is becoming a force in American media. What is she trying to achieve?
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Nexstar to rebrand its national cable channel WGN America as NewsNation, positioning it as a “fact-based and unbiased” competitor to CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC — As part of the rebrand, NewsNation will add two hours of live coverage from 6-8 p.m. hosted by Nichole Berlie and Joe Donlon, respectively.
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Issie Lapowsky / Protocol:
Facebook says it will give researchers targeting data on 1.3M social issue, electoral, and political ads from August 3 through November 3, 2020 — Facebook announced the news in a blog post Monday, following years of requests from academics. Until now, Facebook has only publicly shared data …

White House says it will work with WHCA to develop new standards for media passes and won't tolerate outlets trafficking in conspiracy theories and propaganda — Some Trump loving members of the press corps are eager to get access to the Biden White House.
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NPR, New York Post, CNN, Mercury News, Financial Times, Roll Call, WTOP, @matthewkeyslive, @ccadelago, @mrjohnnicolson, @ccadelago and @oliverdarcy

Spotify says it is testing a pilot of audiobooks on the platform, with nine public-domain titles read by well-known names like Hilary Swank — Initial titles include ‘Frankenstein,’ ‘Great Expectations’ and ‘Jane Eyre.’ — Spotify's aggressive move into content beyond music continues today …
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Hollywood Reporter, @pennyfractions, XDA Developers, The Verge, @natjarv, @lucas_shaw, @amyxwang, @kerrymflynn and @dada_drummer