Mediagazer: Twitch has grown in popularity among QAnon adherents and far-right influencers, making it easy for streamers to make money while spreading conspiracy theories (Kellen Browning/New York Times)

8:00 AM ET, April 28, 2021

Top News:

[Thread] NY Post reporter resigns, saying she was ordered to write an incorrect story that claimed a book by Kamala Harris was included in migrant welcome kits — An announcement: Today I handed in my resignation to my editors at the New York Post.

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Spotify says podcast listening hit an all-time high in Q1, crediting The Joe Rogan Experience; Spotify had 2.6M podcasts at end of Q1, up from 2.2M in Q4 2020 — Spotify reported results for the first quarter of 2021 in-line with expectations, with total revenue up 16% — helped by 46% uptick in ad sales.

Discussion: @alexpattyy, Media Matters for America, Insider, Variety, The Verge, @aweiss, @donie, @ashleyrcarman, @dcseifert, @amy_siskind and @kerrymflynn

Anne Steele / Wall Street Journal:

Spotify reports Q1 profit of €23M, up from €1M a year earlier, revenue of €2.15B, up 16% YoY, 356M MAUs, up 24% YoY, and 158M paid subscribers, up 21% YoY — Audio-streaming platform warns of uncertain growth as newer markets endure a surge in coronavirus cases

Discussion: Spotify, Fast Company, @kerrymflynn, The Verge, @kerrymflynn and Spotify, more at Techmeme »

Alex Weprin / Hollywood Reporter:

YouTube ad revenue topped $6B in Q1, up 50% from the same quarter a year ago — That is up from $4 billion in the same quarter of last year, a 50 percent year-over-year growth rate. — YouTube continues to grow at a torrid pace, with any sign of pandemic slowdown seemingly behind it.

Discussion: Variety, Alphabet, The Wrap, @danieljkelley, musically.com, @loudmouthjulia, @xpangler, @ashkan, @alexweprin and Tubefilter, more at Techmeme »

Jennifer Elias / CNBC:

YouTube is on pace to book between $29B and $30B in revenue in 2021, equaling Netflix's expected revenue of $29.7B for the year — - YouTube is on pace to bring in annual revenue comparable to Netflix's. — The Google-owned video platform is seeing a rise in more traditional television advertisers.

Jon Allsop / Columbia Journalism Review:

Journalists in India are dealing with life-threatening assignments amid a COVID-19 surge as they also face eroding freedoms for the press — More than a year into the global pandemic, the coronavirus has exploded across India. The spread has been fueled, in part, by possible new variants …

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

Discovery reports Q1 revenue of $2.79B, up 4% YoY, with net income down 63% to $144M, and it now has 15M paying subscribers worldwide to its DTC services — Discovery revealed the big challenge behind getting involved in the media industry's streaming wars: A new broadband hub can bring …

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter and @thestreamable

Kellen Browning / New York Times:

Twitch has grown in popularity among QAnon adherents and far-right influencers, making it easy for streamers to make money while spreading conspiracy theories — QAnon adherents and other far-right influencers are making thousands of dollars broadcasting election and vaccine conspiracy theories on the streaming site.

Discussion: @kellen_browning, @oliverdarcy, @rita_katz, @bostonjoan, @kellen_browning, @travisshreffler, @kellen_browning and CNET, more at Techmeme »

Marisa Sarnoff / Mediaite:

Report: CNN has opened an internal investigation into workplace culture and treatment of women at CNN Business — CNN Business has launched an internal investigation into the treatment of women and workplace culture, according to a report Tuesday from Business Insider.

Discussion: Insider, @justinbaragona, @perlberg and Talking Biz News

Michael J. Socolow / Reason:

A history of NYT's “op-eds”, born in 1970 to highlight voices outside of the newspaper, and why NYT occasionally publishes offensive and even vile essays — When you're a kid, you love the comics. A few years later, you read the sports or the style section first.

Discussion: @heidilegg, @laurahelmuth, @amanbatheja, @dlippman, @nickconfessore, @yinkawrites, @davidfolkenflik, @jesseholcomb, @bgrueskin, @benyt, @michaelsocolow, @michaelsocolow and @michaelsocolow

Kathleen Kingsbury / New York Times:
NYT says it is retiring the term “Op-Ed”; editorials will still be called editorials, but articles written by outside writers will be called “Guest Essays”

Discussion: NYT Open, Scrawler, @katiekings, Nieman Lab, @pogue, @margaretrenkl, @nickconfessore, @pennykittle, ben tapeworm's almanac, @benyt, @mdubowitz, Media Nation, @mathewi, @nytopinion, @elisewho, @brianstelter, @mmasnick, The Morning Missive, American Press Institute, bookforum.com, @newslitproject, @katzish, @tomcottonar, @revkin, @mcclure111, @aedwardslevy, @harrysiegel, @jodyavirgan, @adriana_lacy, @mattgertz, @cliffordlevy, @hankstuever, @clarajeffery, @dabeard, @davelevinthal, @harrysiegel, @erikwemple, @petersterne, @markberman, @tonyfratto, @mattfrieds, @carlquintanilla, @froomkin, @sistertoldjah, @katiekings, @katiekings, @katiekings, @maxboot, @tim_stevens, @elanazak, @_alastair, @maxasteele, @hautepop, @joshsternberg, @travelinganna, Politico, @jillfilipovic, @rubinafillion, @pennyriordan1, @mattyglesias, @abeaujon, @sarafischer, @sarafischer, Newser and New York Post

Benjamin Mullin / Wall Street Journal:

Meadowlark Media, led by ESPN vets Dan Le Batard and John Skipper, signs a distribution deal with DraftKings, one of its investors; sources: deal's worth $50M+ — Digital sports entertainment and gaming company pushes further into media realm with $50 million deal

Discussion: Washington Post, Poynter, @thetonygill, @adamlevitan, @davidpsamson, Variety, Awful Announcing, The Athletic, AllAccess.com, OutKick, Engadget and Hollywood Reporter

New York Times:

Norton takes its Philip Roth biography out of print as the author faces claims of sexual assault; Norton also vows to donate to support sex assault survivors — The publisher also said it would make a donation to sexual abuse organizations equal to the advance it paid Blake Bailey, the author accused of sexual assault.

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More News:

Janko Roettgers / Protocol:
Conviva: in Q1, streaming viewing time was up 240% YoY in South America, 149% YoY in Africa, 122% YoY in Europe; Roku dominates in US but lags in other markets

Discussion: @protocol, @conviva, @paulajwinkel and The Wrap

William Turvill / Press Gazette:
Q&A with Reuters CMO Josh London on launching a paywall, competition with Bloomberg and WSJ, why readers will pay for “news in context”, and more

Discussion: @mikelizun and @reuterspr

Angela Fu / Poynter:
NewsGuild study of 14 unionized Gannett newsrooms finds ~$10K median wage gap between men and women and a ~$5K wage gap between POC journalists and white ones

Discussion: Nieman Lab, CNN, @mattdpearce, @brettkelman, @ejmontini, @kainazamaria, @levinecarrie, @caitlinrcruz, @indyemapolis, @laurieroberts, @gwenfaviles, @marcmorehouse, @fowlersarah, @yesyoureracist, The Hill, @nataliaecg, Columbia Journalism Review and HuffPost

Elian Peltier / New York Times:
Two Spanish journalists have been killed in Burkina Faso while filming an anti-poaching documentary; a third journalist may have been abducted and killed too

Discussion: Voice of America, The Guardian, Al Jazeera and Reuters

Sara Fischer / Axios:
NPR plans to launch a podcast subscription service that will let listeners directly support their favorite podcasts and get sponsorship-free versions thereof

Discussion: Vulture, Supporting Cast, @xpangler, @dansinker, @spotifynews, @iamfabiano, Insider, Gizmodo, New York Post, ScreenRant, Hot Pod News and CNBC

Patrick Frater / Variety:
Disney will close 18 TV channels in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong on October 1, as its rollout of Disney+ continues with a Hong Kong launch coming this year

Discussion: Digital TV Europe, Pink's Bottom Line on Media …, C21Media, @richlightshed and Kidscreen

Earlier Picks:

Patience Haggin / Wall Street Journal:
With iPhone's privacy changes, advertisers will get more ad-performance data for ads bought through Apple than via third parties, giving its ad business an edge

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Spotify launches paid podcast subscriptions for creators in the US, at no cost to creators for two years and a 5% fee starting in spring 2023

Epicurious:
Epicurious says beef will no longer appear in new recipes, articles, or newsletters as well as on its homepage and Instagram feed for climate-related reasons

John Ourand / Sports Business Journal:
Turner Sports picked up NHL's second TV package as part of a deal worth up to $225M per year, after NBC pulled out of the bidding

Mónica Marie Zorrilla / Variety:
Early Nielsen numbers show 2021 Oscars drew 9.85M viewers, a drop of 58.3% from last year

From Techmeme:

Chance Miller / 9to5Mac:
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says that President Trump “believes” the US has the labor, workforce, and resources to build iPhones in the US

Will Canny / CoinDesk:
Ripple agrees to acquire prime brokerage Hidden Road for $1.25B; Hidden Road plans to use Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin as collateral across its platform

The Information:
Source: Instagram is working on an iPad app, and Adam Mosseri told staff to be willing to assume more “risk” to take advantage of a TikTok US ban or disruption

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