Top News:
NC Policy Watch:
UNC backs down from offering Nikole Hannah-Jones tenure, instead offering a fixed five-year contract, after conservatives object to her work on The 1619 Project — Journalism school will instead offer Nikole Hannah-Jones a fixed five-year contract — In her career in journalism …
Discussion:
@arthomason, Mediaite, @adamserwer, @jduffyrice, @clintsmithiii, @losowsky, @nickconfessore, @drskyskull, @jswatz, @henryfarrell, @henryfarrell, @henryfarrell, @donmoyn, @sopandeb, @joyannreid, @rlnave, @ericboehlert, @brizzyc, @ryanlcooper, @macloo, @albertocairo, @hgargan, @bgrueskin, @andybechtel, @jacobrubashkin, @jeffjarvis, @celesteheadlee, @johnburnsnc, @blackamazon, @michaelsocolow, @davmicrot and @stephenjowens_
Benjamin Mullin / Wall Street Journal:
Profile of David Zaslav, one of the highest-paid US corporate CEOs, who spent 14 years building Discovery into the preeminent player in unscripted programming — The TV deal maker will head the new venture formed by his company's merger with AT&T's WarnerMedia, as he seeks to build a streaming juggernaut
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New York Times:
Sources: Jeff Zucker, who said he expects to leave CNN at the end of 2021, may be open to a longer stay as his “best friend” David Zaslav becomes his boss — Phone buddies and golf partners, Jeff Zucker and David Zaslav have a 30-year history. Now Zucker may be open to working for the man he calls a “best friend.”
Discussion:
@poppyharlowcnn, @dylanbyers, @peterlattman, @ennisnyt, @grynbaum, @aagave, @yashar, @dylanbyers and @jamiestelter
Ben Thompson / Stratechery:
AT&T and Verizon conflated controlling distribution with controlling demand and hence wasted billions by buying media businesses like Time Warner and Yahoo
AT&T and Verizon conflated controlling distribution with controlling demand and hence wasted billions by buying media businesses like Time Warner and Yahoo
Discussion:
Digiday, @stratechery, Wall Street Journal and Insider, more at Techmeme »
David Dayen / American Prospect:
The main legacies from AT&T/Time Warner are lost jobs and a $400M payout for Time Warner's former CEO; now, Discovery and WarnerMedia promise savings of $3B/yr
The main legacies from AT&T/Time Warner are lost jobs and a $400M payout for Time Warner's former CEO; now, Discovery and WarnerMedia promise savings of $3B/yr
Discussion:
New York Times, NBC News, Quartz, @prospectanna, @secur80consult, @joshelman, @theprospect, @joejerome, @theprospect, @ourand_sbj, @ddayen, @ryanlcooper, @ddayen, Los Angeles Times and Wired, more at Techmeme »
Joan E. Solsman / CNET:
WarnerMedia says HBO Max's cheaper, ad-supported tier will cost $10 per month and launch in the first week of June — HBO Max, so far, had a single subscription price at $15 a month. … HBO Max's cheaper, ad-supported tier will cost $10 a month and launch in the first week of June, WarnerMedia said Wednesday.
Discussion:
Variety, Ad Age, The Streamable, FierceVideo, @alexweprin, @pkafka, The Madison Leader Gazette, @jpoggi, Engadget, Media Play News and Hollywood Reporter
Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:
Google is testing a “Follow” button in Chrome for sites that support RSS, with content appearing in the New Tab page, initially with Chrome Canary users — Chrome, at least in its experimental Canary version on Android (and only for users in the U.S.), is getting an interesting update …
Discussion:
Chromium Blog, @gaberivera, @mhbergen, @anildash, @__apf__ and 9to5Google, more at Techmeme »
The Daily Beast:
In recent months, Newsmax has quietly poached some top OANN talent who, sources say, sought either bigger audiences or a break from OANN's increasing extremism — ONE AMERICA EXODUS — In recent months, Newsmax has quietly poached some top OAN talent who, insiders said …
Discussion:
@justinbaragona, @owillis, @idguy, @justinbaragona and @mattgertz
RELATED:
Mark Sweney / The Guardian:
Marie Claire owner Future reports revenues of £272M, up 21% YoY, in the six months to end of March, and says e-commerce income grew 56% YoY driven by lockdowns — Future's share price soars as it says full-year results will be ‘materially ahead’ of expectations
Discussion:
Financial Times
Billy Steele / Engadget:
Spotify announces a virtual concert series, offering “prerecorded livestreams” of 40-75 minutes from The Black Keys and others for $15 each, starting May 27 — If you're a fan of live music, you probably paid to stream at least one performance at some point in the last year.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Spotify, CNET and The Verge, more at Techmeme »
Hanaa' Tameez / Nieman Lab:
Harvard's The Future of Media Project unveils the US Media Index database, which compiles information on owners, shareholders, and donors of news outlets — If you ever wanted to track down who owns a news outlet, it's now much easier to do it. The U.S. Media Index database by the Future …
Sara Guaglione / Digiday:
The Information says it hired 22 people in the last year, as it adds beats and newsletters, with plans to reach “hundreds of thousands” of subs in a few years — The Information has hired 22 people in the last year, adding more beats, staffing up popular ones and adding more newsletters to drive subscriptions.
Discussion:
@alexeheath, @thesamparr and @rafat
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Google says Android TV OS, which includes Google TV, now reaches over 80M monthly active devices, with 80% YoY growth in the US — Google offered an update on its TV platform, Android OS, at its Google I/O developer event on Tuesday. The company said its Android TV OS now reaches …
Discussion:
The Streamable, 9to5Google, FierceVideo and Android Developers Blog, more at Techmeme »
Ian Carlos Campbell / The Verge:
Zoom announces Zoom Events, building on paid event marketplace OnZoom, letting companies host live events, sell tickets, track stats, and more — Selling tickets, tracking attendance, and hosting informal chats — Zoom is announcing an expanded live events product today that's launching this summer.
Discussion:
ZDNet and Engadget, more at Techmeme »