Top News:
Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge:
Facebook unveils Bulletin, its Substack competitor, with recruited writers including Malcolm Gladwell and Erin Andrews, won't take a revenue cut “at launch” — Facebook won't take a cut ‘at launch’ — Facebook is getting into the subscription newsletter game.
Discussion:
@juliacarriew, @mikeisaac, Washington Post, Variety, CNN, @juddlegum, About Facebook, @rmac18, The Wrap, TechCrunch, @ericnewcomer, @ericnewcomer, New York Times, @tomscocca, Devdiscourse News Desk, @mikeisaac, @kantrowitz, @donie, @taylorlorenz, @lam_barrett, @jedicounselor, @danprimack, @rebel19, @annehelen, @db, @lanceulanoff, @kantrowitz, @brianstelter, @annehelen, @clarajeffery, @annehelen, @awbraae and @ebboyd, more at Techmeme »
Axios:
Analysis: after Trump left office, monthly traffic to outlets has declined across the ideological spectrum, from -43.8% for far-right to -27.3% for far-left — In the months since former President Donald Trump left office, media companies' readership numbers are plunging …
Discussion:
@sarafischer, @clarajeffery, @markfollman, @jason_kint, @michelleinbklyn, @timodc, @wexler, @whcos, @mindyfinn, @clarajeffery, @clarajeffery, Mediaite, @drvolts, @alex_panetta, @clarajeffery, @ishaantharoor, @andykroll, @clarajeffery, @newsguardrating, @newsguardrating, @noahshachtman, @clarajeffery, @jenmercieca, @joshsternberg, @mulvihill79, @newsguardrating and @lisatozzi
Lloyd Grove / The Daily Beast:
Fox News agrees to pay a $1M fine for “a pattern of violating the NYC Human Rights Law”; Fox also must remove secret arbitration clauses from hiring contracts — Fox News effectively admitted to a pattern of misconduct and has agreed to pay a civil penalty in New York.
Discussion:
New York Times, @thedailybeast, The Wrap, @ninatypewriter, @jeremynewberger, @karengeier, @kris_sacrebleu, @blackhousenew, @melissajpeltier, @owillis, @bluechoochoo, @emilyrpeck, Variety, @thedailybeast, @maggiejordanacn, @oliverdarcy, @kevinddaly, Insider, @badfoxgraphics and Hollywood Reporter
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Amazon buys exclusive rights to celeb interview podcast SmartLess, hosted by Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, and Sean Hayes; sources say the deal is worth $60-80M — - Company will air new episodes before they appear elsewhere — Podcast features Will Arnett, Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes
Discussion:
@henereyg, @thomas_m_wilson, @skyepillsbury, Simon Owens's Media Newsletter, @alshipley, @jamiebgolden, @davechensky, @susanlitv, @wonderymedia, @simonowens, @mattbelloni, @evoterra, Deadline, @gabrielurbinatm, UPI, @pkafka, @tseides, @lisafleisher, @mgsiegler, The Wrap and Hollywood Reporter
Mark Stenberg / Adweek:
Bloomberg says clickthrough rate for Odd Lots newsletter is up 100% and open rate is up 50%, two months after beginning to offer subscriber-only content — The two words every publisher wants to hear? “Subscriber retention.” As publishers gradually shift their focus from attracting …
Discussion:
@subspaceforce, Talking Biz News and @markstenberg3
Nat Ives / Wall Street Journal:
WPP's GroupM says it aims to spend $75M through Group Black, a collective to encourage marketers to spend on Black-owned media, including Shade Room and Essence — Group Black Inc. also intends to invest some proceeds in Black-owned media properties — Group Black Inc. …
Discussion:
@travismontaque and @astrskpr
Catie Keck / The Verge:
Senator Warren asks the FTC for a “broad and meticulous review” of Amazon's MGM acquisition, citing Amazon's anticompetitive history and growing monopoly power — Warren argues the deal could hurt consumers — Senator Elizabeth Warren is calling on the Federal Trade Commission …
Discussion:
@robhof, more at Techmeme »
Taylor Lorenz / New York Times:
Nelk Boys, the YouTube stars known for pranks and parties, don't rely on ads; instead, Nelk says they sold $50M in merchandise in 2020 and expect $70M in 2021 — Known for their pranks, parties and crude humor, the YouTubers are used to getting in trouble. But for them, the backlash is the brand.
Discussion:
@codybrown, @taylorlorenz, @joshuajcohen, @hshaban, @nelkboys, @taylorlorenz, @liahaberman and @taylorlorenz, more at Techmeme »
Kat Stafford / Associated Press:
25 members of Congress signed a letter urging the FCC to examine how policies and programs have disparately harmed Black Americans and communities of color — Congressional leaders and a media advocacy group are urging the Federal Communications Commission to examine how policy decisions …
Discussion:
Free Press and TV Technology
Pew Research Center:
Pew State of the News Media 2020: daily newspaper circulation was down 6% from 2019, newsroom staff fell 12%, ad revenue fell 29% for public newspaper companies — Newspapers are a critical part of the American news landscape, but they have been hit hard as more and more Americans consume news digitally.
Discussion:
Pew Research Center, @jesseholcomb, @willystaley, @jayrosen_nyu, @michaelbarthel and Pew Research Center
Rana Ayyub / Washington Post:
The Indian government is attempting to present journalists as instigators of violence as a journalist faces harassment and criminal charges over a tweet — During the virtual Group of Seven summit a couple of weeks ago, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi signed a joint statement to promote …
Discussion:
@keitholbermann, @mitalisaran, @hamidmirpak, @ranaayyub, @jamescrabtree, @nicdawes, @carin__fischer and @washpostpr
Associated Press:
Russian authorities raided the apartments of investigative journalists in connection to a story about the interior minister and a documentary on organized crime — MOSCOW (AP) — Russian authorities on Tuesday morning raided the apartments of several investigative journalists and their family members …