Mediagazer: A look at the debate over Spotify's Discovery Mode, whereby artists are prioritized for reduced royalties, a key way for Spotify to improve margins (Anna Nicolaou/Financial Times)

2:05 PM ET, July 30, 2021

Top News:

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell says he is pulling ads from Fox News after Fox rejected an ad for a symposium that would “prove” the 2020 election was stolen — Mike Lindell, CEO of MyPillow, says Fox News refused to run ad promoting an event linked to claims of widespread election fraud

Katie Robertson / New York Times:

NYT indefinitely postpones its return to office, planned for Sept. 7, and will require proof of vaccination from those who want to go in voluntarily — The New York Times on Friday indefinitely postponed its planned return to the office as the contagious Delta variant causes a surge in coronavirus cases across the country.

Discussion: Mediaite, The Wrap, NPR, @maggieastor, Gothamist, @farahlearned, @lindseywiebe, @elaheizadi, @hshaban, @flourgrrrl, @willystaley, @kantrowitz, @kenvogel, @anniekarni and Washington Post

Wall Street Journal:

Scarlett Johansson sues Disney for breach of contract over concurrent release of Black Widow to Disney+ and theaters; source: release could cost Johansson $50M+ — Star alleges simultaneous release of the latest Marvel movie in theaters and on Disney+ service was a breach of contract

Discussion: @brooksbarnesnyt, Variety, Variety, @brooksbarnesnyt, The Wrap, ScreenRant, @labuzamovies, UPROXX, Mediaite, Deadline, @anildash, @pkafka, @pkafka, @brooksbarnesnyt, @brooksbarnesnyt, @pkafka, Quartz, @gemofamara, Digital TV Europe, Decider, @iwriteallday_, The Week, The Playlist, Metro.co.uk, @briannawu, @mgsiegler, @rendy_jones, @hannaflint, @hollywood_labor, @maxloomes, @immortaltech, @richlightshed, @812filmreviews, @browntable_ent, @loudmouthjulia, @eriqgardner, @clairewillett, @lucas_shaw, @brooksbarnesnyt, @sepinwall, @leojtravis10, @anthonycwalker, @jonathanbarkan, @studioexec1, @nickusen, @variety, @pkafka, Sir Critic's Critiques, @mariennemaid, @812filmreviews, @jbflint, @jasonhirschhorn, @labuzamovies, @labuzamovies, @richardlnewby, @loudmouthjulia, @loudmouthjulia, @loudmouthjulia, @eriqgardner, @jbflint, @thecomixkid, @rodimusprime, @jay_roque, @gracerandolph, @mattbelloni, @richlightshed, @moviedeathblows, @arc_blog, @andruedwards, @loudmouthjulia, @richlightshed, @richlightshed, @eriqgardner, @eriqgardner, @eriqgardner, @loudmouthjulia, Hollywood Reporter, Insider, What's On Disney Plus, New York Times, UPI, Sputnik News, The Illuminerdi, New York Post, CNN, Axios, /Film, TV Insider, Observer, TechCrunch, The Streamable, Rolling Stone, Gizmodo, The Verge, Cord Cutters News, The A.V. Club, TVLine, Collider, CNBC, IndieWire, ComingSoon.net, CBS Los Angeles and Black Girl Nerds

Gavin Bridge / Variety:

Analysis: so far in 2021, streaming services have released 512 new shows, up 86% on 2019, led by Netflix, as cable networks released 453, down 28% — One of the most bandied about industry phrases of the last decade was “peak TV,” the phenomenon of the seemingly limitless growth of original content on television.

Discussion: @pkedrosky

Anna Nicolaou / Financial Times:

A look at the debate over Spotify's Discovery Mode, whereby artists are prioritized for reduced royalties, a key way for Spotify to improve margins — Executives complain Discovery Mode is payola while one Texas frontman sees it as future — The Josh Abbott Band, formed by a group …

Discussion: musically.com and TechCrunch

Financial Times:

Educational publisher Pearson says it is switching to a subscription model for all of its 1,500 titles, available for $14.99/month through its app — Educational publisher attempts move to Netflix model with access to 1,500 titles for $14.99 a month — Pearson, the educational publisher …

Discussion: The Independent and Bookseller News

Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:

The Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma shares a guide to help journalists with trauma-related stories, including using phrases like “triggered” and “PTSD” — And what does “retraumatizing” mean, anyway? You won't get PTSD reading this story, because when you're done …

Discussion: bookforum.com, @tomcochrun, @solitarywatch, @dmartosko and @denverpratt

Kelly McBride / NPR:

New NPR ethics policy ends a blanket ban on journalists participating in marches or rallies, but in practice requires them to discuss specific cases with bosses — NPR rolled out a substantial update to its ethics policy earlier this month, expressly stating that journalists may participate …

Sarah Bahr / New York Times:

Study: films and TV shows with disability themes rose from 41 in 2000 to 150 in 2020, but 95% of disabled characters are played by actors without disabilities — The study published Wednesday also showed that television is far behind film when it comes to representation of characters with disabilities.

Discussion: @timesupnow and @awnnetwork_

The Guardian:

News Corp Australia's Daily Telegraph ended a regular column from broadcaster Alan Jones, amid controversy over his COVID-19 and anti-lockdown comments — Veteran broadcaster rejects claims he ‘no longer resonates with readers’ — The Daily Telegraph has ended Alan Jones's regular column amid controversy …

Discussion: Sydney Morning Herald, @blakandblack, @peter_fitz, @mrkrudd, @georgehxanthis, @mfwitches, @btckr, Sky News Australia, Crikey, Reclaim The Net and Mediaweek

Marc Tracy / New York Times:

The Bowie Blade-News, a 41-year-old weekly paper near Washington, DC, closed Thursday, 2 months after Alden Global Capital bought its parent, Tribune Publishing — Since Alden Global Capital bought the Tribune Publishing newspaper chain, newsrooms have shrunk and a Maryland weekly has shut down.

Discussion: MediaPost, @rachaelpacella, @rachaelpacella, @rachaelpacella, @rachaelpacella, @rachaelpacella, @pwgphoto, @dangainor, @chesapeakeguild, @elaheizadi, @heidistevens13, @marcatracy, @penamerica and capitalgazette.com

Sarah Scire / Nieman Lab:

The Kansas City Beacon expands to Wichita aiming to create a regional network of nonprofit newsrooms across Kansas and Missouri; it has raised almost $4M so far — When The Beacon launched in Kansas City in March 2020, it was newsletter-only out of necessity.

Discussion: Columbia Journalism Review, @kcbeacon and @niemanlab

Archived Page Info:

This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 2:05 PM ET, July 30, 2021.

View the current page or another snapshot:

Who's Hiring in Media?

Deputy Ed. - Gen. Assignment Desk, DC — WaPo

EU Technology Reporter, Brussels — Bloomberg

Breaking News Reporter, NY — Guardian US

Harrisburg Reporter, PA — PCBC

Senior Editor - Styles, NY — NYT

Part-time Editor, Remote — Techmeme

Home & Travel Reporter, Ireland — Newsweek

Assistant Digital Editor, MA — Boston Globe

Senior Editor - Visuals (Temporary), DC — NPR

Copy Editor, Remote US — ProPublica

Markets Reporter, NY/CA — Sherwood Media

Staff Writer, MI — Watershed Voice

Food Reporter, CA — SF Standard

Staff Writer, NV — Las Vegas Weekly

Pharma Editor, Remote — Endpoints

Higher Ed. Reporter, Remote CA — EdSource

Politics Reporter, Brussels — Politico

Investigations & Enterprise Ed., WI — Cap Times

Social Strategy Editor, NY — WSJ

Senior Narrative Editor, CA — Cloud Chamber

Editor-in-Chief, NY (flexible) — The 74

Housing Reporter, OK — The Frontier

Writer/AI Content Reviewer, CA — Outlier

Writer/Editor, Remote — Mediaite

Multi Media Reporter, NC — Cardinal & Pine

Afternoon/Night Editor, NH — Keene Sentinel

Education Lab Editor, WA — Seattle Times

Senior Editor, Remote US — PCWorld

State Worker Reporter, CA — Sacramento Bee

Executive Editor, NM — Searchlight

News Assistant, NY — Quanta Magazine

Local Editor, NJ (Remote) — Patch

News Writer, CA — Hollywood Reporter

News Editor/Reporter, KS — Blade-Empire

Add your company here

See Also:

Mediagazer: site main

Mediagazer River: reverse chronological Mediagazer

Mediagazer Mobile: for phones

Mediagazer Leaderboard: Mediagazer's top sources

Subscribe:

Mediagazer RSS feed

Mediagazer on X

Mediagazer on Mastodon

More News:

Jill Goldsmith / Deadline:
Amazon reports Q2 “other” category revenue, which mostly covers its ad business, of $7.9B, up 83% YoY, and subscription services revenue of $7.9B, up 28% YoY

Discussion: MediaPost, Ad Age, The Register, Fast Company, @adage, ZDNet, Ad Age and Hollywood Reporter, more at Techmeme »

Michael King / The Streamable:
Dish and WarnerMedia end a two-and-a-half-year TV carriage dispute, bringing HBO and Cinemax back to Dish TV; Dish customers can also get a discount for HBO Max

Discussion: Advanced Television, The Verge, FierceVideo, Light Reading, Variety, nexttv.com, Cord Cutters News and The Wrap

Dan Kennedy / WGBH.org:
By giving tax credits to support local news outlets, the Local Journalism Sustainability Act avoids direct federal aid that could hurt journalistic independence

Discussion: @dankennedy_nu, @jmhaigh, @dankennedy_nu, @will_bunch and @vwpickard

Jason Gurwin / The Streamable:
Hulu + Live TV is rolling out the NFL Network on its $64.99/month plan starting today; NFL RedZone is available as part of a new $9.99/month sports addition

Discussion: The Desk, Hulu, Awful Announcing, nexttv.com, The Verge and Cord Cutters News

Earlier Picks:

Jacob Borg / Times of Malta:
Public inquiry into the murder of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia finds the state should be held responsible as it fostered a culture of impunity

Discussion: The Guardian, @acaruanagalizia, @acaruanagalizia, @acaruanagalizia, @acaruanagalizia, @acaruanagalizia, @charlieflanagan, @manfredweber, Committee to Protect …, @freepressunltd, @globalfreemedia, @pcaruanagalizia and Al Jazeera

Edmund Lee / @edmundlee:
[Thread] Dow Jones CEO Almar Latour announces the hiring of Aaron Kissel as general manager for WSJ; Kissel was formerly chief product officer at Politico

Discussion: @edmundlee

The New York Times Company:
NYT names Paula Szuchman to its newly created role of director of audio, which spans news and Opinion, as the outlet's audio teams near 100 people

Discussion: insideradio.com, @busta_, @patrickhealynyt, @photo_alice and Talking Biz News

The Wrap:
NBCU's Peacock has 54M total signups, up from 42M at the end of March, 20M monthly active users, and is planning a European expansion via Sky

Discussion: Variety, @mattdeco, @mukund, @sharonwaxman, @eriqgardner, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, Hollywood Reporter, MediaPost, The Streamable, The Streamable and Wall Street Journal

From Techmeme:

George Steer / Financial Times:
Nvidia closed down 10% on Friday, falling the most since March 2020 and losing more than $200B of its market value, as investors pull back from AI bets

Foo Yun Chee / Reuters:
Sources: EU may accept Apple's proposal to open its NFC payments tech to rivals, and may close its antitrust probe in May, letting Apple avoid hefty fines

James Hunt / The Block:
Bitcoin's fourth halving is now complete, lowering miners' block subsidy rewards from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC; the third halving was on May 2020

Sister Sites:

Techmeme
Top news and commentary for technology's leaders, from all around the web

memeorandum
What US political commentators are discussing online right now

WeSmirch
The top celebrity news from all around the web on a single page