Mediagazer: Investigation into the last days of Reuters photojournalist Danish Siddiqui, who was killed in Afghanistan after being left behind in retreat (Reuters)

3:05 PM ET, August 24, 2021

Top News:

Investigation into the last days of Reuters photojournalist Danish Siddiqui, who was killed in Afghanistan after being left behind in retreat — Danish Siddiqui was with soldiers on the front line of an Afghan Special Forces clash with the Taliban. New reporting, and his last photographs …

Variety:

AMC Networks CEO Josh Sapan is stepping down after 26 years and will be vice chairman; Matt Blank, former head of Showtime, will be interim CEO — Josh Sapan, a cable pioneer who has headed AMC Networks and its predecessors in the Dolan cable dynasty for more than 25 years, is seguing to the vice chairman role at AMC Networks.

Discussion: deadline.com, Ad Age, MediaPost, Wall Street Journal, Realscreen, @claireatki and The Wrap

Freddy Mayhew / Press Gazette:

Interview with Zillah Byng-Thorne, CEO of UK publisher Future, on acquiring The Week publisher Dennis for £300M, plans for an expansion in the US, and more — Magazine publisher Future has been on an acquisitions drive over the past five years that's earned it the label of industry …

Discussion: @pressgazette, @pressgazette, @pressgazette and @rafat

Associated Press:

Hong Kong says it plans to amend a film censorship law to forbid screenings of movies deemed contrary to national security, including previously approved films — HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong authorities on Tuesday said they plan to amend a film censorship law to forbid screenings of movies deemed contrary to national security.

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter, Gizmodo, Reuters and Variety

Erin Woo / New York Times:

TikTok partners with Shopify to launch a pilot program letting merchants add a shopping tab to their profiles and link to products in their posts — TikTok and Shopify, the e-commerce platform, said on Tuesday that they were working together to add the ability for consumers to shop directly in the TikTok app for the first time.

Discussion: TechCrunch, TikTok, Ad Age, The Verge, Shopify and @levesquenick, more at Techmeme »

Kayleigh Barber / Digiday:

Some media outlets remain committed to crypto as a revenue source, including Bleacher Report, Decrypt, and Time, which has 20 staff focused on crypto innovation — To the naked eye, it looks like media companies' dalliances with NFTs have come to an end. — In the early summer months of 2021 …

Discussion: @mradamtaylor and @simonowens

Ryan Deto / Pittsburgh City Paper:

Judge rules that the Pittsburgh Press-Gazette's “editorial” decision to bar a Black reporter from covering BLM isn't protected by the First Amendment — In 2020, former Pittsburgh Post-Gazette staffer Alexis Johnson sued her former employer over an alleged civil rights violation carried out by the newspaper.

Discussion: Media Nation, @ryandeto and @alexisjreports

Ashley Carman / The Verge:

Spotify enables subscriptions for all US podcasters using Anchor for episodes on RSS and Spotify, adds pricing options, lets creators download subscriber emails — Plus new price tiers and email addresses — Spotify is broadening the number of people who can offer subscription podcasts and have their shows play on its service.

Discussion: Billboard, Word of Mouth, Spotify, Music Business Worldwide, TechCrunch, Variety and @ashleyrcarman, more at Techmeme »

Kia Kokalitcheva / Axios:

Substack buys the team behind Cocoon, a subscription-based social network for friends and family, to work on “connections between readers and writers” — Newsletter startup Substack has scooped up the team behind Cocoon, a subscription-based social network for connecting with close friends and family.

Discussion: TechCrunch, @heikoscherer, Substack and @sachinmonga

Oliver Darcy / CNN:

NY Post is requiring all employees to wear masks while away from their desks, after peddling anti-mask rhetoric and questioning mask mandates in editorials — New York (CNN Business)The New York Post, the Rupert Murdoch-owned tabloid that has peddled a high volume of anti-mask rhetoric during the pandemic …

Discussion: @michaeljstern1, @badfoxgraphics, @cnnbusiness, HuffPost, @oliverdarcy, @oliverdarcy, The Wrap and Raw Story

Oliver Darcy / CNN:
Right-wing media pushed ivermectin, a deworming drug used for livestock, as a potential COVID-19 treatment despite FDA warnings that it can be unsafe for humans

Discussion: The Signorile Report, Raw Story, @againcassandra, @bobosphere, Pseudo Science and KNSD-TV

Eric Deggans / NPR:

A look at the rise of “Consequence Culture” documentaries about celebrities like R. Kelly, which push audiences to consider old scandals with new sensibilities — As the trial of disgraced R&B superstar R. Kelly unfolds, it's tough to imagine reaching this moment without the 2019 Lifetime docuseries Surviving R. Kelly.

Discussion: The A.V. Club and @deggans

Laura Hayes / Washington City Paper:

A look at DC's spot news reporters who chronicle crime via their social media feeds, including DC REALTIME NEWS and Killmoenews, and compete with local TV news — City Paper turns 40 this year. Will you help fund the next 40 years of local news? — Every dollar you give goes back into creating the journalism you trust.

Discussion: American Press Institute, DCist, @nikkiusher, @consciousgiver, @justupthepike, @barnhardt, @marycheh, @chuckthies, @laurahayesdc, @laurahayesdc, @amandabeadle, @laurahayesdc, @wcp and @laurahayesdc

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More News:

Amaris Castillo / Poynter:
Interview with former AP reporter Tamara Lush on her decision to leave journalism and focus on writing fiction, which allowed her “to be a fuller human being”

Discussion: @poynter, @poynter, @poynter, @poynter, @janepeden, @kristenhare, @telkinsjr, @amariscastillo and @tamaralush

Nicole LaPorte / Fast Company:
Profile of Invisible Universe, which is developing animated franchises using characters born on social media with the help of influencers like Serena Williams

Discussion: @serenawilliams, @manuseuge, @chrisbrogan, @zoescaman, @ruima, @randgetlin, @spencerrascoff, @prettyboyshav, @brennanjp, @besvinick, @rrhoover, @michaelsidgmore, @alexisohanian and @psythor, more at Techmeme »

Benjamin Mullin / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Vox Media is weighing several options to finance its expansion, including a SPAC merger or an IPO; Vox says it is buying drinks website Punch

Discussion: Axios, MediaPost, @benmullin, @bowtiedrobin, @srussolillo, @karanewman, @sarafischer, @jeremymbarr, @stevekovach, Tubefilter, Eater and Adweek

Zeynep Tufekci / @zeynep:
[Thread] Zeynep Tufekci says her substack will soon turn into a free newsletter for a future book as she joins NYT as an opinion columnist

Discussion: @cliffordlevy, The New York Times Company, @zoabehafeez, @ianbremmer, @craignewmark, @tomgara, @brittanygrogan, @mkhammer, @rinireg, @rogerpielkejr and @joshconstine

Earlier Picks:

Katherine Huggins / Mediaite:
CNN, Fox News, WSJ, NYT, WaPo, and others have successfully evacuated journalists from Afghanistan, including freelancers and interpreters

Discussion: Talking Biz News, @justinbaragona, @owillis, @zpleat, @betsylfisher, Daily Mail, The Jackal, Poynter, Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, @yarotrof, @katie_robertson, @tawnell, @dionnissenbaum, @susancrabtree and @jmalsin

Kim Lyons / The Verge:
YouTube says its Partner Program has 2M creators and the number of new channels joining the program in 2020 doubled YoY as channels making $100K+ grew 35% YoY

Discussion: YouTube Official Blog, @susanwojcicki, Digital TV Europe, musically.com, MediaPost, Axios, Variety and Adweek

Jim Friedlich / The Philadelphia Inquirer:
How the bipartisan Local Journalism Sustainability Act in US Congress would publicly fund local media orgs while letting them keep their editorial independence

From Techmeme:

Alphabet:
Alphabet Q1: revenue up 15% YoY to $80.5B, net income up 57% to $23.7B, Google Cloud revenue up 28% to $9.6B, and headcount down 5%; GOOG jumps 12%+ after hours

Microsoft:
Microsoft Q3: revenue up 17% YoY to $61.9B, net income up 20% to $21.9B, Office Commercial revenue up 13%, LinkedIn revenue up 10%; MSFT jumps 4%+ after hours

Ben Glickman / Wall Street Journal:
The US awards Micron up to $6.1B under the CHIPS Act, to back an up to $125B investment to build a megafab in New York and a fab in Idaho over the next 20 years

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