Mediagazer: Timbaland and Swizz Beatz settle a missed payments lawsuit with Triller after Triller acquired their music series Verzuz in March 2021; terms were not disclosed (Chris Willman/Variety)

5:50 PM ET, September 23, 2022

Top News:

David Folkenflik / NPR:

NPR Chief News Executive Nancy Barnes announces she will leave the network in November 2022, prompted by the CEO's move to create an executive role above her — NPR's chief news executive, Nancy Barnes, said Friday she would be leaving the network, prompted by NPR CEO John Lansing's decision to create a new executive role above her.

Discussion: @davidfolkenflik, @vivian, @vivian, @vivian, @jayrosen_nyu, @vivian, @bgrueskin, @davidfolkenflik, @davidfolkenflik, @davidfolkenflik, @davidfolkenflik, @davidfolkenflik, @davidfolkenflik, @scotthensley, @travisbubenik and @adamdavidson

David Folkenflik / @davidfolkenflik:

Memo: NPR CEO John Lansing reintroduces the chief content officer position, eliminated in 2014, to oversee NPR's news, programming, digital, and other divisions — NEWS ABOUT NPR: NPR's CEO, John Lansing, today announced that the network will create position of chief content officer, to oversee its news, programming, digital and other divisions. In a memo, Lansing said new exec would “chart the unified vision for all NPR content” /MORE

Discussion: @wynn_atwork

Erik Wemple / Washington Post:

The verdict against Project Veritas upends the organization's claims of doing undercover journalism; one Project Veritas operative pitched a voter fraud scheme — On Thursday evening, a jury in D.C.'s federal courthouse returned a verdict against Project Veritas in a case stemming …

Discussion: @kkc212, @cliffordlevy, @samthielman, @cernovich, @katzish, @provenza4wyomin, @katzish, @smencimer, @bgrueskin and @revchuckcurrie

Adam Goldman / New York Times:

A jury finds Project Veritas broke wiretapping laws and fraudulently misrepresented itself to Democratic political consultants; Project Veritas plans to appeal — The conservative group was found to have violated wiretapping laws and fraudulently misrepresented itself to a Democratic consulting firm …

Discussion: The Hill, @senwhitehouse, Gizmodo, @bgrueskin, @electproject, @electproject, @cliffordlevy, @kimmasters, @electproject, @dangillmor, @electproject, @erikwemple and Project Veritas

Laura Wagner / Defector:

Memo: Axios encourages employees to buy and expense six copies of Smart Brevity, a new book by Axios' co-founders, post a photo on social media, and review it — Axios staffers received a memo on Monday suggesting several ways they could help promote a new book, Smart Brevity …

Tripp Mickle / New York Times:

Apple signs a multiyear NFL deal to have Apple Music replace Pepsi as the main sponsor for the Super Bowl halftime show; sources say the NFL was seeking ~$50M — Apple's pursuit of an N.F.L. media package has broadened to include a sponsorship of one of TV's most-watched events.

Nicholas Quah / Vulture:

A look at the crowded podcast market, where competition has made almost everything in the business more difficult, and some say no one is taking creative risks — It's been ages since the last blockbuster narrative show. What does that mean for the medium as an art form?

Elvira Pollina / Reuters:

Italian broadcaster MediaForEurope, formerly Mediaset, joins with French billionaire Xavier Niel in an offer for a controlling stake in French broadcaster M6 — Italian broadcaster MediaForEurope (MFEB.MI) has joined forces with French billionaire Xavier Niel to submit a non-binding offer …

Discussion: Bloomberg

Cecilia D'Anastasio / Bloomberg:

Internal letter shows Twitch SVP of global creators Constance Knight resigned on the same day the company announced revenue sharing changes for top creators — The senior vice president of global creators at Twitch told employees she is leaving the company on the same day it announced changes …

Discussion: @cecianasta, @cecianasta, The Jacob Wolf Report and New York Times, more at Techmeme »

Snopes Media Group:

Two Snopes shareholders, Chris Richmond and Drew Schoentrup, acquire 100% of the company; co-founder David Mikkelson stepped down as CEO, replaced by Richmond — Snopes, the world's leading fact-checking site, today announced that two of its shareholders, Chris Richmond and Drew Schoentrup, have acquired 100% of the company.

Discussion: @brooklynmarie, @brooklynmarie and @brooklynmarie

Chris Willman / Variety:

Timbaland and Swizz Beatz settle a missed payments lawsuit with Triller after Triller acquired their music series Verzuz in March 2021; terms were not disclosed — Swizz Beatz and Timbaland have settled their lawsuit with Triller, after suing the service last month for $28 million …

Discussion: TechCrunch, Billboard, Tubefilter, New York Post, Complete Music Update, @gregt2u2, UPROXX, Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone, Digital Music News and The Hollywood Reporter, more at Techmeme »

Perry Bacon Jr / Washington Post:

Everyone deserves thriving local news, not just those who live in a few lucky cities and states blessed by a nearby rich person, foundation, or other entity — We are in the middle of a sustained, aggressive response to the huge decline in local news in America.

Discussion: @marynewsom, @perrybaconjr, @perrybaconjr, @perrybaconjr, @perrybaconjr and @perrybaconjr

Brent Lang / Variety:

Illumination, the studio behind the Minions franchise, hires Mike Moon, ex-head of adult animation at Netflix, to form the Moonlight label and broaden its range — Illumination, the studio behind the “Despicable Me” franchise, has tapped Mike Moon to form a new label, Moonlight.

Discussion: The Wrap, @kylekozmikdluxo, @captainkaye42, Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter

Archived Page Info:

This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 5:50 PM ET, September 23, 2022.

View the current page or another snapshot:

Who's Hiring in Media?

Output Producer, CA — AP

China Markets Correspondent, Shanghai — Reuters

Senior Assignment Editor, DC — WaPo

Breaking News Editor, Tokyo — Bloomberg

Senior Correspondent - Wealth, NY — WSJ

Reporter - Ottawa Bureau — Globe & Mail

Local Government Reporter, IA — The Gazette

Research Director, CA — OCBJ

Immigration Enforcement Reporter — Documented

Presque Island Reporter, ME — Bangor Daily News

Contributing Parks Ed. - SW, CA — SFGATE

AI Content Editor, WA — Outlier

Legislative Reporter, TN — Daily Memphian

Editorial Assistant, Remote US — Launch Potato

Elon Musk Reporter, NY or CA — The Information

Government & Politics Editor, WA — Seattle Times

Business & GA Reporter. VT — VTDigger

Sports Reporter, WA — Everett Herald

Energy Reporter, TX — Houston Chronicle

Senior Reporter, SC — Island Packet

Trade & Climate Correspondent, DC — FT

Reporter, WI — Racine County Eye

Political Newsletter Writer, CO — The Lever

Jackson Reporter, MS — Verite

Music Editor, AZ — Phoenix New Times

Breaking News Reporter, NV — Las Vegas Sun

Fearless Reporter/Producer, IA — BPC

Reporter II - Technology, Remote — NPR

Editor, Remote US — Daily Kos

City Reporter, WA — Tacoma News Tribune

Executive Editor, OR — Lookout Local

Education & Budget Reporter, CA — Politico

Senior Writer/Editor, FL — Gulfshore Business

Media Editor, Remote — Axios

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:

Naman Ramachandran / Variety:
The British Film Institute unveils a National Lottery Strategy for 2023-2033, including spending £136.3M over the first three years, and plans a BFI+ streamer

Discussion: Screen, The Hollywood Reporter, The Guardian, Televisual, Advanced Television, The Guardian, Deadline and Variety

Reuters:
France plans to impose a minimum €3 delivery fee for online book orders under €35 to help independent bookstores compete with big sellers like Amazon and Fnac

Discussion: The Verge, @victoriacoates and Politico, more at Techmeme »

Gerry Smith / Bloomberg:
Amazon's prohibition on alcohol ads, which extends to Prime Video, means its NFL broadcasts end the longstanding tradition of featuring ads from beer brands

Discussion: @andrewmarchand, @sportsrapport, @newsynick, @gerryfsmith, Axios, @alexweprin and The Hollywood Reporter

Rich Iurilli / The Authors Guild:
The Authors Guild says Amazon agreed to limit ebook returns for those who have read over 10% starting soon, after complaints over returning fully read books

Discussion: CNET, Engadget, TechRadar, Gizmodo, @authorsguild, @vanjchan, @amy_stewart, @authorsguild, @victoriastrauss, The Verge and Publishers Weekly

Jon Lafayette / Next TV:
IMAX acquires Ontario-based SSIMWave for $21M plus a $4M potential earnout; SSIMWave uses AI to optimize video for clients including Disney, Paramount, and WBD

Discussion: The Wrap, Digital TV Europe, Broadband TV News, Light Reading and Deadline

Earlier Picks:

Jolie Lash / The Wrap:
Fox Entertainment CEO Charlie Collier is leaving to join Roku in October as president of Roku Media, overseeing ad sales, its ad platform business, and content

Discussion: Variety, Light Reading, Observer, TBI Vision, C21Media, @hedgeyecomm, @jasonhirschhorn, @variety, Advanced Television, MediaPost, Bloomberg, Media Play News, Adweek, WORLD SCREEN and Deadline

Marina Adami / Reuters Institute:
Q&A with Will Media EIC Francesco Zaffarano on the Italian social media-based outlet, the risks of putting all its content on external platforms, and more

Discussion: @paolo_bovio, @risj_oxford, @eduardosuarez and @frazaffarano

Eliza Mackintosh / CNN:
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi withdrew from a long-planned interview with Christiane Amanpour after she declined his last-minute demand to wear a head scarf

Kimi Yoshino / The Baltimore Banner:
The Baltimore Banner apologizes for an op-ed against flying pride and trans flags at public buildings, hires a public editor, and is hiring an opinion editor

Greg Burns / Local News Initiative:
Sources: Gannett is looking to sell 60+ of its nearly 500 publications, after having sold 100+ since 2020; parent GateHouse aims to cut $300M in annual costs

Discussion: @bill_shea19, @bill_shea19, @bill_shea19, @localnewsini, @timafranklin, @poynter, @sheridan120 and The Rural Blog

From Techmeme:

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is working on a smart doorbell system with advanced facial recognition that can wirelessly connect and unlock third-party smart locks

Paresh Dave / Wired:
Google says it wouldn't force its device makers, browser, and wireless carrier licensees to distribute Gemini to US users for three years, in a proposed remedy

Wall Street Journal:
Gina Raimondo says holding back China in the chips race is a “fool's errand”, and investment, more than export controls, will keep US ahead of Beijing

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