Mediagazer: A look at Spotify's podcast exclusivity strategy, which led to 75% audience drops for some Gimlet shows and caused others, like the Obamas, not to renew deals (Simon Owens/Simon Owens's Media Newsletter)

9:40 PM ET, October 16, 2022

Top News:

Sources: Rupert Murdoch is exploring recombining Fox Corp and News Corp, after splitting them up in 2013, and the companies are evaluating financial terms — Move would bring assets such as Fox News and The Wall Street Journal back under one roof, nearly a decade after they split

Wall Street Journal:

Sources: Rupert Murdoch's plan to recombine News Corp and Fox Corp would boost its balance sheet for acquisitions and expand Lachlan Murdoch's responsibilities — Fox and News Corp are considering a proposal that they reunite though hurdles to a deal remain

Discussion: New York Times, Bloomberg, @jbflint and @jbflint

Mashable:

TikTok's infinite scroll and lack of live links raise the risk of viral misleading info; news outlets using the app should establish editorial standards early — On TikTok, screenshots and a lack of context reign supreme. — It's not an uncommon occurrence these days for a friend to tell …

Discussion: Washington Post, @cnyari and The Hill

Shanti Das / The Guardian:

Qatar's government imposes strict restrictions on broadcasters covering the FIFA World Cup, including banning filming at migrant workers' accommodation sites — Conditions restrict where international broadcasters, including BBC and ITV, are permitted to film

Discussion: @tvietor08, @sgalpin, @jagodagrondecka, @strollingrabbi, @danfriedmanme, @kgrgas, @justinelimlaw, @guardian_sport, @shellykittleson, The Desk and Sohail's Newsletter

Dade Hayes / Deadline:

Comcast's Spectacor division is shutting down its video game-centric network G4 TV, just a year after its relaunch — EXCLUSIVE: Comcast's Spectacor division is pulling the plug on video game-centric network G4 TV, whose early incarnation in the 2000s remains a cultural touchstone for many millennials, just a year after its relaunch.

Discussion: The Wrap, Variety and The Verge

Skye Pillsbury / The Squeeze:

Interviews with five current and former Gimlet employees chronicle the podcast unit's slow demise in Spotify's hands: “what we feared...is actually playing out” — Plus: *That Session* at Hot Pod Summit and MPR's Scummy Lawyer — Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson 🐙 @ayanaeliza

Discussion: @jesskschmidty, @skyepillsbury, @skyepillsbury, @gabrieljr, @achangeoftune, @shortformernie, Simon Owens's Media Newsletter, Bloomberg and Best Evidence

Simon Owens / Simon Owens's Media Newsletter:
A look at Spotify's podcast exclusivity strategy, which led to 75% audience drops for some Gimlet shows and caused others, like the Obamas, not to renew deals

Discussion: @aulia, @tvgrimreaper, @carnage4life, @davidiadeleke, @judithflanders and The Podcast Critic Newsletter

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Meta plans to end support for Instant Articles, a source says in mid-April 2023, giving news publishers six months to readjust their Facebook strategies — Meta is ending support for Instant Articles, a proprietary mobile format it debuted in 2015 to quickly load news articles on the Facebook app, Axios has learned.

Discussion: @sarafischer, @reckless, @robinberjon, @robpegoraro, @pilhofer, @jeffjarvis, Gizmodo, @slightlylate, @brooklynmarie, @yoda, @chillmage, @clarajeffery, @jonathan_h, @samfbiddle, @socialkimly, @scavendish, @nichcarlson, Adweek and The Verge

Issac J. Bailey / Nieman Reports:

“Objectivity” is a vague, unevenly applied term; transparency, accuracy, and fairness in journalism matter more, as old terms like “values voters” lose meaning — How Herschel Walker's Senate campaign and Nina Totenberg's memoir helped me clarify my thinking about journalistic ethics

Discussion: @mayerjoy

Alex Sherman / CNBC:

The NFL's Sunday Ticket broadcast rights have yet to be awarded, as Apple wants to partner with sports leagues rather than act as a standard rental conduit — - The NFL still hasn't picked a winner in its Sunday Ticket negotiations. — Apple's discussions for the package are complicated …

Discussion: @sherman4949, @cnbctechcheck, @sherman4949, @sherman4949, @sherman4949, @sherman4949, @506sports, AppleInsider, Fortune and The Streamable

Bloomberg:

Turkey passes a “disinformation” law ahead of its 2023 elections, mandating one to three years in jail for sharing online content deemed as “false information” — Turkey criminalized the spread of what authorities describe as false information on digital platforms …

Discussion: Human Rights Watch, @bledabc, Reuters, The Guardian, @istanbultelaviv, @nick_ashdown, @jeffjarvis, @steve_hanke, Voice of America, @marklittlenews, @elif_safak, Balkan Insight, Wall Street Journal, European Federation … and Financial Times

Raphael Satter / Reuters:

In a lawsuit, former WSJ reporter Jay Solomon accuses law firm Dechert LLP of working with hackers from India to sabotage his career; Dechert disputes the claim — A former Wall Street Journal reporter is accusing a major U.S. law firm of having used mercenary hackers to oust him from his job and ruin his reputation.

Discussion: @joeycoleman, @razhael and United States District Court, District of Columbia

Alex Marshall / New York Times:

A profile of Jacques Testard, the founder of the UK's Fitzcarraldo Editions; since the imprint's founding in 2014, three of its authors received the Nobel Prize — Fitzcarraldo Editions is not yet 10 years old and has only six full-time staff members. Since its founding …

Discussion: @nsglastonbury and @rinachandran

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Juliette Garside / The Guardian:
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Discussion: DW.COM, Washington Post, Associated Press, Reporters Without Borders, Committee to Protect …, @sophieintveld, @alemannoeu, @agnescallamard, European Federation …, @juliettegarside, @at_tgibson, Politico, Reuters and Al Jazeera

Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
For mobile search result ads, Google is replacing “Ad” with “Sponsored” and moving the bolded label from beside the URL to above it in a separate line

Discussion: @shaneoleary1, Fox News, @lilyraynyc, @harrymccracken, The Verge, MediaPost and The Keyword

Bloomberg:
AdImpact expects $9.7B in US midterms campaign ads; Sinclair: H1 political revenue was up 20%+ over 2020; Nexstar: Q2 political revenue was up ~80% over Q2 2020

Discussion: @mrwaltershapiro, @mrwaltershapiro, @mighty_quinner, @bradonmessage, @hodgesmr, @shanegoldmacher, New York Times, @nicktagliaferro, @bpolitics, @jason_kint, @shanegoldmacher, @shanegoldmacher and TVSpy

Jen Wieczner / New York Magazine:
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Discussion: @katedavidson, @robinwigg, @nkingofdc, @nymag, @silviakillings, @grahamdavida, @forsythjenn, @rebeccaballhaus, @davidgura, @jdawsey1, Talking Biz News and Fox News

Earlier Picks:

Public Interest Journalism Initiative:
Australian News Data Report: at least 11 Australian outlets have closed since July 2022, implicitly or explicitly citing increases in the cost of printing

Discussion: @corinne_podger, @ckrewson, @jeffjarvis and @zdaniel

Dan Primack / Axios:
Skydance Media, the studio behind the Mission Impossible, Jack Reacher, and Terminator films, raised $400M led by KKR at a $4B+ valuation

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Hamish McKenzie / On Substack:
Instead of other newsletter platforms, Substack should be compared to services giving creators direct relationships with fans, like Shopify, Twitch, and Patreon

Max Read / Read Max:
Ex-Gawker EIC Max Read reviews his Substack newsletter after a year with no Twitter presence: 13,185 subscribers, 926 paying, and a $50K annualized revenue

Discussion: @substackinc, @mattyglesias, @annehelen, @bigmeaninternet, @mikeisaac, @annehelen, @jackmarshall and @bmorrissey

Charles Pulliam-Moore / The Verge:
Netflix says Basic with Ads will cost $6.99/month in the US and debut on November 3 in 12 countries, offering most titles, at up to 720p, and without downloads

Discussion: Bloomberg, @loumm, @eric_seufert, About Netflix, @emilunagames, Ars Technica, MediaPost, @venkatananth, @alexjamesfitz, @loudmouthjulia, @brianroemmele, Overwrite Media, IndieWire, Oscillations, Context Collapse, @brocktocks, @johnzaozirny, @alexweprin, @bitterstaff, @robshaw_bc, CNET, @matthewkeyslive, WORLD SCREEN, @cnbc, @jake_k, @mgsiegler, @kelseymsutton, @artemr, @pettycommajared, @lilfilm, @natjarv, @xpangler, @xpangler, @hoeglaw, @onejarednewman, MediaNama, The Drum, Broadband TV News, The Hollywood Reporter, Digital gefesselt, The Guardian, Axios, Transistori, The Week, Variety, The Shortcut, Bloomberg, Vanity Fair, Light Reading, Advanced Television, Tubefilter, Vulture, The Desk, Next TV, Mumbrella, NPR, Quartz, CBS News, AppleInsider, CNN, TVLine, Insider, 9to5Mac, CNBC, TechCrunch, New York Post, The Wrap, The Streamable, Wall Street Journal, Ad Age and Forbes

From Techmeme:

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Microsoft researchers introduce VASA-1, an AI model that creates a realistic talking face video from a portrait photo and an audio file, in research preview

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Apple removes WhatsApp and Threads from its App Store in China, saying it was ordered to do so by China's cyberspace officials citing national security concerns

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