Mediagazer

3:25 PM ET, April 14, 2021

Top News:

Justin Baragona / The Daily Beast:

Tucker Carlson used the J&J vaccine pause to suggest the US government knows that COVID-19 vaccines don't work but is purposely “not telling you that” — “Well, you'd hate to think that especially if you've gotten two shots but what's the other potential explanation?

Reuters:

Fox says Lachlan Murdoch will return to LA from Australia in early September to reopen Fox HQ “and will go back to working and living in the US” — SYDNEY (Reuters) - Fox Corp chief executive Lachlan Murdoch will return to the United States from a months-long Australian sojourn …

Discussion: @benyt, @benyt, @brianstelter, @alexweprin, The Hill, @karaswisher, @oliverdarcy, @jayrosen_nyu and @jgreenblattadl

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Plex raises $50M+ Series C from existing investor Intercap, bringing its total raised to $60M, and says it has more than 25M registered users globally — Streaming media service Plex, looking to grow its free, ad-supported video business, announced that it raised more than $50 million …

Discussion: Digital TV Europe, The Streamable, Light Reading, Fast Company, Engadget, Protocol, Plex, TechCrunch and FierceVideo, more at Techmeme »

Freddy Mayhew / Press Gazette:

Facebook rolls out a local news section for UK users of Facebook News, after launching a similar section in the US last year — Facebook has rolled out a local news section for UK users of Facebook News. — The social network said in a blog post that the new feature will help …

Discussion: The Drum, Facebook Journalism Project and One Man & His Blog

New York Times:

Hundreds of executives and companies, including Netflix, ViacomCBS, Apple, and Amazon, sign a statement opposing “any discriminatory legislation” around voting — Amazon, Google, G.M. and Starbucks were among those joining the biggest show of solidarity by businesses over legislation in numerous states.

Discussion: Mediaite, Insider, New York Post, The Wrap, @paulg, @mikeisaac, Hollywood Reporter, GeekWire, The Hill, @ariberman, @markos, The Daily Caller, @kylegriffin1, @ariberman, @edmundlee and Maples on Politics, more at Techmeme »

Rick Porter / Hollywood Reporter:

Univision and Mexico's Televisa unveil a $4.8B deal to merge, partly financed by a $1B Series C led by SoftBank's Latin American Fund — The two companies announce a plan to combine media, production and content assets. — Two of the biggest Spanish-language media companies in the world are planning to merge.

Discussion: Financial Times, Axios, The Wrap, NewscastStudio, @w7voa, FierceVideo, @fidmart85, The Desk, Forbes, Bloomberg, Deadline, Reuters, Variety, Radio & Television … and KABE-LP

Andrew Hutchinson / Social Media Today:

Report: in pitch decks submitted to US advertisers about new ad formats, TikTok says it has 732M MAUs globally, 100M+ in the US, 59% of its users are under 24 — TikTok is planning to launch a range of new eCommerce focused ad offerings as it seeks to maximize its revenue potential …

Discussion: Insider, @tanyadua, Music Business Worldwide, @dwhate, @tanyadua, @pip_net, @joshsternberg, @mattnavarra, @prodbywalkz, @tanyadua and musically.com

Michael J. de la Merced / New York Times:

Source: Susan Zirinsky, the first woman to lead CBS News, to announce that she is stepping down from the presidency of the division, as soon as this week — Here's what you need to know: — Coinbase will debut on Wall Street today. Here's what you need to know.

Discussion: Vox and CNBC, more at Techmeme »

Brian Steinberg / Variety:NEW!

Disney confirms that Kim Godwin will be the next president of ABC News, taking over the role most recently held by James Goldston — Kim Godwin, a veteran of local and national TV-news operations, will be the next president of ABC News — and the first Black executive to run a broadcast-network news operation.

Morgan Chalfant / The Hill:

The White House Correspondents' Association dinner has been canceled for a second year due to the pandemic; the next dinner is set for April 30, 2022 — The annual White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) dinner has been canceled for the second year in a row due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Discussion: Variety, The Wrap and @rtyson82

Jim Prosser / Medium:10 minutes ago

Shifts driving a16z and others to start their own media: business has more trust than press, consumption changes devalue news orgs, PR reps outnumber reporters — Earlier this year, venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz set off a shockwave through the technology, tech investing …

Discussion: @nataliekerris, @jimprosser and The Rebooting

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Sources: three media veterans are launching a subscription media company with funding led by 40 North Media and TPG Growth, to bundle journalists and resources — Joe Purzycki, Jon Kelly and Max Tcheyan are striking off on their own.

Discussion: @axios, @dylanbyers, @peterhamby, @mikeallen and @sarafischer

Karlene Lukovitz / MediaPost:

Ampere Analysis: there were nearly 340M subscriptions to streaming services in the US in Q1, with the average consumer reporting subscribing to 4+ services — There are now nearly 340 million subscription contracts to OTT streaming services in the U.S., exceeding the country's 330-million population …

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More News:

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
TrillerNet, parent of TikTok competitor Triller, acquires customer engagement platform Amplify.AI and combat sports streaming and events service FITE TV

Discussion: The Wrap, Digital TV Europe, @micahsingleton and Pro Wrestling Dot Net, more at Techmeme »

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Instagram says it is running a global test to let users turn off Like counts on their own or others' posts; Facebook says it will also run a similar test

Discussion: The Wrap, Chicago Sun-Times and Associated Press, more at Techmeme »

VICE:
Vice apologizes for publishing doctored images of Khmer Rouge victims and says it has removed the article because it does not meet its editorial standards

Radio Free Asia:
China puts US-based Radio Free Asia journalist Gulchehra Hoja on international terror wanted list for reporting on the Uyghur concentration camps

Discussion: @billbrowder

The Guardian:
UK government vetoes the reappointment of two women to Channel 4's board, against advice of the state-owned but privately-funded broadcaster's board and Ofcom

Discussion: @sdp, @claire_phipps, @nick_miles_, @jimwaterson, @bpsmithuk, @transsomething and @catherine_mayer

Patrick Brzeski / Hollywood Reporter:
In a public disclosure due to a new law, Netflix says its South Korea unit revenue grew 123.5% YoY to $356M in 2020 and operating profit grew 295% YoY to $7.5M

Discussion: @tzm_tmt

self.inc:
Analysis: Apple TV+ has the highest average IMDb score for its titles (7.24), but has fewer than 70 titles to choose from

Discussion: The Streamable, AppleInsider and 9to5Mac

New York Times:
Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss, who joined with Stewart Bainum in the top Tribune bid, has ties to a group pushing progressive political policies and Democrats

Discussion: The Hill, @kenvogel, @hopnotes, @nickmerrill, @coreyciorciari, @teddyschleifer, @curtishouck, @nickmerrill, @nickmerrill, @harrysiegel, @dawsonsfield, @kenvogel, @nickmerrill, @hughhewitt, @mattdizwhitlock, Robert Feder, @nickmerrill and Daily Herald

Earlier Picks:

James Risen / The Intercept:
High-tech government leak investigations threaten modern investigative reporting, but reporters need to keep working with sources, being honest about risks

Discussion: @bgrueskin, @theintercept, @stellamoris1, @facoalition, @froomkin, @skirchy, @sarcasmstardust and @kgosztola

Paul Resnikoff / Digital Music News:
Spotify has now removed 42 episodes of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, offering no explanations for the removals

Discussion: Insider, @seyitaylor, @naithanjones, @roberthaisfield, @rightwingwatch, @thekenyeung, “Questioni d'o …, The Desk and The Wrap, more at Techmeme »

Helen Davidson / The Guardian:
Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai writes to his Apple Daily staff ahead of his sentencing for participating in a protest: “Freedom of speech is a dangerous job”

Discussion: @kenroth, @penamerica, @freedomofpress, @rasmus_kleis, @forfreemedia and Hong Kong Free Press HKFP

Sara Fischer / Axios:
Air Mail, former Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter's media venture, expects to employ 40 people by year's end, up from 30 now, and has added an e-commerce shop

Discussion: @tomgara, @rafat, @rickgamesnow, @airmailweekly, @niemanlab, @simonowens, @sarafischer and The Flack on Stack

Arianne Cohen / Fast Company:
Live Nation is outfitting 60+ venues for livestreaming, using Veeps, a service launched by Good Charlotte's Benji and Joel Madden, bought by Live Nation in Jan.

Discussion: @michellemanafy, musically.com, Complete Music Update, Variety, Music Business Worldwide, @kifleswing, @brooke, @veeps, Billboard, USA Today, Rolling Stone and Music Business Worldwide

Katie Robertson / New York Times:
Over 650 tech workers at the NYT announce they have formed a union to be represented by the NewsGuild of New York and are seeking union recognition from the NYT

Discussion: @nytguildtech, Insider, @film_girl, @ebruenig, @sarambsimon, @kateconger, @cwaunion, @gwsocal, The Wrap, @nycdsatechwg, @bgrueskin, @hamiltonnolan, bookforum.com, The NewsGuild - CWA, New York Post, The Hill, Protocol, The Verge and nyguild.org

Ashley Carman / The Verge:
Spotify announces Car Thing, a Spotify-only, voice-controlled device for the car, launching today for free for select US users

Discussion: Spotify, ScreenRant, Android Police, @ow, @chrismessina, @sleepwellcap, @notameadow, @swodinsky, @swodinsky, @shiraovide, @wongmjane, @richontech, @chriswelch, @spotifynews, @ashleyrcarman, @dcseifert, @pkafka, @richlightshed, @pkafka, Gizmodo, XDA Developers and 9to5Mac

Oversight Board:
Facebook Oversight Board will now accept appeals to remove content from Facebook and Instagram; previously, users were only able to appeal to restore content

From Techmeme:

Ari Levy / CNBC:
Coinbase shares open at $381 in its Nasdaq debut, valuing the company at around $99.6B; Nasdaq listed shares at $250

Juli Clover / MacRumors:
Kuo: 2022 iPhone lineup will feature two 6.1" and two 6.7" devices, no mini-sized 5.4"; high end models will have 48MP camera and 8K video capability

Joseph Cox / VICE:
The DOJ says the FBI performed a court-approved operation to “copy and remove malicious web shells” on hundreds of hacked Exchange servers across the US

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