Business of Media
Over 360 newspapers have closed since just before the start of the pandemic
The pandemic has been bad for the country’s local newspapers. But maybe not as bad as some people have feared, reports The New York Times’ Isabella Simonetti.
Over 360 newspapers in the United States have gone out of business since just before the start of the pandemic, according to a new report from Northwestern University’s journalism school.
That same pace — about two closures per week — was occurring before the pandemic. Many newspaper analysts had thought that the economic conditions created by the coronavirus, especially a decline in advertising, would cause the rate to increase considerably.
Snapchat launches subscription tier with access to new features
Snapchat has launched a subscription tier that will give paying subscribers access to new features but the same advertising experience as non-subscribers, reports The Hollywood Reporter’s J. Clara Chan.
Snapchat+, which launched on Wednesday, costs $3.99 a month and is available in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., France, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, though more countries are expected to be added in the future.
At launch, subscribers will receive new features like the ability to see who has rewatched their stories and pin a “best friend” to their profile.
Snapchat’s business is still primarily driven by ad revenue, with parent company Snap reporting $1.06 billion in revenue during the first quarter of the year but a $359.6 million net loss. At the time, Snap CFO Derek Anderson said the loss was due to a “$100 million year-over-year decline in other income, driven primarily by a $92 million unrealized loss on an investment.”
Nexstar nears deal to acquire majority control of CW Network
Nexstar Media Group Inc. is close to a deal to acquire majority control of the CW Network from co-owners Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. and Paramount Global, according to people familiar with the matter, reports The Wall Street Journal’s Joe Flint.
Under the terms being discussed, Nexstar would acquire 75% of the CW, a broadcast network aimed primarily at teens and young adults, with Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery each retaining 12.5% stakes, the people said.
Nexstar isn’t expected to pay cash for the CW but instead would assume at least a significant portion of the network’s current losses, which could exceed $100 million, some of the people said. The talks could still fall apart, but the people familiar with the matter say an agreement could be finalized in the coming weeks.
Reporter shot to death in Mexico, the 12th journalist killed there this year
Yet another Mexican reporter has been shot to death, bringing to 12 the number of journalists killed this year in the country, one of the world’s most dangerous for media workers, reports The Guardian.
Antonio de la Cruz, 47, was shot on Wednesday as he was leaving his house with his 23-year-old daughter, who was seriously injured, according to state prosecutors and the newspaper that employed him.
De la Cruz, 47, a reporter for the local newspaper Expreso for almost three decades, was shot at the door of his house in Ciudad Victoria, capital of the state of Tamaulipas on the US border. The region is mired in violence linked to organized crime.
Agencies
Twitter to recognise five agencies in the Twitter Innovators Agency Awards
The Twitter Innovators Agency Awards are back to celebrate and inspire best-in-class media planning.
Twitter is recognising five agency teams that demonstrate the work of true innovators. Participating agencies will stand a chance to win a trip to California in December 2022, for an event all about them and their work.
Emily Foat, head of agency for Twitter ANZ said: “We are excited to be reintroducing the Twitter Innovators Agency Awards. We want to take this opportunity to celebrate, showcase, and reward the best campaigns on the service. In addition to that, we want to use this time to provide guidance and inspiration to other brands on how they should approach launching their campaigns on Twitter.”
Twitter will be choosing a winning team from each of the following categories:
Best Launch Campaign
Taps into Twitter’s receptive audience to launch a brand’s new product, campaign, or positioning
Best Connect Campaign
Connects to what’s happening by building relevance and levelling up the conversation
Best Conversion Campaign
Leverages Twitter’s full-funnel product suite through innovative performance and/or commerce campaigns
Best Social Impact Campaign
Sparks public conversation and brings awareness to ideas that matter
Innovator of the Year
Awards the agency with the most shortlisted and winning submissions in Twitter Innovators 2022
News Brands
Revealed: The biggest English-language news outlets on Youtube and their most popular videos
It’s easy for news outlets to forget about Youtube, reports Press Gazette’s Bron Maher.
Short-form video rival Tiktok commands more headlines and is more frequently associated with highly sought-after young audiences.
Alphabet-owned Youtube, meanwhile, is so commonplace it is effectively web infrastructure.
American and internationally-focused broadcasters dominate the group as measured by subscribers, with CNN placed first at 14 million followers. The ABC News in the US, BBC News, Fox News and Al Jazeera make up the rest of the top five.
The list does not only comprise broadcasters. The Sun (3.06 million), Telegraph (2.92 million) and Guardian (2.61 million) all make it into the top 20 publishers by subscriber numbers.
Television
Neighbours’ Ian ‘Harold’ Smith says government should have saved axed soapie
One of Neighbours’ best-known actors, Ian Smith, said the nation’s longest-running drama should not have been axed and more could have been done by the federal government to keep it in production, reports News Corp’s Sophie Elsworth.
Smith, 83, who played the bumbling Harold Bishop in the TV soap series, said there should have been intervention to save the show, which produced some of Australia’s most successful acting talents in its 37-year history.
“I think the Australian government should have bought it, put it on the ABC and used it as a living, working school for actors, writers and cameramen and put it to air as such,” Smith said.
MasterChef Tassie-bound for “spectacular” week
Next week MasterChef Australia hits the road as six finalists visit Tasmania for ‘Finals Week,’ reports TV Tonight.
Contestants will have the opportunity to harvest their own oysters and compete in a 4 course service challenge.
“It was really wonderful to get out of the classroom, so to speak, and be in the wilds of Tasmania and just to be able to celebrate incredible producers,” says judge Melissa Leong.
“Tasmania is such a wonderful privilege. Being on Freycinet Marine Farm and shucking oysters at a white wedding cross table is a pretty spectacular thing to do. Spending time in distilleries, truffle hunting and all of the rest of it -it’s pretty spectacular stuff.”
The Final is locked on Tuesday July 12 when one cook will win the 2022 trophy and a $250,000 prize.