For the Record

States' Lawsuit Reveals Alleged Google-Facebook Pact:

An unredacted draft of a lawsuit filed by 10 state attorneys general against Google last week alleges that the technology company and longtime competitor Facebook agreed to "cooperate and assist one another if they ever faced an investigation into their pact to work together in online advertising" in a deal brokered by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, Ryan Tracy and John D. McKinnon of The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. A Google spokesperson said that such agreements are "extremely common" and reiterated the company's claims that it did not manipulate digital advertising auctions.

Phishing Scam Targets Range of Authors:

An international phishing scam "has been tricking writers, editors, agents and anyone in their orbit into sharing unpublished book manuscripts," Elizabeth A. Harris and Nicole Perlroth of The New York Times reported Monday. Although the perpetrators have not circulated any manuscripts nor demanded ransom payments, targets of the scheme have ranged from Margaret Atwood and Ian McEwan to actor Ethan Hawke and Pratt Institute creative writing professor James Hannaham. "The real mystery is the endgame,” said Ecco founder Daniel Halpern, who has been a recipient of the emails and also has been impersonated by the cybercriminals. "It seems like no one knows anything beyond the fact of it, and that, I guess you could say, is alarming." A leading theory in the publishing world "is that they are the work of someone in the literary scouting community," which arranges for the sale of book rights to international publishers and media producers.

Washington Post Begins International Expansion:

The Washington Post announced in a Monday press release that it will "take new steps in 2021 to become a more global newsroom by creating breaking-news hubs in Europe and Asia." The newspaper also will establish new foreign bureaus in Sydney and Bogotá, expanding its international footprint to 26 bureaus around the world. In furnishing the hubs, the news organization "intends to ensure that its readers everywhere can rely on a full, timely news report at any hour, including rich, multi-faceted coverage during the critical early-morning window in North America." Nineteen jobs for the initiative will be divided between London and Seoul. 

Star Wars Authors Challenge Disney Royalty Stance:

A group of science fiction authors known for writing licensed Star Wars novels and comics has inspired the #DisneyMustPay hashtag after their royalties ceased following the company's 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm, according to Andrew Liptak of Polygon. The contractual issues also have affected other properties following recent mergers and acquisitions, including tie-ins from the Alien and Indiana Jones franchises. "What they have said is that they acquired the rights and not the obligations,” said Science Fiction Writers of America President Mary Robinette Kowal, who drew attention to the claims after Alan Dean Foster (who wrote the novelizations of "Star Wars: A New Hope" and "Alien") contacted the organization's Grievance Committee earlier this year. “We feel fairly confident that if we can talk to someone from the publishing arm of Disney, that they will understand how these things are supposed to work. And that much of this is probably just something that has happened during the process of acquisition, but we can't get past their legal branch.”

Local News Outlets Boost Digital Subscriptions:

A new survey of news outlets in 138 American markets by Atlanta-based consulting firm Mather Economics has found that "digital circulation was up 51.2% from November 2019 to November 2020 while print circulation was down 12.9%," according to Mark Jacob of Northwestern University's Medill Local News Initiative. Mather "also found that 25.6% of all subscription starts in 2020 were digital." Tim Franklin, who heads the initiative and serves as a senior associate dean at the school, believes that the increase offers new opportunities. "Success with this strategy long-term means news outlets need to evolve, and that’s now happening at many places," he said. "They need to do things like revisit their organizational structures, and consider shifting resources to marketing, social media engagement and newsletters — the things that research shows drive subscriptions. And they need clear, actionable insights into the interests and habits of their paying readers so they can retain the ones they've added this year."

Guardian Benefits From Subscription Surge:

The Guardian has "more than 1 million paying subscribers and regular contributors following a surge of interest and support over the past year," William Turvill of PressGazette reported Thursday. In addition to a total of 352,000 subscriptions to its app and tablet editions (constituting 60% year-on-year growth), the newspaper now maintains 548,000 recurring contributions, marking 33% year-over-year growth. Its print products (including the Guardian, Observer and Guardian Weekly) also have seen an "11% year-on-year growth in subscriptions" to 119,000, a record high. "[I]t is thanks to the support of our readers that we are able to keep our journalism open and available to all, not just those who can afford it," said Katharine Viner, the newspaper's editor-in-chief.

Times-Picayune, Advocate Expand Investigative Unit:

The Times-Picayune and The Advocate have "announced a plan to dramatically expand their commitment to investigative journalism by doubling the size of their investigative unit and expanding coverage statewide," according to Martha Carr, a past Pulitxer juror and the newspaper's managing editor. The news organization "aims to hire a data journalist, two additional reporters and a deputy editor" for the unit, which will remain headed by fellow past Pulitzer juror Gordon Russell. Funding for the expansion "will be supported by philanthropic donations to the Louisiana Investigative Journalism Fund, which will be administered by the Greater New Orleans Foundation."

Radio Free Europe Dismisses Olevskiy:

Radio Free Europe has dismissed veteran journalist Timur Olevskiy following his "unauthorized participation in an online discussion about Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader who has blamed state forces linked to President Vladimir Putin for his near-fatal poisoning by a nerve agent this year," Paul Farhi of The Washington Post reported Wednesday. Although Olevskiy (who has been likened to a "kind of latter-day Walter Cronkite or Mike Wallace" by his admirers) appeared on Oleg Kashin's YouTube show to contextualize a conspiracy theory he had shared with Kashin "about Navalny’s wife’s father being a former KGB agent" now secretly residing in London, the agency "moved to fire him" in retaliation for the appearance. A spokesperson declined to elaborate on the dismissal, saying only that Olevskiy was terminated for violating the broadcaster's policies. "My participation, in the view of the company, was a violation of journalistic neutrality," said Olevskiy. "I never said that I could confirm anything about [the father-in-law], nor did I have any verified information."

The Nation, Genius Media Sue Google, Paralleling State Efforts:

A group of publishers (including The Nation and Genius Media) alleged in a Wednesday lawsuit seeking class-action status that Google "has unlawfully stifled advertising competition, hurting their businesses," according to Paresh Dave of Reuters. The lawsuit, filed in the Northern District's San Jose court, "resembles an antitrust complaint filed earlier in the day by Texas and nine other U.S. states" against the company. "Through its campaign of anticompetitive conduct, Google has achieved and maintained a monopoly or near-monopoly in [the] marketplace by erecting a toll bridge between publishers and advertisers and charging an unlawfully high price for passage," the lawsuit alleges. The plaintiffs are requesting the divestment of Google's advertising unit and punitive damages.

Major News Organizations Join Coalition for App Fairness:

A group of major U.S. news organizations "have joined the Coalition for App Fairness (CAF), the advocacy group pushing for increased regulation over app stores and fair treatment for all developers" under the aegis of the Digital Content Next trade association, Sarah Perez of TechCrunch reported Wednesday. The association is representing a range of media organizations, including AP, The New York Times, NPR, ESPN, Vox, The Washington Post, Meredith, Bloomberg, NBCU and the Financial Times. According to the association, Apple's in-app payment requirement for subscriptions has forced publishers "to raise their prices" to account for the technology company's commissions on the purchases. "DCN is pleased to join the Coalition for App Fairness working to establish a fair and competitive digital landscape," said Jason Kint, the association's chief executive. "The premium publisher members of DCN enjoy trusted, direct relationships with consumers, who don't expect intermediaries to impose arbitrary fees and rules which limit their ability to consume the news and entertainment they love."