For the Record

Spotify CEO Completes Rogan Review:

In a Spotify all-hands company meeting Wednesday, CEO Daniel Ek defended the platform's decision to host an allegedly transphobic episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, according to a report by Joseph Cox and Emanuel Maiberg of Motherboard. The podcast debuted on Spotify earlier this month after Rogan "signed an exclusive licensing deal with the company likely worth tens of millions of dollars" in May. "Others have concerns specifically over a recent episode," Ek said about the segment, in which Rogan interviews author Abigail Shrier. "And Joe Rogan and the episode in question have been reviewed extensively. The fact that we aren't changing our position doesn't mean we aren't listening. It just means we made a different judgment call." The platform has removed Rogan's interviews with Alex Jones and "far-right personalities Gavin McInnes and Chuck Johnson." 

New York Times, Facebook Collaborate on Augmented Reality Project:

The New York Times and Facebook "have struck a multi-year partnership to co-develop augmented reality (AR) filters and effects on Instagram that help users access and contextualize New York Times journalism," Sara Fischer of Axios reported Wednesday. An "AR Lab" within the newspaper's research and development unit "will develop augmented reality filters and effects using a Facebook platform for developers called Spark AR Studio," while Facebook "will provide guidance on ways to use Spark" and non-editorial financial support.

KCRW Implements Buyouts, Layoffs:

KCRW "has eliminated 28 jobs through buyouts and layoffs as the Santa Monica-based public radio station projects a whopping 30% loss to its operating budget due to the pandemic," J. Clara Chan of The Wrap reported Wednesday. In an open letter published on the station's website, President Jennifer Ferro cited the end of a federal loan through the Paycheck Protection Program as a contributing factor. "We know the employees of KCRW are the most important asset we have, and we wanted to give people who were interested in this option the chance to make a decision for themselves about their future," Ferro said. “Their participation helped stave off the need for larger cuts."

Reporters Committee Coalition Condemns Huang Arrest:

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and a coalition of 64 media organizations "called on the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to drop all charges" against KPCC reporter Josie Huang in a letter sent Wednesday, according to a press release on the Committee's website. "Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies should never have arrested and charged Josie Huang," said Executive Director Bruce Brown. “The charge against her must be dropped, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department owes both the press and the public an explanation as to why she was violently arrested, especially in light of multiple video recordings showing her clearly, loudly and repeatedly identifying herself as a journalist."

Fortune Launches Learning Platform:

Fortune will launch Fortune Connect, "an online learning platform and community called Fortune Connect that will target mid-tier, VP and senior manager executives in a highly monetized way," on October 5, according to Kayleigh Barber of Digiday. With memberships priced at $2,500 per year per person, the platform "will create regularly updated programs around three main subjects: leading in a purpose driven world, the shift towards stakeholder capitalism and diversity and inclusion through an anti-racist lens." CEO Alan Murray told Digiday that 40% of the magazine's revenue in 2019 "came from its conference business, which is monetized through a mixture of sponsorship revenue and high-priced tickets paid for by invite-only attendees."

Facebook Invests $5 Million in Newsroom Diversity Efforts:

Facebook "is investing $5 million in programs for newsrooms of color and entrepreneurial journalism," Sarah Fischer of Axios reported Tuesday. In addition to launching the Accelerator business training program for publishers of color (led by WURD CEO Sara Lomax-Reese), the platform will allocate 20% of the Facebook Journalism Project's annual investments to NewsMatch, a program for [...] news organizations serving communities of color," while it also will "help fund the Robert C. Maynard Institute’s Digital Education Initiative, which trains local news companies to ensure that diversity is represented in new media."

Tribune Closes Daily Press Office:

Tribune Publishing "will close the Daily Press' office in Newport News' City Center" by the end of September, Josh Reyes reported Tuesday. With most of the newspaper's employees working from home since March, General Manager Par Ridder added: "We can't make decisions about our workplace needs until we get through this pandemic." The move follows the closure of other Tribune facilities, including the offices of the New York Daily News. The company "doesn’t have changes planned for The Virginia Gazette’s leased office" in nearby Williamsburg.

NewsGuild Endorses Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Strike:

The NewsGuild-CWA has "endorsed the vote to strike by journalists at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette," Poynter reported Tuesday. The vote "follows calls for editor Keith Burris to resign 'after he sidelined and disciplined Black journalists who reported on protests following the killing of George Floyd'" and coincides with the appointment of Stan Wischnowski (who resigned from The Philadelphia Inquirer in June after a column by 2014 Criticism winner Inga Saffron was published with the headline "Buildings Matter, Too") as executive editor.

Data Scientist: Facebook Ignored Election Interference Evidence:

Facebook "ignored or was slow to act on evidence that fake accounts on its platform have been undermining elections and political affairs around the world," according to a memo sent by recently fired data scientist Sophie Zhang and obtained by Craig Silverman, Ryan Mac and Pranav Dixit of BuzzFeed News. They report that the memo is "filled with concrete examples of heads of government and political parties in Azerbaijan and Honduras using fake accounts or misrepresenting themselves to sway public opinion," while Zhang "found evidence of coordinated campaigns of varying sizes to boost or hinder political candidates or outcomes" in countries such as India and Ukraine.

Red Ventures Acquires CNET:

ViacomCBS will sell technology and consumer electronics news division CNET Media Group to digital marketing company Red Ventures for $500 million, the latter firm announced Monday. A Red Ventures spokesperson told Todd Spangler of Variety that the company plans "to grow CNET in ways unforeseen" but would not comment on potential layoffs. CBS acquired the group (which includes GameSpot, Metacritic, TVGuide.com, Chowhound, Roadshow and ZDNet) for $1.8 billion in 2008.