This week, Amanda Zamora talks to us about the launch of new news site The 19th, a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom reporting at the intersection of gender, politics, and policy. She talks about why she chose to launch the site with fellow Texas Tribune colleague Emily Ramshaw, the lessons she’ll be taking from her time in legacy newsrooms, and what the team’s priorities are once the brand fully launches in August.

In the news roundup the team are joined by guest host Michelle Manafy to discuss the return of The Markup, Trump’s reelection campaign’s lawsuit against the NYT, and the changing of the guard at Disney.

See the full transcript here.

News in Brief:

  • Disney’s chief executive Bob Iger stepped down this week in a surprise announcement, saying that it was the ‘optimal time’ following the acquisition of Fox’s entertainment assets and the launch of Disney Plus. He’ll be replaced by Disney Parks chairman Bob Chapek
  • Following us discussing the topic two weeks ago, the UK’s media regulator Ofcom has vowed not to interfere in the editorial independence of news websites
  • Daily sales of The Sun fell by 8% to 1.38 million last year, but it remains the UK’s most popular paper. Owners News Group Newspapers also reported a £68m loss as they continue to deal with the fallout of the phone hacking scandal 
  • The BBC has decided not to appeal against the equal pay case involving Newswatch presenter Samira Ahmed after she won an employment tribunal, giving hope to other women seeking back pay from the broadcaster
  • In Norway and Sweden, a survey finds some people won’t pay for online news because the news from their free public broadcaster is good enough
  • Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Amazon lost more than $238 billion in value this week as part of a broader market dive and economic concerns around the coronavirus outbreak
  • Facebook has announced $2 million to support independent science research on misinformation and polarisation related to social communication technologies
  • Digital publishers are optimistic about this year, with 69% expecting to see overall revenue growth, according to a new report from Folio
  • TikTok’s taken a bit of a PR battering this week, as Reddit’s CEO accused it of being “fundamentally parasitic” and dangerously invasive, and Business Insider’s run a story on it being a vector for some nasty online bullying
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