Media Insider: CNN to Add Streaming, The Post Debuts AR Olympic Series, DOJ Protects Free Press

Welcome to Media Insider, PR Newswire’s roundup of media news stories from the week.

CNN BUSINESS | BRIAN STELTER
CNN announces CNN+, ‘most important launch for network since Ted Turner’

This week, CNN announced it will launch its own subscription streaming service in the first quarter of 2022. CNN+ will include eight to twelve hours of live programming a day, original series, and an interactive community. In preparation of the launch, CNN will be hiring hundreds of people and developing dozens of programs. Chief digital officer Andrew Morse will be overseeing CNN+. Jeff Zucker, president of CNN Worldwide, believes this is a new era for the company, stating, “CNN invented cable news in 1980, defined online news in 1995 and now is taking an important step in expanding what news can be by launching a direct-to-consumer streaming subscription service in 2022.”

Comcast and ViacomCBS bosses reportedly discussed a streaming deal for international markets.

MEDIAPOST | RAY SCHULTZ
‘The Washington Post’ Debuts Augmented Reality Olympic Series

The Washington Post is collaborating with Lede Lab to create a video series that will help report news on the Tokyo Olympics in a new way. The video series focuses on three sports: skateboarding, surfing, and sport climbing. The collaborative team is using augmented reality so viewers can experience what it’s like for the competitors during each event. Matt Vita, sports editor for The Washington Post, stated, “From augmented reality to experimental video to interactive storytelling, readers will have multiple options to discover the latest news and experience the games as if they were in Tokyo with the athletes.”

Related: Journalists face challenges covering a restricted Tokyo Olympics.

NEW YORK POST | KEITH J. KELLY
Pickleball craze inspires new lifestyle magazine

Publishing veteran Dick Porter has teamed up with magazine designer J. Armus to launch In Pickleball. The new sports-lifestyle magazine is aimed at fans of the fast-growing game of pickleball. The publishing team believes their current target demographic is mostly older and well-off Americans who live for the game but see that changing due to the recent pickleball craze among all generations. The first issue features Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave and will be distributed free to about 30,000 venues known to attract pickleballers. The magazine is the first step in a multi-platform plan, involving social media, a Web presence, and e-commerce.

Travel + Leisure celebrates its 50th anniversary by highlighting notable people and trips from its history.

MEDIAPOST | RAY SCHULTZ
Maria Douglas Reeve Tapped As Top Editor, ‘Houston Chronicle’

The Houston Chronicle has named Maria Douglas Reeve as executive editor. Reeve is the first person of color to serve as top editor at the 104-year-old newspaper. She began her career as a general assignment reporter at The Bradenton Herald in Florida and has since taken on various roles at the Star-Tribune and St. Paul Pioneer Press in Minneapolis. Most recently, she served as managing editor of the Chronicle since November 2019. Reeve plans to emphasize online journalism in a continued effort to transform the newspaper into a multiplatform media company.

More personnel news: Katrice Hardy has been appointed executive editor of The Dallas Morning News, becoming the first Black person to run the 125-year-old daily.

CNN BUSINESS | OLIVER DARCY
Department of Justice adopts new restrictions on obtaining journalists’ records

The Department of Justice has adopted a new policy restricting prosecutors from subpoenaing news media records and testimonies from reporters. Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a memo stating, “This new prohibition applies to compulsory legal process issued to reporters directly, to their publishers or employers, and to third-party service providers of any of the foregoing.” The new policy is a significant step forward in the protection of journalists’ First Amendment rights to gather information without governmental interference. Press advocates acknowledged the step forward but called for regulations to be codified into law so that future administrations cannot resume targeting journalists.

Read next: Seventeen news outlets are working together to cover spyware on a mass scale.

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Erin Wade is a Senior Customer Content Specialist with PR Newswire. She is also an animal lover and aspiring world traveler. Tune into her insights as a social curator at @TotalCSR.