New projections from WARC indicate that advertising revenue on all YouTube platforms, including YouTube TV, is expected to experience 4% growth this year, reaching $30.4 billion. The growth is projected to continue in 2024, with an estimated increase of 10.3% to $33.5 billion.

This anticipated growth in 2023 is seen as a positive turnaround for YouTube, following a decline of 8.8% in ad revenue during Q4 of 2022. During that period, marketers redirected their investments towards search, retail media, TikTok, and Instagram Reels.

“It’s been a tricky 12-month period for YouTube, which is increasingly battling against short-form video platforms like TikTok as well as long-form content streamers in the connected TV space,” says Alex Brownsell, WAR Media head of content. “However, as trading conditions improve in digital advertising, YouTube can expect to see revenue growth improve.”

To adapt to the changing landscape, YouTube has been focusing on its Shorts format, which consists of videos lasting 60 seconds or less, as well as enhancing engagement on connected TV.

According to Media Post, the platform is also introducing innovations such as unskippable 30-second ads and “pause experiences” on TV, aiming to help marketers effectively reach audiences across various screens and achieve their performance and brand-building objectives.

Local journalism organization, Report for America is teaming up with investigative specialists, Investigative Editing Corps to promote investigative reporting in local newsrooms. Over the next two years, they will oversee up to 10 projects in their host newsrooms, with the aim of producing impactful stories that resonate with local communities.

Founder of Investigative Editing Corps, Rose Ciotta, highlighted the significance of this collaboration, stating, “This collaboration is all about helping local news organizations produce stories that matter to their communities. It also allows experienced editors to help train the next generation of investigative reporters at a time when democracy demands strong fact-based reporting.”

Kim Kleman, executive director of Report for America, expressed enthusiasm for the initiative, stating, “We had a lot of interest among our host newsrooms and corps members for this help. They pitched terrific story ideas but acknowledged little bandwidth and/or experience to see them through. We’re thrilled to be able to satisfy this need.”

Each project will span three to six months and will be assigned a freelance investigative editor or editors who will work closely with the project team and newsroom leadership. Rose Ciotta will oversee the overall management of the effort.

The first five newsroom partners for this collaboration are have been announced, following a selection process among the newsrooms that applied earlier this year. Additional projects will be chosen on an ongoing basis.

Comedian Bobby Lee has initiated a legal action against Wondery, accusing the Amazon-owned studio of violating their contract with the host of the TigerBelly podcast. The lawsuit alleges that Lee and co-host Khalyla Kuhn had entered into a 39-month agreement with Wondery in December, which included substantial financial guarantees. Wondery terminated its association with the podcast last month. Despite this, TigerBelly has continued to release new episodes independently.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Wondery cited a “morals clause” in the termination notice sent to Lee, specifically referencing a story the comedian had shared about an encounter with a Mexican sex worker. The issue gained attention recently when resurfaced videos of Lee telling the story multiple times, including on a 2020 podcast episode, led to backlash.

On an episode of TigerBelly on April 5, Lee addressed the controversy by asserting that the story was fictional and could be easily explained. He expressed remorse for the situation and clarified that he had fabricated the tale for an appearance on the Opie & Anthony radio show back in 2013.

The lawsuit does not specify a specific amount of damages sought but indicates that the claim is in the “millions of dollars.” Wondery has not yet responded to the suit.