The social audio craze that exploded during pandemic-driven lockdowns looks like it is here to stay, thanks to big investments from Silicon Valley.

Driving the news: Clubhouse said Sunday it closed a new Series C funding, valuing the buzzy live audio app at $4 billion, sources tell Axios. That's an astonishing number for an app that's still in beta and has no revenue.

A slew of new companies are launching platforms for local newsletters, a shift that could help finally bring the local news industry into the digital era.

Driving the news: Substack, the email publishing platform for independent journalists, on Thursday announced a new local news platform.

ViacomCBS on Thursday named Neeraj Khemlani and Wendy McMahon president and co-heads of a unit that will oversee both CBS News and CBS television stations.

Why it matters: The roles were announced one day after former CBS News executive Kimberly Godwin was named president of ABC News.

Several women have been tapped to lead some of the country's largest newsrooms over the past year — a promising sign of progress for an industry that's typically been slow to accept change and embrace diversity.

Driving the news: CBS News executive Kimberly Godwin was named president of ABC News on Wednesday. Godwin will be the first Black woman to lead a major broadcast news division when she takes the helm in May.

Three digital media veterans are launching a new paid subscription media company with a multi-million dollar Series A funding round led by 40 North Media, a related investment business of Standard Industries, and private equity giant TPG Growth, Axios has learned.

Driving the news: The co-founders of the new company are Joe Purzycki, co-founder of the podcast company Luminary, Jon Kelly, a former New York Times editor and founder of Vanity Fair’s "The Hive," and longtime digital media executive and early Athletic employee Max Tcheyan.

Grupo Televisa S.A.B ("Televisa"), one of the largest media companies in Latin America, on Tuesday agreed to merge its content assets with Univision Communications, the largest Spanish-language broadcaster in the U.S.

Why it matters: The deal will create one of the biggest Spanish-language media companies in the world, and will help deliver more Spanish-language streaming content opportunities.

Microsoft is trying to leapfrog competitors like Google and Amazon as they face record antitrust scrutiny.

The big picture: The deals Microsoft has been eyeing are larger than its usual targets and bigger than those of its competitors.

Former Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter's new media venture, Air Mail, expects to employ 40 people by year's end, up from 30 today and 10 at launch in 2019, Axios has learned. It currently has over 75 editorial contributors.

Why it matters: While some have criticized the outlet as a nostalgic attempt to recreate print online, its strategy has helped the company seamlessly transition into new revenue streams like e-commerce, where brand authority is important.

DraftKings has hired Brian Angiolet, former senior vice president and chief business officer at Verizon, as the company’s first-ever chief media officer.

Details: Angiolet will lead a team responsible for evaluating potential media acquisitions and content efforts, sources tell Axios. The team will help vet future deals and content partnerships that the company will use to help drive customer referrals to its sportsbook.

The advertising industry, plagued last year by pandemic-driven budget cuts, is poised to return stronger than ever in 2021 and beyond, according to several new forecasts.

Be smart: The quick turnaround means that the ad market is recovering faster than it did following the 2008 recession.