More than 140 racial justice activists and leaders took out an ad in the Financial Times Tuesday urging asset managers to "change the business-as-usual practices that uphold white supremacy at the foundation of our economy."

Why it matters: The asset managers' actions during the 2021 shareholder season will determine whether the words of support during racial justice protests in 2020 "were cynically performative, or instead representative of an actual shift in mindset and future behavior," the signees of the letters argue.

The AP is doubling down on its local news experiment called StoryShare, which helped newsrooms quickly share information around COVID, AP deputy managing editor for U.S. News Noreen Gillespie tells Axios.

The big picture: There are now more than 130 newsrooms participating in the program across geographic networks in Colorado, Upstate New York, Oregon, New England, West Virginia, Illinois, and more.

One to watch at this year's Upfront and Newfront advertising presentations (held virtually again in 2021): Bloomberg Media.

What to watch: Bloomberg will host its first-ever Upfront presentation exclusively for its streaming network "Quicktake." Most media companies are leaning into their streaming products as a part of their presentations this year.

Analysts are bullish ahead of Netflix's Q1 earnings Tuesday, but there's no question that the streaming giant will need to rely heavily on subscriber gains abroad in order to maintain its lead in the streaming wars.

Driving the news: The percentage of new streaming subscribers in the U.S. signing up for Netflix has declined since the onset of the pandemic, thanks to increased competition from new streamers, according to data from Kantar.

Independent writers are joining forces to create networks of shared resources to make it easier to strike out on their own.

Why it matters: Writer collectives create a sweet spot for journalists and pundits looking for the support of peers but more autonomy than a traditional newsroom offers.

Morning Brew co-founder and CEO Alex Lieberman is becoming executive chairman and co-founder Austin Rief will take his place as CEO, Rief tells Axios.

The big picture: The changes come less than a year after Insider acquired a majority stake in Morning Brew. The upstart business newsletter outlet is now branching into podcasts, live events, and social video.

Playboy — yes, that Playboy — has become the stock market's hottest play for NFTs with its shares jumping more than 150% since returning to public markets via SPAC on Feb. 11, even after a 20% correction over the last two days.

What's happening: Having shed its roots as a magazine dads kept hidden under their beds and rebranded as a sexual health and lifestyle brand, Playboy, now PLBY Group, is catching fire as investors look to cash in on the company's brand recognition and its future on the blockchain.

Political journalist Mark Halperin, whose career crumbled in 2017 after multiple women accused him of sexual harassment, has joined No Labels, a D.C.-based bipartisan policy group, Punchbowl News reports.

Why it matters: Halperin was once one of the most powerful figures in Washington media. His downfall became one of the prominent examples of the #MeToo movement calling out abuse in the media industry in the fight to end sexual harassment.

The U.S. manufacturing sector is at a crossroads: Proponents of President Biden's Build Back Better initiative argue that if focus was to be retrained on it, the sector could provide improved and sustainable economic growth after decades of shedding jobs and scale to other countries.

Why it matters: Biden's ambitious plan makes it clear that infrastructure and manufacturing investments are top priorities, but history is not on his side and Congress is already asking for plenty of compromises.

In a push to dominate global financial technology, the Chinese government is aiming to roll out the world's first state-backed digital currency.

Why it matters: China's new currency could set global standards for the use of national digital currencies — and give Beijing unprecedented visibility and control over domestic financial transactions.

The COVID-19 crisis has triggered a massive uptick in news media unionization efforts, union leaders tell Axios.

Why it matters: The trend is only going to grow bigger once people head back to work in-person, says Jon Schleuss, president of the NewsGuild.

China's President Xi Jinping on Tuesday warned against "bossing others around or meddling in others' internal affairs" and called for "more fair and equitable" global governance.

Why it matters: Xi's thinly veiled swipes at the U.S. during an online speech at an economic forum come at a time of heightened tensions between Beijing and Washington over trade, human rights and China's strategic and economic ambitions.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted on Monday that "data logs recovered so far" show the car's Autopilot feature was not enabled — and it did not have access to "full self-driving mode" — in the deadly crash in Texas involving the company's electric vehicle.

Background: Local investigators said they believed the car was operating without anyone in the driver's seat. At the time of death, one man was in the passenger seat, while another was in the rear seat, KPRC 2 reports.