Top News:
Comcast Corporation:
Comcast terminates $45B Time Warner Cable merger agreement — Comcast / Time Warner Cable / Charter Transactions Terminated — Comcast Corporation announced this morning that its merger agreement with Time Warner Cable and its transactions agreement with Charter Communications, Inc. have been terminated.
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NetNewsCheck Latest, TechCrunch, Re/code, CNET, ABC News, CBS News, TIME, GeekWire, The Next Web, Ars Technica, CBS Los Angeles, @robpegoraro, Engadget, The Verge, Reuters, BGR, The Huffington Post, Forbes, The Wrap, Variety and VentureBeat
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Jonathan Mahler / New York Times:
Comcast's TWC bid and FCC's stance on net neutrality were separate yet intertwined issues — Once Comcast's Deal Shifted to a Focus on Broadband, Its Ambitions Were Sunk — When it was announced a little more than a year ago, it felt to many like a sure thing.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, NPR and @richbtig
Erin Griffith / Fortune:
Comcast held acquisition talks with Vox Media, but deal fizzled within the last month — Will Comcast go on a post-Time Warner Cable buying spree? — Comcast recently held acquisition talks with digital publisher Vox Media, Fortune has learned. The potential deal fizzled out within the last month.
Discussion:
Capital New York, AndroidHeadlines.com, @reckless, @dangillmor, @jayrosen_nyu, @blakehounshell, @rafat, @zseward, @matthewmspace and Bloomberg Business
Emily Steel / New York Times:
Comcast and TWC combined would have controlled 57% of national broadband market, too high a threshold for FCC and DoJ — Comcast Confirms End of Deal With Time Warner Cable — Comcast confirmed Friday that it had called off its $45 billion takeover of Time Warner Cable …
Discussion:
CNNMoney, Wall Street Journal and CNBC
Georg Szalai / Hollywood Reporter:
Analysts predict Charter Communications will renew attempts to buy Time Warner Cable — It's Official: Comcast Drops Time Warner Cable Deal — Comcast made it official on Friday morning, formally withdrawing its plans to acquire Time Warner Cable in a $45 billion deal.
Simon Houpt / Globe and Mail:
BuzzFeed hires Craig Silverman to head Canadian expansion — Buzzfeed hires author of award-winning book on journalistic errors to head Canadian team — BuzzFeed, the news and viral content factory that has sometimes been burned by made-up news stories, has hired a leading warrior …
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Disney, Fox Refuse to Air Verizon FiOS TV Ads Amid Dispute Over Custom Bundle — Disney and Fox have informed Verizon Communications that they won't run the telco's ads for the new FiOS Custom TV service on their TV networks — after both media conglomerates complained that the package was not authorized under existing contracts.
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Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
Slate Group chairman should have disclosed ties to Sony boss in piece denouncing publishing of hacked emails — Slate Group chairman should have included disclosure in Sony piece — On Dec. 15, Jacob Weisberg, chairman and editor-in-chief of the Slate Group, wrote a strong opinion piece on his flagship site.
Discussion:
@felixgillette, @erikwemple and @jacobwe
Jim Tankersley / Washington Post:
Why the PR industry is sucking up Pulitzer winners — The number of news reporters in the Washington, D.C., area nearly doubled over the last decade, from 1,450 to 2,760. In Los Angeles it grew by 20 percent. In New York City, it basically stayed flat. Outside of those cities …
Discussion:
Reynolds Center, Poynter, @tinyrevolution and The Local News Lab
Zach Dubinsky / CBC News:
Edouard Perrin, French reporter, charged for role in Luxembourg tax-scheme leaks — A French journalist has been criminally charged in Luxembourg for his role in exposing how hundreds of multinational companies used secret deals with the European duchy's government to slash their global tax bills …
Kim Willsher / Guardian:
Le Monde editorial director pick Jérôme Fenoglio beat out three public candidates to the surprise of staff and needs 60% vote for approval — Le Monde's surprise decision for editorial director awaits staff approval — Jérôme Fenoglio handpicked by French newspapers owners …
Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter:
Six US press organizations warn that anti-paparazzi laws may be used to harass journalists — Media Groups Stand Up for Justin Bieber Chaser With Nod to Ferguson — An appeals court is warned that a California law could be used as a “tool” by police to harass journalists.
Discussion:
@eriqgardner