Top News:
Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
As media faces more criticism and fake news causes real trouble, it's tempting to tune out, but this moment requires keen awareness and critical thinking — In another strange time in American history, the counterculture guru Timothy Leary urged people to “turn on, tune in, drop out.”
Discussion:
Shorenstein Center, Media Nation, @craignewman, TODAY.com, Washington Post, Vox, @austinramzy, @joanwalsh, @jswatz, @edyong209, @sulliview, @reporterporter, TwitLonger, Fortune, Mother Jones, Mashable and bookforum.com
Cynthia Littleton / Variety:
Trump will remain executive producer of Celebrity Apprentice, getting royalties through MGM, likely in the low five figures per episode — Donald Trump will remain an exec producer on NBC's “Celebrity Apprentice,” which is returning Jan. 2 after a two-year hiatus with new host Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Discussion:
@clarajeffery, New York Times, Hollywood Reporter, The Week, Washington Post, FTVLive, @maggienyt, Media Matters for America, The Guardian, @nycsouthpaw, @mizque, @kurteichenwald, @brendanreichs, The Huffington Post, Mashable, The Verge, @jamilsmith, Vanity Fair, Business Insider, @adamserwer, @jfagone, @poniewozik, Politico, Mediaite, TheBlaze, @poniewozik, Fortune, @braddjaffy, @alex, @sophiabush, KXAN-TV and Media Law Prof Blog
John Markoff / Backchannel:
Twenty-eight year veteran NYT tech reporter John Markoff to retire, will remain on contract for more stories, and become writer in residence at Berkeley in 2017 — I'm retiring from the greatest job I ever knew—but I still believe that journalism will thrive … Yes, I'm retiring from the New York Times.
Discussion:
@guykawasaki, @dangillmor, @backchnnl, @jswatz, @carlmalamud, @timoreilly, @annaleen and @john
Peter Sterne / Politico:
BuzzFeed adds Tampa Bay Times' Anthony Cormier, a Pulitzer winner, to its investigative unit, and hires Daily Beast's Nancy Youssef to cover the Pentagon — Buzzfeed News is adding Anthony Cormier to its Investigative Unit and Nancy Youssef to its World team, the company was set to announce on Friday.
Benjamin Mullin / Poynter:
Breaking News, NBC News' alert app, to shut down at the end of the year due to lack of revenue; all 20+ staff to remain on payroll until January 20 — Breaking News, the popular alert app from NBC News, is shutting down at the end of the year. — The entire staff at Breaking News …
Discussion:
Politico, Nieman Lab, @ckanal, TechCrunch, @niemanlab, @corybe, @pbump, @corybe, The Wrap, @mpoppel, GeekWire, Fast Company, @benmullin, @bristei, @poynter, TVNewser, @brizzyc, @corybe, @corybe, @corybe, @corybe, @moneyries, @oliverdarcy, @ethanklapper, @brianstelter and @journodave
Shan Wang / Nieman Lab:
Wall Street Journal grows digital subscriptions from 948K in August to 1M+ now, pitching subscriptions when staffers or subscribers share non-paywalled links — Despite a bad fall shadowed by news about ad revenue declines and layoffs, the Journal has ridden what seems to be a post-election wave of interest in paid media.
Discussion:
@laurahazardowen, @thenewcharlotte and @niemanlab
Maxwell Tani / Business Insider:
Fox News closes six-year-old Fox News Latino, its English-language site aimed at the Latino community in US and Latin America — Fox News is shuttering Fox News Latino, its six-year-old independent site dedicated to covering news for the Latino community in English.
Discussion:
@bryanllenas, @bryanllenas, @avourvoulias, TheBlaze, Western Journalism, @sophiatesfaye, Mediaite, @jcrsaltman, The Hill and Cision
Janko Roettgers / Variety:
Sources: Nielsen in advanced talks to acquire media data firm Gracenote, one source says deal could be between $450M and $500M — Nielsen is in advanced talks to acquire Emeryville, Calif.-based media data specialist Gracenote from Tribune Media, Variety has learned from multiple sources.
Wall Street Journal:
Time Inc. hires Morgan Stanley and Bank of America to weigh takeover offers after overtures from investors including Edgar Bronfman Jr.; stock up 7%+ — Move follows bid from group including Edgar Bronfman Jr — Time Inc. hired banks to help field takeover or partnership interest …
Discussion:
FishbowlNY, Politico, New York Times, Fortune, The Wrap, New York Post, Deadline, @delrey and @cnbcnow
Jessica Taylor / NPR:
Hillary Clinton urges action from private and public sectors to combat malicious fake news and false propaganda — Former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton spoke about the dangers of the promulgation of fake news on Thursday after conspiracy stories involving her campaign spurred violence recently.
Joseph Lichterman / Nieman Lab:
A new study finds that the Associated Press' automated coverage of company's earnings releases has increased firms' trading volume and liquidity — The Associated Press' automated coverage of company's earnings releases has increased firms' trading volume and liquidity …
Discussion:
@niemanlab, @_sidverma, @nickreading1, @mediagazer and @patwhite70
Matt Pressberg / The Wrap:
Lionsgate closes its purchase of pay-TV network Starz in $4.4 billion cash-and-stock deal — “The Hunger Games” studio Lionsgate has closed its $4.4 billion deal to acquire pay-TV network Starz, after the two companies' shareholders approved the merger in a near-unanimous vote, Lionsgate announced in a Thursday statement.