Top News:
Gerry Smith / Bloomberg:
New York Times halves number of articles available to non-subscribers to five to grow subscriptions; first change to paywall since 2012 reflects growing demand — Users will access only five stories before being asked to pay — Move marks first change to Times online pay model since 2012
Discussion:
@raju
Brian Stelter / CNNMoney:
Memo: Vice News fires three employees amid investigations into sexual harassment — Vice Media fired three employees on Thursday amid a probe into sexual harassment and improper workplace conduct, according to a memo obtained by CNNMoney. — Vice did not name the employees.
Discussion:
Variety, @thegarance and Mediaite
Politico:
NBC's shifting statements about Matt Lauer draw scrutiny: second statement noted that “current management” had not received complaints before Monday — After saying there were no complaints over 20 years, the network later stressed no complaints to ‘current management.’
Discussion:
@jasonschwartz, @timothynoah1, @pagesixemily, @bckrasnow and @david_s_cohen
RELATED:
Brian Stelter / CNNMoney:
Matt Lauer apologizes for his behavior and admits there is “enough truth” to the allegations to feel ashamed in statement timed for the “Today” show broadcast
Matt Lauer apologizes for his behavior and admits there is “enough truth” to the allegations to feel ashamed in statement timed for the “Today” show broadcast
Discussion:
Variety, Forbes, Mediaite, The Wrap, Bloomberg, New York Times, Fortune, Mashable, Business Insider, Deadline, Washington Post, myfox8.com, Vanity Fair, AOL, The Daily Caller, @brianstelter, The Week, Splinter, The Federalist, @cillizzacnn and @brianstelter
Jim Rutenberg / New York Times:
Reliance on network TV star anchors helped drive revenue, but also created conditions for power imbalances and incentivized networks to condone bad behavior
Reliance on network TV star anchors helped drive revenue, but also created conditions for power imbalances and incentivized networks to condone bad behavior
Discussion:
@cbsthismorning, Fortune, Hit & Run, Mediaite, Jezebel, @guardian, Vanity Fair, Washington Post, @sulliview, Business Insider, @jimrutenberg, @rudoren, ABC News, The Daily Caller, Vox, @brianstelter, @anthony, Variety and Mashable
Variety:
NBC sources describe Lauer's transgressions: lewd comments, invitations to his hotel room late at night on assignment, and dropping his pants in his office
NBC sources describe Lauer's transgressions: lewd comments, invitations to his hotel room late at night on assignment, and dropping his pants in his office
Discussion:
New York Times, Mediaite, Boing Boing, Fortune, The Federalist, USA Today, Fox News, The Wrap, The Daily Beast, Philly.com, The Week, TIME, Deadline, Jezebel, Associated Press, Page Six, Fast Company, Business Insider, CNNMoney, Washington Post, Fox News Insider, @ewagmeister, AOL, The Daily Caller, Hit & Run, Mashable, TVWeek.com, The A.V. Club, TVNewser, Vanity Fair, Crain's New York Business, IndieWire, The Gateway Pundit, Forbes, New York Magazine, Variety, myfox8.com, Slate, TMZ.com, Vox, Variety, The Guardian, People.com, The Stranger …, @raminsetoodeh, Splinter, VICE News, NPR, @alexweprin, Newser, CBS New York, KTLA and @mlcalderone
Jack Shafer / Politico:
Project Veritas' attempted sting against the Washington Post highlights the ethical questions of using deception in reporting — What the latest Project Veritas flop can teach us about undercover media work. — Project Veritas went undercover and got buried in its own muck this week.
Discussion:
@amlwhere, BuzzFeed, @harrymccracken, @klerner, @hudakzak, @jessepesta, @davidfolkenflik, Newser, The Stranger …, Mercury News and The Week
Ivana Kottasová / CNNMoney:
Twitter says it didn't delete anti-Muslim tweets retweeted by Trump because it makes occasional exceptions to rules so people can see every side of an issue — Outrage after Trump retweets anti-Muslim videos — President Trump has been heavily criticized for his decision to retweet three graphic anti-Muslim videos.
Discussion:
@justinwelby, Forbes, @nickbilton, PRI, @jbouie, @parkermolloy, @drewkerr, CNN, The Guardian, @jasonabbruzzese, www.wnyc.org, @shaunking, @bridgeinit, @breyeschow, Al Jazeera English and The Intercept, more at Techmeme »
Kim Severson / New York Times:
Time Inc. announces it has sold Sunset magazine to Regent, a private equity firm in Beverly Hills; sales of Essence, Golf, and Time Inc. UK are also pending — Sunset magazine, founded in 1898 as a way to lure travelers West and which went on to help generations live their best California lives, has a new owner.
Discussion:
Eater
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Amazon Fire TV adds support for voice commands on third-party apps, including Hulu, NBC, Bravo, Showtime, Sony PlayStation Vue, and CBS All Access — Amazon Fire TV owners will now be able to control more video apps using Alexa and their voice, the company announced today.
Discussion:
Amazon Fire TV, Digital Trends, GeekWire, Ubergizmo, Engadget and The Verge, more at Techmeme »
Tiffany Kary / Bloomberg:
Judge says Thiel can't stop legal probe into his role in Gawker's demise, but says Thiel can bid on remaining assets, including litigation claims against him — Investigation of billionaire's role in bankruptcy can proceed — Gawker estate says claims against Thiel may be worth millions
Discussion:
BuzzFeed
Michael Byrne / Motherboard:
Notre Dame study finds 73% of posts on Reddit are voted on by users that haven't clicked through to view the content — And the world makes a little more sense. — It's probably not at all surprising that most content posted to Reddit is voted on more or less blindly.
Discussion:
@heyfeifer, Digital Trends, Gizmodo and Boing Boing
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Tencent Music and Spotify are in talks to swap stakes of up to 10% in each other's businesses ahead of their expected public listings next year — Companies would own up to 10% in each other's businesses — The music group of Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd …
Discussion:
Reuters, more at Techmeme »
Matt Pressberg / The Wrap:
Liberty Global invests in movie distributor STX, which is aiming for a Hong Kong IPO; Bruce Mann, Liberty's chief programming officer, to join the STX board — Independent distributor STX, which is heading toward a Hong Kong IPO, has secured an investment from telecom giant Liberty Global, the company announced Thursday.
Discussion:
Hollywood Reporter and Variety
Erin Griffith / Wired:
Profile of Bored Panda, which hit 116M unique visitors in October, mostly via Facebook, and how it avoided Facebook's clickbait purge by providing good content — FOR A YEAR or two in the early 2010s, a certain genre of cheesy, irresistibly uplifting headline was unavoidable on Facebook.
Discussion:
New York Times, @mattmittenthal, @ranimolla, @bydanielvictor and @kevinroose