Top News:
New York Times:
Four women detail violent sexual behavior by hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons between 1988 and 2014, and three say he raped them; Simmons denies rape allegations — Mr. Simmons, a powerful gatekeeper in the entertainment and media worlds, damaged careers and self-confidence with his pattern …
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, Deadline, Variety, @yashar, @nytimes, CBS New York, The Guardian, Rolling Stone, Mediaite, The Wrap, @nytimesarts, AOL, @danielnmiller, @joecoscarelli, The Grapevine, Bustle, @mattdpearce, The A.V. Club, @evansiegfried, @jamilsmith, @dandepetris, @amykinla, NBC News, @inllhrprhntr, @morethansky, @pfro, @gcaw, @harryallen and UPROXX
Salma Hayek / New York Times:
Salma Hayek details Harvey Weinstein's sexual harassment, threats, rages, and business and creative coercion as she worked to produce movie about Frida Kahlo — HARVEY WEINSTEIN WAS a passionate cinephile, a risk taker, a patron of talent in film, a loving father and a monster. — For years, he was my monster.
Discussion:
The Wrap, CBS Los Angeles, @falonyates, UPROXX, @tomgara, @jodikantor, @smartassjen, Deadline, Mashable, @adviserrachel, The Guardian, @mjb_sf, @bootstheory, @christineestima, @colleendoran, Forbes, @aishatyler, The Daily Caller, Washington Post, The A.V. Club, Vanity Fair, Business Insider, Bustle, Fortune, AOL, IndieWire, Mediaite, The Week, Variety, Highsnobiety, TVWeek.com, Axios, TMZ.com, Variety, Metro, Rolling Stone and Meduza.io
Adi Robertson / The Verge:
Patreon CEO Jack Conte says the company will “press pause” on planned change to service fee for each pledge, set to start Dec. 18, after uproar from creators — Patreon has called off plans to add a service fee to patrons' pledges, a proposed update that angered many users.
Discussion:
The Patreon Blog, The Outline, The A.V. Club, @amandapalmer, @davecraige, Polygon, Mashable, NPR, @alysekilleen, The Next Web, BuzzFeed, Washington Post, Boing Boing, Gizmodo, @ihnatko, @jonrosenberg, @paranaturalzack, @enenkay, Fast Company, Axios, @tasharobinson, VentureBeat, TechCrunch, @realgoinginraw and Recode, more at Techmeme »
Jonah Peretti / BuzzFeed:
In a company memo, BuzzFeed CEO says Google and Facebook pay creators too little, says the media is in crisis, and expects more diversified revenue ahead — BuzzFeed delivered another record year in 2017, continuing to grow our revenue and total audience. But it wasn't easy. — The media is in crisis.
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, @anildash, @jessicalessin, @rafat, @dougphares, @tealtan, @jmcduling, @emilybell, @ahmed, The Drum, @perlberg, Splinter, @slpng_giants, @yarongalai, @anthony, @lmoses, @rrhoover, @stevekovach, @jyarow, @jayrosen_nyu, @perlberg, @chrismoranuk, @charliebeckett, @raju, @buzzfeedben, @mims, @gerryfsmith, @mathewi, @pkafka, @mattdpearce, @chrismoranuk, @max_read, @jeffjarvis and @ingridlunden
Anthony Noto / New York Business Journal:
Sophia Amoruso's Girlboss raises $2M, led by Lightspeed to close a $3.1M seed round, to grow website, podcast, rallies; Lightspeed's Nicole Quinn to join board — New York-area startups and venture capitalists are making funding deals with the hopes of creating the next profitable company.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Lightspeed Venture Partners, TechCrunch, @amyresnick and WWD
New York State Attorney General:
NY AG asks for delay in net neutrality vote at FCC because public comment process was corrupted with up to 2M comments that had used stolen identities — News from Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman — Attorney General's Press Office / 212-416-8060
Sahil Patel / Digiday:
Sources: Facebook plans to end program that paid ~300 publishers and other content creators to produce videos for News Feed — Multiple publisher sources said Facebook no longer plans to pay publishers and other video makers to produce videos for the news feed.
Discussion:
The Wrap, @jayrosen_nyu, @brokenbottleboy and @levinejonathan, more at Techmeme », Thanks:@beet_tv
Craig Silverman / BuzzFeed:
How ad networks and publishers are using page redirects and “pop-unders” to create tons of legitimate-looking traffic, a technique commonly found on porn sites — Unscrupulous ad networks and publishers have come up with a way to generate massive amounts of fake traffic and ad impressions.
Discussion:
@nxthompson, @acsbaum, @mattmittenthal, @craigsilverman and @espielman, more at Techmeme »
Yahoo! News:
Nine European press agencies call for internet giants including Facebook, Google, and Twitter to be forced to pay copyright for using their news content — Nine European press agencies, including AFP, called Wednesday on internet giants to be forced to pay copyright for using news content on which they make vast profits.
Discussion:
@umairh and @ian_fraser
Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
While efforts to disparage legitimate reporting continue, Moore's failure to get elected by relying on cries of “fake news” is an encouraging moment — Roy Moore's spokeswoman had a nasty name for reporters covering the Alabama Senate race: “The lynch-mob media.”
Discussion:
Media Matters for America, ThinkProgress, @katrinanation, abc7news.com, Rewire, The Ringer, Business Insider, AOL, New York Magazine, Hit & Run, New York Times, The Wrap, VICE, Newseum, Bustle, The Week, @nytpolitics, @jayrosen_nyu, Media Nation, The Gateway Pundit, Variety, @porter_anderson, @marycjordan, @connieschultz, @thequotablelife, @ninabernstein1, @markberman, @marinafang, Rob Bonta, Vox, @sivavaid, @sivavaid, @sivavaid, Axios, The New York Observer and Mother Jones
Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch:
Twitter says Russia-linked accounts spent just $1,031.99 on six Brexit-related ads during regulated campaign period before UK referendum from April to June 2016 — Twitter has disclosed that Russian-backed accounts spent $1,031.99 to buy six Brexit-related ads on its platform during last year's European Union referendum vote.
Discussion:
UK Parliament and Fortune, more at Techmeme »
RELATED:
Peter Kafka / Recode:
Twitch and NBA agree to stream up to six minor league games per week, starting December 15, with interactive overlays for viewers — The “G League” comes to Amazon's live-gaming platform, with interactive features — A few months ago, NBA boss Adam Silver said that pro basketball broadcasts …
Discussion:
Fast Company, GeekWire, Ad Age, VideoInk, The Verge, VentureBeat, Variety and CNET, more at Techmeme »
Reuters:
Two Reuters journalists, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, were arrested on Tuesday night in Myanmar's main city, Yangon — YANGON (Reuters) - Two Reuters journalists were arrested on Tuesday evening in Myanmar's main city, Yangon, a government spokesman said. — “Yes it is correct that they were arrested,” spokesman Zaw Htay said.
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Redbox launches Redbox On Demand with 6,000+ movies and TV shows to rent or buy, without Disney titles, starting at $3.99 for 48-hour VOD rentals — Redbox is finally opening a bridge to a digital-entertainment future. — The company, known for its nationwide network of DVD-rental kiosks …
Discussion:
Home Media Magazine, TechCrunch and Fast Company, more at Techmeme »