Top News:
Ashley Feinberg / HuffPost:
Transcript of a Q&A with the New York Times' Editorial Page Editor James Bennet which happened during a meeting with NYT staffers in December — “The world needs this from us right now.” … James Bennet: So the op-ed page was created to do a bunch of different things.
Discussion:
Splinter and Editor & Publisher
RELATED:
Joe Pompeo / Vanity Fair:
NYT editorial-page editor James Bennet defends op-ed page controversy, saying it publishes a variety of voices; newsroom sources voice concern and embarrassment — A yoga-pants refusenik, a climate science skeptic, and a tech writer with a neo-Nazi pal, among other offenders, have put James Bennet in the crosshairs.
Discussion:
HuffPost, @blakehounshell, @wolfrum, @joshuahol, @jeffjarvis, @morlockp, @gregmitch, @page88, @mathewi, @xeni, Splinter, Splinter, @glennf, @maxboot, @rickyrawls, @vanityfair, @corgizhukov, @awinston, @paleofuture, @joepompeo, @jonathanchait, @jbenton, @jayrosen_nyu, @tomscocca, @jackshafer, @rbryant2012, @joepompeo, @sulliview, @willsommer, @onesarahjones, @davidklion and @jackmirkinson
Sonam Rai / Reuters:
Discovery Communications had a net loss of $1.14B in Q4, says it expects to close $14.6B acquisition of Scripps Networks Interactive by end of Q1 2018 — (Reuters) - Discovery Communications Inc's (DISCA.O) revenue topped analysts' forecasts in the fourth quarter as the owner of Discovery Channel …
Discussion:
PR Newswire and NASDAQ.com
RELATED:
Lucia Moses / Digiday:
Publishers are pivoting to subscriptions, as they did to video, but industry execs warn that reader revenue is a difficult business model to implement — Publishers are pivoting hard to subscriptions. In the past few months alone, publishers including CNN, The Atlantic and Wired have made moves to put up online paywalls.
Discussion:
@digiday, @raju, @janebsinger, @lpolgreen, @heytimgriggs and @craigsilverman
Mark Sweney / The Guardian:
Comcast offers about £22B for Sky, a 16% premium on the offer from Murdoch's 21st Century Fox — US cable TV group outbids 21st Century Fox's existing offer for broadcasting group … Comcast is attempting to gatecrash Rupert Murdoch's takeover of Sky, submitting a rival offer …
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Facebook to launch Local News Subscriptions Accelerator, a $3M three-month pilot program to help metro papers boost digital subscription efforts — Facebook Journalism Project will announce today the launch of its Local News Subscriptions Accelerator, a $3 million, three-month pilot program …
Discussion:
Facebook Media, The Verge, @underoak, @michellemanafy, @jason_w_white, @thewilderthings, @nathanbomey, @onecolleen and @nkulw, more at Techmeme »
Brian Stelter / CNNMoney:
The New York Times is in talks with streaming services and cable channels about launching a weekly ~30-minute TV show — The New York Times has conquered the podcasting world with “The Daily.” Now it wants to crack television with a weekly news program. — The Times is seeking …
Discussion:
Deadline and Hollywood Reporter
Julia Alexander / Polygon:
Logan Paul is rejoining YouTube's monetization program after a two-week suspension but is ineligible for its Preferred Ads, its platform for premium advertisers — A 90-day probation is still in effect — Logan Paul's YouTube channel is getting advertising again, but his probation isn't entirely over yet.
Discussion:
Business Insider, Tubefilter, @shadypenguinn and The Verge
Tamara Mathias / Reuters:
Liberty Media offers $1.16B for a 40% stake in restructured iHeartMedia and will finance working capital if iHeart files bankruptcy according to term sheet — (Reuters) - Certain lenders and noteholders of iHeartMediaInc (IHRT.PK) on Monday said John Malone's Liberty Media Corp (FWONA.O) …
Discussion:
Variety, New York Post, Wall Street Journal, Radio Ink, Media Star, @patricialclark, Seeking Alpha and Hits Daily Double
Jackie Strause / Hollywood Reporter:
Transparent creator Jill Soloway is launching a book imprint called Topple Books with Amazon Publishing — “With Topple Books, we're looking for those undeniably compelling essential voices so often not heard," says the ‘Transparent’ creator. — Jill Soloway is launching …
Sara Fischer / Axios:
News Media Alliance, a trade group for 2K+ US newspapers, forms industry's first-ever PAC to push for antitrust safe harbor against Google and Facebook — The News Media Alliance (NMA), a newspaper trade group that represents over 2,000 newspapers in the U.S., is launching a political action committee …
Discussion:
@jarroddicker and @sarafischer, more at Techmeme »
Maria Sheahan / Reuters:
Germany's highest court rules that Google is not obligated to ensure websites are free from defamatory content before displaying links to them in search results — FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Google (GOOGL.O) is not obligated to ensure websites are free from defamatory content before displaying links …
Discussion:
Engadget and Search Engine Land, more at Techmeme »