Top News:
Jenna Amatulli / HuffPost:
Netflix has removed an episode of “Patriot Act With Hasan Minhaj” in Saudi Arabia after the country complained about MBS criticism over Khashoggi murder in show — In an episode of “Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj,” the host criticizes Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the Yemen war.
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Financial Times, The Guardian, @anujchopra, NPR, @dabeard, New York Times, @hawthornrants, Business Insider, @dennisperkins5, @bartongellman, @stephenjmcmanus, @jamesaalongman, @jonrosenberg, @john_hudson, @hashashintag, @teymoornabili, @bungdan, @karenattiah, @sarahleah1, @karenattiah, @dangillmor, @iyad_elbaghdadi, @kimmasters, @amiraminimd, @borzou, @djrothkopf, Engadget, @pranavdixit, @bencnn, @theseantcollins and @bintabuahmed_
Duke University School of Law:
Books, movies, and songs published in 1923 have become free to use as copyrights expired January 1, the first significant US Public Domain Day in 20 years — For the first time in over 20 years, on January 1, 2019, published works will enter the US public domain.1 Works from 1923 will be free …
Discussion:
Ars Technica, Boing Boing, Open Culture, Quartz, @gwenckatz, @pamelapaulnyt, @levistahl, @xor, @thepublicdomain, @harikunzru, @dolladollabille, @waxy, @scottmbeggs, Cincinnati.com, Techdirt, The Verge and Slate
Derek Thompson / The Atlantic:
The news media is shifting to a post-ad future, away from dependence on advertisers to reliance on readers and patrons, and this is changing news coverage — Why the news is going back to the 19th century — It's my holiday tradition to bring tidings of discomfort and sorrow to my colleagues in the news business.
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Sources: CBS and Nielsen failed to agree to a new contract by 12:01am Tuesday, with Nielsen execs concerned no-deal could destabilize the marketplace for TV ads — CBS, which distributes some of TV's most-watched programs, may have to use a new way to count its viewers.
Discussion:
@producercoop and @richbtig
Sara Fischer / Axios:
The rise of cord-cutting is hurting profit margins at cable and satellite providers, leading to programming blackouts and niche channels being dropped — Cable and satellite companies are struggling to reach deals with TV channels over how much they should have to pay for the content those channels provide.
Discussion:
Deadline
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Howard Kurtz / Fox News:
In her new book “Merchants of Truth”, former NYT Executive Editor Jill Abramson says the paper has become “unmistakably anti-Trump” under Dean Baquet — President Trump appears content to ride out partial government shutdown stalemate over border security funding
Discussion:
@cjr, @politicalshort, @petehegseth, @martinsfp, @piersmorgan, @howardkurtz and @howardkurtz
Kenneth Li / Reuters:
Source: Netflix to hire Activision Blizzard's Spencer Neumann as its new CFO starting in early 2019; Activision said it intended to fire Neumann in a filing — (Reuters) - Netflix Inc is expected to announce in the next few days that it has poached media finance veteran Spencer Neumann …
Discussion:
Engadget, CNBC, Variety, Wall Street Journal, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Bloomberg and VentureBeat, more at Techmeme »
Chris Welch / The Verge:
Roku Channel adds premium subscriptions, with networks including Showtime, Starz, and Epix available on Roku devices and apps, Samsung smart TVs, and more — Pay for everything on one bill with your Roku account — The Roku Channel, which offers free-to-watch, ad-supported movies …
Sharon Waxman / The Wrap:
The dominance of Netflix, Facebook, Google, and Amazon means the media industry will continue to consolidate in 2019, with smaller players losing out — There's no one I know in media who isn't scared of what the next 12 months will bring. — Here's the general picture:
Financial Times:
Financial Times names Peter Spiegel next US managing editor. Gillian Tett appointed America editor-at-large and chair of US editorial board. — 1 January 2019: The Financial Times has announced the appointment of Peter Spiegel as US managing editor from April 15, 2019.
Robert P. Baird / Columbia Journalism Review:
The history of Jacobin, a socialist magazine with 40K print circulation, 1M monthly visitors to its site, a podcast, a book imprint, and more — The unlikely success of a socialist print magazine — Every successful magazine, like every successful revolution, condenses an atmosphere.
Brian Stelter / CNN:
Trump gave his final interview of 2018 to Fox News, his 41st with the network since his inauguration; Fox's biggest shows campaign for Trump almost every day — New York (CNN Business)President Donald Trump rang in the new year with his friends at Fox News — literally.