Top News:
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
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:
@alexweprin and @hunterwalk
Sara Salinas / CNBC:
Netflix confirms it has hired Spencer Neumann as new CFO; source says Activision Blizzard fired Neumann because he was pursuing another job — - Netflix has hired Spencer Neumann as chief financial officer. He was the former CFO at Activision Blizzard. — Activision Blizzard fired Neuman …
Discussion:
TechCrunch, MediaPost, Engadget and Reuters, more at Techmeme »
Emma Best / Muckrock News:
In 1976, FBI investigated The Village Voice and Reporter's Committee for Freedom of the Press for espionage after magazine published a secret report on the CIA — WikiLeaks wasn't the first organization investigated for espionage over publishing classified information
Discussion:
@aaschapiro
Nu Yang / Editor & Publisher:
News executives from Tampa Bay Times CEO Paul Tash to San Diego Union-Tribune EIC Jeff Light discuss challenges, priorities, opportunities, and goals for 2019 — When Dictionary.com announced its 2018 Word of the Year was misinformation, I'm sure many of us in the news industry were not surprised.
Jon Levine / The Wrap:
Ex-Fox News Chief Washington Correspondent James Rosen, who was ousted amid allegations of sexual misconduct, joins Sinclair as an investigative reporter in DC — “Proud to start the New Year by joining @WeAreSinclair as an investigative reporter," James Rosen says in a tweet
Discussion:
@howardkurtz, @david_bossie, @levinejonathan, @mollyjongfast, @tomborelli and TVNewser
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 …
Discussion:
Mashable, more at Techmeme »
Drew Harwell / Washington Post:
How deepfakes, AI-generated videos that graft a person's face onto another's body, have been weaponized to harass and humiliate their subjects, mostly women — ‘Deepfake’ creators are making disturbingly realistic, computer-generated videos with photos taken from the Web, and ordinary women are suffering the damage
Freddy Mayhew / Press Gazette:
BuzzFeed UK reduced its losses by £1M YoY in 2017 to £2.3M on revenues of £33.4M — Buzzfeed UK made a pre-tax loss of £1.9m on turnover of 33.4m in 2017, new financial figures filed on Christmas Eve last year show. — The digital-only news website …
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.
Discussion:
@jon_allsop, @alexnpress and @dylanmatt
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:
Discussion:
@larryschweikart
Columbia Journalism Review:
Designed to be heard, Serial isn't overburdened with quotes and statistics, as Sarah Koenig records her observations, doubts, and methods to guide narration — At the top of the transcripts page for the third season of Serial, a favorite on numerous year-end podcast lists, is a warning …