Top News:
Hadas Gold / CNN:
Netflix faced a tough balancing act when Saudi officials claimed an episode of Hasan Minhaj's Patriot Act violated local law — London (CNN Business)What's the price of censoring one episode of a Netflix show in Saudi Arabia? — Though Netflix has not released specifics on the number …
Discussion:
@krudell, @hasanminhaj, @ase, @arjunsethi81, @karenattiah, @davidfrum and @akimcampbell
Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
Departed White House staffers, including John Kelly and Rex Tillerson, validate stories about the Trump administration, despite Trump's claims of “fake news” — The Trump White House isn't big on sharing information or answering questions asked on behalf of the public.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Politico, @saletan, @dabeard, @hunterwalk, @sarahlellison and Mediaite
Li Yuan / New York Times:
Inside Beijing-based Beyondsoft and its “censorship factories”, with 4,000+ staff monitoring online content for media companies eager to please China's censors — Thousands of low-wage workers in “censorship factories” trawl the online world for forbidden content …
Discussion:
@suilee, @sophiehrw, @kemc, @jzheel, @puzzlereric, @ewong, @daschles, @b_p_sims, @jzheel, @ericfish85, @wingcommander1, @dangillmor, @puiwingtam, @mariancw, @panphil, @kevin2kelly, @ephs_apcp, @susanmaret, @altusda_ars, @camedwards and @kimmasters, more at Techmeme »
Radio & Television Business Report:
Gray TV completes acquisition of Raycom Media and now holds stations in 91 US markets; nine stations and Raycom's community newspaper unit, CNHI, were spun off — For the last time, we present to you the Raycom Media logo. That's because Raycom no longer exists — it has been officially swallowed …
Discussion:
TVSpy, The Herald, Multichannel News and Broadcasting & Cable
Max Willens / Digiday:
Forbes is testing an AI tool that writes rough drafts of stories for contributors, which they can then edit and post — Forbes has dangled various carrots in front of its contributors to get them to post more. Its latest? An artificial intelligence tool that writes a rough draft for them.
Discussion:
@digiday, @harmongreg, @roboreport and @perfectpixels
Jesse Damiani / The Verge:
Netflix's interactive format for films like Bandersnatch makes content harder to pirate, increases viewer engagement, and generates insightful data about users — Light spoilers for Black Mirror's interactive episode Bandersnatch ahead. — On Friday, December 28th, after months of speculation …
Discussion:
Ad Age and Marketing Dive
Devin Coldewey / TechCrunch:
The US Senate confirms FCC commissioners Brendan Carr and Geoffrey Starks, bringing the five seats to three Republicans and two Democrats, for five-year terms — The Senate has officially confirmed the incoming FCC commissioners, Brendan Carr and Geoffrey Starks have been officially confirmed by the Senate for their five-year terms.
Discussion:
Radio & Television … and Multichannel News, more at Techmeme »
Michael Calderone / Politico:
Former NYT Editor Jill Abramson says Fox News host Howard Kurtz took her new book “totally out of context” and attempted to “Foxify” it — FORMER NEW YORK TIMES EDITOR JILL ABRAMSON SAYS Fox News host Howard Kurtz took her forthcoming book, Merchants of Truth …
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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
Discussion:
@howardkurtz, @peterdaou, @jorjadavis, @wxdam, @daviduberti, @leba_miller, @greta, @carol_cardwell, @parkermolloy, @khanoisseur, @sulliview, The Hill, @realjameswoods, @oliverdarcy, @byronyork, @cjr, @politicalshort, @petehegseth, @martinsfp, @piersmorgan, @howardkurtz, The Wrap and Mediaite
Meg James / Los Angeles Times:
A carriage dispute forces 33 Tribune Media stations off the air, affecting about 6M Charter cable customers, including 1.5M around Los Angeles — Nearly three dozen Tribune Media television stations, including KTLA Channel 5 in Los Angeles, went dark Wednesday afternoon …
Discussion:
@livedoppler, @ourand_sbj, Multichannel News, Broadcasting & Cable, Deadline, @techjournalist and Awful Announcing
Brian Stelter / CNN:
In a farewell memo to NBC newsroom, analyst William Arkin says the media is “hostage” to Trump at the expense of coverage of other areas — New York (CNN Business)There are goodbye notes — and then there's William Arkin's frustrated farewell to NBC News.
Discussion:
@spytalker, @curtmills and @spytalker
Grace Dobush / Fortune:
First closed hearing in Jamal Khashoggi murder trial was held in Riyadh on Thursday, with 11 suspects present; prosecutor has requested death penalty for five — The first closed hearing in the Jamal Khashoggi murder trial was held in Riyadh today, with 11 suspects present.
Discussion:
NPR, Financial Times, @ajenglish, @samahhadid, @thedailybeast and @ajenews
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
The Telegraph hires William Sitwell, the former Waitrose Food magazine editor who stepped down over comments made to a vegan freelancer, as a restaurant critic — The Telegraph has appointed William Sitwell, the former Waitrose Food magazine editor who stepped down over comments he made in an email …
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