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Amid a debate on the value of broadcasting Trump's primetime speech, network anchors responded with several corrections for some of his misleading claims — Moments after President Trump concluded his Oval Office remarks on border security on Tuesday, the NBC anchor Chuck Todd came on air with a blunt assessment.
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Variety, Associated Press, @jeremymbarr, CNN, The Daily Beast, CNN, Mediaite, @erikwemple, @wjcarter, Vanity Fair, @jamesfallows, Media Matters for America, @peterbakernyt, @ddale8, @ddale8, The Daily Caller, @davidfolkenflik, @ddale8, @atticuswest, Mediaite and @brianstelter


NBCUniversal says it will reduce the number of ads airing during prime time TV shows by 20% by 2020, as it tries to shift away from old advertising model — NBCUniversal tells Axios it's reducing the amount of ads its serves during prime-time even further, and it's looking now at other times throughout the day to do the same.
Discussion:
@digitalshields, @alexweprin, @sarafischer, Adweek and Variety


Hulu says its ad revenue increased 45%+ YoY to nearly $1.5B, a record for the company — Hulu is keeping its pedal to metal in the streaming TV race: The company said it ended 2018 with more than 25 million total subscribers, a net gain of 8 million for the year.
Discussion:
Hulu, MediaPost and Fortune, more at Techmeme »
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A.G. Sulzberger's “State of the Times” memo for employees emphasizes the global impact of the publishers' journalism but fails to address metrics — A.G. Sulzberger to Times employees at 2019 State of The Times address. — One of the most important is that the way people find and engage with news is changing.
Discussion:
@emilybell, @moorehn, @corneliafuchs, @toddlighty, @timesopen, @nicdawes, @jeremymbarr, @jasonabbruzzese, @amychozick and @johnibbitson


Google agrees to add YouTube viewers on mobile devices to Nielsen's Total Ad Ratings, which measures audience across TV, computers, tablets, and smartphones — YouTube mobile viewing included in Total Ad Ratings — Nielsen has reached an agreement with Google that will upgrade its measurement …
Discussion:
Fast Company, MediaPost, Axios, Adweek, @davidwkenny, Axios and Deadline


Dotdash, which owns sites such as Investopedia and others created from About.com's remnants, is buying two beauty domains, Byrdie and Mydomaine — The publisher, which owns sites including The Spruce and Verywell, is buying two beauty websites as annual revenue passes $100 million
Discussion:
Digiday, @neilvogel and @moorehn


Discovery says it has purchased a 71% controlling stake in Play Sports Group, a digital sports media company focused on global cycling — Digital sports media company to help Discovery create global cycling platform — Discovery Inc., said it has purchased a 71% controlling stake in Play Sports Group …
Discussion:
Hollywood Reporter, Discovery, Inc., SportsPro Media, Variety and Deadline


CNN's Chris Cillizza, who is frequently criticized on Twitter for his political hot takes, wrote over 900 articles in 2018 and drove over 360M global page views — Chris Cillizza deserves a break. — The former Washington Post columnist turned creator of voluminous content both on CNN's airwaves …
Discussion:
@ashleyfeinberg, @anamariecox, @yashar, @ashleyfeinberg, @garylegum, @hashtaggriswold, @dellcam, @abensonij, @anamariecox, @mirandayaver and CNN


Interview with Skift founder Rafat Ali on company growth to 60 staffers, media business models, and the choice of travel, dining, and wellness as verticals — This week, The Idea caught up with Rafat Ali. Rafat co-founded Skift, a B2B publication that focuses on the “leisure” industry.
Discussion:
@atlantic57 and @rafat


Lin-Manuel Miranda and three Hamilton collaborators buy NYC's Drama Book Shop and are partnering with the city to find the store an affordable space in Midtown — Lin-Manuel Miranda is already a composer, a lyricist, an actor and an author. Now he's going to be a bookseller.
Discussion:
The Wrap, @playbill, @xeni, @benjpasek, @joshgroban, @roryomalley, 6sqft, @theferocity, @redhourben, @cherylstrayed, @lin_manuel, Playbill, The Guardian, Boing Boing, Fast Company, Curbed NY and Publishers Lunch


Sources: Sumner Redstone and his family have agreed to settle their long-running legal dispute with his former companion Manuela Herzer — Herzer to pay back $3.25 million in gifts from Redstone — Media mogul Sumner Redstone and his family have agreed to settle their long-running legal dispute …
Discussion:
@keachhagey and The Wrap


Twenty-year-old German man admits to stealing and publishing data on hundreds of journalists, YouTubers, and figures from every party except far-right AfD — BERLIN — A 20-year-old German student took advantage of passwords as weak as “Iloveyou” and “1234” to hack into online accounts …
Discussion:
@emilyrs, The Verge, Wall Street Journal, Mashable and Business Insider, more at Techmeme »