Top News:
New York Times Company:
In Q4, The New York Times added 265K digital subscriptions, bringing total number of digital subs to 3.4M but profit decreased to $74.7M from $90.5M a year ago — NEW YORK—(BUSINESS WIRE)— The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT) announced today fourth-quarter 2018 diluted earnings per share …
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Nieman Lab, New York Times, @oliverdarcy, @bydanielvictor, Fortune, @adamgoldmannyt, @niemanlab, The Wrap, @reformedbroker, @rosental, @brianstelter, @michaelluo, @jswatz, @emilybell, @hblodget, @brianstelter, @bdentonphoto, @ericliptonnyt, @mattyglesias, @morningmoneyben, @jeffjarvis, @adamgoldmannyt, @gerryfsmith, @sulliview and Editor & Publisher
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Tom Kludt / CNN:
The New York Times says it wants to reach $800M in digital revenue by the end of 2020 and over 10M subscribers by 2025 — New York (CNN)The New York Times is betting big on the public's appetite for journalism. How big? Ten million subscribers big. — The New York Times Company (NYT) …
Peter Kafka / Recode:
Spotify buys Gimlet Media, a podcast producer and network, sources say for ~$230M, and Anchor, which makes it easier for users to record and distribute podcasts — Daniel Ek says he wants to spend up to $500 million on acquisitions this year. — Spotify is a streaming music company that wants to become a podcast company, too.
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Spotify, Nieman Lab, Business Wire, RAIN News, Variety, VentureBeat, Music Business Worldwide, The Verge, New York Times, Adweek, The Wrap, Associated Press, Slate, MediaPost, Marketing Land, Engadget, Music Industry Blog, The Guardian, Forbes, Ad Age, Fortune, Android Police, @borthwick, @tetisheri, @msquinn, @sarafischer, @cheriehu42, @lucas_shaw, @schmooey, @caseyneistat, CBS Chicago, VentureBeat, @markdistef, Music Week, @martinsfp, @juiceboxca, @renayrich, @kfcbarstool, @somospostpc, @jennyrwall, CNBC, @jonfortt, @tomgara, @indianidle, @c_crampton, @arlanwashere, @austindarbo, @eldsjal, @markcwebster, @thestalwart, @mikerugnetta, @satyap, @niemanlab, Music Business Worldwide and The Week, more at Techmeme »
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Stuart Dredge / Music Ally:
Spotify reports Q4 revenue of ~€1.5B, up 30% YoY, operating profit of €94M, says it has 207M MAUs, up 29% YoY, including 96M premium subscribers, up 36% YoY — Spotify has published its latest quarterly financial results, covering the final quarter of 2018.
Discussion:
Spotify and Anchor, more at Techmeme »
Kyle Pope / Columbia Journalism Review:
Craig Newmark donates $10M to Columbia Journalism School to launch new ethics center and $5M to Poynter to create separate ethics and leadership center — For many of the past few decades, the rules around journalism ethics have been largely settled. We know the appropriate ways to treat sources …
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Poynter, Poynter, Columbia, @kimzetter, @kellymcb, @macloo, @doristruong, @kellymcb, @emilybell, @kellymcb, @kellymcb, @stevecollny, @kylepope, @raju, Fortune and Editor & Publisher
Melissa Locker / Fast Company:
Vox Media's General Manager Andrew Golis is leaving the company to join New York-based radio station WNYC as chief content officer — New York Public Radio announced today that long-time digital media executive Andrew Golis has a new job as WNYC's chief content officer.
Discussion:
www.wnyc.org, @zkahn, @joshtpm, @blirwin and @moorehn
Joan E. Solsman / CNET:
YouTube CEO says the number of channels with 1M+ subs nearly doubled and the number of creators who earned five or six figures grew 40%+ in the last year — In a post on Tuesday about her 2019 goals, YouTube Chief Executive Susan Wojcicki touted several milestones Google's massive video site surpassed …
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Variety, TechCrunch, YouTube Creator Blog, VideoNuze Analysis, Music Ally, @susanwojcicki and Adweek, more at Techmeme »
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Dade Hayes / Deadline:
21st Century Fox reported strong overall Q2 earnings, but its Television unit had a $22M loss, yet had 19% growth in ad, affiliate, and content sales — Continuing to put up steady results across its TV and film operations, 21st Century Fox posted a dip in earnings in its fiscal second quarter …
Discussion:
Variety, The Wrap and Broadcasting & Cable
Alexis C. Madrigal / The Atlantic:
A dozen Harvard students and faculty reflect on Facebook's early days, how the platform worked, and how it made them feel as its first users — On the 15th anniversary of Facebook's launch at Harvard, a dozen students and faculty members reflect on seeing and being the first users of the world's largest social network.
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@alexismadrigal, @adriennelaf, @racheldonadio, @tnhh and @mattturck
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
FT launches Sifted, a new site targeting young European entrepreneurs, running on part subscription and part sponsorship to keep it free for its target audience — The Financial Times has backed a news website for the European start-up world, which its founder has said will tap into a …
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Talking Biz News
Bob Norman / Columbia Journalism Review:
Journalist Bob Norman says Roger Stone orchestrated a years-long online smear campaign against him, while a client of Stone's inquired about having him killed — Roger Stone was sitting in a Miami Beach condo surrounded by Richard Nixon campaign memorabilia.
David Faber / CNBC:
Sources: Liberty Media has joined the bidding for the regional sports networks that Disney is trying to sell to finalize a deal with Twenty-First Century Fox — - Disney is selling the networks to complete its deal to acquire movie production and television assets from Twenty-First Century Fox.
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Awful Announcing
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Sources: Reddit is raising $150M to $300M in a Series D led by Tencent at a $2.7B pre-money valuation — Reddit is raising $150 million to $300 million to keep the front page of the Internet running, multiple sources tell TechCrunch. The forthcoming Series D round is said to be led …
Discussion:
Gizmodo, @emilybell, @carnage4life, @badlogicgames, @shiruken, @dhh, @joshconstine and Business Insider
Janko Roettgers / Variety:
Podcast platform Himalaya, which offers mobile apps that let listeners tip creators, raises $100M and aims to add exclusives and paid content to its app — San Francisco-based podcasting startup Himalaya has raised $100 million in funding to establish itself as a new force in the podcast distribution space.
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Fast Company