Top News:
Daniel Victor / New York Times:
China's state broadcaster cancels NBA preseason games after a Houston Rockets exec tweets Hong Kong support; 21M watched Game 6 in 2019 in China vs. 18.3 in US — A tweet from the Houston Rockets general manager prompted a backlash in China, making things uncomfortable for a league used …
Discussion:
New York Times, en.people.cn, Forbes, CNBC, Bloomberg, @jyarow, All - Kyodo News+, Washington Post, Joe Tsai, CNBC, Inquirer.com, @heminator, @sopandeb, @tomgara, Breitbart, @nba, @esgsanders, @jchengwsj, @hongkonghermit, @drewharwell, @oneunderscore__, @hongsave, @cwarzel, @powellnyt, @sportsbybrooks, Bloomberg, FiveThirtyEight, Ars Technica, TechCrunch, Ad Age, Wall Street Journal, Wall Street Journal, Scroll.in, The Wrap, Gothamist, NBC News, The Register, Quartz, Insider, Hollywood Reporter, NetsDaily, Fast Company, Rolling Stone and VICE, more at Techmeme »
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Laura Wagner / Deadspin:
Internal memo: ESPN's senior news director mandated that on-air discussion of Houston Rockets exec Daryl Morey avoid political discussion of China and Hong Kong — If you watched ESPN yesterday, you saw the network repeatedly attempt to grapple with the story of Houston Rockets general …
Discussion:
Poynter, @isaacstonefish, CNN, New York Post, New York Times, The Federalist, New York Times, @ianbremmer, @ralphehanson, @surlyurbanist, @melissakchan, @jenniferm_q, @williamyang120, @cobraball3, @dellcam, @mattyglesias, @danwolken, Breitbart, @dcbigjohn, @calebjhull, @lthomasnews, @feliciasonmez, @salmanalinba, @daniel_rubino, @maxwelltani, @arrington, @ewong, @cuhlmann, Awful Announcing, The Week, New York Times, Washington Post, Associated Press, Slate and The Verge
Bloomberg:
Blizzard Entertainment, part-owned by Tencent, bans player from competing for one year and rescinds prize money he won after pro-Hong Kong comments — - Expressing sympathy for Hong Kong democracy push proves costly — Hearthstone player won't be allowed to compete for a year
Discussion:
The Verge, Vox, The Guardian, Kotaku, InvenGlobal, playhearthstone.com, @ghostbutton, @jasonschreier, @xeni, @palmerluckey, @brucefenton, @isaacstonefish, @loboexplosivo, @deezus_walks, @nintendrew_, @stephentotilo, Slate, @deezus_walks, @jaldous, @mollymckew, The Wrap and Variety, more at Techmeme »
Reuters:
South Park creators tweet mock apology to China: “We welcome the Chinese censors into our homes and into our hearts. We too love money more than freedom”
Discussion:
@southpark, NPR, NBCSports.com, @factbasefeed, @amyyqin, @acyn, @onlyyoontv, @becketadams, Vanity Fair, CNN, The Independent, Deadline and The Guardian
Variety:
Ronan Farrow's Catch and Kill has an interview with former NBC News employee Brooke Nevils, who alleges that Matt Lauer raped her at the 2014 Sochi Olympics — Ronan Farrow's new book “Catch and Kill” recounts his investigation of Harvey Weinstein; the hurdles his then-employer NBC News put …
Mike Allen / Axios:
Steve Hayes and Jonah Goldberg launch The Dispatch, a center-right digital media company with a site, newsletters, and podcasts, in partnership with Substack — Two of the biggest names in conservative journalism — Steve Hayes, formerly of the now-defunct Weekly Standard, and Jonah Goldberg …
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: As investors cool, Lionsgate is considering splitting off Starz into a separate company, perhaps through a special-purpose acquisition vehicle — One scenario calls for Lions Gate to unload Starz through a special-purpose acquisition vehicle; another calls for the restructuring of the entire company
Discussion:
Digital TV Europe, The Wrap, @benmullin, Deadline and Variety
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
European Commission makes a call for tenders to create the European Digital Media Observatory, the first core service of a platform to fight disinformation — The European Commission has taken the first step towards establishing a new digital platform to help coordinate the fight against disinformation.
Discussion:
Digital Single Market, @gabrielmariya, @pcunliffejones, @puzzlesthewill and @marklittlenews
Kaitlyn Tiffany / The Atlantic:
Newsletter platforms like Substack, which recently raised a $15.3M funding round, offer some writers a sustainable business model, but others see a bubble — Venture capital has finally come for the least sexy communication style. — It's unclear to me whether anyone has ever fallen in love over email …
Discussion:
@chaykak, @alishalisha, @libbyanelson, @kait_tiffany, @nbj914, BuzzFeed and Normcore Tech
Christine Schmidt / Nieman Lab:
How an Institute for Nonprofit News collaboration between 12 local newsrooms in seven states amplified the rural healthcare crisis nationally — When a rural hospital closes, according to a new study of California's healthcare system, the chance of dying in a time-sensitive situation …
Discussion:
@newsbyschmidt, WisconsinWatch.org, @erinfjordan and @niemanlab
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
60 Minutes plans to launch 60 in 6, an original 6-minute weekly program on Quibi in April — The newest edition of “60 Minutes” will have decidedly less time to make its point. — The venerable CBS newsmagazine plans to launch an original weekly program - just six minutes in length …
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, The Wrap, @jbenton, CBS Press Express, MediaPost, CNN, TVNewser, Broadcasting & Cable and The Wrap
Wall Street Journal:
YouTube recently started testing a tool called Instant Reserve to let political ad buyers book slots months ahead of time, similar to traditional TV ad buying — A new tool lets political ad buyers book slots through February, when voting starts in Iowa, New Hampshire and elsewhere
Discussion:
Ad Age, @david_marcelis, @ellgood, @baekdal, @bykowicz, The Verge, MediaPost and Politico, more at Techmeme »
Sara Fischer / Axios:
The Chernin Group invested $50M in MeatEater, the hunting-focused company whose revenue grew 300% YoY from its podcasts, live events, and other businesses — TCG, a venture affiliate of The Chernin Group that invests in media, entertainment, and tech businesses, has doubled down on its investment …
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