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 …
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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 …
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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:
Vox, The Guardian, The Verge, 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
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 …
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 …
Discussion:
New Yorker, The Independent, @brianstelter, @brianstelter, American Press Institute, @ronanfarrow, Slate, @julie_bush, Just Jared, New York Post and @kaibiermann
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
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 »
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
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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