Top News:
Peter Kafka / Vox:
HBO Max to launch in May and cost $15 a month, same as the existing HBO; AT&T plans to bundle free subscriptions for some customers of its other services — HBOMax, WarnerMedia's new streaming service, will feature all of HBO's shows, like Game of Thrones, plus new programing. HBO
Discussion:
Financial Times, The Wrap, Variety, Variety, @hbomax, The Streamable, CNBC, Crain's New York Business, Variety, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, @reckless, Broadcasting & Cable, @xpangler, @pkafka, @marvelology, @reckless, @id_aa_carmack, @richlightshed, The Wrap, @xpangler, The Streamable, @mgsiegler, The Verge, MediaPost, @xpangler, @reckless, @xpangler, /Film, Multichannel News and Hollywood Reporter, more at Techmeme »
Ryan Glasspiegel / The Big Lead:
Deadspin's interim editor-in-chief, Barry Petchesky, who has worked for the publication for 10 years, says he has been fired for “not sticking to sports” — It was a solid bet when The Daily Beast reported that G/O Media management issued an edict to Deadspin to stick to sports …
Discussion:
@barry, @kerrymflynn, @gmgunion, Wall Street Journal, The Outline, @dansolomon, The Guardian, @gmgunion, @bubbaprog, New York Post, @megreenwell, @sarahspain, @stephentotilo, @outline, @dansolomon, @libbycwatson, @jemelehill, @bruce_arthur, @maxkennerly, @byjoelanderson, @catmsilverman, @brianpshea, @dceiver, @jonbernhardt, @ashleyfeinberg, @goldietaylor, @jonbolds, @robneyer, @sdkstl, @taylorcocke, @natalieweiner, Deadline, @maxwelltani, @weareyourfek, @sportsrapport, @ryanlcooper, @kentremendous, @mlcalderone, Mother Jones, Washington Post and Awful Announcing
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Maxwell Tani / The Daily Beast:
G/O Media Editorial Director Paul Maidment calls Deadspin's focus an “incredibly broad mandate”: “We are sorry that some on the Deadspin staff don't agree”
Discussion:
Sports Media Guy, @sgtjanedoe, @kantrowitz, @andrewkirell, @shortformernie, @yc, The Wrap, Fox News and Business Insider
Kelsey Mckinney / @mckinneykelsey:
Deadspin writer says G/O Media management removed a letter to the readers from Deadspin staff that criticised the recent addition of autoplay videos to the site
Discussion:
@gmgunion, @chronotope, @sueonthetown, CNN, VICE, @barry, @williamfleitch, @katiedrumm, @mckinneykelsey, @ashleyfeinberg, Awful Announcing, The Daily Beast and Deadspin
Will Cathcart / Washington Post:
WhatsApp sues NSO Group after investigating an attack that sent malware to 1,400 devices, targeting 100+ journalists and human rights defenders — Will Cathcart is head of WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook. — In May, WhatsApp announced that we had detected and blocked a new kind …
Discussion:
@wcathcart, Financial Times, @jifa, @botherder, @karenattiah, @rasmus_kleis, @alexstamos, @scarybeasts, @zeynep, The Verge, Inquirer, Financial Times, @citizenlab, The Next Web, @financialtimes, Engadget, @pierasselin, @marietjeschaake, @ericgeller, Adweek, Gizmodo, Fortune, The Register, The Hill, MIT Technology Review, CNET, New York Times and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »
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Avi Asher-Schapiro / Committee to Protect Journalists:
Q&A with Maati Monjib, co-founder of the Moroccan Association for Investigative Journalism and a target of NSO Group's spyware, on the impact of surveillance — Pegasus, the cellphone spyware tool sold by the Israeli firm NSO Group, is one of the most powerful surveillance systems governments can buy, experts say.
Discussion:
@aaschapiro and The Verge
Jason Gurwin / The Streamable:
Sony says it will shut down its PlayStation Vue live TV subscription service on January 30 — The Streamable is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission when you sign up with our links. — This is breaking news, the story will be updated. — After much speculation …
Discussion:
PlayStation.Blog, USA Today, Variety, Variety, @pkafka, @pkafka, MediaPost, /Film and Awful Announcing, more at Techmeme »
Ben Terris / Washington Post:
James Bennet may be a candidate for NYT EIC; he has wrestled with family allegiances, like to brother Michael, but has recused himself from coverage in the past — Michael Bennet is running for president. His sibling James is a big shot at the New York Times.
Discussion:
@shanegoldmacher, @drvox, @drewharwell, @lam_barrett, @justinjm1, @mlcalderone, @mlcalderone and @ashleyfeinberg
Committee to Protect Journalists:
Somalia tops CPJ's 2019 Global Impunity Index for the fifth year in a row; since 2008, 318 journalists have been murdered with no prosecution in 86% of cases — CPJ's 2019 Global Impunity Index spotlights countries where journalists are slain and their killers go free
Discussion:
@pressfreedom, @joshua__frank, @pressfreedom, @dillidurast, @pressfreedom, @nujp, @spj_tweets and RAPPLER
John Sands / Knight Foundation:
Local news survey: 45% of Americans trust it “quite a lot” or more; 53% of Americans view it as balanced though 50% of Democrats trust it vs. 27% of Republicans — When it comes to trust, local news media continue to outperform their national counterparts.
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, Knight Foundation, @brizzyc, @dangillmor, @newsalliance, @maryellenklas, @newsbyschmidt, @niemanlab, The Rural Blog and Fast Company
Mike Isaac / New York Times:
Sources: over 250 Facebook employees have signed a letter visible on an internal forum that says letting politicians lie in ads is “a threat” to the company — In an open letter, the social network's employees said letting politicians post false claims in ads was “a threat” to the company.
Discussion:
USA Today, @mikeisaac, CNN, Mother Jones, The Guardian, @donie, @wiczipedia, @carolecadwalla, @cnbc, @profcarroll, @nickconfessore, @rmac18, @donie, KTLA, @donttrythis, @bariawilliams, @sarahfrier, Fortune, @peterwsinger, @thegrugq, @mattlech, @senblumenthal, The Hill, @mikeisaac, @davmicrot, Breitbart, @aoc, The Independent, The A.V. Club, MediaPost, Politico, @wiczipedia, @benioff, @ewarren, @brianstelter, @oneunderscore__, Mercury News, VICE, Business Insider, The Next Web, The Verge, Ad Age, New York Times, RAPPLER, Beyond Search, Wall Street Journal, Memex 1.1 and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »
Hadas Gold / CNN:
A look at how Murdoch's Sun reflects and shapes readers' opinions with Scottish, Irish, and English editions taking different stances on issues like Brexit — London (CNN)On September 5, as the UK's Prime Minister Boris Johnson and opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn brawled in Parliament …
Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
MX Player, a streaming and offline video app popular in India, raises ~$111M Series A led by Tencent; source: MX Player has a post-money valuation of $500M — MX Player, a popular video app that offers both local playback and streaming services, said on Wednesday that it has raised $110.8 million …
Discussion:
@tsuvik, @jonrussell, The Economic Times, @dinsmore_steele, Inc42 Media and @satyan, more at Techmeme »
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Sources: NBC News Digital is expanding its staff by 20% over the next year, amounting to ~70 new jobs, and shutting down its digital video studio NBC Left Field — NBC News Digital is expanding its staff by 20% over the next year, an addition of roughly 70 jobs across multiple departments …
Discussion:
@oliverdarcy, @sarafischer and Variety
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