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
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@jonerlichman, Financial Times, Fast Company, Variety, @hbomax, The Wrap, CNBC, Variety, The Streamable, MediaPost, Consequence of Sound, Financial Times, Light Reading, Wall Street Journal, @reckless, @xpangler, @pkafka, @marvelology, @reckless, @id_aa_carmack, @richlightshed, @xpangler, @mgsiegler, @xpangler, @reckless, @xpangler, Broadcasting & Cable, Variety, The Streamable, The Wrap, The Verge, /Film, Multichannel News and Hollywood Reporter, more at Techmeme »
BBC:
Facebook agrees to pay a £500K fine to the UK for its role in the Cambridge Analytica scandal but makes no admission of liability — Facebook has agreed to pay a £500,000 fine imposed by the UK's data protection watchdog for its role in the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
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Data & Society, Press Gazette, VentureBeat, Reuters and CNBC, 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 …
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@barry, The Outline, Wall Street Journal, @kerrymflynn, @gmgunion, Poynter, @dansolomon, @bubbaprog, @gmgunion, The Daily Beast, The Guardian, New York Post, @megreenwell, @sarahspain, @outline, @jemelehill, @maxkennerly, @byjoelanderson, @jonbernhardt, @goldietaylor, @dansolomon, @robneyer, @stephentotilo, @ashleyfeinberg, @libbycwatson, @bruce_arthur, @dceiver, @brianpshea, @taylorcocke, @catmsilverman, @sdkstl, @jonbolds, @natalieweiner, @maxwelltani, @weareyourfek, @sportsrapport, @ryanlcooper, @kentremendous, @mlcalderone 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”
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Sports Media Guy, Breitbart, @sgtjanedoe, @andrewkirell, @shortformernie, @kantrowitz, Deadline, @yc, The Wrap, bookforum.com 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
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CNN, @sueonthetown, @gmgunion, @chronotope, 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 …
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Financial Times, @wcathcart, Financial Times, Beyond Search, @rasmus_kleis, @jifa, @botherder, The Next Web, The Verge, @alexstamos, @scarybeasts, @karenattiah, @pierasselin, @marietjeschaake, @zeynep, MediaNama, Engadget, @citizenlab, @ericgeller, @financialtimes, Adweek, Inquirer, Gizmodo, The Citizen Lab, Fortune, The Register, The Hill, MIT Technology Review, CNET, New York Times and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »
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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:
@ashleyfeinberg, @justinjm1, @drvox, @lam_barrett, @drewharwell, @shanegoldmacher, @mlcalderone and @mlcalderone
Financial Times:
Sources: the Barclays are considering selling the Telegraph Media Group, bought in 2004 for £665M, but have rebuffed an approach by the owner of the Daily Mail — The billionaire Barclay brothers, who own The Ritz hotel in London and Britain's Telegraph newspaper …
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The Times & The Sunday Times, Bloomberg and HoldtheFrontPage
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
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@bagehots, @pressfreedom, @usagmgov, @nujp, @joshua__frank, @pressfreedom, @dillidurast, @pressfreedom, @spj_tweets and RAPPLER
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 »
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Spotify launches its Kids app in beta in Ireland for its Premium Family plan subscribers; it includes 6K songs, with some licensed from Disney and Nickelodeon — Spotify is trying to sell more multi-account family-plan subscriptions — by setting up a special “playground of sound” just for kids.
Discussion:
Adweek, TechCrunch, Spotify, The Verge and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
Georg Szalai / Hollywood Reporter:
French digital media company Brut., which makes “socially conscious” news and entertainment videos for young people, raises $40M Series B and launches in the US — The Paris-based firm says its “socially conscious” videos can replicate what Netflix has done for entertainment and Spotify for music.
Discussion:
TechCrunch
Benjamin Mayo / 9to5Mac:
Student subscribers to Apple Music, which costs $4.99 per month, will get Apple TV+ at no extra charge — In a surprise announcement, Apple has announced its first bundle deal for Apple TV+. For subscribers to Apple Music on the student plan, $4.99 per month, Apple will giveaway Apple TV+ at no additional charge.
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TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »
Judd Legum / Popular Information:
Facebook says it won't remove Pages promoting Daily Wire content because they're “run by real people”, but at least two are owned by Daily Wire's parent company — This is the online version of the Popular Information newsletter. You can get independent accountability journalism in your inbox every week.
Discussion:
@juddlegum, @mollyjongfast, Washington Post and @thependrake, more at Techmeme »
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