Mediagazer: Profile of Disney's Kevin Mayer, head of the company's streaming strategy and the Disney+ launch, who managed acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, and Fox (Wall Street Journal)

Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:

During the impeachment hearings journalists should focus on the substance of what is being proved or not proved, not distracting speculation or publicity stunts — The national media's shortcomings have been all too obvious in recent years as Donald Trump has gleefully thrown the norms of traditional journalism into a tizzy.

Discussion: Poynter, @sulliview, @jamesfallows, @emptywheel, @nprkelly, @miriamelder, @jbenton and @rtmannjr

Joe Flint / Wall Street Journal:

Sources: Viacom and CBS to realign leadership of creative units with Comedy Central chief and Media Networks COO departing; official announcement coming Monday — Comedy Central Chief Kent Alterman and Media Networks COO Sarah Levy are expected to depart — Viacom Inc. VIA .16% …

Discussion: Variety, Hollywood Reporter, Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap and @jbflint

Bloomberg:

Instagram covers IGTV video production costs for some creators as long as the videos do not include content about social issues, elections, or politics — - Contract clause conflicts with Facebook stance on free speech — IGTV asks stars not to post about politics and social issues

Discussion: @sarahfrier, @rasmus_kleis and @fryan

New York Times:

In a letter, WhatsApp says 121 users in India were targeted with NSO spyware; 22 of the alleged targets were activists, journalists, and civil rights lawyers — Recent revelations in India show that the threat from the company's spyware to activists and journalists isn't limited to autocratic regimes.

Discussion: @nicoleperlroth, @tamarmegiddo, Memex 1.1, @petercronau, @nytimes, @alexstamos, @emptywheel, @peterwsinger, @snowden, The Hindu, Reuters and MediaNama, more at Techmeme »

Ken Doctor / Nieman Lab:

Q&A with Nikkei Chairman Tsuneo Kita on Nikkei's 2015 buy of FT, his outlet's role in journalism, how Japan's press is coping with digital disruption, and more — Four years ago, the Japanese financial news giant Nikkei sent shocked the global media world with a surprise announcement …

Ken Doctor / Nieman Lab:

Q&A with FT CEO John Ridding on FT's relationship with owner Nikkei, its place in a polarized media landscape, leveraging newsletters as “mini-brands”, and more — “The point is they have personality. They have character. They're engaging, and they have really inside stuff.

Discussion: @rkapkap, Talking Biz News, @niemanlab, @trengriffin, @niemanlab, @arashmassoudi and Nieman Lab, Thanks:@ftpressoffice

Barbara Allen / Poynter:

As The Texas Tribune turns 10, EIC Emily Ramshaw, cofounders John Thornton and Evan Smith, and others reflect on its early days and lessons learned since launch — In 2008, John Thornton, the managing partner of a venture capital firm and an Austin philanthropist, started seeing …

Discussion: @niemanlabfuego and @texastribune

Karen Longwell / Nieman Lab:

How a community in Quebec, facing the closure of its local paper, The Gleaner, rebuilt it as a community nonprofit — More than 250 media outlets closed across Canada from 2008 to 2019, according to a 2019 study by the Local News Research Project. A small Quebec paper, The Gleaner, nearly joined them.

Discussion: @niemanlab and @niemanlab

Mark Di Stefano / BuzzFeed:

BBC apologizes for showing old footage of Boris Johnson laying a wreath, not recent footage of him apparently making an error, says it was a production mistake — Less than 24 hours after Boris Johnson was criticised for mis-laying a wreath, the BBC has apologised for running old footage …

Discussion: @markdistef, @markdistef, @markdistef, @avasantina and @bbcbreakfast

Deanna Ting / Digiday:

Dow Jones' Barron's Group combines two of its brands, Barron's and MarketWatch, to launch MarketBrief, a live, weekly 10-minute show covering financial news — Dow Jones' Barron's Group is combining two of its brands — Barron's and MarketWatch — to launch a new live …

Quinn Myers / MEL Magazine:

An oral history of the rise and fall of LimeWire, which at its peak was estimated to be responsible for 80% of all illegal music downloads in the US — And the untold story of a Spotify killer that never saw the light of day — In 2001, the internet's premier file-sharing service Napster …

Discussion: The A.V. Club, more at Techmeme »

Wall Street Journal:

Profile of Disney's Kevin Mayer, head of the company's streaming strategy and the Disney+ launch, who managed acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, and Fox — The veteran deal maker is getting a very public test as the executive launching Disney+, the company's new streaming service.

Discussion: @karadapena, @felixsalmon, @wsjbusiness, @jbflint and @jbflint, more at Techmeme »