Mediagazer: 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 (Quinn Myers/MEL Magazine)

6:55 AM ET, November 11, 2019

Top News:

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, The Wrap and @jbflint

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: @emptywheel, @sulliview, @miriamelder, @jbenton, @rtmannjr and @jamesfallows

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, Memex 1.1, @tamarmegiddo, @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

Discussion: @rkapkap, Talking Biz News, @niemanlab, @trengriffin, @niemanlab and @arashmassoudi, 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 …

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 »

Damian Radcliffe / What's New in Publishing:

A deep dive into BuzzFeed's ecommerce expansion, from establishing a dedicated Commerce division and a Product Lab in 2016 to partnering with Walmart — Damian Radcliffe takes a deep dive into BuzzFeed's eCommerce expansion, from establishing a dedicated Commerce division to its recent roll …

Discussion: What's New in Publishing

Columbia Journalism Review:

CJR/The Nation's Covering Climate Now initiative published 3,640+ stories on climate change by 323 outlets during the week of the UN climate summit on Sept. 23 — Some good news, for a change, about climate change: When hundreds of newsrooms focus their attention on the climate crisis …

Discussion: @niemanreports, @ecorinews, @afp and @kylepope

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

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 »

Freddy Mayhew / Press Gazette:

Co-founder of slow news publisher Tortoise Media says it has gained ~20K members since its April launch and that just under 40% of its members are under 30 — Tortoise Media has gained nearly 20,000 members within the first six months of its launch, co-founder James Harding has said.

Gene Maddaus / Variety:

Woody Allen settles his $68M breach of contract lawsuit against Amazon, which canceled a four-picture deal with the filmmaker amid the #MeToo movement — Woody Allen has settled his breach of contract lawsuit against Amazon, which canceled a four-picture deal with the filmmaker amid the #MeToo movement.