Top News:
Nathan Bomey / USA Today:
Shareholders of Gannett and New Media approve the $1.13B merger; the new Gannett will be composed of 260 dailies, aims to cut $275M-$300M within two years — Shareholders cleared the way Thursday for New Media Investment Group and USA TODAY owner Gannett to join forces in a deal that will create …
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, The Wrap, @createcraig, @pdpj, @tambright15 and @fatimafarha_
Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is considering bundling News+, Apple TV+ and Apple Music as soon as 2020 to attract subscribers, meaning less money for News+ publishers — - Company keeps rights to bundle News+ service with TV+, Music — Move may woo more subscribers, but lower publishers' News+ cut
RELATED:
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Apple Music launches Replay, letting subscribers look back at their favorite music in 2019, similar to Spotify's year-end review, Wrapped, but updated each week
Discussion:
@baekdal, @bondnickbond, @adamdbradley, Billboard, MacRumors, The Verge, 9to5Mac and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
Agence France-Presse:
Turkish journalist Ahmet Altan rearrested following his prison release one week ago where he'd served three years over alleged links to 2016 coup — Detaining of Ahmet Altan, who denies alleged links to failed coup in 2016, called a ‘disgrace’ — Turkish police have rearrested the journalist …
Discussion:
New York Times, @dabeard, @digiphile, @stefsimanowitz and The Guardian
Emma Grey Ellis / Wired:
A look at how scientific experts debunk “lifestyle” misinformation and bad science on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube — A lot of the hacks and diets on social media are bogus, or even dangerous. These fact-checkers are using YouTube and Instagram to battle bad info.
Discussion:
@firstdraftnews and @wired, more at Techmeme »
Ben Casselman / New York Times:
Interview with NYT reporter Ben Casselman, who says his landline phone is his most vital data journalism tool as the best stories emerge from talking to people — Ben Casselman, an economics reporter, uses a programming language called R and works with vast data sets.
Discussion:
@sarambsimon, @arindube, @pysamarth, @tabularasafa, @ndiakopoulos, @bencasselman and @newsroomdev
Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
Sources: Disney plans to bring Disney+ to India in H2 2019 via its streaming platform Hotstar and to expand the offering to Malaysia, Indonesia, and others — Disney plans to bring its on-demand video streaming service to India and some Southeast Asian markets as soon as the second half of next year …
Daniel Frankel / Multichannel News:
OpenVault: cord cutters averaged 520.8 GB of internet usage in Q3, up 7% YoY; 12% of cord cutters are power users who use 1TB+ per month — Homes that have ditched video increased internet usage by 7% in Q3, according to Broadband solutions provider OpenVault
Discussion:
Broadcasting & Cable
Rick Edmonds / Poynter:
McClatchy has retained advisers to explore options and has opened talks with the federal agency that manages insolvent pension funds; stock down ~14% — McClatchy reported a series of financial reverses Wednesday so severe that it may not be able to meet its obligations in 2020.
Discussion:
New York Times, Durham Herald-Sun, Sacramento Bee, Wall Street Journal, Columbia Journalism Review, @mattrexroad, @andrewscurria, @patriciamazzei, @ayoonhendricks, McClatchy Co, @fineout, @cltledger, @cltledger, @mattderienzo, @andymarso, @charlesapple, @deborahldwyer, @brushtoniltimes, @rickedmonds, @david_ingram, @david_ingram, @david_ingram, @dkiesow, MarketWatch and McClatchy
Sarah Ellison / Washington Post:
Interview with Tucker Carlson, who holds apparent favored status with the Murdochs, as his Fox show becomes particularly important amid the impeachment inquiry — At some point during his nightly prime-time show, Fox News host Tucker Carlson usually asks the same question: “What's really going on here?”
Discussion:
CNN, @bgrueskin, The Atlantic, @sarahellison, @mradamtaylor, @sarahellison, @sarahellison, @ndrew_lawrence, @erikwemple, @nikkimcr, @allynwest, @mlcalderone and @mlcalderone
Daniel Roberts / Yahoo Finance:
Sources: Sports Illustrated will be published monthly starting in 2020, plus four special issues and the Swimsuit Issue for a total of 17 issues per year — Sports Illustrated was a weekly publication as recently as 2015. In 2020 it will become a monthly, Yahoo Finance has learned.
Discussion:
Talking Biz News, @williamsbob75, @readdanwrite, @slmandel, @byparkercotton, @unclegrambo, New York Post and Awful Announcing
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Yahoo Sports launches section for fans to bet on sports, starting in New Jersey, through the MGM Resorts' BetMGM platform, part of a multiyear partnership — Verizon Media's Yahoo Sports is getting into the gambling business with the launch of a new section that lets fans see betting odds for various sports.
Discussion:
Awful Announcing
Local Media Association:
Accelerate Local launches TV Membership Project to drive engagement and revenue for local TV broadcasters via DTC models like membership; Fox is a pilot partner — Accelerate Local, designed by Local Media Association to reinvent business models for news, today announced The TV Membership Project …
Discussion:
American Press Institute, TVNewsCheck and @scottbrodbeck
Hanaa' Tameez / Nieman Lab:
Tribune Publishing has announced it will shut down Hoy, its Spanish-language weekly newspaper and website serving Chicago, on December 13 — Predominantly English-language news companies continue to struggle to figure out how to reach Spanish-language audiences.
Discussion:
Chicago Tribune, @nahj, @niemanlab, @madbair, @nahj, @nahj and @jcstearns
M. Corey Goldman / TheStreet:
Viacom Q4: net earnings of $321M on revenue of $3.43B; domestic ad revenue for its media networks up 6% YoY to $946M; Pluto TV has ~20M MAUs — Viacom (VIAB - ) , soon to be CBSViacom, on Thursday posted fourth-quarter earnings that beat analysts' forecasts as it continued to make inroads …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Deadline, @viacom, Business Wire and Hollywood Reporter
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