Top News:

Time names Bob Iger Businessperson of the Year following Disney's Fox acquisition, box office success, and Disney+ launch — Not since somebody figured out that you could attach two black plastic disks to a skull cap and make everyone look like Mickey Mouse has a pair of ears sent such a buzz through a media executive.
Discussion:
CNBC, Talking Biz News, @therock, @ithacacollege, @time, Adweek, The Playlist, TVWeek.com, MediaPost, Hollywood Reporter and Business Insider


Netflix is developing a scripted TV show about the creation of Spotify, inspired by the book Spotify Untold — The scripted series will tell the story of Spotify's creation — Netflix is developing a scripted TV series about the creation of Spotify, the company announced today (December 11).
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Netflix Media Center and Gizmodo


Sinclair axes Boris Epshteyn, its chief political analyst who was once a Trump aide, to add time for “critical and relevant issues” and investigative journalism — Sinclair, which owns 193 stations in the U.S., said it wants to focus on local news and investigative journalism.
Discussion:
Poynter, Hollywood Reporter, CNN, Politico, @awallenstein, @newsalliance, @sdkstl, @brianstelter, @bluegal, @davidbix, @lynn_henning, @green_footballs, @danmcgowan, @tomgara, @klasfeldreports, @robpegoraro, @redpainter1, @jasonabbruzzese, @helenkennedy, @edbott, @pashulman, HuffPost, Washington Post, Variety, Mediaite, Broadcasting & Cable, The Hill, The Wrap and Deadline


Google says it is changing mobile search results for news topics, adding more carousels of stories, starting in the US and rolling out later internationally — Google is changing how it presents news stories in its search results. When people search for news, they typically see two top stories …
Discussion:
The Keyword, @vambenepe, 9to5Google, Search Engine Journal, Engadget and VentureBeat, more at Techmeme »


A case study of Mother Jones' revenue strategy: prioritizing investigative journalism, following reader preferences, effective campaign messaging, and more — Case Study co-published by the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Institute for Nonprofit News.
Discussion:
@steve_katz, @shorensteinctr, @clarajeffery, @andrecarothers, @rebleber, @ehansen02, @bridgebotelho, @clarajeffery, @motherjones and @clarajeffery


Newsquest will not pursue layoffs for its titles in Scotland after journalists threatened to strike and eight staff left the Glasgow newsroom voluntarily — Newsquest has dropped the threat of compulsory redundancies on its titles in Scotland after journalists voted in favour of strike action this week …
Discussion:
National Union of Journalists and BBC
RELATED:


Local news is in trouble, but it's not dying; growth has happened for nonprofits and partnerships, and local broadcast newsroom staffing remains steady so far — We started 2019 with Gannett layoffs at local newspapers, we're ending 2019 with Gannett layoffs at local newspapers …
Discussion:
Columbia Journalism Review, @phillipadsmith, @kylehopkinsak, @edunbarmpr, @dicktofel, @joshfarley, @poynter, @kristenhare, @kristenhare, @blogpalmsprings, @sbenkelman, @cislmunc, @davidhulen, @davidhulen, @jeffelgie, @atlantic57, @davidhulen, @skonradb, @davegehring, @pulitzercenter, @mskibinski, @jimiovino, @byclaycarey, @rosental and @wendi_c_thomas


A look at Apple News' power in the UK election: editorial curation remains opaque despite big influence on news outlets and the delivery of millions of alerts — Service has around 11m users a month in UK but faces much less scrutiny that other outlets — On Monday night …
Discussion:
@rasmus_kleis, @marklittlenews, @pollycurtis, @s_m_i, @kiranstacey, @zamirarahim, @elanazak, @niemanlab and @jimwaterson


Over 400 staffers of Tribune Publishing signed a petition to the company's board, seeking investment in newsrooms, consideration of good purchase offers, more — It was late in the day November 19 that employees of Tribune Publishing's newspapers got word: Its troncked-up former chairman Michael Ferro …
Discussion:
Talking Biz News, @saragregory, WGN-TV, @amykpoulter, @marywizchicago, @ctmirror, @borjaechevarria, @scmitchp, @ygetachew2, @ctguild and @jbenton


Lawyers say Harvey Weinstein and The Weinstein Company board reached a tentative $25M settlement with most of his alleged victims; $12M+ would pay legal costs — After two years of legal wrangling, Harvey Weinstein and the board of his bankrupt film studio have reached a tentative $25 million …
Discussion:
The Guardian, Fox News, Slate, The Independent, @heathr, @slack2thefuture, @nycjim, @ellenbarkin, @reneeygraham, @michaelsayman, @laurenarankin, @oliviamesser, @bbcr4today, The Week, @boutrousted, @complex, @xeni, @sivavaid, @vrsvirginia, @deandettloff, TheJournal.ie, @ecmclaughlin, @nancyleegrahn, @emilylhauser, @drvox, @kate_kelly_esq, @jane__bradley, @morninggloria, @timesupnow, @jodikantor, @davidnagler, @gerryconway, @taraeanderson, @sophiekleeman, @therealjenblue, The Wrap, CBS 4, Fortune, Breitbart, UPROXX, Vanity Fair, Page Six, TMZ.com, Variety, Mediaite and Washington Free Beacon


At the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Newspaper Guild members have withheld bylines for 3 weeks amid a labor battle; 20 guild members and 9 managers have left in 2019 — Removed: Model Carolina Loyola-Garcia demonstrates a city without a daily newspaper. — Three weeks into a byline strike …
Discussion:
@ryandeto, @gabrieljr, @pgnewsguild, @peternickeas, @ryandeto, @jeffreylkatz, @brotheroneill, @ryandeto, @trashyleesuh, @ryandeto, @ryandeto, @jbenton, @jbenton, @jbenton and Pittsburgh City Paper


Since September, BuzzFeed has expanded affiliate business to Brazil, India, five others; commerce revenue made up 21% of total rev in 2019, up from 9% in 2017 — - Publisher introduces ‘affiliate’ posts in seven more countries — BuzzFeed on pace to generate over $300 million in 2019 revenue