Top News:


Media holding company Attention Capital buys Sophia Amoruso's Girlboss, which was valued at $13M in 2018; Amoruso will remain CEO — It's the first acquisition for recently founded Attention and the start of a new phase for Girlboss. — Girlboss founder and ceo Sophia Amoruso at the 2018 Girlboss Rally.
Discussion:
Ad Age, Variety, Fast Company, TechCrunch, Axios and @sophiaamoruso


Bustle Digital Group launches Input, a consumer tech news site, with no advertisers and a custom CMS that it says will be used across its brands by June 2020 — Why BDG thinks its new CMS will draw readers and entice advertisers — Bustle Digital Group has a reputation of swooping …
Discussion:
WWD, @joshsternberg, @jasonwagenheim, @adweek, @joshsternberg, @ryanvailbrown, @snazzyq, Boing Boing and Input


Facebook is funding a free 45-minute online Reuters course for journalists on spotting and handling manipulated media, now in English, French, Spanish, Arabic — Facebook is spending six figures to fund a course on manipulated media and deepfakes for newsrooms, executives tell Axios.
Discussion:
@jbenton, @reuterspr, @oneunderscore__, @drewharwell and @emilybell


Vox Media to end contracts of hundreds of freelancers to comply with CA's new AB5 law, which will forbid non-employees from submitting over 35 articles a year — - Hundreds of Vox Media freelancers will lose their jobs in the coming months. — Vox Media is preparing for a California law …
Discussion:
American Press Institute, SBNation.com, Hot Pod News, Los Angeles Times, @laurawags, New York Times, Hollywood Reporter, Reason, bookforum.com, @ag_conservative, @notwokieleaks, @lonestarball, @ericboehlert, @markos, @nowyousieme, @matthewkeyslive, @jenniferleechan, @nbj914, @cjmcginnis, @geekgirldiva, @nowyousieme, @gilesferrell, @joemullinax, @pellybottoms_up, @joshuakusnick, Golden State Of Mind, Awful Announcing, Mavs Moneyball and The Wrap


Audible announces founder Dan Katz will step down from CEO role on January 2, to be replaced by former Dun & Bradstreet executive Bob Carrigan — Audible, the Amazon-owned seller and producer of audiobooks and spoken-word entertainment, hired media and publishing veteran Bob Carrigan as CEO.
Discussion:
Publishers Weekly and RAIN News


Reporters Without Borders: 49 journalists killed in 2019, the lowest death toll since 2003; ~389 imprisoned, up 12% YoY; and 57 are being held hostage — Belfast residents pass a mural featuring murdered journalist Lyra McKee, whose death sparked a new round of political talks chaired by the British and Irish Governments, in May 2019


Netflix shares detailed overseas subscriber numbers for the first time in a filing, and says 90% of total subscriber growth came from outside the US since 2017 — Streaming service is disclosing detailed subscriber information by region for operations outside of the U.S. for the first time
Discussion:
Variety, Engadget, Variety, @wsj, @xpangler, The Wrap, Reuters, CNET, MarketWatch, Los Angeles Business Journal, The Wrap, The Streamable, Hollywood Reporter, MediaPost, Deadline, Bloomberg and Financial Times, more at Techmeme »


Luminary now lets Alexa users subscribe to its podcast service or start a free trial via simple voice commands and pay using Alexa payments — Premium podcast service Luminary has started to enlist Amazon's Alexa to facilitate subscription sales: Owners of Amazon's Echo smart speakers …
Discussion:
TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »


Stuart Emmrich, who spent ~17 years as The New York Times' Styles editor, named editor of Vogue.com, a newly created role that reports to Anna Wintour — He will oversee digital content and report directly to Anna Wintour — Condé Nast said today it has named Stuart Emmrich as Vogue.com's first editor.
Discussion:
@stuartemmrich, The Cut, Fashionista and WWD


Maria Butina, who was convicted of being a foreign agent in the US and deported to Moscow, has been hired by RT to host an online show — MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian woman jailed in the United States for working as a foreign agent and deported to Moscow has been hired by Russia's state-funded RT television …


UK's Cineworld agrees to buy Canadian cinema operator Cineplex for $1.65B, would become largest North American operator combined with its 2017 Regal purchase — U.K.-based movie theater chain Cineworld is to acquire Cineplex, Canada's leading cinema chain.
Discussion:
MobileSyrup, Canadian Press, Reuters, BNN, Daily Hive, Telegraph, Telegraph, Financial Times, CTVNews, Barron's Online, Screen, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Times and Deadline


Even as Netflix resists ads, it's finding ways to work with brands, such as partnerships, where no money changes hands, that aim to create interest in its shows — Tide Pod shout-outs onscreen. Flirtatious exchanges with companies on Twitter. Netflix may not run ads, but it has become a coveted marketing platform.
Discussion:
@nytimesbusiness, @nytmedia, @jrreed and @tiffkhsu