Mediagazer: Sinclair increases minimum wage for its employees to $15 per hour, affecting ~15% of its workforce, amid introduction of other employee-retaining benefits (Paul Bond/Hollywood Reporter)

Sources: several companies have expressed interest in buying Univision Communications, including Hemisphere Media Group and private equity firm Platinum Equity — Hemisphere Media Group and Platinum Equity have made overtures — Several firms have expressed interest in acquiring Univision …

Discussion: @felixsalmon, @benmullin, @raju, Multichannel News and Forbes

Evette Alexander / Knight Foundation:

Knight study of 86M+ tweets: CNN and Yahoo! News attract a politically balanced following; the center left is the most vocal segment discussing political news — On Dec. 17, 2019, Knight Foundation released a two-part study analyzing the political dynamics of 86 million tweets.

Discussion: @tyadkisson, @ddp, @daviduberti, @wagatwe and @jackshafer

Raissa Robles / South China Morning Post:

Philippine court finds an ex-mayor and four family members guilty of murder of 57 in the 2009 Maguindanao massacre, which included a large group of journalists — Ampatuan political dynasty sought to quash an election challenge by rounding up rivals and journalists, killing them and dumping bodies …

Discussion: RAPPLER, BBC, philstar.com, Inquirer News, ABS-CBN News, Committee to Protect …, cnn, Agence France-Presse, ABS-CBN News, New York Times, cnn and Inquirer News

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:

Spotify is prototyping Tastebuds, a social feature that allows users to interact with and discover music by searching the people they follow — Spotify is prototyping a new way to see what friends have been listening to, called “Tastebuds.” Despite how discovering music is inherently social …

Discussion: 9to5Mac, Digital Trends, Engadget, Android Police and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Colin Stutz / Billboard:

Billboard parent company Valence Media to acquire media consumption analytics platform Nielsen Music, which fuels its charts data — Billboard parent company Valence Media is acquiring the Nielsen Music insights and product suite that fuel its charts data, it was announced Wednesday (Dec. 18).

Discussion: RAIN News

Bloomberg:

Sources: Fox declined to run ads for Bombshell on its network, though Lions Gate did not attempt to advertise directly on Fox News — - Lions Gate sought to promote the film on Fox network — Rupert Murdoch's Fox Corp. declined to run advertisements for “Bombshell,” …

Priyanjana Bengani / Columbia Journalism Review:

Investigation finds 450 “pink slime” websites, including 189 local news outlets, in 12 states, distributing algorithmic stories and conservative talking points — An increasingly popular tactic challenges conventional wisdom on the spread of electoral disinformation …

Discussion: @emilybell, @benbradleytv, @cjr, @anotheracronym, @slpng_giants, @legalnomads, @marklittlenews, @brooklynmarie, @cornerrobot, @3r1ng, @grovesprof, @emilybell, @owillis, @samthielman and Lansing Sun

Paul Bond / Hollywood Reporter:

Sinclair increases minimum wage for its employees to $15 per hour, affecting ~15% of its workforce, amid introduction of other employee-retaining benefits — The move is expected to give raises to about 15 percent of the 9,500 workers at Sinclair, one of the nation's largest TV broadcast companies.

Discussion: Baltimore Business Journal, Broadcasting & Cable, PR Newswire and Cord Cutters News

Kayleigh Barber / Digiday:

Snopes to launch a new membership model in early 2020 with access to Snopes editors via a community board; prices start at $30 per year — Fact-checking site Snopes is hoping to transition away from its dependence on advertising. So it is asking its supporters to help the brand grow in 2020.

Andy Serwer / Yahoo News:

Talking Biz News, which tracks business journalists, was quietly sold to Qwoted, a site owned by two PR firms whose clients include newsrooms like Bloomberg — Talking Biz News unless you're a business journalist, in which case you're probably familiar. The site, which was founded and run …

Discussion: @serwer, @alexandrascaggs, @jayshams, @readdanwrite, @anthony, @bendwalsh, @jamesfdennin, @jayshams, @edmundlee, @johnjcook and @craigsilverman

Carly Page / Inquirer:

Incisive Media to shut down The INQUIRER; the site will remain live until end of March, but no new content will be published after Thursday — We came, we Inquired, we're off to the pub — IT IS WITH A HEAVY HEART we must announce that The INQUIRER has reached end-of-life.

Discussion: @christhedj

Paul Blest / The Outline:

Publishers like Hearst should realize that opposing unions is counterproductive, as it delays the inevitable, costs money, and could ruin morale — Hearst is pushing back against its employees' union drive, but it would be advantageous for them to support it.

Discussion: @emilygmonster, @flyingwithsara, @economicpolicy, @leahfinnegan, @pblest and @jscros