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Tracy Connor / The Daily Beast:
After Bret Stephens' NYT column about the “secrets of Jewish genius” drew criticism, the paper edited it to remove mention of a study from an alleged eugenicist — The paper said the columnist did not realize one of the study authors promoted racist views.
Discussion:
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Michael Schneider / Variety:
CBS tops 2019's most-watched TV channels in the US with 7.14M primetime viewers, down 4% YoY; NBC was second with 6.3M, down 19% YoY — It's tough out there for a linear network. Even inside the major media conglomerates, the buzz is all about a company's new digital platform, not its legacy channels.
Discussion:
Axios, The Wrap, MediaPost, @danmcgowan, @franklinavenue, @variety, @variety, @nickschedules, @huddy_up, @franklinavenue, @jonahdispatch, @disneytvanews and @disneytvanews
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Joe Concha / The Hill:
Fox News averaged 2.5M primetime viewers in 2019, the most in its 23-year history, making it the most-watched channel on basic cable — Fox News averaged 2.5 million viewers per night in 2019, the most in its 23-year history, making the network the most-watched channel on basic cable.
Megan Graham / CNBC:
Vox Media rolls out Forte, a data marketplace to help advertisers reach its audience, says it now has 125M monthly visitors across its 13 editorial networks — - Vox Media's new platform called Forte is designed to help advertisers reach the publisher's expanding audience.
Discussion:
Adweek, Broadcasting & Cable, @alex, @joshsternberg, @raju and @megancgraham
Matteo Moschella / First Draft:
Q&A with Bellingcat founder Eliot Higgins on “alt-media conspiracy land” and the outlet's role policing the edges between alternative media and mainstream media — Eliot Higgins founder and executive director of investigative-journalism group Bellingcat …
Discussion:
@brianstelter and @mathewi
Freddy Mayhew / Press Gazette:
BuzzFeed UK made a loss of £9.4M in 2018, up from £2.3M in 2017, and had revenues of £21.5M, down from £33.4M in 2017 — Buzzfeed UK made a loss of £9.4m in 2018, new full-year accounts show, with turnover having fallen by nearly £12m on the year before.
Ben Kamisar / NBC News:
An overview of NBC's special edition of Meet the Press, “Alternative Facts: Inside the Weaponization of Disinformation” — On a special edition of “Meet the Press,” top journalists discuss the challenges of finding the facts amid growing disinformation.
Peter Kafka / Vox:
Netflix releases list of the ten “most popular” shows and movies that it began streaming in the US in 2019, with its own content taking all but one of the spots — Luke Evans, Adam Sandler, and Jennifer Aniston star in Murder Mystery, available on Netflix. Scott Yamano / Netflix
Discussion:
Fast Company, Business Insider, Variety, Polygon, The Independent, Reuters, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Deadline and IndieWire
Etan Vlessing / Hollywood Reporter:
Hasbro completes its $3.8B takeover of Canadian studio Entertainment One, originally announced in August — The deal hands the U.S. toymaker popular family brands like ‘Peppa Pig,’ ‘PJ Masks’ and ‘Ricky Zoom.’ — U.S. toymaker Hasbro on Monday closed its $3.8 billion merger deal for Canadian indie studio Entertainment One.
Discussion:
Deadline, Variety, The Wrap and Music Business Worldwide
Siobhán O'Grady / Washington Post:
CPJ: at least 554 journalists and 49 media workers, which includes drivers and interpreters, were killed globally over the past decade — They were killed by suicide bombs and shot by gangs, caught in crossfire and targeted on live TV. — Over the past decade, at least 554 journalists …
Patricia Nilsson / Financial Times:
IPSO's outgoing chief says the portrayal of Muslims in the British press has been “the most difficult issue” facing the press watchdog in the past five years — The portrayal of Islam and Muslims in the British press has been “the most difficult issue” facing the press watchdog …
Discussion:
@matinastevis, @emmavj and @hackinginquiry
Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:
This year was the darkest yet for media in the Trump era, with threats of retribution, the end of White House briefings, and 50% more accusations of “fake news” — Threats of ‘retribution,’ more accusations of ‘fake news’ and the end of the White House briefing made 2019 the darkest yet for journalists in the Trump era.