Top News:
Ryan Glasspiegel / The Big Lead:
In a letter to the union, G/O CEO says G/O plans to relaunch Deadspin in Chicago as an Onion property and is suspending negotiations over editorial independence — The entire staff of Deadspin walked away from the site in late October, and there have been no stories published there since November 4th.
Discussion:
@benmullin, Nieman Lab, Adweek, Mediaite, @wgaeast, The Hill, @jaywillis, @lindseyadler, @byjoelanderson, @mattdpearce, @bruce_arthur, @whet, @cd_hooks, @davidbix, @amandamull, @diamonde, @mariabustillos, @weishampel, @albertburneko, @david_j_roth, @annamerlan, @genefortexas and @gabrielsnyder
Joan Summers / Jezebel:
Source: Teen Vogue's editorial team was not aware that sales would be publishing the Facebook election safety advertorial — On Wednesday, Teen Vogue found itself in the crosshairs of the internet when an article entitled “How Facebook is Helping Ensure the Integrity of the 2020 Election …
John Koblin / New York Times:
FX research estimates 532 scripted shows were made in 2019, the first time the 500-show threshold has been crossed, a 7% rise YoY, 153% jump since 2009 — The number of original series continued to swell in 2019, with Apple and Disney adding to the glut. When will the bubble pop?
Discussion:
Hollywood Reporter, Bloomberg, The Playlist, @bretisrael, CNN and Axios
Rory O'Neill / World IP Review:
Chinese court rules that a work generated by Tencent's automated news writing program, Dreamwriter, qualifies for copyright protection — A Chinese court has ruled that AI-generated works are entitled to copyright protection, in a win for tech giant Tencent.
Discussion:
ecns, @grady_booch and CHINAdaily
Georg Szalai / Hollywood Reporter:
Discovery CEO says the company is “looking hard at” launching its own streaming service and that the company can't grow by staying on its existing platform — David Zaslav says that the company has exceeded its goal of $3 billion in annual free cash flow ahead of schedule and will roll out HGTV in 12 new markets.
Discussion:
@thr
The Information:
Sources: Quibi's projections from 2019 show the upcoming streaming service is expected to spend ~$1.5B in its first year; Quibi has raised $1.4B so far — If there's one thing to be said for Quibi, the short-form streaming service coming from Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman this spring …
Discussion:
@amir, @barakgila, @alexeheath, @caseynewton, @jessicalessin and @gerryfsmith, more at Techmeme »
The Guardian:
Samira Ahmed wins equal pay case against the BBC: “her work on Newswatch was like Jeremy Vine's work” for which he was paid 7.5 times more than her — Broadcaster does not consider tribunal result a blanket ruling and could still fight other cases — Play Video
InPublishing:
UK's The Independent expands US editorial team, with Katie Davies as US editor, John T. Bennett as DC bureau chief, and Richard Hall as senior US correspondent — The Independent today announces a number of senior editorial appointments in the US as part of a global expansion plan.
Discussion:
@lalpert1
James Pogue / The Baffler:
How the booming book-to-film market has distorted long-form writing, prioritizing drama over insight, style, investigative reporting, or any other factor — The decline of nonfiction in the IP era — IN EARLY 2018, I was spending a warm West Hollywood Sunday evening on the balcony …
Discussion:
@joolsd, @xpatriciah, @lifewinning, @awinston, @joolsd, @tristandross, @erinedmison, @ggarciaroberts, @samknightwrites, @adrianeq, @midimyers, @mathewi, Simon Owens's Tech …, @maxseddon, @manvbrain, @xlorentzen, @kait_tiffany, @katykelleher, @chaykak, @chaykak, @katykelleher, @katykelleher, @emilygould, @sabramboyd, @sidhubaba, @sidhubaba, @nichcarlson, @sidhubaba and @emilyctamkin
Mike Isaac / New York Times:
Facebook says it won't back down from allowing lies in political ads but will give users the option to see fewer political ads in their feed and in Instagram — The company was under intense pressure to adjust its policies. But in this presidential election year, no big changes are planned.
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, CNBC, @ellenlweintraub, About Facebook, @megancgraham, Fortune, Washington Post, NBC News, @nickconfessore, @joebiden, BuzzMachine, The Drum, The Guardian, CleanTechnica, The Verge, @dellcam, @ewarren, MediaPost, @guyverhofstadt, @danpfeiffer, @senamyklobuchar, @umairh, @simonwdc, @jeffjarvis, @benshapiro, @slpng_giants, @inkcanada, @govhowarddean, @amyklobuchar, MediaPost, @soledadobrien, @carolecadwalla, @kreissdaniel, @mattperault, @tonyromm, @jimrutenberg, @digiphile, @jason_kint, @haroldfeld, @digiphile, @atrupar, @waltshaub, @brianbeutler, @justinhendrix, @juddlegum, @mattnavarra, @tonyromm, @drewharwell, @pkafka, @b_fung, @donie, @jason_kint, @mmallin, Mumbrella, The Next Web, Input, Ars Technica, Axios, Breitbart, BuzzFeed News, National Review, The Week, Politico and Vox, more at Techmeme »
Jon Lafayette / Broadcasting & Cable:
ViacomCBS has reached a carriage deal with Comcast, its first since merger, for 23 CBS TV stations and CBS All Access availability via Xfinity, Flex platforms — ViacomCBS said it reached a new carriage agreement with Comcast that includes retransmission consent for 23 CBS-owned TV stations, including CBS-owned CW affiliates.
Discussion:
Reuters, TvTechnology, Multichannel News, Variety, Deadline, Hollywood Reporter and MediaPost
Ricardo Brito / Reuters:
Brazil's Supreme Court overturns injunction against Netflix that had prevented the latter from showing a controversial Christmas special depicting Jesus as gay — BRASILIA/SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil's Supreme Court on Thursday overturned an injunction against Netflix Inc that had prevented …