Top News:
The Guardian:
Sources: analysis shows a message from Saudi Crown Prince MbS' WhatsApp account to Jeff Bezos in 2018 included file “highly” likely to have hacked Bezos' phone — Revealed: the Saudi heir and the alleged plot to undermine Jeff Bezos — ‘People are fearful’: New Zealand police admit gang violence is out of control
Discussion:
@saudiembassyusa, VICE, New York Times, OHCHR, New York Times, Financial Times, Business Insider, NPR, USA Today, @bernstein, Boing Boing, @akiperitz, @mazmhussain, The Daily Beast, Wall Street Journal, @sheeraf, TechCrunch, Observer, @tomgara, @bing_chris, @jaketapper, @tomgara, Wired, Techdirt, Talking Points Memo, New York Times, @kashhill, BBC, The Guardian, @glennkesslerwp, Politico, The Hill, Fortune, @karenattiah, @heerjeet, @chrislhayes, The Week, @gchaslot, The Verge, @hxhassan, @david_hemond, @mikko, @stevekopack, @iyad_elbaghdadi, @wajahatali, Engadget, @chrislhayes, The Next Web, @pkafka, @skynewsbreak, GeekWire, @amy_siskind, @dnvolz, @clarajeffery, @nickconfessore, @markdistef, @financialtimes, @aodespair, Slate, @hyzaidi, @pkafka, @rafsanchez, @khalafroula, @jentaub, @bcappelbaum, @rafsanchez, Letters from an American, @nickconfessore, MediaNama, @mattgarrahan, @iyad_elbaghdadi, @iyad_elbaghdadi, @xor, @skirchy, @dylanbyers, @pressfreedom, @thedailybeast, The Wrap, @selectedwisdom, Softpedia News, @niubi, @dinabass, @kazweida, @meridithmcgraw, @kantrowitz, @paulvieira, Ars Technica, New York Post, The Atlantic, CNET, Vanity Fair, Law & Crime, Mediaite and Raw Story, more at Techmeme »
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Wall Street Journal:
UN officials call for further investigation into the alleged hacking of Jeff Bezos' phone in 2018 by Saudi's MbS, targeting Bezos “principally” as WaPo's owner — Phone allegedly began leaking data shortly after being sent a video file from WhatsApp account linked to Prince Mohammed
Discussion:
Washington Post, Business Insider, VICE, @davidakaye, @jeffbezos, The Verge, @johnbattelle and @jmalsin, more at Techmeme »
Benjamin Mullin / Wall Street Journal:
Source: Serial Productions, the company behind the true-crime podcast Serial, is exploring a sale, with The New York Times among potential buyers — Serial Productions has one of the best-known brands in digital audio; New York Times considered a potential suitor
Discussion:
@benmullin, Washington Post, @asharma, @lucas_shaw and @alexweprin
The Information:
Sources: Quibi's CEO Meg Whitman, in an internal meeting, compared reporters' friendly rapport with their sources to how sexual predators groom their targets — Quibi CEO Meg Whitman lashed out against the media at an “all-hands” staff meeting last Thursday, drawing an analogy between reporters …
Discussion:
@kantrowitz, @nickwingfield, @ranimolla, @joemccann, @seldo, @yoda, @ahhensel, @bborrman, @zoesaintbernard, @jason_kint, @sherman4949, @brooksbarnesnyt, @amir, @eliotwb, @yoda, @peterhimler, @rmac18, @teddyschleifer, @alexeheath, @mollyjongfast, @jaketapper, @rafat, @yoda and MediaPost, more at Techmeme », Thanks:@beet_tv
CityAM:
Report: BBC will announce significant cuts to its news operation as reforms are pushed through before next DG's appointment; BBC News channel will be unaffected — The BBC is said to be on the brink of announcing a wave of job cuts in its news division as it looks to revamp its output before the next director general takes the reins.
Discussion:
@mattkmoore, @markdistef, @mechanonplacet, The Times, @markdistef, @c_crampton, @birdyword, @josephstash, @janemerrick23 and @kate_day
Hamish McKenzie / Substack Blog:
Substack rolls out new publishing tools for teams including multi-admin access, support for multiple bylines, and author profile pages — Today, we're expanding what's possible on Substack by introducing new tools to allow groups of writers to work together on publications.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, @substackinc, @noahchestnut, @noahchestnut, @hamishmckenzie and @andrewchen
Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is weighing producing original podcasts tied to shows on its TV+ streaming service, including for original shows, and sought pitches last summer — - Apple has approached producers about coming up with ideas — The move is latest signal of Apple's entertainment ambitions
Discussion:
Vox, @cianaf, @jamiemottram, @samsanders, @nwquah, @johnmoe, @baekdal, @mmccarthyrev, @scottygb, @nwquah, @pkafka, @lucas_shaw, MacRumors.com, 9to5Mac and Engadget
Marc Tracy / New York Times:
Profile of David Sirota, a former journalist and now a senior adviser for the Bernie Sanders campaign, who amplifies its consistent focus on criticizing media — David Sirota's job is to remind the candidate's supporters why he dislikes the news media. — When the first in-house newsletter …
Discussion:
@tedrall, @davidsirota, @krystalball, @kerrymflynn, @meredithshiner, @davidsirota, @ghostpanther, Politico and WHOTV
Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:
Journalists faced tough restrictions on the first day of Trump's impeachment trial, and the government controlled the only TV cameras in the Senate chamber — With the government in control of the production, “the emotion” of Tuesday's session was missing, said Chris Wallace of Fox News.
Discussion:
@suzannenossel, @jimrutenberg, @rachelbitecofer, @ericboehlert, @grynbaum, @nytmedia, CNN and The Hill
The New York Times Company:
NYT memo: the Standards department, led by Phil Corbett, will absorb much of the work of the Reader Center; Corbett also will work with the Opinion department — Nothing is more important than maintaining our readers' trust. It's why we long ago established a Standards department to ensure …
Discussion:
VICE, @bgrueskin, @sulliview, @kievaliant, @blackamazon, @cascadiansolo, @allanschlosser, @jessicahuseman, @drphilgoff, @adriana_lacy, @vice, @jbenton and @sulliview
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
UK's largest commercial news publisher Reach unites its regional brands, including 25 daily print titles and 37 websites, to call for action on global warming — Dozens of regional brands owned by Reach, including the Manchester Evening News and Newcastle Chronicle, have joined forces …
Discussion:
@davidbartlett1 and @leohickman
Kristen Hare / Poynter:
22 newspapers form the North Carolina News Collaborative, aiming to share content and resources for increased coverage of the news deserts in the state — Last summer, a group of editors in North Carolina gathered in a conference room for some brainstorming. — They covered one wall at the News & Observer with Post-It notes.
Discussion:
@kristenhare, @poynter and @poynter
Netflix:
Netflix Q4 revenue grew 31% YoY to $5.467B and net income rose to $587M, surpassing 100M paid memberships outside the US; global paid net additions totaled 8.8M — Fellow shareholders, We had a strong finish to 2019, with Q4 revenue growing 31% year over year, bringing full year 2019 revenue …
Discussion:
Business Insider, Broadcasting & Cable, Ad Age, The Wrap, The Verge, TechCrunch, @marceloplima, @lanceulanoff, @sizpatel, @jyarow, CNBC, Yahoo Finance, AdExchanger, Variety, VentureBeat, The Drum, Polygon and Fast Company, more at Techmeme »
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Joshua Fruhlinger / Thinknum Media:
Analysis: Netflix now boasts 1,211 originals and has been adding one show a day on average over the past eight months
Discussion:
The Verge and @fruhlinger
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