Top News:
The Daily Beast:
Internal Fox News research briefing advises colleagues to be wary of “disinformation” from several on-air regulars, including John Solomon and Rudy Giuliani — In a dossier obtained by The Daily Beast, Fox's research unit advises colleagues to be wary of “disinformation” …
Discussion:
The Week, @andrewkirell, @jayrosen_nyu, @noahshachtman, Vanity Fair, @matthewkeyslive, Law & Crime, Talking Points Memo, @beachpeanuts, The Wrap, Mediaite, Raw Story and Raw Story
Alex Sherman / CNBC:
Sources: ViacomCBS is building a new ad-supported streaming service that will build on CBS All Access, and an ad-free version that includes Showtime — - ViacomCBS is preparing to throw its hat into the streaming wars after consummating a merger on Dec. 31.
Discussion:
Hollywood Reporter, CNN, @sherman4949, Broadcasting & Cable, @lagana, @rwmead, @tvgrimreaper, @sherman4949, @richlightshed, Variety, @thedanbarrett, @antovolk, 9to5Mac, @great_katzby, @loudmouthjulia, The Verge, @brandolightshed, @azalben, MediaPost, The Wrap, The Streamable and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
Marc Tracy / New York Times:
NYT Q4: profit up 4.4% YoY to $78M on revenue of $502.7M, up 1.1% YoY, ad rev fell 10.7% YoY, digital subscriptions grew 30.8% YoY to ~4.4M of 5.25M total subs — The company hit a key milestone in the fourth quarter of 2019, passing $800 million in annual digital revenue, an amount that came more from readers than advertisers.
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, @jbenton, The Wrap, @cliffordlevy, American Press Institute, @meslackman, Business Wire, @jayrosen_nyu, @jswatz, @tabathasouthey, @jbarro, @genepark, @jyarow, @chrchristensen, @andreasharsono, @andy_ed_brown, @kbandersen, @edmundlee, @felixsalmon, @charliebeckett, @markdistef and Reuters
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Bloomberg:
Sources: ViacomCBS is weighing options for CNET after receiving takeover interest in the site; CBS paid $1.8B for CNET in 2008 — - CEO Bob Bakish is looking for $500 million in cost savings — CBS paid $1.8 billion for CNET but it's probably worth less
Discussion:
@jeremymbarr and @tvgrimreaper
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Twitter Q4: revenue of $1.01B, up 11% YoY, net income of $119M, down from $255M in Q4 2018, monetizable DAU of 152M compared to 126M a year ago — As Twitter continues to try to find the right balance between making its platform easier to use while also less prone to toxicity and abuse …
Discussion:
Variety, Adweek, The Guardian, The Times, Associated Press, CNBC, Sky News, Wall Street Journal, iTnews, Reuters, Motley Fool, The Next Web, Fox Business, TheStreet, MarketWatch, Financial Times, Mumbrella, New York Post, VentureBeat, CNET, Wall Street Journal, Deadline, Hollywood Reporter, Business Insider and Fast Company, more at Techmeme »
Craig Silverman / BuzzFeed News:
Investigation finds a network of around 100 “local news” sites, dating back to at least 2015, that have been plagiarizing stories from major news organizations — As they stole stories from real newspapers, these sites baffled scientists, activists, and journalists. Until now.
Discussion:
Boing Boing
Karlene Lukovitz / MediaPost:
Report: national linear TV ad revenue in 2019 was down just 1% YoY to $44.1B and up 2% counting digital video thanks to higher ad prices — Linear television revenue was down by just 1%, to $44.1 billion, in calendar year 2019 versus 2018, according to Standard Media Index's just-released report for the period.
Murtaza Hussain / The Intercept:
Brazilian judge dismisses cybercrime charges against journalist Glenn Greenwald, who was alleged to have been involved in hacking phones of public officials — A judge today declined to proceed with cybercrime charges lodged against Intercept co-founder Glenn Greenwald for his reporting …
Discussion:
The Guardian, @mazmhussain, @attackerman, Associated Press, Axios, Mediaite, Reuters, The Reporters Committee … and Engadget
Janko Roettgers / protocol:
Profile of Tom Conrad, a former Pandora and Snap executive who is now chief product officer at Quibi, as the streaming service gears up for launch — Tom Conrad is in charge of making a video service that gets people hooked. — Talk to Silicon Valley or Hollywood insiders about Quibi …
Jem Aswad / Variety:
Warner Music Group files for an IPO; the company went private in 2011 when Len Blavatnik's Access Industries bought it for $3.3B — Warner Music Group today announced that it has filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed initial public offering of its common stock.
Discussion:
@apompliano and The Wrap
Greg Dool / Folio:
Meredith Corp., which has sold some parts of its Time Inc. acquisition, reported Q2 net income of $37.8M on revenue of $810.5M; stock up 15% — President and CEO Tom Harty opened Meredith Corp.'s quarterly earnings call Thursday morning by declaring the integration of the now two-year-old …
Discussion:
MediaPost, Associated Press, @foliomag and Meredith Corporation
Justin Ray / Columbia Journalism Review:
Q&A with the editor of American Atheist magazine on the media's disproportionate attention to faith leaders, what it can do to better serve atheists, and more — In 1963, Madalyn Murray O'Hair, a woman from Baltimore, sued her son's school district after learning that it required students to read the Bible.
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