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The Walt Disney Co.:
Bob Chapek has been named CEO of The Walt Disney Company, effective immediately; Bob Iger will serve as executive chairman through 2021 — 1 BOB CHAPEK NAMED CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY Robert A. Iger Assumes Role of Executive Chairman through 2021 Mr. Iger Will Direct …
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Peter Kafka / Vox:
Bob Iger's timing as he steps down is a head scratcher, but Disney is telling Wall Street and consumers that they shouldn't expect anything to change soon — Bob Iger, left, is stepping down as Disney CEO. The man standing next to him, Bob Chapek, is replacing him. Screenshot via Disney
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CNBC, New York Times, The Wrap, Ad Age, The Streamable, @petersciretta, The Week, @kevinmdraper, 5ish from M.G. Siegler, @koblin, @pkafka, @pkafka, @felixsalmon, @thekeits, @jimmiller, @brooksbarnesnyt, @lucas_shaw, MediaNama, @cnbc, @cnbc, @cnbc, @reckless, @cnbc, @cnbc, The Wrap, CNBC and Bloomberg
Sarah Scire / Nieman Lab:
As The Markup launches, a look at its commitment to a scientific approach of amassing evidence, sharing methods, and providing data for other researchers — After a false start, the unconventional team of algorithm investigators is ready to dive deep. “I've heard that we are tying …
Joe Mandese / MediaPost:
IAB report: programmatic media buys now account for 85% of all digital ad spending, reaching nearly $79B in the US in 2020 and growing to $90.1B in 2021 — Programmatic media buys now accounts for 85% of all digital ad spending, according to estimates released in a new report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau.
Elaine Low / Variety:
Hulu chief marketing officer Kelly Campbell has been promoted to president, reporting to Kevin Mayer, Disney's direct-to-consumer and international chairman — Hulu's chief marketing officer Kelly Campbell has been promoted to president of Hulu, a move that comes in the wake of Randy Freer's recent exit as CEO of the company.
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MediaPost, The Wrap, Business Insider, Cord Cutters News, Multichannel News and The Streamable
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Minute Media, which owns The Players' Tribune and The Big Lead, raises $40M for a total of $160M, sources say at a $500M valuation — Minute Media is hoping to expand its business by selling publishing software as a service.
Discussion:
Adweek and TechCrunch
Samantha Cole / VICE:
Two programmer-musicians algorithmically generated every possible MIDI melody in one octave and openly licensed them to help others in future copyright suits — Two programmer-musicians wrote every possible MIDI melody in existence to a hard drive, copyrighted the whole thing …
Discussion:
@simondlr, @simondlr, @macwbishop, @xor, @zanderhulme, @xor, @mewilson46, @jaykelly26 and @xor
Mel Grau / Poynter:
A look at a nearly two year fight by six women at The Boston Globe to get a more robust parental leave policy for the newspaper — Though they never heard the word “no,” it took nearly two years for these six women to get a more robust parental leave policy for the newspaper.
Discussion:
@nytimescramer, @kgeee, @janellenanos, Media Nation and Dan Kennedy
Jennifer Maas / The Wrap:
AMC Networks posts revenue of $785M, up 1.6% YoY, with operating income of $42M in Q4 thanks to its four streaming services, which have 2M+ subscribers — AMC Networks swung to a loss in the fourth quarter of 2019 due in large part to higher SVOD costs and lower U.S. TV ratings.
Discussion:
Hollywood Reporter and AMC Networks Inc.
Michele Weldon / The Movement Blog:
Interview with Emily Ramshaw, co-founder and CEO of The 19th Project, on the dearth of female news entrepreneurs and creating a news site with a gender lens — Emily Ramshaw, CEO and co-founder of The 19th, offers news through a gender lens in a new nonprofit.
Discussion:
@micheleweldon, @nerdette and @emarvelous
Tim Peterson / Digiday:
Since moving its content team to Amazon Studios, sources say IMDb TV has been in talks to produce original scripted and unscripted shows — This article is part of the Digiday Video Briefing, which features must-reads, confessionals and key market stats. To receive the Digiday Video Briefing, please subscribe.
Brian Cathcart / Byline Times:
How the Mail on Sunday admitted that it published a defamatory story about a beautician, but still dragged her through court before losing the libel suit — Brian Cathcart on how the Sunday tabloid admitted that it published a false defamatory story about a member of the public, but still dragged her through court.
Discussion:
Press Gazette, @marcvjones, @daniellehindley, @campbellclaret and @simonfanshawe