Top News:


Sources: News Corp is making a bid for Simon & Schuster; at least one offer for the publisher is for more than $1.7B, far above the minimum ViacomCBS had set — A sale of the venerable publisher of Stephen King and Hillary Clinton could fetch $1.7 billion and rev up consolidation in book publishing.
Discussion:
@mariskreizman, @d_libris, @raju, @lynnjohnstonlit, @rwindrem, @alexweprin, @tomtaylormade, @nytimes and @jeffjarvis


Profile of Substack, whose founders insist it is a platform, not a media company, and say there is less need for moderation as readers opt in to newsletters — Did a newsletter company create a more equitable media system—or replicate the flaws of the old one?
Discussion:
@benthompson, @asymmetricinfo, @can, @benthompson, @bdomenech, @lollardfish, @ryanlcooper, @shortformernie, @dandrezner, @gbbranstetter, @alexkotch, @nicalexiac, @lpbradley, @prestonjbyrne, @niemanlab, @nathansnewman, @bartongellman, @conor64, @cjr, @zidanism, @lizpelly, @maxwellstrachan, @biblioracle, @arabellesicardi, @speakpatrice, @cjr, @athertonkd, @ykomska, @nbashaw, @emmaroller, @ourobororoboruo, @thrasherxy, @hongriver, @nathantankus, @dtortorici, @kerrymflynn, @benthompson, @benthompson, @aexm, @benyt, @jbenton, American Press Institute, @wiredculture and @wired, more at Techmeme »


Study: Fox News share of views in a “Partisan Right” group of YouTube channels fell from 17% before the election to 13% after; Newsmax grew from under 1% to 5% — Disinformation about election fraud is thriving on YouTube, and right-wing outlets that most aggressively push false information …
Discussion:
@wajahatali, @oliverdarcy and @caseynewton
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Sources: Hicks Equity Partners, a PE firm with ties to a co-chair of RNC, has held talks in recent months about acquiring and investing in Newsmax
Discussion:
@andrewfeinberg, Axios, @benmullin, @chrisruddynmx, Variety, CNN, @andrewfeinberg, @chrisruddynmx, @joehagansays, New York Post, The Hill, Vanity Fair, The Guardian, @benmullin, Quartz, TVNewser, @rebeccaballhaus, @thom_hartmann, Poynter, Business Insider, @asharma, The Sun, The Wrap, Bloomberg and Slate


Universal signs with Cinemark to shorten theatrical window to 17 days, but films with $50M+ opening get 31 days, a new clause that sources say will apply to AMC — Nearly five months after Universal reached a deal with AMC Theaters to radically change the theatrical window and share …
Discussion:
MediaPost, Bloomberg, Hollywood Reporter, Forbes, @thewrap, Collider, Engadget, Axios, CNBC, Wall Street Journal, /Film, The Streamable, Hollywood Reporter, Reuters, Los Angeles Times, Variety, ComingSoon.net and IndieWire


Bookstores look to Obama's “A Promised Land” to buoy flagging sales; Crown has printed 3.4M copies for the US and Canada and 2.5M for international readers — “A Promised Land” is a potential lifeline for booksellers whose sales have plummeted during the pandemic.
Discussion:
Variety, @nytmedia, @camillard, Columbia Journalism Review, @brianstelter and Forbes


Twitch is testing “multiplayer ads” that are chosen by the streamer and seen by everyone in the audience; creators can run polls after, earning them Bits — The ads will be chosen by the streamer, and everyone in the audience will see the same thing


Reuters to roll out a hybrid events model in 2021, combining region-based networking with its virtual events, which saw attendance grow 1,400% from Jan. to Oct. — This article is part of the Future of Work briefing, a weekly email with stories, interviews, trends and links about how work, workplaces and workforces are changing.
Discussion:
Talking Biz News and @ericdanetz


Filing: Elliott Management, which took a $3.2B stake in AT&T in 2019 and pushed for leadership and strategy changes, has liquidated its investment — BOSTON (Reuters) - Elliott Management, which last year took a $3.2 billion stake in AT&T T.N and pushed the company to sell some assets …
Discussion:
@swanniontv


India's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting tells digital news media outlets to reduce their foreign investments to 26% by October 15, 2021 — Digital news outlets have until October 15, 2021 to reduce their foreign investments to 26%, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting announced on Monday.
Discussion:
The News Minute, Livemint and The Economic Times


Flipboard says its commerce revenue is five times higher than it was in 2019, and its affiliate commissions should generate at least $1M in revenue this year — Flipboard has spent 2020 making itself more commerce-friendly. — One year after running tests around shopping holidays including Mothers …
Discussion:
@kerrymflynn


Hulu says it will raise the price of its Hulu+ Live TV service from $55 to $65 per month on December 18 — The streamer's live TV bundle will cost $10 more per month going forward. — Hulu's live TV bundle is getting more expensive. — The streamer is raising the price …
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Light Reading, Fast Company, Variety, The Streamable, Digital TV Europe, Awful Announcing, FierceVideo, Bloomberg, Engadget, The Wrap, Adweek, The Verge, 9to5Mac and Media Play News


Patricia Escárcega, LA Times' first Latinx food critic, denounces the paper, accusing it of paying her significantly less than her white male counterpart — Los Angeles Times food critic Patricia Escarcega denounced the newspaper in a Twitter thread on Sunday, accusing her employers …
Discussion:
@piescarcega, Los Angeles Magazine, @jservantez, @gabemschneider, @priyakrishna, @niais, @jamilsmith, @xoxolizza, @katzish, @bermudezwrites, @jessekadjo, @jackfrombkln, @cshalby, @eileenguo, @billaddison, @juliancastro, @sandyhooper, @pilarpedrazatv, @bermudezwrites, @piescarcega, @piescarcega, @piescarcega and @piescarcega