Top News:
Edmund Lee / New York Times:
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.
Todd Spangler / Variety:
YouTube is introducing audio-only ads for users who listen to music or podcasts in the background and letting advertisers buy ads targeted by mood — YouTube claims to be the world's biggest jukebox — and now it wants to wring more ad dollars from the platform's music fans.
Discussion:
musically.com, The Keyword, Think with Google, MediaPost, TechCrunch, AdExchanger, Ad Age and Music Business Worldwide, more at Techmeme »
Clio Chang / Columbia Journalism Review:
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, Deez Links, @mikeisaac, @can, @alexisohanian, @teamziller, bookforum.com, Culture Pig, @benthompson, @dandrezner, @prestonjbyrne, @bartongellman, @bdomenech, @lollardfish, @nicalexiac, @conor64, @alexkotch, @shortformernie, @gbbranstetter, @lpbradley, @nathansnewman, @cjr, @zidanism, @ryanlcooper, @lizpelly, @niemanlab, @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 »
Tim Baysinger / The Wrap:
Conan O'Brien says he is ending his late-night TBS show in June 2021, then launching a weekly variety series on HBO Max — Conan O'Brien will end his late-night series “Conan” on TBS next year, but he's not leaving the WarnerMedia family. He will then launch a new weekly variety series on HBO Max.
Discussion:
Variety, CNN, Mediaite, Adweek, @scottwamplerbmd, The Hill, Bloomberg, New York Post, Hollywood Reporter, IndieWire, @lucas_shaw, TVLine, @james_dasilva, @sherman4949, @frankpallotta, @ditzkoff, @garymlevin, @ditzkoff, @geoffmintz, GameSpot, @pkafka, @alexweprin, Deadline and Fox News
Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:
How Real Clear Politics took a sharp right turn after donations from funds used by wealthy conservatives soared and it made business ties with The Federalist — Real Clear Politics has been catering to campaign obsessives since 2000. It pitches itself as a “trusted, go-to source” for unbiased polling.
Discussion:
@jwpetersnyt, @daveweigel, @tvietor08, @nickconfessore, The Media Nut, @davidfolkenflik, @billkristol, @jacobrubashkin, @ssolyom and @ggreeneva
ProPublica:
ProPublica selects six journalists for the inaugural edition of its Distinguished Fellows program, which will fund their salaries and benefits for three years — ProPublica announced on Monday six local reporters who have been selected as the inaugural members of the ProPublica Distinguished Fellows program.
Discussion:
MLK50, @wendi_c_thomas, @propublica, @kenwardjr, @mollyparkersi, @louisekiernan, @jsmithrichards, @tracyweber, @kylehopkinsak and @davidhulen
Daisuke Wakabayashi / New York Times:
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, @caseynewton and @oliverdarcy
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Wall Street Journal:
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:
Axios, TVNewser, CNN, @andrewfeinberg, Business Insider, @jimvandehei, @axios, @benmullin, @benyt, @chrisruddynmx, Chad Whittle, @andrewfeinberg, Variety, @chrisruddynmx, @joehagansays, New York Post, @benmullin, The Hill, Vanity Fair, Media Matters for America, The Guardian, @rebeccaballhaus, @thom_hartmann, Quartz, Poynter and @asharma
Kayleigh Barber / Digiday:
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:
American Press Institute, Talking Biz News and @ericdanetz
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Digital advertising service Outbrain launches newsletter curation app Listory, which includes 1,000+ newsletters and has a free tier and an ad-free, $5/mo. tier — Listory, a newsletter curation app created within the content recommendation company Outbrain, is launching this week, executives tell Axios.
Discussion:
@petecashmore, @prsarahevans, @moorehn, @jaycodon, @robleathern, @ysamjo, @sarafischer, @chrisharihar, @fuckboisoflit and @ysamjo
New York Times:
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:
@nytmedia, @nytimesbooks, @camillard, @brianstelter, @frasermatthew and Forbes
Bijan Stephen / The Verge:
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
Discussion:
@leshann, more at Techmeme »
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Sources: Instagram is considering a plan to create a revenue share program with publishers for IGTV ads; it's funded BuzzFeed and ATTN: content recently — Instagram is mulling plans to pay publishers on its platform as it grows as a news and information source for users, sources tell Axios.
Discussion:
@mattnavarra and @leratomannya
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