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.
Discussion:
Publishers Weekly, @mariskreizman, @d_libris, @raju, @lynnjohnstonlit, @rwindrem, @alexweprin, @tomtaylormade, @nytimes and @jeffjarvis
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, @can, @benthompson, @bdomenech, @lollardfish, @shortformernie, @dandrezner, @gbbranstetter, @alexkotch, @nicalexiac, @lpbradley, @prestonjbyrne, @nathansnewman, @bartongellman, @conor64, @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 »
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:
Columbia Journalism Review, Variety, @nytmedia, @camillard, @brianstelter and Forbes
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:
CNN, @andrewfeinberg, Axios, Chad Whittle, @benmullin, @chrisruddynmx, Variety, @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
Jeremy Fuster / The Wrap:
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, Forbes, Hollywood Reporter, @thewrap, Engadget, Collider, Axios, CNBC, Wall Street Journal, /Film, The Streamable, Hollywood Reporter, Reuters, Los Angeles Times, Variety, ComingSoon.net and IndieWire
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
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:
Talking Biz News and @ericdanetz
Svea Herbst-Bayliss / Reuters:
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
Aditya Chunduru / MediaNama:
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
Max Willens / Digiday:
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:
Axios and @kerrymflynn
Natalie Jarvey / Hollywood Reporter:
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, The Verge, Variety, The Streamable, Digital TV Europe, Awful Announcing, FierceVideo, Bloomberg, Engadget, The Wrap, Adweek, 9to5Mac and Media Play News
Elaine Low / Variety:
NBC's co-president of scripted programming Tracey Pakosta is leaving the company to join Netflix as its head of comedy — After nearly a decade at NBCUniversal, NBC's co-president of scripted programming Tracey Pakosta is leaving the company to join Netfix as its head of comedy.
Discussion:
C21Media, Hollywood Reporter and The Wrap
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