Top News:
Michael Isikoff / Yahoo News:
Sources: Fox agreed to a 7-figure payout to Seth Rich's family in a deal made in time for Fox News President Jay Wallace and Sean Hannity to avoid depositions — WASHINGTON — Just as star anchor Sean Hannity and other high-profile Fox News figures were due to be deposed about their promotion …
Discussion:
@janekleeb, @cristianafarias, @bradmossesq, @kimmasters, @jeremymbarr, @davidfolkenflik, The Week, @mikebutcher, @isikoff, @bgrueskin, @mikeisaac and Washington Post
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Gene Maddaus / Variety:
Fox News has settled a suit by the family of DNC staff member Seth Rich, over a 2017 story that claimed Rich had leaked DNC emails to WikiLeaks before his death — Fox News has settled a lawsuit filed by the family of Seth Rich, the former Democratic National Committee staffer who was at the center …
Ashley Gold / Axios:
YouTube says it barred OANN from posting videos for a week and demonetized its content following a video promoting a phony cure for COVID-19 — YouTube has barred One America News Network from posting new videos for a week and stripped it of its ability to make money off existing content …
Discussion:
Context is King, ZDNet, @naveedajamali, @moonalice, @noahpinion, @mikelupica, @emtgray, @nandoodles, @adl, @joshsternberg, @michaelehayden, @rweingarten, Newser, ScreenRant, @wjeffreybrown, @mmasnick, @ketanj0, @jamisonfoser, @emilybell, @evelyndouek, @janelytv, @nandoodles, @rickhasen, Breitbart, CNBC, TechCrunch, Business Insider, New York Times, Mediaite, Fast Company, Variety, The Hill, The Week, The Wrap, Hollywood Reporter, Bloomberg, The Verge and New York Post, more at Techmeme »
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The Daily Beast:
OANN host Christina Bobb has been helping Trump's legal team in its effort to overturn the election results, and she has not disclosed this work on her show — Cable-news host Christina Bobb, a lawyer by trade, is actively working with Trump's counsel as it seeks to overturn the 2020 election.
Discussion:
@mattsheffield, @rolandsmartin, @swin24, TechCrunch, CNBC, The Guardian, Daring Fireball, CNN, Fox News and Boing Boing
New York Times:
Sources: after the election, Zuckerberg agreed to temporarily tweak Facebook's algorithm to make authoritative news like CNN and NYT appear more prominently — Employees and executives are battling over how to reduce misinformation and hate speech without hurting the company's bottom line.
Discussion:
@kevinroose, Politico, @justinhendrix, @jayrosen_nyu, @kevinroose, @emilybell, @binarybits, @taraemcg, Boing Boing, Protocol, @benshapiro, @jrhennessy, @econ_marshall, @matthewstoller, BNet, @brooklynmarie, @notcapnamerica, @mrsroadshow, @mrsroadshow, @natesilver538, @juliacarriew, @brianstelter, @hawleymo, @nytimes, @ekp, @politicussarah, @alexhern, @ekp, @kevinroose, Vanity Fair, @mattzeitlin, @megansquire0, @adamserwer, @jesselehrich, @jesselehrich, @sheeraf, @cat_zakrzewski, @adamspechtacles, @lam_barrett, @jeffhauser, @zephyrteachout, @melissajpeltier, @yaeleisenstat, @nxthompson, @marklittlenews, @shiraovide, @peterhimler, Breitbart, The Wrap, The Verge, The Week, Daring Fireball, Business Insider and bookforum.com, more at Techmeme »
Cynthia Littleton / Variety:
ViacomCBS to sell publisher Simon & Schuster to Bertelsmann, owner of Penguin Random House, for $2.175B in cash — Bertelsmann, owner of publishing giant Penguin Random House, was seen as a logical contender for Simon & Schuster. ViacomCBS announced its intent to sell the publishing arm …
Discussion:
CNBC, The Wrap, New York Times, Axios, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, @gerryfsmith, @marksweney, @hunterw, @sarafischer, @pamelapaulnyt, @shauniedarko, @bourreelam, @bfishbfish, @bradfordpearson, @ibjiyongi, @zoewhittall, @silviakillings, @bristei, @edmundlee, @brianstelter, @brianstelter, Columbia Journalism Review, Publishers Lunch, The Week, Bloomberg, @jaxxonhoward, @kosokojackson, @annaknicolaou, @evascalzo, @benmullin, @sethasfishman, @steve_foxe and @literarypenny
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Sources: WaPo is nearing 3M digital subscribers, up 50% YoY; NYT has tripled digital-only subscribers since 2016 to 6.1M — The New York Times and The Washington Post have very different strategies for building the subscription news company of the future. — The big picture …
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Twitter says it will relaunch account verifications in early 2021 for news; journalists will need to provide at least three recent bylines in qualifying outlets — Twitter announced today it's planning to relaunch its verification system in 2021, and will now begin the process …
Discussion:
@twittersupport, Twitter, The Verge, Bloomberg, @karahinesley, @wongmjane, @kayvz, @yashar, @soumyadipta, @aelkus, @ericajoy, @thetorontosix, @jamiesont, @dianelyssa, @caseynewton, @olivebrinker, @mczub, @mantia, @jonworth, @blackamazon, @metaltxt, @aedwardslevy, @jbillinson, @karynspencer, @carnage4life, @iancoldwater, @hypervisible, @ekp, @kerrymflynn, help.twitter.com, ScreenRant, 9to5Mac, The Wrap and NPR, more at Techmeme »
Keith J. Kelly / New York Post:
TheLi.st, a 10-year-old social network for women cofounded by Rachel Sklar and Glynnis MacNicol, has been sold to New Power Media, headed by Ann Shoket — TheLi.st — an oddly named, 10-year-old social network that has been linking successful women with up and comers — has been sold to New Power Media …
Discussion:
@rachelsklar, @annshoket, @rachelsklar, @rachelsklar and @batnib
Isaac Chotiner / New Yorker:
Q&A with Newsmax's CEO on conservative media's role in Trump's opinions and in sowing doubt about the election: “At the end of the day, it's great for news” — Even as Fox News acknowledges that Joe Biden is the President-elect, Newsmax Media—a conservative multimedia company …
Discussion:
@mehdirhasan, @aliciasadowski6, @mehdirhasan, Mediaite, @craigtimes, @justinbaragona, The Dispatch, @chrismegerian, @jamessurowiecki, @jmartnyt, @ichotiner, @intelligencer, @newyorker, @lachlan, @aaronblake, @adamweinstein, @cakotz, New Republic, @kyleorl, @mbaram, @aaronblake, @alexkotch, @ichotiner, @parkermolloy, @sulliview, Forbes and Business Insider
Can Duruk / Margins:
Substack's value to writers is clear but is a bit muddier for readers, with problems like poor discovery and reliance on email — Hi. It's Can, on Substack about Substack. — It's been around a year and a half since Ranjan and I started this Substack.
Discussion:
Curious Futures, @internetryan, @chaykak, @mdudas and @readmargins
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Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
UK publisher Future is acquiring GoCo Group, owner of price comparison site Go Compare, for £594M, and says it had pre-tax profit of £52M in 2020, up 309% YoY — Specialist publisher Future has revealed it tripled its pre-tax profits for the second year in a row as it announced plans …
Discussion:
Bloomberg
Michael Kozlowski / Goodereader:
Audible will pay royalties for titles returned more than 7 days from purchase starting Jan. 1; Audible currently deducts royalties for returns within 365 days — Audible has a return policy, where people can return audiobooks and get a credit refund, within 365 days.
Discussion:
@marypcbuk and Bookseller News
Casey Newton / Platformer:
Snap's Spotlight daily payout breaks from TikTok's model, focusing on paying a large number of creators rather than nurturing primarily big-follower accounts — Today, let's talk about the deceptively bold way in which Snapchat has reimagined TikTok as part of its new feature, Spotlight.
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Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Snap announces Spotlight, a vertically scrollable TikTok-like feed inside Snapchat, and will pay $1M every day to users who create the top Snaps through 2020
Snap announces Spotlight, a vertically scrollable TikTok-like feed inside Snapchat, and will pay $1M every day to users who create the top Snaps through 2020
Discussion:
Digiday, Axios, Vox, @mtzler, @mattnavarra, @lucas_shaw, @alexeheath, Ad Age, @carnage4life, @ourielohayon, @juliet_shen, @markghuneim, @kwong47, @marklittlenews, @mattnavarra, @lanceulanoff, @garettsloane, @danprimack, @kerrymflynn, @scottbelsky, @sarafischer, Snap Inc., contextisking.com, The Week and Garbage Day