Top News:
Peter Kafka / Vox:
Q&A with WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar on the logic behind simultaneous release of movies to HBO Max and theaters, economic fallout for talent, and Roku progress — You can see all of Warner Bros.' movies on HBO Max next year — on the same day they come to theaters.
Discussion:
CNBC, Deadline, WarnerMedia, Polygon, Context is King, @loudmouthjulia, The Ringer, @jimmaiella, @arlolikesmovies, @keithcalder, @sherman4949, @pkafka, ScreenRant, The Wrap, Collider and The Week
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Julia Alexander / The Verge:
Warner Bros. says it will release every single movie in 2021 simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max in the US and stream them for one month — For a period of one month in the United States — WarnerMedia is pushing even more aggressively into streaming by releasing every single movie in 2021 simultaneously on HBO Max.
Discussion:
Pressroom, @brooksbarnesnyt, Mediaite, IndieWire, @jasonkilar, Hollywood Reporter, CNN, Deadline, Hollywood Reporter, @indiewire, @variety, CNBC, @davidlsims, MediaNama, @winter, @arune, @brianstelter, @davemcclure, @malwarejake, ВІС …, @benparr, @clarisselou, @krolljvar, @mattbelloni, @gregnibler, @geekvibesnation, @pkafka, @pkafka, @pkafka, @kiywii, @thestalwart, @fb_bmb, @banditloaf, @mgsiegler, @chrisfralic, @hesherman, @reckless, @skrishna, @zsharf, @lexialex, @richlightshed, @karlbode, @karlbode, @anildash, @pkafka, @petersterne, @parazoner, @bradwestness, @pkafka, @pkafka, @rupertmyers, @mg, @franmirabella, @margari_aziza, @raminsetoodeh, @angelique814, @lons, @angrybiackgiri, @thisisntflying, @kyleorl, @tomwarren, @richardrushfield, @sokane1, @samesmail, @oliverdarcy, @petersterne, @loudmouthjulia, @loudmouthjulia, @brianstelter, @loudmouthjulia, @getfandom, @susanlitv, The Wrap, ScreenRant, The Week, The Streamable, The A.V. Club, Gizmodo, Collider, The Playlist, Reuters and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
Stephanie Sengwe / The Streamable:
HBO Max removes its free trial option ahead of the release of Wonder Woman 1984 on Dec. 25, mirroring a step Netflix and Disney+ have taken before big releases
HBO Max removes its free trial option ahead of the release of Wonder Woman 1984 on Dec. 25, mirroring a step Netflix and Disney+ have taken before big releases
Discussion:
Variety, The Wrap, Deadline, @deadline, MediaPost, @carlquintanilla, @deadline, Mediaite, Adweek, Ad Age, TechCrunch, CINEMABLEND and Streaming
Robert D. McFadden / New York Times:
Betsy Wade, the first woman to edit news copy for the NYT and the lead plaintiff in a landmark sex discrimination lawsuit against the newspaper, has died at 91 — In a 45-year Times career, she also became the first woman to lead the Newspaper Guild of New York and fought a sex discrimination case against the paper.
Discussion:
@susanchira, @paulgoldberger, @s_m_i, @marclacey, @clydehaberman, @saramorrison, @rblumenstein, @juliaccarpenter, @jialynnyang, @sulliview, @joannelipman, @mehpatrol, @emarvelous, @juliebosman, @kseelye, @sulliview, @ennisnyt, @alisha__g, @alexvadukul, @maragay, @kateconger, @tomjolly, @kubremner, @harrispolitico, @laura_nelson, @joumana_khatib, @sulliview, @avitalrachel, @andrewlavallee and @lindseyboylan
Marc Tracy / New York Times:
Nicholas Thompson, editor in chief of Condé Nast's Wired magazine, has been hired as the new CEO of The Atlantic, starting in February — Nicholas Thompson is leaving Condé Nast for the top business job at the venerable publication owned by Laurene Powell Jobs's Emerson Collective.
Discussion:
@nxthompson, MediaPost, Axios, @nxthompson, Talking Biz News, @marcatracy, @nxthompson, bookforum.com, @nxthompson, @a_greenberg, @arctictony, @moonalice, @stevenlevy, @ianbremmer, @jetjocko, @justin_b_smith, @jimtankersley, @lindsaycrouse, @robertwrighter, @fridaghitis, @vermontgmg, @jamesfallows, @michaelluo, @andrewfeinberg, @bmorrissey, @laurengoode, @kvox, @jeffreygoldberg, @yayitsrob, @leonkrauze, @austin_rief, @mkonnikova, @caitlin__kelly, @johnbattelle, @knibbs, @megreenwell, @tedgenoways, @chrismessina, @om, @film_girl, @jeffjarvis, @mstreshinsky, @ylichterman, @ylichterman, @susanthesquark, @mattizcoop, @carloslozadawp, @samanthabarry, @1bobcohn, @sewellchan, @edmundlee, @dangillmor, @nxthompson, @nxthompson, @benmullin, @jackshafer, The Atlantic, Mediaite, Adweek and The Hill
Maxwell Tani / The Daily Beast:
~100 Meredith staff working for Entertainment Weekly, Martha Stewart Living, Shape, and PeopleTV have announced their intention to form a joint editorial union — The move among at least 100 staffers at the Iowa-based publishing giant is partially seen as a bulwark against Meredith's pandemic-related cuts.
Discussion:
@jackdickey, @esile1 and @maxwelltani
Emily Bell / Columbia Journalism Review:
Facebook's Oversight Board can't review cases that would result in legal sanctions, highlighting its powerlessness in actually hard cases like media censorship — This week saw the long-awaited public debut of Facebook's Oversight Board, a group of 20 eminent lawyers, human-rights experts …
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, Foreign Policy, @cjr, Oversight Board and Business Insider
Matt Negrin / Washington Post:
TV news networks, which have been slow to adapt to an era filled with bad faith, should use a litmus test for Republican guests: ask them whether Joe Biden won — Time for a rapid test for the voter fraud delusion — Almost a month has passed since Joe Biden won the election …
Brooks DuBose / Capital Gazette:
Congress passes the Fallen Journalists Memorial Act, authorizing planning and fundraising for a Washington memorial to honor those who died reporting the news — An effort to honor slain journalists with a national memorial took a significant step forward Wednesday as Congress passed …
Discussion:
@baltimoresun
Kathryn Hopkins / WWD:
Condé Nast names Natalia Gamero del Castillo managing director of Condé Nast Europe, a newly created position — She's a Condé Nast veteran, having spent almost two decades at the company. — More corporate changes are afoot at Condé Nast's European operations.
Discussion:
@bmorrissey and @sarahmarshall
Sarvesh Mathi / Marker:
A look at Hotstar, Disney's streamer in India, which has 18M paying subscribers, an ad-supported tier estimated to bring in $114M this year, half from cricket — One in four subscribers to Disney+ is from Hotstar, India's largest streaming platform — Like so many other companies …
Discussion:
@medium
Ted Johnson / Deadline:
ABC News layoffs began Thursday as part of broader Disney restructuring, with other cuts in Disney's Television Group in its General Entertainment Content unit — Layoffs were taking place on Thursday at ABC News as part of a restructuring and job cuts across The Walt Disney Co.
Discussion:
Hollywood Reporter
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Lara O'Reilly / Business Insider Australia:
A new look at Ben Thompson's Stratechery, a newsletter on tech and business, as journalists rush to Substack; one unofficial estimate put revenue at $3M+/year — - Founded in 2013, Ben Thompson's $US120-a-year Stratechery newsletter is beloved by tech executives and venture capitalists …
Discussion:
@ajs, @larakiara, @firstadopter, @fromedome, @ozoran, @peterhimler and The Startup
Ashley Parker / Washington Post:
White House communications director Alyssa Farah has resigned; she plans to start a consulting firm focusing on the corporate, political, and defense realms — White House communications director Alyssa Farah resigned from her post Thursday after three-and-a-half years in the Trump administration.
Discussion:
Politico, @ashleyrparker, Poynter, @ericschultz, @zevshalev, @ericgarland, @digiphile, Breitbart, Forbes, Mediaite, The Week, The Hill and Fox News