Top News:
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Amazon is in exclusive talks to buy Wondery, in a deal valuing the podcast network at $300M+; Wondery's on track to increase revenue to $40M+ this year — Venture-backed podcast company is in talks to be sold with a valuation of more than $300 million
Discussion:
@benmullin, Protocol, Bloomberg, @chrismessina, @johnmoe, @raghunotragu, @rafat, @brianstelter, @pkafka, @lucas_shaw, @thememorypalace, Engadget, Variety, The Hill, TheStreet, Business Insider, The Wrap and Reuters, more at Techmeme »
Clare Jim / Reuters:
HK activist Jimmy Lai has been charged with fraud over the lease of the building that houses his Apple Daily paper; its daily operations shouldn't be impacted — HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong media tycoon and pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai was denied bail on Thursday on a charge …
Discussion:
New York Times, The Guardian and Al Jazeera
Keith J. Kelly / New York Post:
Meredith promotes Catherine Levene to president of the National Media Group where she will oversee print and digital magazines and associated consumer products — For the first time in its 119-year history, media giant Meredith Corp. has tapped a female executive to lead …
David Folkenflik / NPR:
Watchdog finds “substantial likelihood of wrongdoing” at VOA parent agency under Michael Pack; sources say they fear Pack will do more damage before he departs — The U.S. Office of Special Counsel, a federal watchdog, disclosed Wednesday that it had found “a substantial likelihood …
Discussion:
@thesteveholzer, @oneunderscore__, @npr, @davidfolkenflik, @radiofreetom, @ncvates, @debmorello and The Hill
Abhrajyoti Chakraborty / New York Times:
Profile of Anand Patwardhan, a leading documentarian in India, who says he is now forced to hold screenings in secret due to threats from Hindu nationalists — Anand Patwardhan spent decades tracking the rise of Hindu nationalism. And now, under an increasingly repressive government, he holds his screenings in secret.
Discussion:
@tomlasseter, @vedicakant, @beenasarwar, @sominisengupta, @kenroth and The India Cable
Lindsey Ellefson / The Wrap:
Sources: JD Heyman was ousted as EIC of EW after multiple senior staffers filed complaints to HR accusing him of inappropriate, racially insensitive comments — JD Heyman was ousted as the top editor at Meredith's Entertainment Weekly on Monday after multiple senior staffers filed complaints …
Bloomberg:
US pay-TV subscribers will soon start receiving refunds and credits from providers, compensating them for the year's pandemic-related sports cancellations — - Customers are to get back the value of games that never aired — Credits and ‘courtesy adjustments’ will show up on bills soon
Berber Jin / Business Insider:
Ex-Pando journalist Paul Carr is starting a news site, Techworker; contributors include Google Walkout organizer Claire Stapleton, Pando founder Sarah Lacy — - Former TechCrunch and Pando journalist Paul Carr believes Silicon Valley's top execs are misbehaving and need to be held to account by their employees.
Steve Pond / The Wrap:
Sundance Film Festival replaces its Park City, Utah, event with a virtual festival that will take place from Jan. 28-Feb. 3 on a custom-designed online platform — In an attempt to maintain a sense of community at a time when large gatherings are impossible, the Sundance Film Festival …
Discussion:
@jasonhirschhorn, @jenny8lee, The Playlist, Hollywood Reporter, IndieWire, Collider and Variety
Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:
Google says News Showcase will soon add free access to select paywalled articles, and it has doubled publisher partners to ~400 since its launch in October — Google News Showcase visitors will soon be able to read select paywalled articles at no extra charge.
Discussion:
What's New in Publishing, MediaNama, @glenngabe, The Keyword, @chrismessina, The Verge, Engadget and 9to5Google, more at Techmeme »
Elahe Izadi / Washington Post:
Trump lawyer Joseph diGenova, who suggested an ex-government official be executed, resigns under pressure from The Gridiron Club, a Washington media social club — The elite Washington journalism social organization asked the Trump campaign lawyer to step down
Discussion:
The Hill, @jeremymbarr, Poynter, @mrbromwich, @fxmacro, @elaheizadi, @elaheizadi and Business Insider
Rachelle Hampton / Slate:
A look at the disconnect between how the Black community sees Charlamagne tha God and how white media portrays him as that community's political voice — On election night, amid the slow trickle of results, Stephen Colbert checked in with a guest familiar to viewers of his deeply uncomfortable 2016 election night show.
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