Top News:
Katie Robertson / New York Times:
Tribune Publishing, part-owned by Alden Global Capital, is closing the Hartford Courant's newsroom on Dec. 27; journalists will work remotely into 2021 — The Hartford Courant, the Connecticut newspaper that has been in print since 1764, when it chronicled the locals' dissatisfaction with British rule …
Emily Bell / Columbia Journalism Review:
The remit of Facebook's Oversight Board is narrow by design and its 90-day time frame per case is too long, hindering its ability to have any lasting impact — 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, @cjr, @campuscodi, VentureBeat, Foreign Policy, Business Insider, Oversight Board and Media Matters for America, more at Techmeme »
Jessica Toonkel / The Information:
Sources: WarnerMedia execs are weighing 2 new streaming services: a subscription offering based on CNN content in 2021 and a free entertainment service in 2022 — AT&T's WarnerMedia, long a giant in cable TV, was a late arrival to streaming video. Under its new CEO, Jason Kilar, Warner is trying to make up for lost time.
Discussion:
CNBC, @jtoonkel, @scottnover, @jackshafer, @jackshafer, @pkafka, @pkafka, @pkafka, @readdanwrite, @awallenstein, @brianlring, @benmullin, @jbenton and @loudmouthjulia, more at Techmeme »
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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
Discussion:
@brooksbarnesnyt, Forbes, Mediaite, IndieWire, @jasonkilar, @indiewire, Hollywood Reporter, @variety, Landing & Rolling, Hollywood Reporter, @brianstelter, CNN, @malwarejake, @clarisselou, Deadline, ВІС …, @winter, @arune, @benparr, @krolljvar, @davidlsims, @davemcclure, @mattbelloni, @gregnibler, @geekvibesnation, @pkafka, @pkafka, @pkafka, @kiywii, MediaNama, @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, CNBC, The Wrap, ScreenRant, The Week, The Streamable, The A.V. Club, Gizmodo, Collider, The Playlist, Reuters and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
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
Discussion:
CNBC, Pressroom, Deadline, Light Reading, The Verge, Sparrow One, Decider, CNET, @tvgrimreaper, Hollywood Reporter, Polygon, The Ringer, @sherman4949, @loudmouthjulia, @jimmaiella, @arlolikesmovies, @keithcalder, @pkafka, Context is King, ScreenRant and The Wrap
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
Discussion:
Variety, The Wrap, Deadline, @deadline, Screen Time, @carlquintanilla, @deadline, Hollywood Reporter, MediaPost, Mediaite, Adweek, TechCrunch, Ad Age, CINEMABLEND and Streaming
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:
@imjasondiamond, @taylorjwofford, @maxwelltani, @esile1 and @jackdickey
Alex Norcia / Columbia Journalism Review:
Profile of Enrique Abeyta, a metalhead former hedge fund manager who has bought Revolver, Inked, and The Hard Times, expanding e-commerce with long-term goals — Enrique Abeyta, a former hedge-funder, goes all in on metalhead media — Matt Saincome was used to ignoring people.
Discussion:
@mathewi, @cjr, @cjr, @cjr, @herbgreenberg, @mattsaincome, @betsymorais, @enriqueabeyta and @alex_norcia
Kayleigh Barber / Digiday:
Wired says 30% of revenue now comes via subscriptions and affiliate revenue, up from 20% earlier in 2020, as Black Friday and Cyber Monday boosted subscriptions — Black Friday and Cyber Monday (which has been stretched into a Cyber Week this year) were expected to be bountiful for Wired's affiliate e-commerce business.
Discussion:
The Agency Side
Dade Hayes / Deadline:
Amazon adds live and on-demand US local news to its news app on Fire TVs, starting with 12 major markets and expanding into 90 more during 2021 — At the end of a record-setting year of news consumption, Amazon Fire TV said local TV stations in 12 U.S. cities will be added to Amazon's news app, with another 90 on deck for 2021.
Discussion:
MediaPost, Android Central, Amazon Fire TV and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica:
Mitch McConnell has moved to end debate on a Trump nominee that would deadlock FCC when Biden takes office and for months after, setting up a vote next week — Cloture motion could end debate and advance nominee to Senate vote next week. — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) …
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:
@nydiavelazquez, The NewsGuild - CWA, @nancook, @kateconger, @susanchira, @rblumenstein, @juliaccarpenter, @emarvelous, @kubremner, @saramorrison, @lindseyboylan, @paulgoldberger, @juliebosman, @kseelye, @alexvadukul, @maragay, @tomjolly, @joannelipman, @s_m_i, @clydehaberman, @jialynnyang, @mehpatrol, @ennisnyt, @alisha__g, @harrispolitico, @laura_nelson, @joumana_khatib, @avitalrachel, @sulliview, @sulliview, @sulliview, @marclacey and @andrewlavallee
The Daily Beast:
Fox staffers say Porter Berry, EIC of FoxNews.com and former Hannity producer, has shifted the site's tone to mirror the channel's opinion content — According to insiders, Hannity and the network's right-wing opinion side have managed, as if by proxy, to influence the content of FoxNews.com, the channel's website.
Discussion:
@thedailybeast, @noahshachtman and @maxwelltani
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
Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:
Zephr, a London startup that offers a no-code tool publishers can use to increase subscription revenue, raises $8M Series A led by Bertelsmann Digital Media — Zephr has raised $8 million in a new funding round led by Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments (owned by media giant Bertelsmann).
Discussion:
Zephr Blog and @zephrglobal
Hollywood Reporter:
Activision sues Netflix for poaching its CFO, says Netflix induced him to breach his contract; Fox and Viacom also have said Netflix illegally poached staff — The gaming giant alleges “Netflix's tortious and unethical conduct is intentional and a directive ‘from the top.’”
Discussion:
Variety, Axios, The Wrap and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »
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