Top News:
Pew Research Center:
Pew: 11% of US adults report using Google News often, and 24% say they use it sometimes; 3% say they get news from Apple News often and 10% do so sometimes — One major challenge researchers may encounter in designing surveys about news consumption: Does the U.S. public understand the range …
Angus Whitley / Bloomberg:
A proposed Australian bill to force Google and Facebook to pay publishers for news now recognizes the monetary value of traffic that platforms send publishers — - Law to reflect any value platforms generate for publishers — Legislation has turned Australia into a test case for action
Discussion:
@clairlemon, What's New in Publishing, @business and BBC, more at Techmeme »
Michael J. Socolow / Nieman Lab:
Substack isn't a new model for journalism, but it's better than the “tip jar” financing model and might help retrain readers to pay for good journalism — Since 2017, Substack has provided aspiring web pundits with a one-stop service for distributing their work and collecting fees from readers.
Discussion:
Columbia Journalism Review, @robinsreport, @mathewi, @raju, @gbbranstetter, @niemanreports, @chris_journo, @kerrymflynn, @jeanlucr, @vwpickard and @michaelsocolow
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Nilay Patel / The Verge:
Q&A with Substack CEO Chris Best on why it is not a media company, content moderation, making a reader app for users to easily read their newsletters, and more
Discussion:
@benyt, @mathewi, @gustaf, @reckless, @alex, @loudmouthjulia, @joshsternberg, @reckless, @studyhallxyz, @reckless, @mvzelenks and @reckless, more at Techmeme »
Wayne Friedman / MediaPost:
NBC Universal says Peacock, which launched in mid-April, now has 26M subscribers, up from 22M in October, and is seeing strong advertising demand — NBCUniversal's Peacock, its advertising video-on-demand streamer, has now climbed to 26 million subscribers and is seeing strong advertising demand.
David Folkenflik / NPR:
Sources: Michael Pack has reassigned acting VOA Director Elez Biberaj and intends to replace him with Robert Reilly, who has criticized Islam and gay rights — The Trump appointee who runs the government's overseas broadcasters reassigned the head of the Voice of America on Tuesday as part …
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Paul Farhi / Washington Post:
Sources: USAGM head Michael Pack has instructed associates not to discuss the agency's operations, budget, and personnel with Biden's transition team
Discussion:
Columbia Journalism Review, @karaswisher, @earlofenough, @noahbookbinder, @markszaidesq, @marktlive, @christopherjm, @benlabolt, @vivian and CNBC
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Source: Some Spider Studios, one of the largest digital media publishers for parents, will have revenue of $35M this year, including $5M in profit — Some Spider Studios, one of the largest digital media publishers for parents, will bring in $35 million in revenue this year …
Tony Romm / Washington Post:
Sources: FTC and 40+ state AGs to file antitrust suits against Facebook Wednesday, saying Instagram and WhatsApp buys helped it amass power, traffic, and ads — More than 40 attorneys general and the U.S. government are preparing to file antitrust lawsuits against Facebook on Wednesday …
Discussion:
New York Times, @clarajeffery, Politico, @jason_kint and @dannycrichton, more at Techmeme »
Kim Masters / Hollywood Reporter:
WarnerMedia's decision to debut 2021 films on HBO Max had blindsided creatives and their reps; sources: Warner Bros. COO Carolyn Blackwood came up with the plan — To many insiders, WarnerMedia's blindsiding of talent and their reps with a reveal that it's sending 17 films directly to HBO Max in 2021 felt like an insult.
Discussion:
New York Times, Entertainment Tonight, CNN, New York Times, Variety, @edmundlee, @matthewstoller, Engadget, The Daily Beast, @lafamiliafilm, @markberman, @matthewstoller, @fuckmarrywill, ScreenRant, IndieWire, @filmbayona, /Film, @aaroncouch, Los Angeles Times, @joshuatopolsky, @uberkryptonian, @edmachina, @snoodit, @patrickcotnoir, Business Insider, Light Reading, The Playlist, Innovalab Weekly, Forbes, @filmupdates, @filmupdates, TechCrunch, Adweek, @nytimesbusiness, Collider, @thr, @etnow, @sgoood, ComingSoon.net, @variety, Observer, @tannertrue, @ryanlawler, @benedictevans, @mikeyface, @williambibbiani, @firstadopter, The Streamable, @davidlsims, @kimmasters, @geeksgamerscom, @eriqgardner, @lucas_shaw, @aaroncouch, @johnnysobczak, @steele131, @davidlsims, @reckless, Axios, @mousterpiece, The Guardian, Vanity Fair, The Week, The Verge, Cord Cutters News, Digital TV Europe, @discussingfilm, @tinycamcorder, @johnnysobczak, The Wrap, Scroll.in, Context is King, Variety, The A.V. Club, Mediaite, Heroic Hollywood, The Playlist, Variety, IndieWire, Collider and The Wrap
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Dade Hayes / Deadline:
AT&T CEO says HBO Max now has 12.6M subscribers in the US, up from 8.6M at the end of Q3; ~30% of HBO subscribers have exercised their right to access HBO Max
Discussion:
Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, CNBC, @geeksgamerscom, @tvgrimreaper, @loudmouthjulia, @loudmouthjulia, nexttv.com, New York Post, The Streamable and MediaPost
Sara Fischer / Axios:
STAT hit $10M+ in revenue this year, up 66% YoY, plans to grow staff ~40% in 2021, and has 6M MAUs, up from ~1.5M pre-pandemic; ad deal volume rose 33% YoY — STAT News is planning a big expansion next year, thanks in part to explosive growth during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Archie Bland / The Guardian:
Ofcom proposes radical shake-up of UK broadcasting rules, including encouraging streaming services like Netflix to provide public service programming — Streaming firms could provide public service programming in an increasingly digital world — Streaming services, such as Netflix and Now TV …
Discussion:
The Independent
Lucinda Southern / Adweek:
Time for Kids now has 63,000 subscribers to its paid tier, which was introduced in August; The Week Junior had 75,000 paid subscribers in November — Time's youth-focused title is nearly profitable — Magazine publisher Time has seen a significant boost in paid subscribers for its title aimed at school-age students, Time for Kids.
Discussion:
@keithgrossman, @kerrymflynn and @sampjacobs
Sarah Scire / Nieman Lab:
Scroll, which offers ad-free browsing at 300+ sites, partners with McClatchy to bundle Scroll membership with McClatchy subscriptions at 8 McClatchy news sites — A little less than a year after launch, Scroll is partnering with McClatchy to experiment with bundling subscriptions to its ad-free network.
Glynnis MacNicol / New York Times:
Profile of the Feminist Press, started by professor Florence Howe in 1970 to surface forgotten female writers, and which now publishes 15 to 20 titles per year — A mission to unearth forgotten female writers became a full-fledged publishing house. It has risen and fallen with the tides of feminism.
Discussion:
@melissamichal16, @glynnmacn and @j_zuckerman
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