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Dune director Denis Villeneuve says AT&T decided to sacrifice Warner Bros' 2021 slate “in a desperate attempt to grab audience attention” for HBO Max — I learned in the news that Warner Bros. has decided to release “Dune” on HBO Max at the same time as our theatrical release …
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Interview with Jason Kilar on the decision to release 2021 movies on HBO Max: “If we...focus on the customer, we're going to be sitting on a very big future” — Depending on who you ask, Jason Kilar is either the most hated or most beloved man in Hollywood right now.
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CNN, Variety, Deadline, @mlcalderone, @benmullin, @jakesherman, @nytopinion, @nytopinion, @antovolk, Protocol and Business Insider


Chinese authorities detained Bloomberg News staff member Haze Fan, a Chinese citizen, on Monday on suspicion of endangering national security — Chinese authorities have detained Haze Fan, who works for the Bloomberg News bureau in Beijing, on suspicion of endangering national security.
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Jimmy Lai, owner of Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily, has been charged under the national security law for allegedly colluding with foreign forces — Mr. Lai's case was followed hours later by a disclosure that the authorities in China had detained a Chinese citizen working for Bloomberg News.


Disney+ will get 10 Star Wars series, “roughly” 10 Marvel series, and more from Disney live-action, Disney Animation and Pixar “over the next few years” — The company also plans to bring many Disney Animation and Pixar movies and shows to the service
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As of December 2, Disney had 137.1M DTC subscribers, comprising 86.8M for Disney+, 38.8M for Hulu, and 11.5M for ESPN+
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Disney will raise the cost of Disney+ to $7.99 per month, up from $6.99, starting March 2021 in the US, as the company heavily invests in content offerings
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The Wrap, /Film, @jdroege, @dannysullivan, @trengriffin, @loudmouthjulia, @xpangler, @loudmouthjulia, @sherman4949, @markberman, @sherman4949, @sherman4949, @loudmouthjulia, ScreenRant, Adweek, Polygon, Broadcasting Cable, Deadline, The Streamable, Vox and CNET


Political journalists question the value of reporting anonymous concerns by Republicans who publicly support Trump as he tries to overturn the election — During his decades on the congressional beat, John Bresnahan has spent countless hours listening to the private concerns of his congressional sources.
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@wexler, Forbes, @dandrezner, Raw Story, @heatherscope, @bettycrackerfl, @joshmankiewicz, @jayrosen_nyu, @amyargetsinger, @sbassopb, ABC News, @sulliview, @froomkin, @seungminkim and Washington Monthly


Q&A with former reporter Allison Hantschel on how newspapers damaged themselves, inspired by a tweet lamenting that people pay for Netflix but not journalism — “Never ascribe to malice what stupidity will adequately explain.” — 3 hr ago — For a decade, Allison Hantschel worked at small newspapers in the Midwest.
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@athenae, @ahazlett, @nicdawes, @meredithshiner, @rozmurph, @michellelegro, @athenae, @athenae, @clarajeffery, @athenae, @athenae, @athenae, @athenae, @froomkin, @coreyhutchins, @laurarbelin, @athenae, @lyzl, @simonhoupt, @kbernot, @lyzl, @aliceraeherman, @damemagazine, @megreenwell, @gteresa, @michellelegro, @millbot, @luxlotus, @nilofer, @kerryhowley, @kbernot, @zacharyos, @jane_gerster, @whet, @lisalsong and @froomkin


Axios plans to launch Axios HQ in Feb. to help companies write internal memos styled like Axios newsletters, with real-time feedback and “Smart Brevity” score — This coming February, Axios's first software-as-a-service product, AxiosHQ, will hit the market.
Discussion:
@jz, @thekendallbaker, @noahchestnut, @imkialikethecar, @bmorrissey and @glennf, more at Techmeme »


PwC: 2020 deal activity in media and telecoms was relatively stable despite the pandemic, with 612 deals, down 4% from 2019, and a combined value of $99B, up 8% — “COVID-19 forced companies to be more introspective and reconsider their core strategies,” says PricewaterhouseCoopers.


Al Jazeera's Ghada Oueiss sues Saudi prince, UAE leader, and others, alleging her phone was hacked and photos leaked to stifle her reporting on Saudi Arabia — Ghada Oueiss alleges she was targeted in attempt to silence her and other critics of Saudi government
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The Hill, @ghadaoueiss, Columbia Journalism Review, @ghadaoueiss, @aaschapiro, @courtneyr, Miami Herald and Riyadh Bureau


Three NC newspapers have filed a petition with the NC Court of Appeals seeking to open a district court to media after a judge blocked them from a hearing — The judge has given no reason for the order in a county wracked by racial justice protests. That's causing concern for transparency advocates.
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Associated Press, @rcfp, @deonnakelli, @robyntomlin, @sarahellison, @robyntomlin, @elaheizadi, @amyargetsinger and Committee to Protect …


Google says it will let users limit the alcohol and gambling ads they see, starting with YouTube in the US — Building tools that provide transparency and control has always been a top priority for us, and over the years, we've empowered people to shape their ads experience through user controls.
Discussion:
ScreenRant, @stshank, @megancgraham, @pernod_ricard, Ad Age, MediaNama, TechCrunch, The Verge, The Guardian, 9to5Google and Engadget