Top News:
Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge:
Substack launches Substack Reader, an RSS reader for tracking newsletter subscriptions and other feeds, in beta — Substack Reader is now available in beta — If you're worried about all your newsletter subscriptions getting lost in your inbox, Substack may have a solution.
Ryan Mac / BuzzFeed News:
At an end-of-year, company-wide meeting, Facebook said it is working on TLDR, an AI tool that would summarize longform articles in bullet points — Facebook told employees on Tuesday that it's developing a tool to summarize news articles so users won't have to read them …
Discussion:
@rmac18, @rmac18, @rmac18, Business Insider, @johnbattelle, @lessismoh, @mccarthyryanj, @dalerussellfox5, @michaelgendron, @surlybassey, @josh_posts, @charles_gaba, @joshconstine, @johnperetti, @seanhecht, @colincampbellx, @bportseasoning, @_richardhall, @dlind, @jzheel, @bendwalsh, @brooklynmarie, @ericlach, @0dansmith, @carlnatale, @samitsarkar, Medianama, @nathanblawrence, @jamespmcleod, @craigawelch, @msamymacpherson, @briannawu, @ryandeto, @mslopatto, @hoffprof, @rmac18, @walldo, @audreyhasnews, @megankstack, @ericuman, @jamespmcleod, @hondanhon, @mike_conley, @danielwinlander, @ackocher, @krisgoldsmith85, @ryan_lr, @rmac18, @jimray, @rmac18, @meese_james, @edzitron, @weischoice, @j0ncampbell, @bendreyfuss, @consultingcso, @maxkriegervg, @xpatriciah, @clancynewyork, @tomscocca, @korlis, @kevinroose, @graceclarke, @thesupermikey and @vogon, more at Techmeme »
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Fox News says it has extended Laura Ingraham's contract with a “multi-year deal” — Fox News characterized the new pact as a “multi-year deal.” Ingraham joined Fox News Channel full-time in October of 2017 after establishing herself with a long-running radio program.
Discussion:
The Wrap, Mediaite, The Hill, nexttv.com and TVNewser
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Digital Content Next, a representative for NYT, NPR, Vox, WaPO, and others, joins the Coalition for App Fairness, which is pushing for regulation of app stores — A group of major U.S. news publishers have joined the Coalition for App Fairness (CAF), the advocacy group pushing …
Discussion:
@carnage4life, @appfairness, About Facebook, MacRumors, 9to5Mac and @jeffjarvis, more at Techmeme »
Tatiana Siegel / Hollywood Reporter:
Sources: Biden is considering Bob Iger for a key ambassadorship, either to China or the UK, and Jeffrey Katzenberg is also being considered — The Disney executive chairman is at the top of the president-elect's wish list for a diplomatic assignment with the DreamWorks and Quibi mogul also in the mix.
Discussion:
@matthewstoller, @jaxalemany, @beijingpalmer, @robillard, The Week, @swanniontv, @stanyeahman and @sepinwall
Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge:
Google says its new Chromecast with Google TV will get an Apple TV app in early 2021, giving users access to TV+ originals and iTunes purchases — Coming in early 2021 to the Chromecast with Google TV — Google's latest Chromecast with Google TV is filling in one of its biggest missing apps …
Discussion:
The Streamable, The Keyword, The Desk, Variety and 9to5Google, more at Techmeme »
Angela Fu / Poynter:
Tiny News Collective, a LION Publishers and News Catalyst initiative, seeks to start 500 local newsrooms in three years by offering resources and training — The Tiny News Collective says it will provide participants the tools and resources they need to start their own local newsroom
Discussion:
@tinynewsco, News Catalyst, @tylrfishr, @mjenkins, @lenfestinst, @jcstearns, @jayrosen_nyu, @rasmus_kleis, @brianboyer, @jimfriedlich, @jacqui, LION Publishers, @mathewi, @tylrfishr, @tylrfishr, @tylrfishr, @tinynewsco, @tinynewsco, @tinynewsco, @pennyriordan1, @garveymcvg, @stefaniemurray, @ash_detroit, @newscatalyst, @jeffjarvis, @hbcompass, @lionpubs, @pilhofer and @hbcompass
Jason Gurwin / The Streamable:
Hulu + Live TV drops Sinclair's 23 local CBS affiliates, after failing to reach a deal in the latest carriage dispute — After being unable to reach a deal, Sinclair-owned CBS affiliates are no longer available on Hulu + Live TV. — Sinclair owns 23 local CBS affiliates, which tend to be outside the largest markets.
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Spotify signs a deal with NPR to distribute 26 podcasts in most of its 92 markets outside the US, with exceptions like Turkey and India — The streaming-audio company inked a deal with NPR to distribute 26 podcasts — including “NPR News Hour,” “Planet Money,” “Car Talk” and “Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!”
Discussion:
MediaPost, The Verge, Engadget and TechCrunch
Dade Hayes / Deadline:
Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment takes full control of Crackle Plus from co-owner Sony Pictures, which exercised its right to obtain $40M of CSSE stock — UPDATED with closing stock price. Completing one of the more surprising media deals of late, Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment …
Discussion:
Yahoo Finance, Context is King, Media Play News and Variety, Thanks:@ashkan
Laura Pitel / Financial Times:
YouTube agrees to set up an office in Turkey following a threat of de facto ban from the country; most social media companies refused to comply with the demand — Video-streaming service agrees to demands from Ankara following threat of de facto ban — YouTube has bowed to pressure …
Discussion:
@laurapitel, more at Techmeme »
Kim Willsher / The Guardian:
French court convicts 14 people in relation to the January 2015 terror attacks on the Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris — Defendants found guilty on range of charges from membership of criminal network to complicity in attacks — A court in France has convicted fourteen people in relation …
Discussion:
Reuters and Associated Press
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Sources: Vox Media Studios is aiming for $100M in 2021 revenue with plans to double its number of shows to ~20 spanning 8 distributors including Apple TV+, HBO — Vox Media Studios, the video and audio production arm of Vox Media, is planning to bring in $100 million in 2021 revenue …
Discussion:
@sarafischer, @simonowens, @edmundlee, @chadmumm, @mtmoe1, @voxmedia, @chadmumm and Business Insider
Naman Ramachandran / Variety:
BBC Studios will launch an ad-free streaming channel, BBC Select, on Amazon Prime Video and the Apple TV app in early 2021 for US and Canadian users — BBC Studios, the commercial subsidiary of U.K. broadcaster BBC, is launching ad-free streaming channel BBC Select on Amazon Prime Video Channels and the Apple TV app in early 2021.
Discussion:
Cord Cutters News and @xpangler
Tiffany Hsu / New York Times:
Sources: CBS still has dozens of openings for its 30-second ad slots for the 2021 Super Bowl as advertisers debate the tone of ads amid a surging pandemic — As the virus cuts into the annual ad blitz, CBS has yet to book all of the 30-second slots available for the big game.
Discussion:
@jeremarketer, @nytimesbusiness and @codycombsnews