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8:30 AM ET, December 22, 2020

Mediagazer

 Top News: 
Dominick Mastranglo / The Hill:
Newsmax claims it “has not reported as true certain claims” made by “various guests, attorneys and elected officials” on air about Smartmatic and Dominion  —  Conservative media outlet Newsmax issued a clarification on Monday about recent claims made by guests …
RELATED:
Ben Smith / New York Times:
Voting machine companies including Smartmatic have hired high-powered libel lawyers and, legal experts say, have strong cases if they sue Fox, Newsmax, and OAN
RELATED:
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
The omnibus funding bill Congress is set to vote on contains the controversial CASE Act, which may ratchet up copyright trolling, and the Felony Streaming Bill  —  from the but-why?  dept  —  As we warned about earlier this month, it appears that Congress has in fact put …
Jem Aswad / Variety:
Congress' COVID-19 relief deal includes the Save Our Stages Act to give ~$15B in relief to independent music venues and movie theaters shut due to the pandemic  —  “We can finally report what our nation has needed to hear for a very long time,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell …
Tim Baysinger / The Wrap:
Group Nine Media has launched a SPAC and plans to go public, according to an SEC filing on Monday  —  Group Nine Media has formed a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), according to an SEC filing on Monday.  —  The company, called Group Nine Acquisition Corp., was formed …
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: MGM Holdings has begun a formal sale process, looking for a price double its $5.5B valuation  —  Movie studio has tapped bankers to find a buyer, as media companies look to stock up on content  —  MGM Holdings Inc., the movie studio behind the “James Bond” franchise, is exploring a sale …
Wall Street Journal:
Draft lawsuit filed last week says Facebook and Google agreed to help each other in case of investigation of their pact to work together in online advertising  —  Draft lawsuit quotes Facebook's Sandberg saying Google pact was a ‘big deal strategically’  —  WASHINGTON— Facebook Inc …
New York Times:
An international phishing scam is tricking writers, editors, and agents into sharing unpublished book manuscripts, but the endgame of the scam is unclear  —  A phishing scam with unclear motive or payoff is targeting authors, agents and editors big and small, baffling the publishing industry.
Shoshana Wodinsky / Gizmodo:
Analysis: of the 60 biggest brands that paused Facebook ads in 2020, only ~10 are still pausing ads and some of those have kept spending using other FB tools  —  This past summer, dozens of major brands pulled their ad dollars from Facebook in a protest of the company's handling of the hate speech and disinformation.
Reuters:
Journalist Rahmatullah Nekzad was shot in Afghanistan on Monday, the fourth to be killed in the country in the last two months  —  KABUL (Reuters) - An Afghan journalist was shot dead by unknown assailants in Afghanistan's central Ghazni province on Monday, the fourth to be killed in the war-torn nation in last two months.
Discussion: Al Jazeera
Vikas SN / The Economic Times:
India-based VerSe Innovation, the company behind news app Dailyhunt and short video app Josh, raises $100M+ at $1B+ valuation from Google, Microsoft, and others  —  Dailyhunt parent VerSe Innovation has raised more than $100 million funding from tech giants Google and Microsoft …
 
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 More News: 
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
TikTok launches its first personalized annual recap feature, “Year on TikTok”, which highlights what sort of videos were watched the most, favorite tracks, more
Washington Post:
The Washington Post announces expansion plans for 2021: new foreign bureaus in Sydney and Bogotá, breaking news hubs in London and Seoul, and more
Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter:
Netflix and Legendary Pictures settle Enola Holmes lawsuit with Conan Doyle Estate, which alleged that the movie infringed upon Sherlock Holmes
Discussion: The Verge
 Earlier Picks: 
Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
Sources: NYT reporters criticized editors over handling of Callimachi's “Caliphate” in a meeting, arguing warning signs had been clear for years with no action
Cecilia D'Anastasio / Wired:
Cyberpunk 2077's developer hamstrung reviewers by forcing NDAs and sending copies just days before launch to prevent players from seeing the buggy mess
Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
Despite a few bright spots in local journalism like Charlotte Agenda, bought by Axios, and Daily Memphian, 55 news outlets have closed amid the pandemic
Stephanie Clifford / Elle:
Profile of ex-Bloomberg reporter Christie Smythe, who quit her job and divorced her husband after she fell in love with the man she was covering, Martin Shkreli
Discussion: @nytimes, New York Magazine, @ellemagazine, CNBC, Elle, VICE, @megancgraham, Business Insider, The Cut, @manymanywords, @katie_robertson, Ad Age, New York Post, New York Times, The US Sun, @stephcliff, @skenigsberg, Los Angeles Times, @penenberg, @ohheyjenna, @benyt, @katie_robertson, @migold, @penenberg, @jillfilipovic, @rmac18, @mattzeitlin, @thedailybeast, Left Tab, @alexrkonrad, @mathewi, The Wrap, @liamstack, @kira_lerner, @katierosman, @shwinyo, Law & Crime, @tomgara, @beijingpalmer, @asteadwesley, @hummusandpizza, Rolling Stone, Talking Biz News, Fox News, The Daily Dot, @hels, The A.V. Club, Where's Your Ed At, UPROXX, @alexheard, @carigervin, @carigervin, @zeitchikwapo, @maxwelltani, @jordanuhl, @socialistdogmom, @elaheizadi, @maxwelltani, @elaheizadi, @ashleyfeinberg, @drea_carmen, @oneunderscore__, @taylorlorenz, @angryblacklady, @annamerlan, @galaxiecarol, @nolamama69, @ec_schneider, @ashleyrparker, @bgrueskin, @bgrueskin, @christiesmythe, @soledadobrien, @christiesmythe, @alishagrauso, @jenashleywright, @notcapnamerica, @roywoodjr, @offbeatorbit, @christiesmythe, @moorehn, @moorehn, @jillfilipovic, @meandmydogtoo, @otraletra, @robbiese7en, @taylorlorenz, @christiesmythe, @kellykeegs, @zeddary, @karnythia, @phil_lewis_, @mrsfridaynext, @jerrydunleavy, @jourdynberry, @sawyerhackett, @amber_athey, @majorphilebrity, @dierobinsondie, @austen, The Guardian, @arreglalo, @ftrain, @felixsalmon, @mattikovler, @rebeccadobrien, @christiesmythe, @kaylawebley, @christiesmythe, @modernistwitch, @theferocity, @jillfilipovic, @jessicakroy, @fuggirls, @zunguzungu, @annamerlan, @eekshecried, @dansolomon, @harrysiegel, @bendreyfuss, @bendreyfuss, @bendreyfuss, @tylerdinucci, @jbillinson, @dlippman, @dave_schilling, @caseyjohnston, @jasonpinter, @bykatesmith, @chrissyfarr, @sgurman, @drrramina, @lalasoo, @walterolson, @megan, @benyt, @asteadwesley, @lindseyadler, @bigmeaninternet, @daisandconfused, @joeperticone, @asteadwesley, @brianstelter, @liamstack, @jessicahuseman, @bendreyfuss, @taylorlorenz, @taylorlorenz and Mediaite
 

 
From Techmeme:

Joe Rivano Barros / Mission Local:
Waymo says it temporarily suspended its ride-hailing service in San Francisco during a citywide blackout, as downed traffic lights appeared to halt its vehicles

John Sakellariadis / Politico:
Sources: DHS is investigating whether 6 staffers misled CISA's acting director into taking a polygraph that he failed, compounding instability at the agency

Sri Muppidi / The Information:
Source: OpenAI's share of revenue after the cost of running AI models for paying users has jumped to ~70% in October, up from ~52% at the end of 2024

 
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