Top News:
Alex Gallagher / NME:
The COVID-19 relief bill passed by Congress includes the Felony Streaming Bill, which makes illegal streaming for profit a felony, with up to 10 years jail time — Targeting illegal for-profit streaming providers, not individual users — The US Congress has passed a COVID-19 stimulus bill …
Discussion:
Hollywood Reporter, Washington Post, TechCrunch, New York Times, Variety, MUSIC x, @quinnypig, @andrew_gilden and @joe_loguidice, more at Techmeme »
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David Shepardson / Reuters:
The COVID-19 relief bill includes a provision to expand forgivable government loans to additional struggling local news outlets
Discussion:
@vwpickard, @penamerica, @defensebaron, @kwoodsome, @taraemcg, @amzam and The Hill
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
The omnibus funding bill Congress passed contains the controversial CASE Act, introduces a small claims copyright system, and may increase copyright trolling
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
Discussion:
Techdirt, New York Times, @variety, @winston_fisher1, @matthaneysf, The Wrap, Hollywood Reporter, Washington Post, The Hill, Mediaite and New York Post
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 …
Jessica Bursztynsky / CNBC:
IAC says it plans to spin off its full stake in Vimeo, making it an independent, publicly trade company in Q2 2021 — - IAC is spinning off its full stake in Vimeo, the company announced Tuesday. — Following completion of the deal, which is expect to occur in the second quarter of 2021 …
Discussion:
Axios, The Wrap, The Verge, Variety, @sarafischer, @stevekovach and @jbursz, more at Techmeme »
Peter Dizikes / MIT News:
MIT names Dava Newman director of its Media Lab, following the resignation of Joi Ito in 2019 over funding the organization received from Jeffrey Epstein — Visionary astronautics researcher, explorer, and expert on human adaptation to space will lead the Institute's world-renowned research center.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, @medialab, @ariel_ekblaw and CIVICS.com Substack
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 …
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 …
Discussion:
@existentialfish, @atrupar, @svdate, Newsmax, CNN, @bubbaprog, @jimsciutto, The Wrap, Fast Company, @oneunderscore__, @yashar, @kurteichenwald, @klasfeldreports, @justinbaragona, @aaronblake, @a_picazo, @atrupar, @mollyjongfast, @kanew, @sethabramson, @normative, @brhodes, @davidcorndc, @bakari_sellers, @pamkeithfl, @tbridis, @alexanderchee, @benpopper, @johnjharwood, @rcalo, @joshtpm, @kevinmkruse, @hamiltonnolan, @dr_pete, @jimrutenberg, @jproskowglobal, @milesparks, @oliverdarcy, @oliverdarcy, The Right Scoop, Mediaite, The Daily Beast and TVNewser
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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
Discussion:
@benyt, Vanity Fair, @llinwood, @justinbaragona, @davidmackau, Moderns Comms, @benyt, Law & Crime, @bubbaprog, @scottshanenyt, @bobcesca_go, @file411, @garylegum, @tomgara, @mrkrudd, @benyt, @ursulaperano, @taniel, The Daily Beast, @digiphile, @ericowensdc, @mollyjongfast, Overtime, Mediaite, @timobrien, Newser, Axios, @dandrezner, @joannelipman, The Week, @thephilosotroll, @froomkin, @slpng_giants, @leablackmiami, @brianstelter, @mikewiseguy, @badfoxgraphics, @jfkeeler, @oneunderscore__, @ashkan, @danielchaitin7, TVNewser, @atompkins, Business Insider and @meiselasb
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.
Discussion:
@hkanji and @swodinsky, more at Techmeme »
Ben Strauss / Washington Post:
As sports betting booms in the US, gambling operators have turned to sports media companies to attract customers, including big ad deals and hiring reporters — Readers of the Chicago Tribune have come to know sportswriter Teddy Greenstein over the past two-plus decades for his coverage …
Discussion:
@tomfarrey, @teddygreenstein, @spj_tweets, @tkgore and @benjstrauss
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Blaze Media, the result of the merger between Glenn Beck's The Blaze and CRTV, has 450K subscribers to BlazeTV, paying an average of $102/year — The conservative media company that owns BlazeTV has quietly been building a massive subscriber base, a direct threat to any digital TV effort …
Discussion:
@thedomino and @sarafischer
Nathan Bomey / USA Today:
Gannett negotiates a buyout from management by PE firm Fortress for a one-time fee of $30.38M, having already paid it ~$19M in fees in first nine months of 2020 — Gannett, the owner of USA TODAY and more than 260 other daily publications, has negotiated an early exit from a fee-based arrangement …
Discussion:
@usatoday, @iamnickreynolds, @jenwsheehan, @lukeranker, @ctguild, @iandon, @apantazi, @apantazi and @apantazi
Becky Yerak / Wall Street Journal:
Ebony Media, which declared bankruptcy recently, plans to sell its business for ~$14M to an investment group led by former NBA player Ulysses Bridgeman — The $14 million offer from Ulysses “Junior” Bridgeman was sole serious bid for publisher of Black magazines
Discussion:
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