Top News:
Sarah Ellison / Washington Post:
Profile of Fox News anchor Maria Bartiromo and her transformation from a serious business reporter to Trump cheerleader, most recently in a friendly interview — Maria Bartiromo is the solo host of more than 16 hours of television every week on sister networks Fox News and Fox Business.
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, Mediaite, @mlcalderone, Talking Biz News, The Hill, @latimes, @parkermolloy, @parkermolloy, @eisingerj, @kimmasters, @rizzotk, @erikwemple, @markjacob16, @froomkin, @tomgara, @justinbaragona, @blowryontv, @edzitron, @richsignorelli, @prempanicker, @latimes, @elaheizadi, @bgrueskin, @jbillinson, @jimmaiella, @brianstelter, @travisakers, @froomkin, @bgrueskin, @latimes, @oliverdarcy, @kateaurthur, @sarahellison, @helaineolen, @patrickclaybon, @filmmakerjulie, @101darwins, @stevebattaglio, @jodyavirgan, The Wrap and UPROXX
Bloomberg:
Source: Square has held talks to acquire music streaming service Tidal, which Jay-Z acquired for $56M in early 2015 — - Streaming music platform has struggled to keep up with Spotify — Dorsey has met with Jay-Z multiple times during the pandemic — Square Inc., the digital-payment …
Discussion:
@newsynick, more at Techmeme »
Washington Post:
A study using 96,000 searches found that Google News put far more national news outlets than local outlets at the top of search results, even for local queries — Our audit reveals that Google News sends readers — and advertising dollars — away from local news outlets.
Discussion:
@gillesbruno, @pilhofer, @annenbergpenn, @mariekshan, @ylelkes, @donlday, @pilhofer, @gillesbruno, @nickcharles61 and @pilhofer
Julia Alexander / The Verge:
2020 has been the beginning of major streaming exclusivity plays, forcing users to pay for four or five services as big studios prioritize their own platforms — End-of-year turnover is always rough, and it's going to get worse — Two of the biggest movies people want to talk about this week …
Discussion:
@stevie_mat, @jlbarrow, @crs_one, @loudmouthjulia, Polygon, @charlie_l_hall, @samitsarkar and @hshaban
Keach Hagey / Wall Street Journal:
Unredacted Google antitrust suit: execs referred to attempts to undermine header bidding and force publishers back onto their ad server as the “Holy Grail” — Accusations by Texas and nine other states give ground to publishers' frustrations that the digital-ad economy is rigged
Discussion:
@keachhagey, @slayser8, @catthekin, @wsj, @kylemunson, @stevekovach, @jason_kint, @paulnemitz, @johnwilander, @acfou, @keachhagey, @repkenbuck, Ad Age, Breitbart and CNBC
RELATED:
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 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
Discussion:
Variety, Washington Post, @savethenews, Breitbart, @alecmacgillis, @rmac18, @bigblackjacobin, @karaswisher, @moorehn, @matthewstoller, @pierce, @heynottheface, @histoftech, @mathbabedotorg, @hawleymo, @senmikelee, @mattyglesias, @gavinsbaker, WWD, @jeffhorwitz, @jesselehrich, The Media Nut, The Verge, Engadget, CNBC, AppleInsider, New York Post, National Review and Business Insider
Ryan Gallagher / Bloomberg:
A coalition of human rights and press freedom groups, including Reporters Without Borders, file an amicus brief in support of WhatsApp in its NSO Group lawsuit — - Filing of brief follows similar move by technology giants — NSO Group's product can secretly access phone's contents
Ruti Levy / Haaretz:
Sources: Israeli content recommendation company Taboola is in talks to merge with ION group's SPAC that raised $259M in October — 'There's no company with revenues of $100 million that's not considering going public,' source says after massive deal falls apart three months ago
Discussion:
Sifted
Alexandra Steigrad / New York Post:
SEC filing shows Oprah Winfrey got a less than 1% stake in Discovery in a deal that a source says raised Discovery's ownership in OWN from 73% to 95% — Oprah Winfrey has swapped most of her interest in OWN for a small ownership in Discovery, home of TLC's trashy hit reality series, “90 Day Fiancé.”
Discussion:
nexttv.com, Hollywood Reporter and The Wrap
Committee to Protect Journalists:
Retaliatory killings of journalists doubled from the previous year to at least 21 in 2020, out of 30 killed globally, but deaths covering war dropped sharply — Retaliatory killings of journalists worldwide rose significantly in 2020 from the previous year, but deaths covering war dropped sharply.
Discussion:
Breitbart, LatAm Journalism Review, ABC News and newslaundry.com
Bente Birkeland / Colorado Public Radio:
A top Dominion Voting Systems staffer, who went into hiding after becoming the subject of conspiracies, is suing Newsmax, OANN, and others, alleging defamation — A top employee of Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems, Eric Coomer, has sued the campaign of President Donald Trump …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, NPR, @milesparks, @kylegriffin1, Bangor Daily News, Mediaite, Boing Boing, @davidfolkenflik, @thor_benson, Business Insider, WXIA-TV, Reuters and The Colorado Sun
Marc Hogan / Pitchfork:
A look at the state of live music and its future after a year of turmoil, as venues struggle to stay open and artists turn to streaming — Most musicians' primary source of income is gone, venues everywhere are struggling, and the government hasn't come through on an aid package.
Discussion:
@allisonhussey and @philipsherburne
Joe Pompeo / Vanity Fair:
Sources: WaPo's Marty Baron indicated to colleagues he may step down soon but not before staff can return to the newsroom, which is June 1 at the earliest — Kevin Merida? Steven Ginsberg? Sources insist the paper hasn't officially started the search for a new leader …
Discussion:
@mollyemccluskey, @yashar, @raju and @joepompeo