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, @parkermolloy, @parkermolloy, @latimes, @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
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
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