Top News:
Bloomberg:
Source: digital payments company 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
David Folkenflik / NPR:
In the corrective episode of Caliphate, The Daily's Michael Barbaro failed to reveal that two of The Daily's producers also worked on Caliphate — Toggle more options — Late last week, The New York Times issued one of its biggest mea culpas in years. The nation's leading newspaper returned …
Discussion:
@laurawags, @davidfolkenflik, @moorehn, @nicktheandersen, @dancow, @nycsouthpaw, @aliamalek, @askusmer, @alan_yu039, @raju, @andrewglazer, @ashleyfeinberg, @_richardhall, @sarahw, @lourdesgnavarro and Fox News
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, @ylelkes, @donlday, @pilhofer, @gillesbruno, @nickcharles61, @pilhofer and @mariekshan
Nadezhda Tsydenova / Reuters:
Russian lawmakers pass a bill allowing authorities to block or restrict websites like YouTube if they “discriminate” against Russian media, like RT — MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's lower house of parliament voted on Wednesday to pass legislation allowing authorities to block …
Discussion:
Interfax-Ukraine
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:
Context is King, @starfire2258, @stevie_mat, @reckless, @sachgau, @backlon, @themeganpurdy, @charlie_l_hall, @samitsarkar, @hshaban, @emmahouxbois, @crs_one, @jlbarrow, @loudmouthjulia and Polygon
Giles Turner / Bloomberg:
Filing: ByteDance says TikTok UK had sales of $20M in 2019, with a loss of $119.5M, driven by advertising and marketing expenses of $109M — - Chinese owner ByteDance has not disclosed global figures — Video-sharing app has been rapidly expanding in U.K.
Rebecca Rubin / Variety:
Warner Bros. announces theatrical release dates for three movies in 2023, suggesting next year's hybridized release strategy is indeed a “unique one-year” model — Warner Bros. has announced release dates for three of its upcoming films: George Miller's “Mad Max: Fury Road” …
Discussion:
Engadget
Brooks DuBose / Baltimore Sun:
Trump signs Fallen Journalists Memorial Act into law, authorizing planning and fundraising for a Washington memorial to honor those who died reporting the news — President Donald Trump signed into law Wednesday a bipartisan bill authorizing a national monument to honor slain journalists …
Discussion:
@elizabethgchang, @chrisvanhollen and @billrehkopf
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
Discussion:
@accessnow, @marietjeschaake and @rj_gallagher
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, @latimes, @burtonad, @froomkin, @lopezlinette, @parkermolloy, @thehowie, @richsignorelli, @burtonad, @parkermolloy, @travisakers, @froomkin, @kateaurthur, @eisingerj, @jayrosen_nyu, @helaineolen, @filmmakerjulie, @jodyavirgan, @justinbaragona, @blowryontv, @prempanicker, @erikwemple, @rizzotk, @oliverdarcy, @jimmaiella, @patrickclaybon, @jbillinson, @sarahellison, @stevebattaglio, @kimmasters, @markjacob16, @latimes, @latimes, @bgrueskin, @edzitron, @bgrueskin, @101darwins, @brianstelter, @tomgara, @elaheizadi, The Hill, Talking Biz News, The Wrap and UPROXX
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