Top News:
Katie Robertson / New York Times:
Brian Calle, CEO of LA Weekly owner Street Media, has acquired The Village Voice, plans to restart its website in January, and also plans quarterly print issues — The owner of LA Weekly, another independent publication, plans to restart The Voice next month.
Discussion:
@rosiegray, @jenn_swann, @mcastimovies, @raju, @conroyforreal, @minkowitz, @awolfeful, @stevekandell, @spbphd, @elinashatkin, @passionweiss, @sowmyak, @marcissist, @passionweiss, @allegraehobbs, @krisvire, @jayrosen_nyu, @ibogost, @mattdpearce, @media_evan, @jesshopp, @matthewwells, @david_j_roth, @scott_tobias, @willow_catelyn, @zzzzaaaacccchhh, @jsmooth995, Mediaite and Wall Street Journal
Jessica Jerreat / Voice of America:
Two bills Congress OK'ed would limit powers of USAGM's Michael Pack; Pack announced new heads at Radio Free Asia and Middle East Broadcasting Network on Tuesday — Two bills approved by Congress awaiting President Donald Trump's signature would limit the powers of Michael Pack …
Discussion:
@w7voa, @schwartzbcnbc, @yatesdcia, @simonmarksfsn, @simonmarksfsn, @davidfolkenflik, @davidfolkenflik and USAGM
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
Gene Maddaus / Variety:
Sen. Thom Tillis unveils a draft bill to revise the DMCA, requiring “service providers” to ensure that infringing material stays removed and does not reappear — Sen. Thom Tillis on Tuesday unveiled an overhaul of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which is intended to make it easier to stamp out pirated content online.
Jon Allsop / Columbia Journalism Review:
A look at current ideas for federal journalism funding, including a revival of the New Deal Federal Writers' Project to hire journalists to capture this moment — In 1937, Sterling A. Brown, a poet and literature professor at Howard University, published a forthright essay charting the history …
Substack Blog:
Explaining its content moderation policy, Substack says it will “resist public pressure to suppress voices that loud objectors deem unacceptable” — As Substack grows, there is increasing interest in the stance we take on content moderation. It's a complicated issue …
Discussion:
@jaycaruso, @kerrymflynn, @wexler, @nickconfessore, @timmarchman, @hotlinejosh, @codytfenwick, @melissamcewen, @jessesingal, @jessesingal, @mantzarlis, @timmarchman, @peterbale, @mantzarlis, @anildash, @jayrosen_nyu, @nayafia, @sonnybunch, @allegraehobbs, @sonnybunch, @kantrowitz, @taylorlorenz, @nic__carter, @sethbannon, @jessesingal, @peterbale, @cathyreisenwitz, @carnage4life, @jessesingal, @scottnover, @scottnover, @wesleylowery, @timmarchman, @johnghendy, @justin_hart, @substackinc, @rwabigwi, @codytfenwick, @ericnewcomer, The Verge and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »
The Pulitzer Prizes:
NYT has withdrawn its 2019 entry in international reporting for Caliphate, and the Pulitzer Prize Board rescinded the entry's designation as a Pulitzer finalist — New York, NY (Dec. 22, 2020) — The New York Times has withdrawn its 2019 entry in International Reporting.
Discussion:
The Wrap, @doctoryasmin, New York Times and Fox News
Angelique Jackson / Variety:
Blumhouse won a bidding war and will team up with NYT for a film or series based on a story about a Mexican mother who tracked down her daughter's killers — Rodriguez — who went on to become a prominent human rights activist, helping to imprison 10 members of the local cartel in San Fernando …
Discussion:
Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, @marclacey, @jason_blum, @lucas_shaw, @sethabramovitch, Deadline and Context is King
Bethan McKernan / The Guardian:
Turkey sentences Can Dündar, exiled ex-EIC of the Turkish daily Cumhuriyet and a vocal critic of Erdoğan, to 27+ years in jail on terrorism-related charges — Ex-Cumhuriyet newspaper editor given verdict in absentia on charges described as politically motivated
Discussion:
@newspaperworld, @kamalchomani and @michaelno2war
The Wire:
Ofcom fines Indian TV channel Republic Bharat £20K for hate speech against Pakistani people in a program hosted by EIC Arnab Goswami and broadcast last year — New Delhi: British TV regulatory authority Ofcom has imposed a £20,000 fine on Republic Bharat, Republic TV's Hindi channel …
Discussion:
The Economic Times, Times of India and The Hindu
Shoshana Wodinsky / Gizmodo:
An explainer on digital advertising's header bids, third-party brand safety vendors, and “evercookies”, illustrated by a ubiquitous pajama onesie ad — If you're reading this, you might have read the juicy piece that Elle dropped this weekend chronicling how a former Bloomberg reporter torched …
Discussion:
Business Insider, @andrewcouts, @jakeofthefuture, @adland, @conroyforreal, @jakeswearingen, @bryson_m, @catthekin, @bigmeaninternet, @justinhendrix, @lollardfish, @techwontsaveus, @jathansadowski, @clairelizzie, @dancow, @swodinsky, @neilretail, @goldman, @biaus, @lollardfish, @nandoodles, @lorenaoneil, @thezedwards, @stephcliff, @kate_h_taylor, Newser, @liamstack and @tomgara, more at Techmeme »
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 …