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3:15 PM ET, January 25, 2021

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 Top News: 
Joe Pompeo / Vanity Fair:
Sources: NYT told Lauren Wolfe, who had a temporary position, that her name and NYT's name were in headlines after her “chills” tweet, and “we can't have that”  —  The paper of record's treatment of a freelance editor getting “chills” on Twitter drew accusations …
Russell Contreras / Axios:
Ex-CNN exec S. Mitra Kalita and PA radio exec Sara Lomax-Reese launch URL Media, a newsletter seeking to expand local news on Black and brown communities  —  Former CNN executive S. Mitra Kalita and Philadelphia radio executive Sara Lomax-Reese have launched a newsletter seeking to expand local news …
Joe Flint / Wall Street Journal:
NBC's Peacock signs a deal for exclusive streaming rights for WWE Network content in the US from March; source says the deal runs five years and is worth $1B+  —  World Wrestling Entertainment content will move to Peacock starting March 18 in deal worth more than $1 billion
Archie Bland / The Guardian:
Margit Wennmachers / Andreessen Horowitz:
a16z plans to launch a “new and separate media property” later this year focused on “the future” and names ex-CNN editor Maggie Leung executive editor  —  We embraced speaking directly to our audience — from the builders of the future to the tech-curious — right as the firm was started in 2009.
Alexander Gladstone / Wall Street Journal:
AMC Entertainment says it signed deals for $917M in funding to survive the COVID-19 pandemic for months and avoid bankruptcy  —  World's largest movie theater chain buys time with debt and equity deals as it continues to burn cash during the Covid-19 pandemic
Meg James / Los Angeles Times:
Inside CBS' fraught investigation into allegations of racism and misogyny on the part of CBS Television Stations President Peter Dunn and another senior exec  —  Gripped by scandal in the summer of 2018, CBS came up with a way to contain the crisis.  —  The television giant's board hired …
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Content recommendation company Taboola says it has agreed to go public via a SPAC, valuing the company at $2.6B and raising $545M  —  Taboola, the content recommendation company known best for the chum box ads at the bottom of publishers' websites, has agreed to merge with special purpose …
Robert P. Baird / Columbia Journalism Review:
An in-depth look at Laurene Powell Jobs' Emerson Collective, which a source says has spent $250M on journalism, buying stakes in The Atlantic, Axios, and others  —  With the Emerson Collective, Laurene Powell Jobs is becoming a force in American media.  What is she trying to achieve?
Alex Weprin / Hollywood Reporter:
Nexstar to rebrand its national cable channel WGN America as NewsNation, positioning it as a “fact-based and unbiased” competitor to CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC  —  As part of the rebrand, NewsNation will add two hours of live coverage from 6-8 p.m. hosted by Nichole Berlie and Joe Donlon, respectively.
Nathan Ingraham / Engadget:
Spotify says it is testing a pilot of audiobooks on the platform, with nine public-domain titles read by well-known names like Hilary Swank  —  Initial titles include ‘Frankenstein,’ ‘Great Expectations’ and ‘Jane Eyre.’  —  Spotify's aggressive move into content beyond music continues today …
 
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 More News: 
Alex Sherman / CNBC:
Sources: Group Nine's SPAC is eyeing ~20 targets, including BuzzFeed with its ~$300M in annual revenue, for an acquisition, as it wants $500M+ in annual revenue
Issie Lapowsky / Protocol:
Facebook says it will give researchers targeting data on 1.3M social issue, electoral, and political ads from August 3 through November 3 2020
Politico:
White House says it will work with WHCA to develop new standards for media passes and won't tolerate outlets trafficking in conspiracy theories and propaganda
Chance Miller / 9to5Mac:
Apple launches Time to Walk for Apple Watch and Fitness+, offering 25- to 40-minute episodes of original audio from influential people, available today
 Earlier Picks: 
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Google details its work on a privacy-conscious cookie substitute, called Federated Learning of Cohorts, claims ~95% effectiveness compared to cookie-based ads
Financial Times:
Groups that want to buy newspapers away from hedge funds like Alden face a problem: funds are making money and execs like Heath Freeman aren't looking to sell
USAGM:
USAGM's acting CEO replaces the heads of RFE/RL, RFA, and Middle East Broadcasting Networks and three board directors named by Pack days before his resignation
 

 
From Techmeme:

Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority:
Source: Google has canceled the development of a second-generation Pixel Tablet, planned for release in 2025, due to concerns that it wouldn't sell very well

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is testing a more conversational version of Siri, dubbed “LLM Siri”, with plans to release it in spring 2026 as part of iOS 19 and macOS 16

Hannah Lang / Reuters:
Sources: a16z, Ripple, Kraken, and Circle are jostling for a seat on Trump's promised crypto advisory council, which is expected to set up a bitcoin reserve

 
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