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Washington Post:
Sean Hannity's on-air angst reflects the tumult inside Fox News, as it faces a dip in January ratings and renewed scrutiny from the Murdoch family — Since Donald Trump's election loss in November, Sean Hannity seems to have been working through a process, live and on camera …
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CNN, The Daily Beast, Vanity Fair, @brianstelter, @oliverdarcy, TVNewser, @drdenagrayson, @dabeard, @thetowncrier, @riegerreport, @mlcalderone, @ericboehlert, @joshuahol, @chrispolpsych, @jeremylittau, @kbandersen and CNN
Anne Steele / Wall Street Journal:
Spotify reports Q4 results: 345M MAUs, up 27% YoY, as paying subscribers grew to 155M, up 24% YoY, topping expectations; revenue was up 17% YoY to €2.17B — But streaming giant offers conservative outlook for the current year as new sign-ups could ebb
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Spotify, Spotify, Forbes, Financial Times, @szymonkopec, @eldsjal, Reuters, 9to5Mac, @kerrymflynn, @kerrymflynn, @davidclowery, @dylanbyers, @paul__armstrong, The Verge, @kerrymflynn and @kerrymflynn, more at Techmeme »
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Todd Spangler / Variety:
Spotify says it had 2.2M podcasts in Q4, up from 1.9M in Q3, 25% of total MAUs engaged with podcast content, and podcast consumption nearly doubled YoY in Q4 — Spotify packed in a strong end to the year roiled by the pandemic, topping forecasts for Premium subscribers to reach 155 million …
Discussion:
The Guardian, Music Business Worldwide, @kerrymflynn, Axios, Bloomberg, @kerrymflynn, @kerrymflynn, RAIN News, @xpangler and Podcast Business Journal
Brent Lang / Variety:
Streaming services dominated nominations for the 78th Golden Globes: Netflix got a record 42 nominations across film and TV and Amazon Studios got 10 — Streaming services dominated nominations for the 78th Golden Globe Awards, signaling a power shift in Hollywood from traditional movie studios and TV broadcasters to digital upstarts.
Discussion:
Variety, /Film, Observer, Variety, The Wrap, The Wrap, The Wrap, Variety, MediaPost, 9to5Mac, Always Be Watching, The Streamable, @artsjournalnews, 9to5Mac, The Ringer, Los Angeles Times, @indiewire, WWD, @mdrndad, @zeitchikwapo, Axios, Variety, @xpangler, New York Times and Adweek
Pranav Dixit / BuzzFeed News:
India's IT ministry orders Twitter to block the recently restored accounts of dissidents and The Caravan magazine, or Twitter staff could face fines or jail — India's government has threatened to punish employees at Twitter with fines and jail terms of up to seven years for restoring hundreds …
Discussion:
The Atlantic, @pranavdixit, @nixxin, @pranavdixit, @pranavdixit, @pranavdixit, @davidakaye, @pranavdixit, @rasmus_kleis and @nixxin
Chase DiFeliciantonio / San Francisco Chronicle:
Hearst releases its first US diversity and inclusion report, says 78% of employees who were managers or above, and 73% of its US employees were white — Hearst, the owner of The Chronicle, released its first U.S. diversity and inclusion report on Tuesday. — CEO Steven Swartz …
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, @bylhernandez and @niemanlab
J. Clara Chan / The Wrap:
Gizmodo senior editor Alex Cranz says she was fired for involvement in a union letter and for false claims about performance; Gizmodo calls her claims meritless — Gizmodo's senior consumer tech editor, Alex Cranz, said she was fired from the company last Friday for her involvement …
Discussion:
@alexhcranz, @kellybourdet, @yessfun, @themadstone, @charlespulliam, @briannawu, @paleofuture, @annamerlan, @krichbutler, @xoxogossipgita, @vicmsong, @harrisonweber, @jlnwrites, @ballaban, @jasonschreier, @k_trendacosta, @jetscott, @film_girl, @davegershgorn, @cecianasta, @xoxogossipgita, @katiecollins, @whitsongordon, @outonalumb, @vksmith, @halophoenix, @jasonschreier, @bombur, @itsdavidford, @bcmerchant, @samrutherford, @chrisvelazco, @alexhcranz, @lisaeadicicco and @joemfbrown
Meg James / Los Angeles Times:
Current and ex-employees at CBS' flagship station, WCBS NY, allege they worked in a hostile environment, after allegations at CBS' Philadelphia station — ViacomCBS is confronting a widening crisis over allegations of mistreatment in its TV stations group.
Discussion:
@megjameslat, @kerrymflynn and @megjameslat
Reuters:
Microsoft says it supports Australia's proposed new laws forcing Google and Facebook to pay for news content and it would be “willing to live by these rules” — (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp said on Wednesday it fully supported proposed new laws in Australia that would force internet giants Google …
Discussion:
@jeffjarvis, CNBC, Financial Times and The Guardian, more at Techmeme »
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
BBC Global News says it had ~£115M annual revenues for the past five years and is considering a subscription model due to the pandemic's impact — The BBC has suggested it could look into launching a subscription model for its global news services after seeing other news providers try it with “significant success”.
Discussion:
@anirbanroy
Mandy Jenkins / The Compass Experiment:
McClatchy will operate Mahoning Matters and Village Media will take over The Longmont Leader, both launched via the Google-funded Compass Experiment — Mahoning Matters and The Longmont Leader pivoting to further sustainability — When we kicked off The Compass Experiment 18 months ago, we knew our mission was a tough one.
Discussion:
@markmsweetwood, @emilyroseman1, @mjenkins, @juliemmoos, @mjenkins, @cweiser, @mjenkins and @jesslhardin
Natalie Jarvey / Hollywood Reporter:
Joe Budden launches Joe Budden Network on Patreon, five months after leaving Spotify; Budden will become Patreon's head of creator equity — The podcaster will also work with the company as head of creator equity. — Five months after walking away from his exclusive podcast deal with Spotify …
Discussion:
Variety, The Verge, Billboard and Music Business Worldwide
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