Top News:
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 …
Discussion:
CNN, The Daily Beast, TVNewser, @brianstelter, @oliverdarcy, @mlcalderone, @kbandersen, @drdenagrayson, @jeremylittau, CNN, @dabeard, @thetowncrier, @riegerreport, @ericboehlert, @joshuahol and @chrispolpsych
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
Discussion:
Spotify, @paul__armstrong, 9to5Mac, Spotify, @kerrymflynn, @kerrymflynn, @dylanbyers, 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:
Axios, Bloomberg, @kerrymflynn, @kerrymflynn, @kerrymflynn, @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.
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, @themadstone, @kellybourdet, @yessfun, @bcmerchant, @jetscott, @alexhcranz, @cecianasta, @jasonschreier, @xoxogossipgita, @lisaeadicicco, @charlespulliam, @briannawu, @film_girl, @joemfbrown, @k_trendacosta, @samrutherford, @whitsongordon, @paleofuture, @annamerlan, @davegershgorn, @halophoenix, @krichbutler, @bombur, @katiecollins, @xoxogossipgita, @vicmsong, @chrisvelazco, @itsdavidford, @harrisonweber, @vksmith, @jlnwrites, @outonalumb, @ballaban and @jasonschreier
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.
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
Elaine Low / Variety:
YouTube reports $6.89B in Q4 ad revenue, up 46% YoY from $4.7B, as it more than doubled the number of advertisers on YouTube through its TrueView ad format — Google parent Alphabet handily topped fourth-quarter forecasts, with Google Search and YouTube driving up total revenue for the internet giant.
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:
CNBC, Financial Times and The Guardian, more at Techmeme »
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
BBC fined £28K for contempt of court after breaching century-old law prohibiting filming inside court rooms by airing a six-second clip from a virtual hearing — The BBC has been fined £28,000 for contempt of court after “a catalogue of serious errors” resulted in the recording …
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
Any US legislation to ban anonymity online will be unconstitutional, will not work, and most importantly will put many marginalized/vulnerable people at risk — There's an idea that pops up every so often among people who are upset about misinformation online but don't actually understand …
Discussion:
@mmasnick, @senatorshoshana, @jeffjarvis, @casuallaw and @dispositive
Katie Robertson / New York Times:
Patrick Steel, CEO of Politico since 2017, tells staff he will leave the company this summer: it's “the right time to start the next chapter of my career” — Patrick Steel, the chief executive of Politico since 2017, said on Tuesday that he will leave the company this summer.
Discussion:
Talking Biz News, @michellemanafy, @dylanbyers and @raju
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