Top News:
The Daily Beast:
NYT Opinion editor says it was her decision to spike a Bret Stephens column criticizing Baquet's reasons for firing McNeil, not Sulzberger's as Stephens claims — A top New York Times columnist claims the paper's publisher shelved his opinion column defending Donald McNeil …
Discussion:
@dylanbyers, CNN, @meredithshiner, @marcatracy, @wesleylowery, @dylanbyers, The Wrap, @katierogers, @wesleylowery, @scottshanenyt, New York Post, @oliverdarcy, @lisang, @davekarpf, @weareyourfek, @jolentag, @ranjona, @zaidjilani, @530bruceross, @zaidjilani, @niemanreports, @jaynordlinger, @marlownyc, @davekarpf, @dgisserious, @wesleylowery, @maxwelltani, @jacobrubashkin, @jbenton, @dylanbyers and @ggreeneva
Naman Ramachandran / Variety:
HBO Max to launch in Latin America and the Caribbean in June; existing HBO-branded streaming services in Europe will shift to HBO Max later this year — WarnerMedia's streamer HBO Max is set to launch across 39 Latin American and Caribbean territories in June.
Oliver Darcy / @oliverdarcy:
Bloomberg is laying off employees as part of a “new structure to elevate editing”; sources: layoffs will affect about 90 employees — Bloomberg EIC John Micklethwait confirms layoffs in a memo to staff: “I am not going to pretend today is a happy day for the newsroom. It is always painful to tell journalists that they are losing their jobs.” I'm told the layoffs are affecting about 90 employees. https://twitter.com/...
Discussion:
Insider, @perlberg, Talking Biz News, @vtuss, @caleweissman, @ejacqui, @jhilburg, @mattrosoff, @heathat, @ericlach, @fmanjoo, @aleksnotalex, @derekahunter, @froomkin, @oliverdarcy, @tombevanrcp, @kerrymflynn and @perlberg
Sheila Dang / Reuters:
Kantar: CBS generated a record $545M in ad spending during the Super Bowl, which had a record 57 minutes of ad time — (Reuters) - ViacomCBS' CBS network generated a record $545 million in advertising spending during the NFL's Super Bowl LV this past Sunday, according to preliminary estimates from research firm Kantar.
Discussion:
Digital TV Europe, @readdanwrite and @sheila_dang
RELATED:
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Disney beats as Disney+ reaches 94.9M subscribers globally, 30% of those from Disney+ Hotstar, while revenue dropped to $16.25B, down 22% YoY — Disney Plus had the wind at its back to close out 2020: The streaming service notched 94.9 million customers worldwide as of the end of the year-end quarter, the company announced.
Discussion:
The Wrap, The Streamable, Yahoo Finance and Decider
Etan Vlessing / Hollywood Reporter:
Ted Sarandos says Netflix plans to open a corporate office in Canada and will hire a content executive to deal directly with local Canadian producers — “Canada is an amazingly diverse country and growing our presence locally will help us share more authentically Canadian stories with the world …
Reuters:
BBC World News has been barred from airing in mainland China — (Reuters) - BBC World News has been barred from airing in China, the Chinese state media CGTN said bit.ly/2Z51L43 early on Friday, citing the National Radio and Television Administration. — Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Caroline Davies / The Guardian:
Meghan Markle wins her privacy case in summary judgment against the Mail on Sunday, which published extracts from a letter she wrote to her father — Judge gives summary judgment in favour of royal over extracts of letter to estranged father, Thomas Markle
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: a deal for full control of Tribune Publishing by Alden Global Capital could be reached this month — The hedge fund already owns a big stake in the newspaper chain behind titles including the Chicago Tribune and New York Daily News — A hedge fund that owns a big stake …
Discussion:
@kimjnews, @mattgertz, @brynstole, @royalpratt, @nwi_jsp, @petersagal, @localcelebrity, @byalisonbowen, @royalpratt, @rexhuppke, @lenfestinst and @lalpert1
Angela Fu / Poynter:
Three Gannett newsrooms in New Jersey have announced they are jointly unionizing and forming the Record Guild, part of the NewsGuild of New York — The new union will include the Bergen Record, the Daily Record and the NJ Herald. — Three Gannett-owned newsrooms in New Jersey announced Wednesday morning they are jointly unionizing.
Discussion:
@mcdiduch, @poynter, @angelanfu, @kaitlynkanzler8, The NewsGuild - CWA and nyguild.org
Natalie Jarvey / Hollywood Reporter:
LightShed Partners' Rich Greenfield and others have launched a $75M tech and media investment fund and invested in Podchaser and audio startup Slipstream — The venture arm has already made investments into startups Podchaser, Slipstream and Antenna Analytics.
Discussion:
GlobeNewswire, Bloomberg, @rameeztase, Barron's Online, @richlightshed, @richlightshed, @richlightshed and Variety
Sara Fischer / Axios:
The New York Times is testing NYT Kids, a standalone, ad-free digital subscription product for kids aged 8-11, which will feature a lot of “how to” content — The New York Times is in the early stages of developing a digital subscription product for families called NYT Kids, executives tell Axios.
Discussion:
@matthartman, @mikeorren and @sarafischer
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