Top News:
Cynthia Littleton / Variety:
Emmy nominations: HBO and HBO Max gets 130, followed by 129 for Netflix and 71 for Disney+; NBC is the fourth most-nominated with only 46 nods — Netflix and the expanded world of HBO and HBO Max made it a duel this year in race to gather the most Primetime Emmy nominations overall.
Discussion:
The Wrap, /Film, Variety, The Streamable, Variety, The Wrap, Mediaite, The Wrap, Variety, Variety, MediaPost, Los Angeles Times, /Film, @variety, @charlierivkin, @kerrywashington, @debramessing, Insider, The Week, Observer, IndieWire, @bluestein and Adweek
Brooks Barnes / New York Times:
Profile of Disney's powerful chief communications officer for 19 years, Zenia B. Mucha, who will leave in 2022; she was paid $4.9M in total 2020 compensation — For almost two decades, Zenia B. Mucha has been responsible for protecting the vaunted Disney brand and has held influence far beyond her official duties.
Discussion:
@brooksbarnesnyt, Variety, Deadline, Los Angeles Times, @jpanzar, @ashleylcarter1, @jasonabbruzzese, @motormouthmedia, @blowryontv, @lucas_shaw, @evargastv, @ksheekey, @adamnagourney, @cityofthetown, @amy_disneypr, @sammy_roth, @kairyssdal, @natjarv, @richarddeitsch, @brentalang, @davidclinchnews, @russpitts, @eva_palmer, @dylanbyers, The Wrap, @shelbygrad, @mattdpearce and @billzanetti
Washington Post:
Court documents show the Trump DOJ sought WaPo reporters' records in the last days of Barr's tenure, seeking to find sources of three stories in 2017 on Russia — Newly unsealed court documents show the Trump Justice Department sought a court order for the communications records …
Discussion:
New York Times, @kimzetter, @katie_rcfp, @matthewamiller and @kenvogel
Dylan Byers / NBC News:
Sources: in an employee meeting, Atlantic CEO said the magazine lost $20M+ in 2020, was on track to lose $10M this year, and would turn a small profit in 2023 — Nicholas Thompson, the chief executive of The Atlantic, gave a presentation to employees last month in which he disclosed …
Discussion:
@spj_tweets, Mediaite, @levinejonathan, @lucasgrindley, @jacobkornbluh, @stuartpstevens, @dylanbyers, @tedgioia, @jeremymbarr, @ckrewson, @perlberg, @dylanbyers, @karavoght and The Hill
Gaspard Sebag / Bloomberg:
France fines Google $593M for failing to comply with a 2020 order to negotiate in good faith with publishers for displaying article snippets in Google News — - Tech giant penalized for not agreeing deal with publishers — Fine is the second biggest French antitrust penalty so far
Discussion:
BBC, Reuters, Axios, CNBC, TechCrunch, New York Times, @wallaceme, @artjonak, Plagiarism Today, @benedictevans, @agenttinsley, @jeffjarvis, @filloux, @benedictevans, @dangillmor, The Wrap, Associated Press, Fortt Knox, Beyond Search, New York Post, Wall Street Journal and Insider, more at Techmeme »
The Information:
Sources: LeBron James' entertainment business, SpringHill Company, is exploring a sale at a valuation that could reach $750M, and Nike is considering an offer — NBA superstar LeBron James' entertainment firm, SpringHill Company, is exploring a possible sale at a valuation that could reach $750 million …
Discussion:
Variety, The Wrap, @awallenstein, @aagave, @lucas_shaw, @sizpatel, @lionelmedia and Business Wire
Brent Lang / Variety:
Netflix and Universal extend a deal giving Netflix exclusive rights in the US to Universal Filmed Entertainment Group's animated films after 4 months on Peacock — Netflix and Universal Filmed Entertainment Group are extending an agreement that will give the streaming giant exclusive rights …
Matt Donnelly / Variety:
Sources: indie film and TV studio A24 recently explored a sale, floating an asking price of $2.5B-$3B; Apple was among the companies that talked with the studio — A24 recently explored a possible sale, with the indie film studio floating an asking price of between $2.5 billion to $3 billion.
Discussion:
The A.V. Club, @labuzamovies, 9to5Mac, @moderngurlzz, @variety, @variety and @jessehawken
Sara Fischer / Axios:
The Observer plans a relaunch in the coming months with a new EIC, Meg Marco, formerly of ProPublica; the outlet has a staff of 10 and wants to hire eight more — The digital-only company is looking to hire around 8 people this year.
Discussion:
OBSERVER MEDIA, @matthewkassel, @meghann, @jeffjarvis, @lydiadepillis and Talking Biz News
Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal:
Mediaocean, known for its ad-agency billing technology, buys adtech company Flashtalking for $500M as, sources say, it prepares for an IPO next year — Flashtalking, known for its ad server, is the latest in a string of Mediaocean acquisitions aimed at enhancing its digital ad technology
Discussion:
Mediaocean, @billwise, @flashtalking, @joshsternberg, AdExchanger, Adweek, MediaPost and Beet.TV
Al Tompkins / Poynter:
Biden's EO encouraging the FTC to curtail noncompete clauses could affect TV journalists and high-profile print journalists, who are frequently faced with them — Noncompete contracts are fairly common among TV journalists, especially anchors, who are often forbidden from moving to stations in the same market.
Discussion:
American Press Institute, @donlday, @markmaxwelltv, @kevinrichert and @amandatvnews
Joyce Karam / The National:
DOJ charges 4 Iranian intelligence officials with conspiracy to kidnap a US journalist, citizen, and activist of Iranian origin and forcibly take her to Tehran — Accused men monitored and planned to kidnap US citizen of Iranian origin and take her to Iran, officials say
Discussion:
Mediaite, New York Times, @alinejadmasih, Reuters, @dojnatsec, Politico, The Hill, New York Post and The Daily Beast