Top News:
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, @jpanzar, @ashleylcarter1, @jasonabbruzzese, @motormouthmedia, @blowryontv, @lucas_shaw, @evargastv, @ksheekey, @adamnagourney, @cityofthetown, @amy_disneypr, @sammy_roth, @kairyssdal, @natjarv, @richarddeitsch, @brentalang, @davidclinchnews, Los Angeles Times, @russpitts, @eva_palmer, @dylanbyers, @shelbygrad, @mattdpearce, @billzanetti and The Wrap
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:
/Film, The Wrap, Mediaite, The Wrap, The Streamable, Variety, The Wrap, Variety, Variety, Variety, @variety, Los Angeles Times, MediaPost, /Film, @charlierivkin, @kerrywashington, @debramessing, IndieWire, @bluestein, Observer, The Week, New York Post and Adweek
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, @kenvogel, @matthewamiller and @katie_rcfp
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:
New York Times, @alinejadmasih, @dojnatsec, Insider, The Week, Reuters, @ezraacohen, @yasmohammedxx, @samanarbabi, @elliecohanim, @bariweiss, @kambizf, Politico, @dy1anonymous, The Hill, @rayhanasat, @mollyjongfast, @jason_kint, @danieldimartino, @ksadjadpour, @baldingsworld, @reptenney, @alaneyre1, @nickkristof, @smohyeddin, @julietmosesnz, @omid_m, The Daily Beast, @mehdirhasan and The Indian Express
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 …
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:
/Film, Hollywood Forever, @labuzamovies, 9to5Mac, @ryansgosling, @moderngurlzz, The A.V. Club, @variety, @variety, @jessehawken, @stellinitweets and @papapishu
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:
Sportico, Variety, @awallenstein, @aagave, @lucas_shaw, @sizpatel, @lionelmedia, Business Wire and The Wrap
Kaya Yurieff / The Information:
Substack to launch Substack Grow next month, a free six-session course over Zoom to help writers build a following and earn their first $1,000 — The top 10 publishers on Substack bring in more than $20 million a year in subscriptions, underpinning the newsletter platform's revenue growth.
Discussion:
LION Publishers, @rsingel, @bboy_izilla, @kyurieff, @norareed, @amir, @hamishmckenzie and @blackamazon
Laura Miller / Slate:
Q&A with Eric Nelson, executive editor of HarperCollins' conservative imprint Broadside Books, on campaigns to cancel the contracts of some conservatives, more — In recent years, the conservative imprints at the major New York publishing houses have been put under a microscope.
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 …
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:
@donlday, American Press Institute, @harrisonberry, @idahomarissa, @dangillmor, @markmaxwelltv, @kevinrichert, @grahamrhunter and @amandatvnews
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