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Brian Williams, the former NBC Nightly News anchor who faced a six-month suspension in 2015, will leave NBC when his contract ends in December — The former anchor of “NBC Nightly News” rehabilitated his tarnished image as the host of a popular 11 p.m. show on MSNBC.
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, The Hill, Insider, CNN, TVNewser, Variety, The Wrap, Washington Post, @mikekoncewicz, Associated Press, @msnbc, @kpa2, @vinguptamd, @carolleonnig, @samstein, @elistokols, @petesouza, @mccaffreyr3, @maggienyt, @garretthaake, @edzitron, @davidfolkenflik, @andrewdesiderio, @page88, Newser, @colvinj, @matthewamiller, Poynter, The Daily Beast, HuffPost, Page Six, TVLine, Mediaite and Axios


The Verge updates its “on background” policy, making “on the record” the default when its reporters speak to PR professionals, particularly at tech companies — On ‘on background’ — The main way this happens is that big companies take advantage of a particular agreement in the media called “background.”
Discussion:
@reckless, @oliviasolon, @manan, @ericnewcomer, @robpegoraro, @brokenbottleboy, @alexeheath, @leah_nylen, @tonyajoriley, @manubarem, @joetidy, @alexhcranz, @abeaujon, @futterish, @jayrosen_nyu, @alex, @stroughtonsmith, @anildash, @caseynewton, @tonyromm, @nicholaswu12, @alexhern, @jeffgrubb, @kellymakena, @jayrosen_nyu, @dsilverman and @willoremus


Twitter Blue rolls out to the US for $2.99/month and NZ for $4.49/month with Scroll's ad-free articles across 300+ publishers and Nuzzel-like “top articles” — Twitter is expanding its premium subscription service to more users. Twitter Blue, which unlocks additional features …
Discussion:
@twitterblue, @arctictony, Twitter, @twitterblue, New York Times, @arctictony, Nieman Lab, @caseynewton, @adamsinger, TechCrunch, The Drum, @balajis, MediaNama, @redvacktor, @ksheldongh, @sarahscire, @justinhendrix, @slpng_giants, @kayvz, @chrismessina, @oranicuhh, @couch, @jack, @scottmstedman, @mahwashajaz_, @quinnypig, @film_girl, @shiraovide, @mims, @wongmjane, @devindra, @caseynewton, @tuckerkristen, @nicksallon, @ericzuck, @idiplomacy, @_jackriley, AppleInsider, @karissabe, @arctictony, @caseynewton and The Verge, more at Techmeme »


Tencent Music announces a deal with Apple Music, allowing Chinese musicians part of its Music Cloud program to distribute their works through Apple Music — Apple Music users around the world will soon have access to more Chinese musicians. Tencent Music Entertainment …
Discussion:
PR Newswire, ScreenRant, 9to5Mac and Music Ally


Journalists and analysts talk of muted reactions to the Facebook Papers over Meta's failure to stop hate speech and misinformation in the Global South — “Very little of what I have read about the papers comes as a surprise.” — When news emerged about a leaked trove of documents …
Discussion:
@kantrowitz, @dseetharaman, @restofworld, @mvzelenks and Beyond Search, more at Techmeme »


Unity to acquire Peter Jackson's visual effects company Weta Digital, including 275+ engineers, for $1.625B; Weta Digital's FTX artists will form a new entity — Unity has just announced its intent to acquire Weta Digital, the legendary visual effects company co-founded by Peter Jackson, for a massive $1.625 billion.
Discussion:
Variety, Hollywood Reporter, @thebeesneeze, @shaneguml, @reckless, @tylerglaiel, @chornesays, @nzkoz, @loudmouthjulia, @xpangler, @parismarx, @grg, @briannorgard, @toadsanime, @mikeseymour, @devincf, The Verge, Gizmodo and The Wrap, more at Techmeme »


fuboTV to acquire French multiplatform streaming company Molotov for $190M; Molotov co-founder and CEO Jean-David Blanc will become chief strategy officer — fuboTV is making a significant move in Europe with plans to acquire Molotov, a French startup with a leading television streaming service. fuboTV …
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Over 300 employees at Hearst's magazine division petition against the company's plans to return to the office next week; their union has filed an NLRB complaint — More than 300 employees at Hearst's magazine division have signed a petition objecting to the company's plan to have them return …
Discussion:
Editor and Publisher, @greenhousenyt, @stacey_grant91 and @spencerdukoff


BBC follows Ofcom and Channel 4 in quitting LGBTQ+ group Stonewall's Diversity Champions Programme and Workplace Equality Index, amid impartiality concerns — The BBC has quit two controversial schemes run by Stonewall, an LGBTQ+ lobby group and charity, following an investigation by one of the corporation's own journalists.
Discussion:
The Guardian, Insider, @jimwaterson, @spilleroftea, bbc.co.uk, @benjamincohen, @stephennolan, @stonewalluk, @jimwaterson and Deadline


Sky News anchor Adam Boulton announces he will leave at the end of the year, after more than 30 years at the channel — Journalist, 62, says direction news channel wants to go in is not ‘a particularly good fit for me’ — Adam Boulton has announced he will leave Sky News at the end of the year …


Digital Entertainment Group: US streaming consumer subscription revenue was up 19% YoY for the first nine months of 2021, to $18.5B — Soaring U.S. streaming consumer subscription revenue is up 19% to $18.5 billion through the first nine months of 2021 versus a year ago …
Discussion:
The Streamable


Politico says it has reached an agreement with NewsGuild to voluntarily recognize its PEN Guild union — Politico reached an agreement to voluntarily recognize a union of its employees, extending a wave of successful organizing efforts in the media industry.
Discussion:
@josheidelson and The NewsGuild - CWA


The global streaming boom is pushing language service providers to their limits due to a shortage of quality translators, voice-over actors, and sound mixers — Industry executives say international hit shows like Squid Game are draining a limited talent pool.
Discussion:
@skullface, @mvzelenks, @zackdavisson, @leonidragozin, @bentranslates, @vickiturk and @marklittlenews