Top News:
Aubrey Allegretti / The Guardian:
Paul Dacre pulls out of the race to chair media regulator Ofcom, despite UK ministers rerunning the process to give him a second chance — Former Daily Mail editor announces decision not to proceed with second bid and takes swipe at civil service — Paul Dacre has pulled out of the running …
Edmund Lee / New York Times:
Filing: shareholders vote December 2 on BuzzFeed's SPAC merger, with stock trading as soon as December 6; Q3 net loss was ~$3.6M on revenue of $90M, up 20% YoY — If you want to own a piece of BuzzFeed, just wait till the first week of December. — The publisher's plan to merge …
Discussion:
@kerrymflynn and @edmundlee
Zoe Tillman / BuzzFeed News:
Judge orders NYT not to publish any Project Veritas “privileged materials”, despite precedent against prior restraint; NYT seeks immediate review of the ruling — WASHINGTON — A judge in New York on Thursday took the rare step of temporarily blocking the New York Times …
Discussion:
New York Times, @erikwemple, @janemayernyer, Washington Post, @rcfp, Vanity Fair, The Hill, @erikwemple, Freedom of the Press …, Reuters, @freedomofpress, Committee to Protect …, @pressfreedom, @kylenabecker, Media Nation, @katie_rcfp, @digby56, Columbia Journalism Review, Techdirt, @asfleischman, @emilybazelon, @alfonslopeztena, @jason_kint, @jadler1969, @mlcalderone, @ronwyden, @nycjim, @lisatozzi, @adamgoldmannyt, @cliffordlevy, @tristansnell, @aricohn, @matthewschafer, @keitholbermann, @trevortimm, @freedomofpress, @pnjaban, @markmazzettinyt, @adamliptak, @seth_hettena, @freedomofpress, @jswatz, @karolcummins, @rcfp, @ggreenwald, @pnjaban, @edmundlee, @davidfolkenflik, @bradmossesq, @mr_berman, @kenbensinger, @janemayernyer, @ejeancarroll, @jonathanwpeters, @erikwemple, The Reporters Committee …, @erikwemple, @trevortimm and Law & Crime
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
WarnerMedia plans to offer its own audience-measurement data in 2022, and is in talks with 10 to 15 vendors, as Nielsen's efforts come under scrutiny — Now WarnerMedia wants to be judged by a different yardstick. — The owner of popular media outlets like HBO, CNN and TNT intends to offer …
Discussion:
SlashFilm, @sportstvratings, @nina_metz, @davidclinchnews, Digital TV Europe and @bristei
Stephen Singer / Hartford Courant:
Andrew Julien, the publisher and EIC of the Hartford Courant, is named executive editor of the New York Daily News — Andrew Julien, editor-in-chief and publisher of The Hartford Courant, has been appointed executive editor of the New York Daily News, Tribune Publishing announced Friday.
Discussion:
@courantguild, New York Daily News, @maxoregonian, @hartfordcourant and @notesfromhel
Patience Haggin / Wall Street Journal:
Roku to develop 50+ original shows in the next two years; sources say Roku plans to spend ~$250K-$750K/episode for unscripted and $500K-$5M/episode for scripted — Streaming-media hub looks to turn Roku Channel into destination for free content — Roku Inc., the nation's biggest pathway …
Discussion:
The Streamable, New York Post, @aaron_renn, @djtgallagher, @jbflint and @plantmath1
Max Willens / Digiday:
A look at Philly Inquirer's Gameday Central, a live pre-game NFL show, which attracts thousands of viewers and that the paper hopes to expand to other sports — The Philadelphia Inquirer is hoping it can turn one of its important beats into a launchpad for a new crop of virtual event franchises.
Discussion:
@evanbenn and Barrett Media
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Omnicom forecasts $13.4B in CTV ad spend in 2021 vs. $9B+ in 2020, but says it's noticed “fundamental flaws” in measurement that open the door to ad fraud — Laura Molen is using November to pitch Madison Avenue as if May were just around the corner.
Ryan Broderick / Garbage Day:
Thinkarete Lifestyle, cited by Facebook as Q3's most widely viewed Page in the US, seems to be a barely active drop-shipping scheme with stolen content — Unmasking The Most Viral Page On Facebook — My podcast co-host Luke Bailey and I are back with a new content investigation.
Rest of World:
Mailchimp temporarily banned three independent Cuban news outlets, likely due to an overzealous enforcement of its ToS, which state users can't be based in Cuba — Though the accounts were eventually restored, the episode showed how the U.S. embargo can do Cuba's censorship for it. — • HAVANA, CUBA
Discussion:
New York Times, @restofworld, @dlberes, @rankingrights, @alexgonzor and @restofworld
The 19th:
The 19th announces one-year, salaried fellowships in reporting, editing, audience engagement, or newsroom technology for recent and mid-career HBCU alumni — The program will provide recent graduates and mid-career alums of Historically Black Colleges and Universities with full-year …
Dade Hayes / Deadline:
Disney will bundle Disney+ and ESPN+ with Hulu + Live TV from Dec. 21 and raise its monthly price by $5 to $70 for the ad-supported tier and $76 for ad-free — Softening the blow of a monthly price hike, Disney is offering subscribers to Hulu's live TV service access to Disney+ and ESPN+ at no extra charge.
Discussion:
The Streamable, Awful Announcing, nexttv.com, Variety, The Wrap, Adweek, TechCrunch, @richlightshed, Digital Trends, Bloomberg, Decider, Hollywood Reporter, Cord Cutters News and @tvgrimreaper