Top News:
New York Times:
BuzzFeed will go public via a merger with 890 5th Avenue Partners, raising $16M from the SPAC and $150M via debt and acquiring Complex Networks for $300M — Shareholders in BuzzFeed, the digital media pioneer known for its listicles, quizzes and a news division that won its first Pulitzer Prize this year …
Discussion:
@benmullin, @bmorrissey, Wall Street Journal, @lizrhoffman, @wsj, @edmundlee, SEC.gov, Axios, New York Post and Poynter
RELATED:
Shawn McCreesh / New York Magazine:
BuzzFeed News' union holds a walkout after two years of contract negotiations, as shareholders approve a plan to take the company public via a SPAC — BuzzFeed shareholders will vote today to take the company public via a merger with a special-purpose-acquisition company, or SPAC.
Discussion:
@bernstein, Puck, CNN, @shawnmccreesh, @alexweprin, @alexweprin, @nicolegoodkind, @walldo, @shawnmccreesh, @alexweprin, @cwarzel, @joeperticone, @aaschapiro, @shockleysmith, @jbenmenachem, @bcmerchant, @stevenbeynon, The Information, @felixsalmon, @leavittalone, @matt_on_tech, @jackmirkinson, @o_ema, @mtredden, @juliareinstein, @emilybell, @edgecgroup, @louispeitzman, @brfreed, @addysbaird, TechCrunch, @choire, @hamiltonnolan, @zoetillman, @wirecutterunion, @morroweric, @sarafischer, Los Angeles Times, Nieman Lab, @bfnewsunion and New York Times, more at Techmeme »
Mathew Ingram / Columbia Journalism Review:
Journalists and activists worry Twitter's new privacy policy will be weaponized and make their jobs harder, due to vague terms like “the public interest” — On Tuesday, Twitter said it is expanding its privacy policy to include what the company calls “private media.”
Discussion:
@chadloder, @gwensnyderphl, @chadloder, @chadloder, @blackamazon, @timheuer, @dkiesow, @jsource, @evacide, @anamardoll, @gwensnyderphl, @chetfaliszek, @gwensnyderphl, @dkiesow, @donlday, @coreypein, @gwensnyderphl, @gwensnyderphl, @vv1lder, @llauralouisiana, @gwensnyderphl, @evacide, @krisgoldsmith85, @berkmanonlyfans, @digiphile, @blackamazon, @therikeys, @chadloder, @billyarmagh, @drewharwell, @bobarchambault, @gwensnyderphl, @ericajoy, @kimcrayton1, @kenny_wallace, @k_trendacosta, @mathewi, Reason, @jeffjarvis, @wongmjane and Input
RELATED:
Drew Harwell / Washington Post:
White supremacists have been urging supporters to use Twitter's new policy against journalists and others who have identified them in photos of rallies — Researchers fear the new ban on posts sharing people's private information will be ‘emboldening to the fascists’ eager to keep their identities concealed.
Carlos Greer / New York Post:
Ex-Shape staffers say they worked 375 unpaid overtime hours on the new Sweet July magazine, were laid off, and then asked to return as temps for the next issue — Laid-off Meredith staffers have soured on the publishing company's new Sweet July magazine — helmed by Food Network star Ayesha Curry.
Discussion:
@meredithunion, @chactivist, @chactivist, @jackdickey, @cnbenton1, @meredithunion, @tatejamesdotcom, @nyguild, @pagesix and @niemanlab
Jack Suntrup / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Emails: Missouri officials planned to thank the St. Louis Post-Dispatch for finding a data vulnerability before they threatened a reporter, calling him a hacker — JEFFERSON CITY — Before blaming the Post-Dispatch, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education was preparing to thank …
Sui-Lee Wee / New York Times:
Philippine court grants Maria Ressa permission to travel to Oslo to receive the Nobel Peace Prize after the government tried to block her from going — The decision came after days of growing international pressure on the government to allow the journalist to attend the ceremony in Norway.
Discussion:
Coda Story, @antelava, @jason_kint and Reuters
Lukas I. Alpert / MarketWatch:
US prosecutors charge two men with running a music royalty scam, collecting $20M+ from YouTube, by falsely claiming rights to 50,000 Spanish language songs — Prosecutors say the men claimed rights to 50,000 Spanish-language songs they didn't own, using the royalty money to buy mansions, fancy cars and jewelry.
Columbia Journalism Review:
A proposal to protect democracy by safeguarding local journalism: provide ~$34B in federal funds to nonprofit news outlets, allocated based on local votes — Readers of the Columbia Journalism Review are well aware of the importance of local news media; they have been the foundation …
Discussion:
@cjr, @robertslawrence, @nikkiusher, @digiphile, @vwpickard, @razarumi, @razarumi and @sewellchan
Mia Sato / The Verge:
Five major education publishers sue Shopify for $500M+ over failing to remove pirated textbooks and other content that violate their trademarks and copyrights — Textbook pirates are selling stolen learning materials on the platform, according to a lawsuit
Discussion:
Publishers Weekly and Wall Street Journal
Bloomberg:
Sources: Jimmy Lai's Apple Daily, which has 300 staff members, is shutting down in Taiwan in December when funding runs out — - Newspaper's Taiwan unit to run out of funds in December — Closure would mark end of pro-democracy Hong Kong media empire
Discussion:
@bloombergasia
Reid J. Epstein / New York Times:
Two Georgia election workers sue the far-right website Gateway Pundit for defamation over its false claims that the two manipulated ballots in 2020 — The two Georgia workers were falsely accused of manipulating ballots by Trump allies and right-wing news sites. Election officials said the workers did nothing wrong.
Discussion:
Georgia Public Broadcasting, Reuters, @skoczela, NBC News, @cliffordlevy, @noahbookbinder, @tom_mallory, @oneunderscore__, @mattortega, @oneunderscore__, @oneunderscore__, Insider, @oneunderscore__, @oneunderscore__, @simonowens, @patrickdmarley, @slpng_giants, @tripgabriel, @tripgabriel, @tripgabriel, @kyleorangio, @tripgabriel, Mediaite, Newser and The Hill