Mediagazer: A look at BuzzFeed's rocky transformation into a public company, as Bustle CEO says its fate will determine the fortunes of other digital media companies (Peter Kafka/Vox)

12:50 PM ET, December 7, 2021

Top News:

Sources: CNN's Chris Cuomo U-turn came after NY AG records, a law firm report, and a separate sexual misconduct allegation against him from an ex-ABC colleague — Network boss fired the star anchor on Saturday, leaving a hole in the channel's prime-time lineup

Discussion: Washington Post, @ericmgarcia, @froomkin, Fox News, @ibjiyongi, New York Times, @ewerickson, @yuhline, Newser, @jbflint, Mediaite, CNN, @benmullin, @asharma, @benmullin, Associated Press, New York Post, @wsj, @pkafka, The Hill and The Wrap

Lindsey Ellefson / The Wrap:

At a town hall, Jeff Zucker says he's “comfortable” with how Cuomo's firing transpired and that Cuomo declined to take a leave when accusations surfaced — CNN boss Jeff Zucker addressed his staff Tuesday, announcing in a town hall that the company will take diversity into account …

Discussion: @erikwemple, @erikwemple and @erikwemple

Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Chris Cuomo says he is also leaving SiriusXM, where he hosted a regular weekday radio program, to “focus on what comes next”

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, Wall Street Journal, CNBC, @johnnydollar01, WGN-TV, Los Angeles Times, Fox News, The Hill and FTVLive

New York Times:
CNN says it has fired Chris Cuomo after “additional information has come to light” about the help he gave his brother Andrew Cuomo

Discussion: @chriscuomo, insideradio.com, New York Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer, @cnnpr, @chriscuomo, CNBC, CNN, New’s Newsletter, Washington Post, The Week, @dylanbyers, @danprimack, Mediaite, Fox News, @moiradonegan, @jeremymbarr, Newser, @jayrosen_nyu, New York Magazine, @benmullin, The Week that Was, @poynter, Today in Tabs, Ineptocracy Chronicles, HuffPost, The Hill, The Wrap, Vanity Fair, Steve Self-Cancels, Press Watch, American Press Institute, National Review, Poynter, @marceelias, @jodikantor, FTVLive, @grynbaum, @badfoxgraphics, @brianstelter, @erikwemple, @juliettekayyem, @sorayamcdonald, @juddlegum, Boing Boing, @grynbaum, Associated Press, @stevebattaglio, @koblin, @ericmgarcia, @jodikantor, @randpaul, Los Angeles Times, NBC News, @shoq, @grynbaum, @glennbeck, Slate, TMZ.com, @jodikantor, @jodikantor, @jodikantor, @jodikantor, @benyt, @grynbaum, @grynbaum, NPR, @michelemclellan, @davidfolkenflik, @davmicrot, @thrasherxy, @janicedean, @ichotiner, @badfoxgraphics, @benyt, @megjameslat, @baseballot, @jazayerli, @dick_nixon, @rontkim, @grynbaum, @maddoxrules, @jordanchariton, @jayrosen_nyu, @brentbozell, @jadler1969, @iamsophianelson, @benmullin, @studentactivism, @studentactivism, @originalspin, @froomkin, @jbflint, @mayatcontreras, @josephwulfsohn, @davidfolkenflik, @kenklippenstein, @cernovich, @redsteeze, @meganbitchell, @_cingraham, @matthardybrand, @attorneynora, @shoq, @brianstelter, @jeremymbarr, @mollyjongfast, @phil_lewis_, @froomkin, @jasminestylestv, @jdwackrow, @frankconniff, @a_newsman, @elisestefanik, @adriennelaw, @chrisloesch, @erikwemple, @mrbeaks, @lmoses, @erikwemple, @noahshachtman, @noahshachtman, @timheidecker, @erikwemple, @ditzkoff, @alexthomp, @nycsouthpaw, @jeremymbarr, Media Nation, @benyt, @brianstelter, @grynbaum, @sdkstl and MediaPost

Gerry Smith / Bloomberg:

BuzzFeed closed down 11% on its Nasdaq trading debut, attaining a market cap of $364M, after raising less than expected from its SPAC — - Company is in talks to make Michael Del Nin its new president — Sector needs ‘strong public company,’ co-founder Peretti says

Discussion: @benmullin, CNBC, CNN, BuzzFeed, YouTube, @sherman4949, @kerrymflynn, Columbia Journalism Review, @sherman4949, @sherman4949, @alex, @silviakillings, @tomgara, @rmac18, @kerrymflynn, @gerryfsmith, Insider, New York Times and Variety

Peter Kafka / Vox:

A look at BuzzFeed's rocky transformation into a public company, as Bustle CEO says its fate will determine the fortunes of other digital media companies — “The fate of BuzzFeed is going to determine the fortunes of a lot of other companies.” — The transformation from startup to public company is supposed to be a very big deal.

Discussion: @spj_tweets, @pkafka, @pkafka, Mediaite, Gawker, Fast Company and Financial Times

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

Yamiche Alcindor is joining NBC News' Washington team; she will give up her role on PBS NewsHour but remain moderator of PBS' Washington Week — Alcindor, who is expected to start with NBC in March, will cover the Biden administration as well as the impact of federal policies on communities across …

Discussion: @yamiche, The Hill, The Wrap, TVNewser, Deadline, @gretchenfrazee, @pbs, @jbwolfsthal, @jeffjarvis, @jacobsoboroff, @richardhudock, @nbcnewspr and Hollywood Reporter

Madeleine Lim / Bloomberg:

Haze Fan, a member of Bloomberg's Beijing bureau, has now been detained for a year as Chinese authorities say the case is ongoing — Haze Fan, a member of Bloomberg News's bureau in Beijing, has been detained since late last year, with no information forthcoming on her case.

Discussion: @aliceysu, New York Times and @tommackenzietv

Matt Schudel / Washington Post:

Fred Hiatt, The Washington Post's editorial page editor since 2000, dies at 66 — Fred Hiatt, a onetime foreign correspondent who in 2000 became The Washington Post's editorial page editor and greatly expanded the global reach of the newspaper's opinion writers in the era of 9/11 …

Hollywood Reporter:

Sources: Disney names Geoff Morrell to the newly created role of chief corporate affairs officer, an expansion of the top communications job held by Zenia Mucha — Morrell, who was also the press secretary for the Pentagon during the Bush and Obama administrations, will succeed Zenia Mucha, who plans to retire at the end of the year.

Discussion: Variety, Los Angeles Times, Axios, Deadline, @kimmasters, The Wrap, @peterhimler, @fibellefi, @dougheye, @alexweprin and @edokeefe

Bron Maher / Press Gazette:

The Financial Times says all editorial staff will get a £5,600 bonus as the paper surpassed its Q4 revenue expectations and will end the year profitable — Financial Times journalists are to receive bonuses of £5,600 this month after the publisher reported profits “well ahead of our business plan”.

Discussion: @alicemuwu, @jerometaylor, @stokel, @niemanlab and Talking Biz News

Alistair Gray / Financial Times:

GroupM: global ad revenue will reach $763B in 2021, up 18.7% from 2019; Alphabet, Meta, and Amazon control 80-90% of the digital ad market outside of China — Alphabet, Meta and Amazon have doubled their share of ad revenues in past 5 years, industry estimates

Discussion: GroupM, Ad Age, @megancgraham, Wall Street Journal, @groupmworldwide, @ivan_brussels, @rossmkelly92, @1br0wn, @digitalshields, Midday Macro, MediaPost, The Wrap, Digiday, The Drum and Hollywood Reporter

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Disney scraps the FX on Hulu branding two years after it launched, to make FX branding consistent worldwide across its DTC and linear TV services — Disney has decided kill off the “FX on Hulu” name less than two years after it launched — a piece of brand-management microsurgery many people probably won't even notice.

Discussion: @sonnybunch, @oliverdarcy, Cord Cutters News, The Streamable, TVLine, Too Much TV Newsletter, Deadline, MediaPost, Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, Decider and Adweek

Kevin Breuninger / CNBC:

Rep. Devin Nunes, a close Trump ally and former chair of the House Intelligence Committee, says he will resign to become CEO of Trump Media & Technology Group — - Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., will resign from Congress to become chief executive officer of former President Donald Trump's fledgling social media entity next month.

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