Top News:
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Vox Media agrees to merge with Group Nine; Vox CEO Jim Bankoff will run the combined company, while Group Nine founder and CEO Ben Lerer will join its board — Vox CEO Jim Bankoff would run the combined company, which would own New York magazine, PopSugar, The Verge, Vox and Thrillist.
Discussion:
Axios, Vox, Vox Media, @katie_robertson, Vanity Fair, New York Times, @thetomzone, @rafat, @loudmouthjulia, @meredithbalkus, @sarafischer, @dicktofel, @bankoff, @pkafka, @rypauley, @tedleonsis, @gjbarb, @tolles, @film_girl, @lanceulanoff, @voxmedia, Axios, @davidfolkenflik, The Information, The Wrap, Deadline, Press Gazette and Wall Street Journal
Katie Robertson / New York Times:
Former THR co-president Janice Min and Richard Rushfield form Ankler Media, expanding The Ankler, Rushfield's paid Substack newsletter about Hollywood — Janice Min, a media executive in Los Angeles, is joining forces with Richard Rushfield, a show-business columnist, to start a new media business …
Jeremy Barr / Washington Post:
Fox News hosts Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity, and Brian Kilmeade texted Mark Meadows on January 6, urging him to get Trump to tell people to leave the Capitol — Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity, Brian Kilmeade expressed alarm, concern, according to messages shared during House select committee hearing.
Discussion:
@oliverdarcy, @justinbaragona, Washington Post, Insider, @jeremymbarr, The Guardian, The Bulwark, Media Matters for America, Mediaite, CNN, The Week, @sarahlongwell25, The Daily Beast, Politico, @steve_vladeck, @amandacarpenter, @jannwolfe, American Press Institute, Newser, @theplumlinegs, The Hill, @asharangappa_, @emptywheel, @anneapplebaum, @theplumlinegs, @cliffordlevy, @billkristol, UPROXX, @therickwilson, @maggienyt, @timodc, @brianrayguitar, @brianrayguitar, @timodc, @justinbaragona, @sykescharlie, @davidfolkenflik, @ser1897, @joyannreid, @samstein, @chrismegerian, @mehdirhasan, @peltzmadeline, @juliettekayyem, @tonypaul1984, @casssemyon, Letters from an American, Four Freedoms, The Daily Beast, Fox News, The Independent, NBC News, HuffPost, Mediaite, Yahoo News, UPROXX, NPR, Insider, The Wrap, Rolling Stone, Boing Boing, Hollywood Reporter, Raw Story, Deadline, Mediaite, New York Post, Insider and abc7NY
Axios:
Source: 1.6M+ readers pay for the Guardian, of which 1M make recurring payments for digital content, 100K are print subscribers, and 500K make one-off donations — The Guardian now has 1 million people that pay for its digital content on a recurrent basis, Axios has learned.
Discussion:
@sarafischer, @vivian, @sarafischer and @rasmus_kleis
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Graydon Carter's Air Mail raises a $17M Series B, bringing its total funding to $32M; Carter says it has 130K readers and that subscriptions grew 50%+ YoY — Air Mail, the subscription-based digital magazine company launched by former Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter …
Discussion:
@sarafischer, @claremalone, @rafat, @fka_tabs and @mikeorren
@wirecutterunion:
Wirecutter Union reaches a deal that includes a $59K salary floor, the elimination of NDAs in cases of harassment, and monthly remote work reimbursements — 🚨Bargaining Update🚨 We're excited to share we've reached a deal with management on our first contract! After 2 years of bargaining & a 5 day strike, we've secured an agreement that makes meaningful improvements to our working conditions. We came together to demand better & won!
Discussion:
New York Times, @shiraovide, @bfnewsunion, Bloomberg, @juliareinstein, @danfrakes, @seduncan21, @gaufre, @thenickguy, @sarah_witman, @lorenzofb, @lalabor, The NewsGuild - CWA and @glennf
Rick Edmonds / Poynter:
Stock in Lee Enterprises climbed from $18/share before Alden's bid to over $36/share at Tuesday close, possibly helping the newspaper group remain independent — It suggests Lee's newsrooms, which have worried for the last months about deep cuts if Alden takes over, may instead see a fairly stable 2022.
Discussion:
@kerrymflynn and @itsren
Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber / Reuters:
A Moscow court fines investigative news outlet The Insider $13,600 for failing to identify itself as a “foreign agent” after being designated as such in July — Russian investigative website The Insider was fined on Tuesday for breaking the “foreign agents” …
New York Times:
How China helps foreign influencers in the country who spread pro-China messages, funding their travel and generating lucrative, likely inauthentic, traffic — We are on the outskirts of Shanghai today at the most incredible hotel we've ever stayed at. — It's the first in the world built inside a quarry.
Discussion:
Fortune and Raymond Zhong, more at Techmeme »
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Snap says it paid out over $250M to more than 12,000 creators through its Snapchat Spotlight programs in 2021, after dialing back its $1M+ per day pace — This year, Snap finally caught user-generated content fever: In 2021, the company has paid out more than $250 million …
Discussion:
TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »
Sara Fischer / Axios:
TCG invests ~$80M in Food52, which is buying house decor company Schoolhouse for $48M; Food52 is on pace for $120M in 2021 revenue, with about 88% from commerce — TCG, the investment arm of The Chernin Group, is pouring roughly $80 million into Food52, a cooking and home goods brand …
Discussion:
@sarafischer, @food52, @amandahesser and Architectural Digest
Vikas Sn / Moneycontrol:
Netflix slashes all its price tiers in India, with the Basic plan now starting at $2.60/month, down from $6.60/month, amid intense competition — Netflix is reducing its India pricing for the first time since the service's foray in 2016 as it looks to ramp up its user base amid intense competition …
Discussion:
@netflixindia, About Netflix, @netflixindia, Media Play News, Mashable India, @sidin, @tsuvik, TechCrunch, Livemint and Hollywood Reporter
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