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3:35 PM ET, December 15, 2021

Mediagazer

 Top News: 
Lydia Moynihan / New York Post:
Sources: as part of the merger, Group Nine was valued at $225M, down from $585M in 2016, and Vox was valued at ~$672M, down from $1B in 2015  —  Vox Media and Group Nine are keeping the value of their merger private — and that may be because the number isn't as eye-popping …
Ashley Carman / The Verge:
With podcasts selling for millions of dollars, smaller advertisers say they're getting priced out as ad costs soar and relationships become more impersonal  —  This story is part of a group of stories called  —  Füm is the type of product that traditionally sells well through podcast ads.
Sara Guaglione / Digiday:
Q&A with Sara Silverstein, TheStreet's new EIC, on plans to broaden the audience of investors for The Arena Group's financial publication, and more  —  Last week, former Business Insider (now Insider) editor at large Sara Silverstein headed to TheStreet, the financial publication owned by The Arena Group …
Discussion: @ichartny
The Guardian:
Soe Naing, a freelance photojournalist in Myanmar, dies in military custody after being arrested last week while covering protests  —  Soe Naing was arrested in Yangon while taking photos of a ‘silent strike’ protest against military rule  —  A freelance photojournalist in Myanmar has died …
Politico:
Some organizations with legislative interests are running print ads in Delaware's The News Journal to get their message in front of Biden  —  Interest groups trying to influence the president of the United States will often fork over millions of dollars in order to do so.
Ben Fox / Associated Press:
AP Executive Editor Julie Pace urges DHS to say why it investigated reporter Martha Mendoza and assure that the “apparent abuse of power” will not continue  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Associated Press sought answers Monday from the Department of Homeland Security on its use …
Rachel Connolly / Financial Times:
Listeners are flocking to “friendship podcasts” built on rapport with hosts, who are monetizing via live shows, merchandising, and even album releases  —  The podcast, with its associations with talk radio, political wonkery and overproduced true crime, can seem a dorky medium.
Discussion: @rachelconnoll14 and @donetodeath
Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch:
Google offers news payment commitments to France's antitrust watchdog in a bid to end antitrust litigation, including to “negotiate in good faith”  —  In its latest move to placate European competition regulators, Google has offered a set of commitments to France's antitrust watchdog …
Reuters:
Smartmatic and Dominion seek communications from Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch in their defamation lawsuits against Fox News over election rigging claims  —  Did Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch influence Fox News' coverage of claims about two voting technology companies — knowing that those claims were false?
 
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 More News: 
Sarah Ellison / Washington Post:
Joe Nocera sues former employer Bloomberg News, seeking earnings from The Shrink Next Door, an Apple TV+ series based on his podcast of the same name
Gavin Bridge / Variety:
Analysis: political news and opinion programming across CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC made up 83% of the 5,000 most watched cable shows in 2021, up from 57% in 2016
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
Axios:
The Guardian has 1.6M+ paying readers, of which 1M make recurring payments for digital content, 100K are print subscribers, and 500K make one-off donations
 Earlier Picks: 
@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
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
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
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
 

 
From Techmeme:

Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority:
Source: Google has canceled the development of a second-generation Pixel Tablet, planned for release in 2025, due to concerns that it wouldn't sell very well

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is testing a more conversational version of Siri, dubbed “LLM Siri”, with plans to release it in spring 2026 as part of iOS 19 and macOS 16

Hannah Lang / Reuters:
Sources: a16z, Ripple, Kraken, and Circle are jostling for a seat on Trump's promised crypto advisory council, which is expected to set up a bitcoin reserve

 
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