Top News:
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Alden sues Lee Enterprises, arguing Lee's board infringed company bylaws by denying Alden's request to nominate three board members due to paperwork issues — Alden Global Capital, a hedge fund known for consolidating local news companies for profit, is suing local newspaper company Lee Enterprises …
Andy Greene / Rolling Stone:
Billboard report: Bruce Springsteen sells his publishing catalog to Sony Music and Sony Music Publishing for $500M — Bruce Springsteen has sold his publishing catalog to Sony for a reported $500 million, as Billboard reports. — The musician has sold his masters to Sony Music …
Han Zhang / The Guardian:
Profile of Hu Xijin, editor of the Global Times, a nationalistic tabloid dubbed “China's Fox News”, as he becomes China's most famous propagandist on Twitter — Hu Xijin is China's most famous propagandist. At the Global Times, he helped establish a chest-thumping new tone …
Discussion:
@tknoll209k, Fortune, @jgriffiths, @amonck, @williamyang120 and Agence France-Presse
RELATED:
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Spotify acquires Australian company Whooshkaa, which helps radio broadcasters and others turn existing content into podcasts and sell ads around them — Spotify on Thursday said it acquired Whooshkaa, a podcast technology platform that specializes in technology for radio broadcasters to turn existing content into podcasts.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Adweek, Variety, Spotify, Whooshkaa, The Verge, Futureprotech and @sarthakgh, more at Techmeme »
Washington Post:
The NYT's Project Veritas reporting has now been restrained for 28 days, 14 more than for the Pentagon Papers, although a judge on December 14 gave some leeway — Stephen J. Adler, who recently retired as editor in chief of Reuters, is chairman of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press …
Discussion:
New York Times, New York Times, @adamgoldmannyt, Raw Story, @freedomofpress, @joannelipman, @rcfp, @bgrueskin, @frates, @nytimesbusiness and bookforum.com
Suzanne Vranica / Wall Street Journal:
Talent agency UTA says it has acquired marketing and media consulting firm MediaLink, whose clients include NBCU, AT&T, and Unilever, for $125M — The Hollywood talent firm is buying the influential media consulting company as UTA seeks to grow its burgeoning marketing practice
Discussion:
Ad Age, The Wrap, Tubefilter, @michaelmiraflor, MediaPost, @megancgraham, @joshsternberg, @digitalshields, Variety, Deadline and Los Angeles Times
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Spotify rolls out a five-star ratings system for podcasts that will only let users rate a show after listening — Spotify is borrowing a page from rival Apple with the addition of a five-star user ratings system for podcasts — a new tool for sorting through the more than 3.2 million podcast titles …
Discussion:
MediaPost, TechCrunch, Spotify, Word of Mouth, Hollywood Reporter, The Verge, Engadget, @ashleyrcarman, CNET, @anchor, Futureprotech, Tubefilter and Spotify for Podcasters, more at Techmeme »
Inside Radio:
Survey of 2,000 US adult podcast listeners finds 52% increased listening time in the past six months, 76% listened to ads, and 73% took an action after an ad — Podcast listening is on the rise according to a new study from Acast in partnership with Nielsen.
Discussion:
MediaPost, Acast, insideradio.com and RAIN News
Garett Sloane / Ad Age:
Ad exchange OpenX agrees to pay $2M to settle FTC claims it collected data from children and users who chose not to be tracked; OpenX says it was unintentional — Regulatory action puts spotlight on real-time internet ad markets, data sharing and children's privacy
Discussion:
MediaPost, TechCrunch, TheXchange, Federal Trade Commission, @garettsloane and @lmoses
Reddit:
Reddit confidentially files its S-1 with the SEC for an IPO; the number of shares to be offered and the price range have yet to be determined — Reddit, Inc. today announced that it has confidentially submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission …
Discussion:
MediaPost, @reddit, Adweek, Gizmodo, Deadline, Fortune, @killedbygoogle, 9to5Mac, The Register, Fast Company, @hoctopi, @jebus911, @noondlyt, @mathowie, @carnage4life, @mikeisaac, Insider, iMore, Protocol, CoinDesk, The Verge and Futureprotech, more at Techmeme »
Reuters:
Warner Music Group acquires 300 Entertainment, the music label for Megan Thee Stallion, Fetty Wap, and Mary J. Blige, source says for about $400M — Media company Warner Music Group said on Thursday it had acquired 300 Entertainment, the music label behind artists such as Megan Thee Stallion, Fetty Wap and Mary J. Blige.
New York Times:
For over a year, female journalists in India were targets of an elaborate online scam offering work at Harvard, but who was targeting them and why is unknown — For over a year, prominent women in India, including journalists, were reeled into a labyrinthine online scam, offering work with Harvard University.
Discussion:
@alexvtunzelmann, @jyotiyadaav, @jiten_jain, @zhaoyinfeng, @sandeepparekh, @counternotions, @nidhi, @nidhi, @amitoj, @nidhi, @dhm, @maneeshchhibber, @rodrikdani and @nidhi
Alistair Gray / Financial Times:
Lord Rothermere secures enough shareholder votes to take Daily Mail and General Trust private at an £885M valuation — Great grandson of newspaper's founder wins enough shareholder support for takeover bid — Lord Rothermere has succeeded in his attempt to put the publisher …
Discussion:
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