Top News:
Wall Street Journal:
Documents and sources: WaPo execs weigh how to attract young readers and expand features content as the outlet faces a slump in readership and subscriber growth — News outlet's audience is down sharply, amid sector-wide declines; subscription growth has stagnated as readers look beyond politics
Discussion:
@benmullin, @alexbruell, @claremalone, @karaswisher, Poynter, @bmorrissey, @millie, @stephengutowski, @justupthepike, @drewsav, @dellavolpe, @budkennedy, @sewellchan, @chuckrossdc, @jbenton, @pressgazette, @alexthomp, @daviduberti, @joshsternberg, @ylichterman, @genepark, @walldo and @asharma
Gerry Smith / Bloomberg:
CNN plans to pull its original series off HBO Max and put them on its own streaming service, CNN+, which a source says has a planned March debut for $5.99/month — - News channel eyes $5.99 price and March launch date for CNN+ — CNN plans to pull its original series off HBO Max and put …
Discussion:
The Streamable, TVNewser, @business, @gerryfsmith, @neoavatara, @pnjaban, @juwanthewriter and @awallenstein
Erik Larson / Bloomberg:
Judge lets Dominion go ahead with Fox suit as Fox had “countervailing evidence of election fraud” and says commentators' “hyperbolic” rhetoric can be defamatory — - Fox had enough information to know claims false, judge says — Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson also targets of lawsuit
Discussion:
Politico, TVNewser, @timobrien, MediaPost, Washington Post, @svdate, @deanobeidallah and NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth
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.
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Alden sues Lee Enterprises, arguing Lee's board infringed on 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 …
Daniel Tilles / Notes From Poland:
Polish parliament passes bill that limits foreign ownership of media, affecting Discovery-owned TVN, which is critical of the government; the bill may be vetoed — A bill to restrict foreign ownership of Polish media was unexpectedly passed by parliament today.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Reuters, @ecpmf, @notesfrompoland, @globalfreemedia, The Hollywood Reporter and DW.COM
Andrew Beaujon / Washingtonian:
Washingtonian Editor Michael Schaffer is leaving to write a weekly Politico column as a senior editor; Sherri Dalphonse becomes interim Washingtonian editor — He'll write a column about DC power. The city magazine needs a new editor. — Washingtonian Editor Michael Schaffer will leave the publication to take a job at Politico.
Discussion:
@abeaujon, @abeaujon, @michaelkruse, @lucasfleischer, @michaelschaffer, @dankois, @abeaujon and @brfreed
Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch:
Study finds evidence that suggests IAB Europe's TCF allows many adtech vendors to track and profile users even when they've rejected personalized ads — New research examining what happens after Internet users in Europe land on an ad-supported website and express their “privacy choices” …
Discussion:
@johnnyryan, @kfranasz and @jason_kint
Henry Meyer / Bloomberg:
Google loses a court appeal in Russia and faces daily fines following a lawsuit to unblock a YouTube account of a TV channel owned by a sanctioned Putin ally — - Google lost an appeal over suit to unblock a YouTube account — U.S. technology giant says it's complying with U.S. sanctions
Katie Kilkenny / Hollywood Reporter:
Vice employee union reaches a three-year deal with Vice Media that raises minimum salaries to $63K, institutes anti-harassment measures for staff, and more — The new agreement, which consolidates four previously separate contracts, will offer salary floors of $63,000 by the end of the contract …
Discussion:
@greenhousenyt, Writers Guild of America … and Deadline
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 …
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
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:
@mauracunningham, @williamyang120, @amonck, @tknoll209k, @jgriffiths, Fortune and Agence France-Presse
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