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
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:
Spotify, TechCrunch, insideradio.com, Whooshkaa, @podnews, @spotifynews, @sarthakgh, @thedavidrindexp, Engadget, Mumbrella, The Verge, Adweek, Futureprotech, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, Radio Today and RAIN News, more at Techmeme »
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 …
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 …
Discussion:
Variety, Billboard, New York Times, @hurryband, @schwarz, @scotthech, @pollytics, @nytimesmusic, @sisario, Gawker, The A.V. Club, @newley, TMZ.com, @dontboreus, @fitzysa, @jasonisbell, Music Business Worldwide, @film_girl, @shortformernie, @eddietrunk, @brandonwenerd, @peterlattman, @jbflint and Reuters
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Spotify rolls out a podcast ratings system that will let users rate a show from one to five stars only after listening to it — 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 …
Discussion:
Word of Mouth, Spotify, @ashleyrcarman, @anchor, Gizmodo, MediaPost, Hollywood Reporter, TechCrunch, Spotify for Podcasters, The Verge, Engadget and Tubefilter, 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 …
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:
Federal Trade Commission, TheXchange, @profcarroll, Adweek, MediaPost, TechCrunch, @garettsloane and @lmoses
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
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
RELATED:
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:
@gerryfsmith, @neoavatara, @business, @pnjaban, @juwanthewriter and @awallenstein
Suzanne Vranica / Wall Street Journal:
Talent agency UTA acquires marketing and media consulting firm MediaLink, whose clients include NBCUniversal, 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, Junghoon’s Direct Media …, @michaelmiraflor, @joshsternberg, @megancgraham, Tubefilter, @digitalshields, MediaPost, Variety, Deadline and Los Angeles Times
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
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
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