Top News:
Emma Goldberg / New York Times:
In an internal memo, Fox says all its NYC office staff must show proof of COVID-19 vaccination by December 27, blaming Mayor de Blasio for the vaccine mandate — Fox Corporation, the owner of Fox News, told employees on Friday that those working in New York City would have to show proof …
Benjamin Mullin / Wall Street Journal:
Internal memo: CNN is closing its US offices to all nonessential employees as COVID-19 cases rise at the network and nationwide — President Jeff Zucker cited a surge of cases at the network in a memo on the decision — CNN is closing its offices to nonessential employees …
Ben Bowman / The Streamable:
YouTube TV reaches a deal with Disney to bring back 17+ channels including ABC, Disney, ESPN, Freeform, FX, and National Geographic — After one day of being dark, YouTube TV and Disney have reached a deal which will see more than 17 Disney-owned channels, including local ABC affiliates, Disney Channel, and ESPN return to the service.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, The Verge, Dana Blankenhorn, Radio & Television …, MediaPost, @cnn, @mgsiegler, @film_girl, Beyond Search, @epro, @pkafka, Variety, @reckless, @thestreamable, @youtubetv, UPI, CNET, Deadline, Awful Announcing, The Verge, 9to5Google, Cord Cutters News, nexttv.com, Sports Illustrated, The Wrap, Hollywood Reporter, Newser and Sportico, more at Techmeme »
Mathew Ingram / Columbia Journalism Review:
The pursuit of “scale” drives media companies to merge, such as in the Vox-Group Nine deal, but what constitutes sufficient scale changes when valuations shrink — On Tuesday, Vox Media and Group Nine announced plans to merge their operations, in what Jim Bankoff …
Discussion:
@chronotope, Wall Street Journal, @jackmarshall, @cjr and @mathewi
William Turvill / Press Gazette:
Axel Springer reports 2020 revenue of €2.97B, down 5% YoY, with adjusted EBITDA of €653.8M, down 13% YoY, and says its US business is “booming” in 2021 — Axel Springer, the German news publishing giant that owns Insider and Politico, has revealed that its revenues fell by €150m …
Discussion:
Reuters and @jackshafer
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Spotify, Meta, and Netflix find Gen Z elusive in a way TikTok never has; Spotify says Gen Z accounts for the majority using its Blend playlist feature — Good afternoon from Puerto Rico. Hope you all are staying safe out there. Hollywood is celebrating the good news of a record-breaking weekend …
Discussion:
@lucas_shaw and @sleepwellcap
The Atlantic:
Mark Leibovich, the chief national correspondent for The New York Times Magazine, will join The Atlantic as a staff writer in the spring — Leibovich to begin this spring, as The Atlantic continues to train its editorial focus on the crisis facing democracy
Barbara Allen / Poynter:
How NYT reporters handled a recent feature on online resources for suicide without prominently naming the service, by speaking to experts, veterans, and editors — The team relied on advice and conversations with experts, veterans, editors and each other — The ethical issues running throughout …
Discussion:
New York Times, @benjamingoggin, nexttv.com and @poynter
Rebecca Rubin / Variety:
Spider-Man: No Way Home generated $587M globally during its opening weekend, $253M in North America, making it the third-largest debut on record — Don't underestimate Peter Parker. — That's the takeaway this weekend after Sony's comic book adventure “Spider-Man: No Way Home” …
Discussion:
SlashFilm, ScreenRant, The Week, Observer, The Illuminerdi, The A.V. Club, The Wrap, Numlock News, Rambling Mind, @variety, @variety, @paulsmovietrip, @murrelldan, @variety, @dkthomp, MediaPost, Rotten Tomatoes, CNN, TIME, UPI, Vanity Fair and Murphy's Multiverse
Mariam Ahmed / Talking Biz News:
Protocol appoints its executive editor Tim Grieve as EIC — Protocol has tapped Tim Grieve as editor-in-chief. He recently served as executive editor. — Grieve has also held various leadership roles at Politico, including serving as deputy managing editor, assistant managing editor, managing editor.
Discussion:
@tmwincup, @bennettrich, @bennettrich and @bennettrich
Richard C. Paddock / New York Times:
Interview with journalist Ko Aung Kyaw, who livestreamed his arrest by Myanmar's regime, on being tortured by soldiers, refusing to give up sources, and more — When Ko Aung Kyaw erased his cellphone contacts to protect his sources, he knew his interrogators would make him pay a horrific price.
Discussion:
@jamesstout, @kenroth, @emilyfishbein11, @myanmaraproject, @rcpaddock, @spj_tweets, @oliverdarcy, @oliviaenos and @kenroth
Rob Pegoraro / PCMag:
Five DC-area stations begin airing Internet Protocol-based NextGen TV signals alongside digital TV broadcasts, 3.5 years after the first test broadcasts began — The updated over-the-air television standard allows for more reliable reception, better sound and video, and interactive features.