Mediagazer: Mark Leibovich, the chief national correspondent for The New York Times Magazine, will join The Atlantic as a staff writer in the spring (The Atlantic)

11:05 AM ET, December 20, 2021

Top News:

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 …

Discussion: @brianstelter, Reuters, American Press Institute, @drericding, @katzish, @justthefacts85, @meetjess, @kbeninato, @bradmossesq, @clancyreports, Sputnik International, The Hill, Reuters, New York Post, Hollywood Reporter, Mediaite, TVNewser and Deadline

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.

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: Wall Street Journal, @chronotope, @cjr, @mathewi, @jackmarshall and The Fix

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

Discussion: @grace_segers and @brendanbuck

Rebecca Rubin / Variety:

Spider-Man: No Way Home generated $587M globally during its opening weekend, $253M in the US, 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: Insider, Observer, SlashFilm, ScreenRant, @murrelldan, The Week, Numlock News, Vanity Fair, @variety, UPI, @paulsmovietrip, The A.V. Club, Los Angeles Times, @dkthomp, CNN, Rambling Mind, @variety, JoBlo, Murphy's Multiverse, TIME, Rotten Tomatoes, @variety and MediaPost

Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:

Spotify, Facebook, Instagram, and even Netflix find Gen Z elusive in a way TikTok never has; Spotify says its Blend playlist feature is mostly used by Gen Z — Good afternoon from Puerto Rico. Hope you all are staying safe out there. Hollywood is celebrating the good news …

Discussion: @lucas_shaw and @sleepwellcap, more at Techmeme »

Andy Maxwell / TorrentFreak:

Malaysia passes a bill to imprison people who facilitate access to pirated content via illegal streaming, for up to 20 years — Laws that forbid the illegal uploading and downloading of copyrighted content are common around the world but the rise of streaming has sometimes exposed gaps in legislation.

Discussion: Malaysiakini, thesundaily.my and Lowyat.NET

Danny Leigh / Financial Times:

Universal Pictures chair Donna Langley on releasing Trolls World Tour online at the start of the pandemic, shrinking theatrical release windows, and more — Donna Langley only looks ahead. She moves at pace through the packed dining room of La Petite Maison, a French Mediterranean restaurant in a Mayfair side street.

Discussion: @patrickvons, @raju and @markghuneim

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: @benjamingoggin and @poynter

Alex Pasternack / Fast Company:

How Chinese Wikipedia volunteers are exposing threats to Wikimedia's free-knowledge mission in their fight against censorship, threats, and violence — This past July, before he was banned from Wikipedia, Techyan was one of dozens of volunteers preparing to speak at the free-knowledge movement's annual conference, Wikimania.

Discussion: @charlesmok, @pasternack, @frankpasquale, @pasternack, @harrymccracken and @juhasaarinen

The Guardian:

The BBC says UK political editor Laura Kuenssberg will step down at Easter to take on a senior presenting and reporting role — Kuenssberg says she will ‘miss daily drama’ as BBC confirms she will take senior presenting and reporting role — Laura Kuenssberg will step down as the BBC's political editor …

Discussion: Press Gazette, @bbclaurak, @pressgazette, Telegraph, Daily Mail, London Evening Standard, @bbcnewspr, Guido Fawkes, @femi_sorry, @bbcnewspr, @jamesrbuk, bbc.co.uk and @bbclaurak

Pew Research Center:

Analysis of news tweets from 500 US adults shows a focus on entertainment, politics, and sports; only 2% of news tweets had a hashtag, down from 34% in 2015 — Most Americans who use Twitter get news on the platform, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey.

Discussion: The Starting Block, @killedbygoogle, @jenmercieca, @pewresearch, @pewjournalism, @spj_tweets, @pewresearch, @pewjournalism, @pewjournalism, @asmitch and @jamcnn

Archived Page Info:

This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 11:05 AM ET, December 20, 2021.

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Who's Hiring in Media?

Deputy Ed. - Gen. Assignment Desk, DC — WaPo

EU Technology Reporter, Brussels — Bloomberg

Breaking News Reporter, NY — Guardian US

Harrisburg Reporter, PA — PCBC

Senior Editor - Styles, NY — NYT

Part-time Editor, Remote — Techmeme

Home & Travel Reporter, Ireland — Newsweek

Assistant Digital Editor, MA — Boston Globe

Senior Editor - Visuals (Temporary), DC — NPR

Copy Editor, Remote US — ProPublica

Markets Reporter, NY/CA — Sherwood Media

Staff Writer, MI — Watershed Voice

Food Reporter, CA — SF Standard

Staff Writer, NV — Las Vegas Weekly

Pharma Editor, Remote — Endpoints

Higher Ed. Reporter, Remote CA — EdSource

Politics Reporter, Brussels — Politico

Investigations & Enterprise Ed., WI — Cap Times

Social Strategy Editor, NY — WSJ

Senior Narrative Editor, CA — Cloud Chamber

Editor-in-Chief, NY (flexible) — The 74

Housing Reporter, OK — The Frontier

Writer/AI Content Reviewer, CA — Outlier

Writer/Editor, Remote — Mediaite

Multi Media Reporter, NC — Cardinal & Pine

Afternoon/Night Editor, NH — Keene Sentinel

Education Lab Editor, WA — Seattle Times

Senior Editor, Remote US — PCWorld

State Worker Reporter, CA — Sacramento Bee

Executive Editor, NM — Searchlight

News Assistant, NY — Quanta Magazine

Local Editor, NJ (Remote) — Patch

News Editor/Reporter, KS — Blade-Empire

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More News:

Rasmus Kleis Nielsen / Nieman Lab:
The news industry has neglected R&D and staff development for decades; Malaysiakini and South Africa's The Daily Maverick show how to do long-term investments

Discussion: @kimpittaway, @rasmus_kleis, @corinnecolbert, @risj_oxford, @mkraidy, @prempanicker, @robertobernabo, @olivermathenge, @shoq, @ruffoamy2, @rasmus_kleis, @risj_oxford, @dw_innovation, @nisalahe and @jayrosen_nyu

Jonathan Burgos / Forbes:
BandLab, a Singapore-based music creation platform letting artists collaborate and engage with fans, raises a $53M Series B at a $303M post-money valuation

Discussion: @forbesasia, Tech in Asia, Caldecott Music Group, Music Business Worldwide, digitalmusicnews.com, Music Ally, AllAccess.com and Music Industry Blog

Dan Froomkin / Press Watch:
Interview with former NYT reporter Nina Bernstein on traditional news media's “tics and timidities” that impoverish reporting out of a fear of taking sides

Gavin Bridge / Variety:
A record 1,923 original series were released across TV and streaming services in 2021, beating the previous high of 1,628 in 2019

Discussion: @sportstvratings, @variety and The Streamable

Randall Lane / Forbes:
Forbes says two of its editors testified about two old stories in front of a New York grand jury investigating Trump, after fighting subpoenas for months

Discussion: Columbia Journalism Review, @zackwhittaker, @spj_tweets, Mediaite, @chasewithorn, @dianesbaker1, @randalllane, @randalllane, The Hill, Axios and Talking Biz News

William Turvill / Press Gazette:
Sources: Google delayed the US launch of News Showcase, live in 14 countries, to at least Q1 2022 as pubs find the offers underwhelming and doubt its efficacy

Discussion: @glenngabe, @simonowens, @newsalliance, @davidclinchnews, @pressgazette, @tomnamako and @simonowens

Earlier Picks:

The Citizen Lab:
The phone of an exiled Egyptian TV news host was compromised in June using Cytrox's Predator spyware via a single-click link in a WhatsApp message

Discussion: @nouraaljizawi, @ryp__, @dr_ulrichsen, @laughing_mantis, @sarahleah1, @ngleicher, @evacide and Cyber Defence News …

Jeremy Barr / Washington Post:
NYT fires a Wirecutter editor for “repeatedly invoking the NYT's name in an unprofessional way” in messages she allegedly sent to a gun rights advocacy group

Discussion: @jeffjarvis, @jeremymbarr, New York Post, The Hill, Talking Biz News and Mediaite

Daniel Tilles / Notes From Poland:
Polish parliament passes a bill that limits foreign ownership of media, affecting Discovery-owned TVN; the president hinted he may veto the bill

Discussion: The Guardian, @mooonlightbby, @ecpmf, @notesfrompoland, @globalfreemedia, Bloomberg, Variety, Politico, C21Media, The Hollywood Reporter, DW.COM and Deadline

Erik Larson / Bloomberg:
Judge lets Dominion proceed with its Fox lawsuit because Fox had “countervailing evidence of election fraud” and says “hyperbolic” rhetoric can be defamatory

Discussion: @benyt, @timobrien, @obarcala, @obarcala, Hollywood Reporter, @svdate, @deanobeidallah, MediaPost, Washington Post, TVNewser and CNN

Katie Kilkenny / Hollywood Reporter:
Vice Media and its employee union reach a three-year deal that sets minimum salaries of $63K and annual raises, institutes anti-harassment measures, and more

Discussion: @greenhousenyt, Writers Guild of America …, bookforum.com and Deadline

Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch:
Researchers find evidence suggesting that IAB Europe's TCF lets many adtech vendors track and profile users even when they've rejected personalized ads

Discussion: @johnnyryan, @weareconfiant, @kfranasz and @jason_kint

From Techmeme:

Emilia David / The Verge:
Microsoft debuts Phi-3 Mini, a small 3.8B-parameter model about as capable as GPT-3.5, and plans Phi-3 Small and Phi-3 Medium models with 7B and 14B parameters

Ming-Chi Kuo:
Survey: Apple cut 2024 Vision Pro shipments to 400K-450K units, vs. a 700K+ market consensus, and US demand has “fallen sharply beyond expectations”

Victoria Song / The Verge:
Meta rolls out multimodal AI in early access for the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses, mainly to help identify objects, translate signs, and write Instagram captions

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