Top News:


Brands are flocking to TikTok with dedicated ad campaigns, attracted by its 1B users and its algorithm that can make an ad seem like just another video — Brands are flocking to the platform like never before, drawn by its more than 1 billion users and its algorithm, which can make an ad seem like just another video.
Discussion:
American Press Institute, @nytimesbusiness, @sapna, @frankpasquale, @katherinemiller, @migold, Fast Company, Insider and Gizmodo


The European Commission grants antitrust clearance for Discovery's proposed acquisition of AT&T's WarnerMedia; Discovery expects the deal to close in mid-2022 — Discovery, announced today that the European Commission has granted unconditional antitrust clearance of the company's proposed acquisition …
Discussion:
Variety, Broadband TV News, The Hollywood Reporter and C21Media


Studio executives, producers, and others predict China will decouple from the global film industry in 2022 as the country turns inward under Xi Jinping — The tea leaves aren't difficult to read: China and Hollywood can bid adieu to any attempts at in-depth cultural collaboration …
Discussion:
Variety, @chineseciv, @fy4chan, @darksecretplace, @penamerica and @sonnybunch


India bans 20 YouTube channels and two websites for alleged “anti-India” propaganda from Pakistan, invoking its new IT Act's emergency powers for the first time — India banned 20 YouTube channels and two websites on Monday for allegedly running anti-India propaganda from Pakistan …
Discussion:
@mhbergen, Reclaim The Net, @carnage4life, @evelyndouek, @rahultripathi, pib.gov.in and MediaNama


Joan Didion, whose career spanned traditional reporting, screenwriting, cultural criticism, and fiction, dies of complications from Parkinson's disease at 87 — Joan Didion, the celebrated prose stylist, novelist and screenwriter who chronicled American culture and consciousness with cool detachment …
Discussion:
@markharrisnyc, SlashFilm, Observer, New York Times, New York Times, @juliaccarpenter, The Wrap, The Week, @rrrrnessa, IndieWire, @4thestatebooks, @dastageermuska, @racheldonadio, Reuters, @kimjnews, @daveyalba, @elisewho, @sarayasin, @the_60s_at_60, UPI, @parisreview, 6abc, @chimeracoder, @latimes, @lindseyboylan, @latimes, @pattmlatimes, @kimjnews, @johnmyers, @hannahcwiley, Insider, Washington Post, The Guardian, @paperhaus, @jfmclooney, @nytimes, Hollywood Reporter, @mathewi and @condelibrary


Nielsen says it undercounted “out of home” TV audiences since September 2020 due to a “software issue”, and vows to release corrected estimates from mid-January — Nielsen is in the midst of a battle to count TV audiences of the future, but the company …
Discussion:
@epro, MediaPost, @cramersshirt, @jyarow, @bristei, @bristei, @bristei, @maskedscheduler and Hollywood Reporter


Analysis of Garbage Day's Substack metrics: 16K readers, about 10% of which pay to subscribe, driven mainly by announcements or coupons, not paywalled posts — Read to the end for a bunch of really good two-sentence horror stories — Tomorrow paying subscribers will get an interview in their inboxes with journalist Michael Hobbes.
Discussion:
@broderick, @hshaban, @broderick, @simonowens, @llegrarosenberg, @cwarzel, @caseynewton and Insider


Interview with Automattic's Matt Mullenweg on working from his always-connected RV, making “the Berkshire Hathaway of the internet”, and betting on open systems — In the early days of the pandemic, Matt Mullenweg didn't move to a compound in Hawaii, bug out to a bunker …
Discussion:
@dimensionmedia, @harrymccracken, @markosaric, @jboogie, @pierce, @automattic and @protocol


US judge orders a podcast to turn over unaired interviews as defendants' rights to due process outweigh 1A rights to protect sources and unpublished materials — Lawyers for six naval officers want the recordings to help defend their clients against criminal bribery charges
Discussion:
@katie_rcfp, @nickochsnerwbtv, @tomwrightasia, @tomwrightasia, @tomwrightasia, @tomgara, @benyt, @bradleyhope, @davecbenoit, @rcfp and @tomwrightasia

Belarus puts Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty on its list of extremist organizations, meaning Belarusian subscribers could face six years in prison — Belarus' interior ministry said on Thursday it has added United States broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty to its list of extremist organisations.

[Thread] For media and advertising, Web3's focus on decentralization and tokenization solves few, if any, problems and is the last thing ad tech needs — This web3 shit is starting to annoy me, so here's a thread with my opinions on the relevance to media and advertising. 1/21 🧵
Discussion:
@hisamblake, @aripap, @tswirly, @aripap, @aripap, @hakosam, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @rafat, @modestproposal1, @zachcoelius, @myles_younger, @bd2k and @eric_seufert


Q&A with Bob Iger, as he prepares to leave Disney at the end of 2021, on his disinterest in running another company, Bob Chapek, investing in startups, and more — “I'm being resolute about it — this time around. I haven't once second-guessed it or hesitated," he tells me. “It's bittersweet.
Discussion:
@tvgrimreaper, @mhawk9955, @jesterbestie, CNBC, @variety_cynthia, @williamsjon, @joshgad, @variety, @variety, @tylermooore, @variety, @variety, Puck, Insider, @variety_claudia and The Week