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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:
The Atlantic, The Paris Review, Vogue, New York Times, @markharrisnyc, @juliaccarpenter, @yassmin_a, @alexanderchee, @jayrosen_nyu, @adriennelaf, @andersen, @stevesilberman, @monicalewinsky, @brickhousecoop, @gustavoarellano, Reuters, The Week, @connorasheets, @daveyalba, UPI, @rrrrnessa, @chimeracoder, @paperhaus, @latimes, @jfmclooney, @nytimes, @kimjnews, Electric Literature, @elisewho, Insider, @lindseyboylan, @dastageermuska, IndieWire, @latimes, @parisreview, @sarayasin, @pattmlatimes, @kimjnews, @margaretsimons, Washington Post, @johnmyers, @racheldonadio, Hollywood Reporter, @mckenziewark, @moppyopps, The Guardian, SlashFilm, The Wrap, @hannahcwiley, @mathewi, @4thestatebooks, @condelibrary and @the_60s_at_60


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:
The Hollywood Reporter, Broadband TV News, C21Media and Variety


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:
@nytimesbusiness, @sapna, American Press Institute, @frankpasquale, @katherinemiller, @migold, Fast Company, Insider and Gizmodo


Two Georgia election workers sue OANN and a network correspondent for defamation over false claims they manipulated ballots; they earlier sued Gateway Pundit — Rudy Freeman and Wandrea Moss claim pro-Trump media outfit and Trump lawyer defamed them and “bear responsibility for ... partisan character assassination”
Discussion:
Politico and Associated Press

The Coalition for App Fairness loses its best advocate as Horacio Gutierrez, Spotify's Chief Legal Officer, leaves for The Walt Disney Company — Yesterday I saw on LinkedIn that Horacio Gutierrez is leaving Spotify. He served as Spotify's Head of Global Affairs and Chief Legal Officer …
Discussion:
The Walt Disney Company and Business Wire, more at Techmeme »


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, @fy4chan, @penamerica, @darksecretplace, @chineseciv and @sonnybunch


Australia adds what appears to be a fake news site to the register of companies that can negotiate licensing deals with Meta and Google — Australia's ground-breaking law forcing platforms like Google and Facebook to pay local publishers for news faces an unlikely test case …


A look at TikTok's biggest stars, including Charli and Dixie D'Amelio, Noah Beck, and Addison Rae, expanding to other platforms, often with mixed results — This year, the app's biggest stars — Charli and Dixie D'Amelio, Noah Beck, Addison Rae and others — leapt from the phone screen …

Belarus adds Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty to its list of extremist organizations, meaning that 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.


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

[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:
@r2rothenberg, @tkawaja, @matvelloso, @aripap, @zachcoelius, @aripap, @bznotes, @aripap, @aripap, @rafat, @tswirly, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @myles_younger, @aripap, @hakosam, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @bd2k, @eric_seufert, @modestproposal1 and @hisamblake


Jon Snow, who led the UK's Channel 4 News for 32 years, signs off as lead presenter; the channel says he'll front longer-form projects and focus on charities — Jon Snow has presented his final edition of Channel 4 News after 32 years at the helm of the programme.