Mediagazer: Impresa, the largest media conglomerate in Portugal, gets hacked and extorted by the Lapsus$ ransomware gang (Catalin Cimpanu/The Record)

2:20 AM ET, January 3, 2022

Top News:

After leaving Meta, Brandon Silverman, co-founder of Facebook-acquired CrowdTangle, has helped craft a bipartisan bill to boost social networks' transparency — The co-founder of CrowdTangle has been working with Congress on legislation to make tech companies disclose their inner workings.

Discussion: @daveyalba, @dmccabe, @karaswisher, @revkin, @benyt, @digitalshields, @apmckay, @dangillmor, @elipariser, @kombiz, @sillyrobin, @donie, @justinhendrix, @daveyalba, @nytimes and @adrielhampton, more at Techmeme »

Pamela McClintock / Hollywood Reporter:

Comscore: North American box office revenue rose to $4.5B in 2021, up 101%+ YoY but nearly 60% behind 2019, as movies with youth appeal fueled the recovery — Revenue at the North American box office jumped 101 percent over 2020 but still lagged far behind pre-pandemic levels.

Discussion: The Wrap, @pdergarabedian, @mattdentler and The Wrap

Associated Press:

IFJ: 45 journalists and media workers were killed doing their jobs in 2021, one of the lowest death tolls in 30 years and down from 65 killed in 2020 — BRUSSELS (AP) — A total of 45 reporters and media workers were killed doing their jobs over the last year, the highest number among …

Discussion: @spj_tweets and @juanlozano70

Jennifer Jenkins / Duke University School of Law:

Books, movies, and songs published in 1926 and an estimated 400,000 sound recordings published before 1923 enter the US public domain as copyrights expire — On January 1, 2022, copyrighted works from 1926 will enter the US public domain, 1 where they will be free for all to copy, share, and build upon.

Catalin Cimpanu / The Record:

Impresa, the largest media conglomerate in Portugal, gets hacked and extorted by the Lapsus$ ransomware gang — The Lapsus$ ransomware gang has hacked and is currently extorting Impresa, the largest media conglomerate in Portugal and the owner of SIC and Expresso, the country's largest TV channel and weekly newspaper, respectively.

Discussion: @runasand, @aitorehm and @campuscodi

Jana Winter / Yahoo News:

US CBP and congressional committees are reviewing a secretive CBP division that ran database checks to investigate as many as 20 journalists — U.S. Customs and Border Protection is conducting a review of a secretive division that uses some of the country's most sensitive databases …

Discussion: @weinbergersa, Reclaim The Net, @buddjenn, @isikoff and @davidlarter

The Moscow Times:

Russia's media regulator adds Netflix to its “audio-visual services” register, requiring it to offer 20 major Russian federal TV channels starting in March 2022 — Russia's state media watchdog will require Netflix to offer state television channels to its Russian customers …

Discussion: @emmalbriant and @michaeldweiss

CNN:

Sudanese security forces raid two broadcasters, confiscate equipment, and assault and detain staff, trying to censor coverage of mass anti-military protests — (CNN)At least four people were shot dead by Sudanese security forces during anti-coup demonstrations near the capital Khartoum on Thursday …

Discussion: @moehash1 and Reuters

Heidi Chung / Variety:

Since BuzzFeed's SPAC merger, its stock has fallen more than 50%, as other digital media companies warily eye their own exit or consolidation moves — As 2021 draws to a close, there have been some wild last-minute moves from recognizable names in digital media.

Discussion: @variety

Lindsey Ellefson / The Wrap:

Fox News ends 2021 as the top-rated basic cable channel for the sixth straight year with an average of 1.3M daily viewers, followed by MSNBC, CNN, ESPN, HGTV — End-of-year ratings are in and Fox News finished off 2021 as the top-rated basic cable channel for the sixth straight year, netting a lot of other wins along the way.

Discussion: @mmasnick, @jayrosen_nyu, @bungarsargon, Washington Times, Forbes, Variety, Deadline and Fox News

Reuters:

Court denies bail to two ex-Stand News editors; HK's Carrie Lam says actions against Stand News “have nothing to do with so-called suppression of press freedom” — Two former senior editors of Hong Kong's Stand News were charged with conspiring to publish seditious materials …

Discussion: @reuters, @reuters, @reuters, @theprojecttv, Hong Kong Free Press HKFP and 10 play

Jack Suntrup / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Missouri's governor says he thinks a prosecutor will bring charges in the case of a St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter alerting the state to a data vulnerability — JEFFERSON CITY — Gov. Mike Parson on Wednesday expressed his opinion the Cole County prosecuting attorney would bring charges …