Top News:
Clare Malone / New Yorker:
Q&A with Ben Smith on his new media venture, as plans like a launch date remain to be finalized: “We want to serve the highest common denominator” — The departing Times media columnist and former editor-in-chief of BuzzFeed News wants to push the envelope but isn't yet ready to say just how.
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Sara Fischer / Axios:
Justin Smith will be CEO of the new venture, which will focus on digital consumer subscriptions and premium advertising, and Ben Smith will lead its newsroom — Calling legacy media “almost paralyzed,” two of journalism's top disrupters — Bloomberg's Justin Smith and Ben Smith of the New York Times …
Discussion:
@sarafischer, @sarafischer, @jrubinblogger, @samro, @craigsilverman and @sarafischer
David Gelles / New York Times:
Ben Smith is leaving the NYT to start a global news organization with Justin Smith for the “200M people who are college educated, who read in English”
Discussion:
@bgrueskin, @benyt, @dgelles, Washington Post, @reckless, Talking Biz News, @nhannahjones, @emilybell, @dylanbyers, @zengerle, @daveleeft, @ashleyfeinberg, @rachel, @dcbigjohn, @kindahagi, @ryanchittum, @felixsalmon, @sarafischer, @benyt, @dangillmor, @nprinskeep, Indigenous Wire, @karaswisher, @richardgrenell, @kampeas, @juliacarriew, @jason, @mayawiley, @jswatz, @om, @kazweida, @chaykak, @comfortablysmug, @laurenzcollins, @apbenven, @bypatrickgeorge, @alexthomp, @jscros, @jscros, @maxwelltani, @jswatz, @kromandavid, @froomkin, @brianstelter, @rafat, @davidcorndc, @hunterw, @katie_roof, @froomkin, @buzzfeedben, @lebassett, @sethklamann, @alicialutes, @claireeshaffer, @meredithshiner, @rublekb, @mhbaskin, @ungarino, @esotericcd, @kerrymflynn, @rosiegray, @rosental, @digitalshields, @daveweigel, @lpolgreen, @claremalone, @justinhendrix, @parismartineau, @natalieweiner, @yair_rosenberg, @ralstonreports, @jakesherman, @ariehkovler, @clairevtran, @howardkurtz, @chanders, @tomgara, @tomgara, @hamiltonnolan, @robinwigg, @thekenyeung, @toley88, @bristei, @ashleyfeinberg, @ashleyfeinberg, @kerrymflynn, @s_m_i, @paperhaus, @joshsternberg, @davegershgorn, @tomscocca, @rmac18, @daisandconfused, @scottfeinberg, @michaelroston, @brianstelter, @edmundlee, @cliffordlevy, @susanpage, @jimwaterson, @lisatozzi, @pdmcleod, @ljkawa, @scottnover, @akarl_smith, @martinsfp, @carolynryan, @ezwrites, @mattnegrin, @tomgara, @samjmintz, @sonnybunch, @alexbruell, @patrickmcgee_, @jbflint, @jbflint, @kfile, New York Magazine, Defector, Observer, Financial Times, bookforum.com, Mediaite and The Hill
Benjamin Mullin / Wall Street Journal:
Bloomberg Media CEO Justin Smith steps down effective immediately to found a media company “that serves unbiased journalism”; Scott Havens to replace him as CEO
Discussion:
Reuters, @justin_b_smith, Vox, @benmullin, @benmullin, Variety, @benmullin, @sewellchan, @edmundlee, @digiphile, @carloslozadawp, @lionelbarber, @madisonoconn, @michaelluo, @chriscillizza, The Rebooting, @niketa, @jayrosen_nyu, @laurawags, @jbarro, @hunterw, @mccarthyryanj, @richard_florida, @mattdpearce, @jkempenergy, @mattzeitlin, @marcbain_, @benmullin, @parryravi, @claremalone, @sub8u, @ryanlcooper, @robinwigg, @michaelroston, @jason_kint, @brianstelter, @davidfolkenflik, @seangriffey, @seangriffey, @jbflint, @pkafka, @pkafka, Talking Biz News, Today in Tabs, Deadline, MediaPost, New York Post, The Wrap and Hollywood Reporter
Ashley Carman / The Verge:
Sources: ill-suited or blocked programmatic ads are airing on some podcasts, showing that early trust between networks and ad tech providers could break — This story is part of a group of stories called — The podcast industry is working up to something big; you can see it in the acquisitions.
Discussion:
@marcoarment, @marcoarment, @profcarroll, AdExchanger, @marcoarment, @stephenrobles, @ismh, @ashleyrcarman and RAIN News
Georg Szalai / Hollywood Reporter:
AT&T CFO says HBO Max and HBO ended 2021 with about 73.8M subscribers, ahead of the company's forecast — The WarnerMedia streamer's fourth-quarter content slate included ‘Succession,’ ‘Dune’ and ‘Sex and the City’ sequel series ‘And Just Like That.’
Discussion:
Variety, The Wrap, Bloomberg, Media Play News, Cord Cutters News and Deadline
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Amazon says it has sold over 150M Fire TV devices worldwide — Amazon is touting a major milestone for Fire TV, claiming it has sold more than 150 million of the streaming devices worldwide. And it announced deals with Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis to bring Fire TV to the automakers' in-car entertainment systems.
Discussion:
TechCrunch and Amazon Fire TV, more at Techmeme »
Jeff Baumgartner / Light Reading:
MoffettNathanson: US pay-TV services lost 637,000 subscribers in Q3 as gains from digital distributors failed to make up for cable and satellite provider losses — The US pay-TV industry shed another 637,000 subscribers in the third quarter of 2021 as gains from virtual multichannel video …
Discussion:
@crupicrupicrupi, @sportswatch, @tvgrimreaper, @sportstvratings, @aagave, Fierce Video, The Streamable and nexttv.com
Alec Karakatsanis / @equalityalec:
[Thread] How the NYT used spin from the LAPD to run a sympathetic profile of a “good guy” cop that killed a teenager in an LA clothing store dressing room — THREAD. What's happening at the New York Times is disturbing. Many people pointed out the headline about a mysterious bullet that killed a 14-year-old girl, but some interesting things emerge when you look closely at the article itself. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Discussion:
@thepacketrat, @bloodjetpoetry and @jfslowik
Jim Waterson / The Guardian:
Court docs: Mail on Sunday will pay Meghan Markle just £1 for invading her privacy, on top of confidential sums for infringing her copyright; MoS won't appeal — Newspaper accepts defeat and will pay additional unspecified sum for infringing her copyright
Discussion:
Daily Mail, The Independent, UPI, The Daily Beast and Insider
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Comscore launches Comscore Everywhere to measure unduplicated audiences across various media and screens, with plans to add new phases throughout 2022 — Comscore, a longtime rival to Nielsen in the business of measuring media audiences, is vowing to keep pace as advertisers seek new ways …
Discussion:
nexttv.com and PR Newswire
Yogita Khatri / The Block:
Livepeer, an Ethereum-based decentralized video streaming service, raises a $40M Series B from Tiger Global and others, bringing its total funding to $51M — Livepeer, a decentralized video streaming platform built on the Ethereum blockchain, has raised $20 million in a Series B extension round.
Discussion:
CoinDesk, more at Techmeme »
Megan Graham / Wall Street Journal:
Adtech company Smartly.io will buy Ad-Lib.io, which offers creative tools for Google platforms, for $100M+, as it seeks to expand beyond social media offerings — Purchase of Ad-Lib.io will help Smartly.io expand from paid social-media offerings into Google platforms as marketers route more dollars into digital advertising
Discussion:
MediaPost, @kristoovaska and @alexweprin
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
NBCUniversal unveils NBCUnified, a first-party identity platform to let advertisers track and monitor users without cookies or device IDs — NBCUnified will let advertisers track and monitor consumer relationships without cookies or device IDs. — NBCUniversal is hoping to seize what it sees …
Discussion:
Adweek, nexttv.com, MediaPost, Ad Age, AdExchanger and @joejanecek
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