Mediagazer: Studios and production houses are delaying returns to filming as some cast and crew test positive for Omicron, to avoid expensive mid-shoot shutdowns (Anousha Sakoui/Los Angeles Times)

10:40 PM ET, January 5, 2022

Top News:

Elizabeth A. Harris / New York Times:

The FBI arrests Filippo Bernardini, an Italian citizen who works in publishing, alleging he targeted authors and others to steal unpublished book manuscripts — Filippo Bernardini, an Italian citizen who worked in publishing, was charged with wire fraud and identity theft for a scheme …

Jem Aswad / Variety:

The Grammy Awards, planned for January 31 in Los Angeles' Crypto.com Arena, have been postponed indefinitely due to COVID-19 concerns — As expected, the Grammy Awards have been postponed indefinitely due to coronavirus-related concerns, an Academy spokesperson has confirmed to Variety.

Discussion: GRAMMY.com, NPR, @claireatki, Billboard, TheGrio, WWD, CNET, UPI, TVLine, The Guardian, @variety, The Wrap, @amandasalas, Collider, @jennifer_su, The A.V. Club and Adweek

Shraddha Chakradhar / Nieman Lab:

Longform.org shuts down its nonfiction article recommendations service, but will continue to publish new weekly episodes of its Longform Podcast — Loyal readers of Longform, the nonfiction podcast and website dedicated to curating and recommending nonfiction articles …

Katie Robertson / New York Times:

NPR's All Things Considered host Audie Cornish is leaving, following exits by other prominent NPR hosts of color, including Noel King and Lulu Garcia-Navarro — Audie Cornish, a host of NPR's “All Things Considered,” is leaving her job, becoming the latest prominent person of color to leave the public broadcaster.

Stuart A. Thompson / New York Times:

Analysis: about half of 1,490 episodes from 20 popular political podcasts between the 2020 election and the January 6 riot contained election misinformation — A new study analyzed nearly 1,500 episodes, showing the extent to which podcasts pushed misinformation about voter fraud.

Discussion: @daveyalba, Media Matters for America, Reclaim The Net, @tomgara, @mmfa, @zaleskiluke, @rasmus_kleis, @scout_finch, @matthewboedy, @tripgabriel, @puiwingtam, @mollyjongfast, @michaelkruse and @indivisiblecria

Georg Szalai / Hollywood Reporter:

AMC Networks acquires Sentai, including its anime Hidive subscription streaming service, e-commerce platform SentaiFilmworks, Anime Network, and Sentai Studios — The deal includes the anime-focused HIDIVE subscription streaming service. — AMC Networks, the company behind …

Discussion: Variety, @vamptvo, @loudmouthjulia, @loudmouthjulia, @loudmouthjulia and The Wrap

Eli Tan / CoinDesk:

Quentin Tarantino says he will proceed with selling NFTs based on Pulp Fiction screenplay excerpts, defying a Miramax copyright lawsuit — The famed director is moving forward with his Secret Network NFT sale later this month. — After being sued for copyright infringement …

Discussion: New York Times, Business Wire, IndieWire, ScreenRant, @morgan_chittum, The A.V. Club and Insider

Tim Baysinger / The Wrap:

Paid Peacock subscribers will get live streaming access to all events at the Beijing Winter Olympics, scheduled for February 2 to February 20 — NBC is hoping another Olympics will give Peacock a boost. Ahead of the forthcoming Winter Games from Beijing next month, NBC announced …

Discussion: Deadline, The Streamable, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, @dougscripts, @thedragonfeeder, Awful Announcing and Adweek

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, @craigsilverman, @sarafischer, @samro and @jrubinblogger

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: Poynter, @bgrueskin, @benyt, @dgelles, @justin_b_smith, Reuters, @emilybell, @reckless, @nhannahjones, @dylanbyers, Washington Post, @kindahagi, @felixsalmon, @sarafischer, @daveleeft, American Press Institute, @dangillmor, @juliacarriew, @rachel, @dcbigjohn, @jason, @zengerle, @sewellchan, @ashleyfeinberg, Indigenous Wire, @benmullin, @hunterw, @ryanchittum, @laurenzcollins, @madisonoconn, @karaswisher, @jayrosen_nyu, @edmundlee, @richardgrenell, @benyt, @kampeas, @nprinskeep, @lionelbarber, @mayawiley, @jswatz, @om, @mattdpearce, @kazweida, @chaykak, @comfortablysmug, @apbenven, @bypatrickgeorge, @alexthomp, @mattzeitlin, @jscros, @jscros, @maxwelltani, @jswatz, @kromandavid, @froomkin, @marcbain_, @brianstelter, @rafat, @davidcorndc, @hunterw, @katie_roof, @froomkin, @buzzfeedben, @lebassett, @sethklamann, @alicialutes, @claireeshaffer, @meredithshiner, @rublekb, @mhbaskin, @ungarino, @esotericcd, @kerrymflynn, @rosiegray, @rosental, @parryravi, @claremalone, @sub8u, @ryanlcooper, @robinwigg, @michaelroston, @digitalshields, @daveweigel, @lpolgreen, @claremalone, @justinhendrix, @parismartineau, @natalieweiner, @yair_rosenberg, @ralstonreports, @jakesherman, @ariehkovler, @clairevtran, @howardkurtz, @chanders, @tomgara, @tomgara, @hamiltonnolan, @jason_kint, @robinwigg, @thekenyeung, @toley88, @bristei, @ashleyfeinberg, @ashleyfeinberg, @kerrymflynn, @s_m_i, @paperhaus, @joshsternberg, @davegershgorn, @tomscocca, @rmac18, @daisandconfused, @scottfeinberg, @michaelroston, @brianstelter, @brianstelter, @edmundlee, @cliffordlevy, @susanpage, @jimwaterson, @lisatozzi, @pdmcleod, @ljkawa, @scottnover, @akarl_smith, @martinsfp, @carolynryan, @ezwrites, @mattnegrin, @tomgara, @samjmintz, @sonnybunch, @davidfolkenflik, @alexbruell and @patrickmcgee_

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”

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 Verge, Forbes, TechCrunch, Media Play News, Cord Cutters News, Bloomberg, The Wrap and Deadline

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Amazon says it sold over 150M Fire TV devices worldwide, announces Ford and Stellantis deals to bring Fire TV to their in-car entertainment systems — Amazon is touting a major milestone for Fire TV, claiming it has sold more than 150 million of the streaming devices worldwide.

Discussion: The Streamable and CNET News, more at Techmeme »

David Bauder / Associated Press:

Sean Hannity, who has claimed he is and is not a journalist, and Fox face ethical issues again after revelations about Hannity's texts to the White House — NEW YORK (AP) — For years, Sean Hannity has skirted ethical boundaries with his role on a television network with “news” in its name.

Discussion: Washington Post, @dbauder, @allanmargolin, Vanity Fair, Media Matters for America and Washington Post

Anousha Sakoui / Los Angeles Times:

Studios and production houses are delaying returns to filming as some cast and crew test positive for Omicron, to avoid expensive mid-shoot shutdowns — Tim Hillman was preparing to start work as location manager for the Fox Network show “9-1-1” in Los Angeles on Monday, but Omicron had other plans.

Discussion: @maxjgao and @rverrier

Josh Eidelson / Bloomberg:

The NLRB files a complaint claiming the NYT interfered with employees' rights when it told some tech employees to stop pro-union activities — The New York Times Co. illegally restricted employees' union activism, federal labor officials alleged in a complaint that accuses the company …

Discussion: New York Times, @josheidelson and @ntabrizy

Archived Page Info:

This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 10:40 PM ET, January 5, 2022.

View the current page or another snapshot:

Who's Hiring in Media?

Senior Data Journalist, NY — WSJ

Manager - Publishing Editorial, Manila — Reuters

Oil Reporter, Singapore — Bloomberg

Newsperson - State Govt. & Politics, CA — AP

Business Reporter, SC — Post & Courier

State Government Reporter, WA — Seattle Times

Climate Crisis Columnist — Prospect UK

Multimedia Journalist, CA — Paramount

Community Engagement Mgr., DC — Freedom Forum

Senior California Politics Reporter, CA — SFGATE

Staff Writer - Business, NY — WIRED

Team Editor - Opinion, ON — Toronto Star

Assistant Correspondent, DC — Kyodo News

Climate & Weather Reporter, MN — Star Tribune

Senior Tech Editor, Remote US — The Verge

Lead Business Reporter, TN — Daily Memphian

Managing Editor, WA — Everett Herald

Private Credit Reporter, NY — Debtwire

City Correspondent, London — Financial News

Legislative Reporter, CA — Sacramento Bee

Reporter, PA — Tribune-Review

Visual Editor, Remote — Rest of World

Staff Writer, MI — Watershed Voice

Senior Political Reporter, DC — The Lever

California Playbook Writer, CA — Politico

National Investigative Reporter, NY — HuffPost

Business & Gaming Reporter, NV — Las Vegas Sun

Coastal Climate Reporter, SC — Island Packet

Environment & Energy Reporter, CT — CT Mirror

Coordinating Editor, OR — OPB

Editor, Remote US — Daily Kos

Business Reporter, WA — Longview Daily News

Editor-in-Chief, AZ — Phoenix New Times

Add your company here

See Also:

Mediagazer: site main

Mediagazer River: reverse chronological Mediagazer

Mediagazer Mobile: for phones

Mediagazer Leaderboard: Mediagazer's top sources

Subscribe:

Mediagazer RSS feed

Mediagazer on X

Mediagazer on Mastodon

More News:

Marc Tracy / New York Times:
Jared Hohlt, Slate editor-in-chief and former New York magazine editor for nearly two decades, is stepping down after nearly three years

Discussion: @katzish

Anthony D'Alessandro / Deadline:
Sundance Film Festival in-person events, planned to start January 20 in Park City, Utah, are moved online, making the event entirely virtual for the second year

Discussion: NBC News, @thejoelynch, @cassianelwes, @carriecnh12, Gizmodo and The Wrap

Max Goldbart / Deadline:
BAFTA merges its LA and New York entities into a single North America board; Starz Original Programming President Kathryn Busby will be its chair

Discussion: Variety, The Wrap and Hollywood Reporter

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

Discussion: @thepacketrat, @mmasnick, @bloodjetpoetry, @jfslowik and @jathansadowski

Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Comscore launches Comscore Everywhere to measure unduplicated audiences across various media and screens, with plans to add new phases throughout 2022

Discussion: nexttv.com, AdExchanger 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

Discussion: CoinDesk, more at Techmeme »

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

Discussion: Adweek, @digitalshields, @joejanecek, nexttv.com, MediaPost, Ad Age and AdExchanger

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
TikTok partners with Atmosphere to bring curated TikTok videos to Atmosphere's ad-supported streaming service for commercial venues

Discussion: The Verge, Adweek and Tubefilter, more at Techmeme »

Earlier Picks:

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

Discussion: The Independent, @jonathanturley, Gawker, Forbes, The Hill, Associated Press, Daily Mail, Us Weekly, UPI, The Daily Beast and Insider

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

Discussion: @alexweprin, @kristoovaska and MediaPost

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
UK press regulator IPSO, which has launched no investigations since its 2014 inception, declines calls to investigate the Jewish Chronicle for repeated libel

Discussion: @hackinginquiry and Hacked Off

Priya Anand / Bloomberg:
Popcorn Time, an open-source streaming service for pirated content launched in 2014, shuts down; in 2015, Netflix warned investors about Popcorn Time's rise

Discussion: Gizmodo, Plagiarism Today and @zerobeta, more at Techmeme »

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

Discussion: @marcoarment, @marcoarment, Podcast Movement, @profcarroll, @marcoarment, @stephenrobles and AdExchanger

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

Discussion: @crupicrupicrupi, @sportswatch, @tvgrimreaper, @sportstvratings and @aagave

Vania Andre / THE CITY:
NYC-based independent and nonprofit news site The City appoints Richard Kim as EIC, starting on February 1; Kim was previously HuffPost's executive editor

Discussion: @richardkimnyc, @craignewmark, @zachdcarter, @hilella, @lpolgreen, @moorehn, @j__velasquez, @jere_hester and @nicdawes

Sara Fischer / Axios:
NPR adds new shows and subscriber-only benefits to NPR+, and plans to launch an on-demand podcast bundle in H2 2022 as a benefit of membership to local stations

Discussion: @isalara, @nprinskeep and @sarafischer

From Techmeme:

Kent Walker / The Keyword:
Google says the DOJ's “wildly overbroad proposal goes miles beyond the Court's decision”, would hurt US consumers, and jeopardize the US' global tech leadership

Jay Peters / The Verge:
Adam Mosseri says Threads is rebalancing ranking to prioritize content from people that users follow, warns that creators' “unconnected” reach may go down

Paige Smith / Bloomberg:
The CFPB will supervise tech companies with digital wallets, like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Venmo, with 50M+ annual transactions, treating them more like banks

Sister Sites:

Techmeme
Top news and commentary for technology's leaders, from all around the web

memeorandum
What US political commentators are discussing online right now

WeSmirch
The top celebrity news from all around the web on a single page