Top News:
Sara Fischer / Axios:
NYT has agreed to acquire The Athletic in an all-cash deal valuing the startup at $550M; co-founders Alex Mather and Adam Hansmann will stay on after the deal — The New York Times has agreed to acquire The Athletic in an all-cash deal valuing the sports media startup at $550 million …
Discussion:
New York Times, @sarafischer, Bloomberg, @sarafischer, Poynter, Wall Street Journal, @sarafischer, @ylichterman, The Information, @sarafischer, UPI, @sarafischer, @jessicalessin, @rafat, @sarafischer, @hollyzachariah, @sarafischer, @pkafka, @sarafischer, @dangillmor, @jeffjarvis, @sarafischer, Newser, @dskok, @nytimesguild, @sulliview, @joshsternberg, @sarafischer, @paulkuharskynfl, @sarafischer, @sarafischer, @realobf, @ckrewson, @ckrewson, Adweek, CNBC, Front Office Sports and New York Post
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Peter Kafka / Vox:
The NYT-Athletic deal is a big bet with significant risk, as growth slows for The NYT and profit remains elusive for The Athletic — A big bet with real risk and reward. — The New York Times wants more subscribers. The Athletic has lots of subscribers but loses money.
Discussion:
The Ringer, Talking Biz News, Financial Times, @pottsmark, MediaPost, Axios, @sizpatel, @markberman, @jeffschultzatl, Poynter, Defector, @mathewi, @rasmus_kleis, @oliviawitherite, @jessegranger_, @byscottpowers, @tvgrimreaper, @thegridkid, @gintautasd, @tybatiste, @ken_rosenthal, @adamlefkoe, @willystaley, @travonne, @melissalockard, @bydavidgardner, @ringer, @cnyari, @aarongleeman, @maxjrosenthal, @davidgura, @bryancurtis, @conordougherty, @rafat, @rafat, @zpathletic, @pkafka, @pkafka, @mikeorren, @profblackistone, @mattzeitlin, @electricalwsop, @aarongleeman, @sbienkowski, @liam_twomey, @brettkollmann, @pkafka, @pkafka, @vosdscott, @nw3, @freightalley, @thegridkid, @scohensea, @rafat, @danprimack, @danprimack, @nichcarlson, @rafat, @jeremylittau, @jeremylittau, @jeremylittau, @mattietk, @ericliptonnyt, @jeremylittau, @jeremylittau, @jeremylittau, @daryrezvani, @keganreneau, @john_p_carvalho, @jeremylittau, @jeremylittau, @jeremylittau, @rafat, @freddiecampion, @arashmarkazi, @jeffveillette, @chrisryan_nj, @_zeets, @mathewi, @katie_martin_fx, @dylanbyers, Sportico, Deadline, The Spun, Financial Times, Nieman Lab, The Wrap and The Hill
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Spotify introduces Call-to-Action Cards, a visual ad format for podcasts that puts clickable cards inside show and episode pages — Spotify is today introducing is introducing a new ad format aimed at podcasters which it's calling “Call-to-Action Cards” — or CTA cards, for short.
Discussion:
Spotify, @ericmarkowitz, Adweek, @alansoclof, @mattnavarra, Gizmodo, Podnews podcasting news, @spotifynews, ScreenRant, MediaPost, The Drum, Music Ally, CNET and RAIN News, more at Techmeme »
Reuters:
Two journalists were killed in Haiti on Thursday after suspected gang members shot at a group of reporters who'd arrived to interview the leader of a rival gang — Two Haitian journalists were killed Thursday on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince after suspected gang members opened fire …
Discussion:
France 24
Joe Flint / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: WarnerMedia and ViacomCBS are exploring selling a significant stake, or all of, CW Network; among possible buyers, Nexstar Media Group is leading — Nexstar Media Group is among the suitors for CW Network, sources say — AT&T Inc.'s WarnerMedia and ViacomCBS Inc. are exploring …
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Anna Nicolaou / Financial Times:
Justin Smith says his venture with Ben Smith is not a quick flip and they are aiming for multi-decade growth; Ben says the outlet will be “post social media” — Ex-Bloomberg executive and New York Times journalist are aiming for multi-decade growth
Discussion:
@zielina, @tomgara, @bobbyallyn, @tomgara, @kniggem, @robinwigg, @carlquintanilla, @tomgara, @nivincent, @claireberlinski, @johngapper, @snolen, @kixes, @iroughol, @aadilbrar, @zielina, @emilyrauhala, @zhaoyinfeng, @skinnylatte, @claradfmarques, @damiencave, @mathewi, @mattzeitlin, @benyt, @marklittlenews and Polis
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
LinkedIn plans to launch interactive, audio-only live events this month in beta for some creators and a video version in the spring — LinkedIn, now with more than 800 million people listing their professional profiles to build out their careers, is taking its next steps to get them to spend more time on the platform.
Discussion:
@caseynewton, Tubefilter, @tomcoates, @pt, @far33d, @thekenyeung, Adweek and Señales.co, more at Techmeme »
Ananya Mariam Rajesh / Reuters:
BuzzFeed names Christian Baesler as COO, filling a role vacant since Jon Steinberg stepped down in 2014; Baesler will also continue as CEO of Complex Networks — BuzzFeed Inc (BZFD.O) on Thursday named Christian Baesler as chief operating officer, filling a role that has remained vacant …
Committee to Protect Journalists:
Authorities in Kazakhstan have detained at least eight journalists reporting on protests since January 4 and blocked at least two news sites — Kazakhstan authorities must allow journalists to report freely on ongoing protests in the country and ensure their safety from officials and protesters …
Discussion:
The Diplomat and USAGM
The Wire:
Modi's BJP uses an app called Tek Fog to harass journalists: of 4.6M Twitter replies received by 280 women journalists, 18% were from Tek Fog managed accounts — The Wire investigates claims behind the use of ‘Tek Fog’, a highly sophisticated app used by online operatives to hijack major social media …
Discussion:
@thewire_in, MediaNama, @kunalpurohit, @asadowaisi, @svaradarajan, @caseynewton, @vijaytal, @thewire_in, @rasmus_kleis, @pawankhera and @rohini_sgh, more at Techmeme »
New York Times:
How Tucker Carlson, condoned by Fox management, plus right-wing podcasts and others, revised the history of January 6 to deflect blame from Trump — How revisionist histories of Jan. 6 picked up where the “stop the steal” campaign left off, warping beliefs about what transpired at the Capitol.
Reuters:
China's copyright authority bans digital music platforms from signing exclusive copyright agreements except in special circumstances — China's copyright authority said on Thursday digital music platforms are not allowed to sign exclusive copyright agreements except in special circumstances …
Discussion:
Music Ally and Plagiarism Today
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