Top News:
David Roeder / Chicago Sun-Times:
Chicago Public Media's board approves the Chicago Sun-Times acquisition, set to close on or about January 31, which will convert the Sun-Times into a nonprofit — The noncash transfer will not be final until contracts are approved, but both media organizations said they hope to close on the deal by the end of the month.
Discussion:
WBEZ Chicago, insideradio.com, @chicagotribune, @tlangford, Robert Feder, @nprinskeep, @nprinskeep, @satchelprice, @stellinitweets, @lynnsweet, @sdkstl, @youranonnews, @suntimes, @jrichardoneill, @jayrosen_nyu, @davemckinney, @localnewsini, @mizamudio, @robertmccoppin, @nprinskeep, @leighgiangreco, @charlesjaco1, @walldo, @robneyer, @localnewsini, @garveymcvg, @seidelcontent, @nprinskeep, @patrickfinley, @jpelzer, @davidearllive, @asmamk, @msjanicemorris, @ejdionne, @mgerrydoyle, @doctaj, @michaelsobrien, @dmihalopoulos, @robertloerzel, @billruthhart, @doctaj, @inkyamy, @mgerrydoyle, @localnewsini, @naderdissa, @tananarivedue, @tracylbrown and @vabvox
Todd Spangler / Variety:
YouTube says it's winding down YouTube Originals after six years and will only fund programs that are part of its Black Voices and YouTube Kids Funds — YouTube is getting out of the business of originals: The Google-owned video giant said it is winding down its original productions team after more than six years.
Discussion:
@rkyncl, Adweek, The Verge, Protocol, @jakerawr, @thafnine, @cleoabram, MediaNama, @brodyfoxx, @film_girl, @domsmales, @natjarv, @tweetsauce, @richlightshed, @rfaughnder, @dfriend, Collider, CNET, MediaPost, Fast Company, nexttv.com, Tubefilter and Deadline, more at Techmeme »
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Michael Schneider / Variety:
YouTube's global head of original content, Susanne Daniels, is leaving on March 1 after almost seven years
Discussion:
Deadline, Los Angeles Times, Hollywood Reporter, Media Play News and The Wrap
Mark Stenberg / Adweek:
Axios Pro launches with three newsletters, costing $599 per year for each or $1,799 for All Access, including two more newsletters launching in the spring — The smart brevity publisher Axios launched its first paid subscription product Wednesday morning, a series of three newsletters covering investment …
Discussion:
@emilyrpeck and @kerrymflynn
New York Times:
André Leon Talley, the former editor-at-large of US Vogue who has been a rare Black editor at the top of fashion industry, has died at 73 — Called “a creative genius,” he was the rare Black editor at the top of a field that was mostly white and notoriously elitist.
Discussion:
The Wrap, Mediaite, USA Today, UPI, @jeremymbarr, Forbes, Newser, @jswatz, @clairehoworth, @capehartj, @tomwatson, @davidgura, @alexweprin, @brentnyt, TV Insider, @armandocorrea, Newsy, @s_evangelina, The Guardian, KNSD-TV, Fox News, The Week, @shimonpro, Deadline and 77 WABC
Jack Shafer / Politico:
The mission statements and manifestos of journalism startups, from Grid to Puck, promise to remake journalism but fail to articulate a unique message — The entrepreneurial spirit rages beneath the breastbone of your average journalist, rivaled in intensity only by his scorn for his bosses.
Discussion:
@andrewrestuccia, @lmoses, The Rebooting, @michellemanafy, @ckrewson, @mradamtaylor, @patferrucci, @risj_oxford, @joshsternberg, @terri_rupar and @amandakhurley
Alex Ritman / The Hollywood Reporter:
Dazn launches specialist content development arm Dazn Studios to sell and license its original sport documentaries, series, and films — The launch comes as the streaming company prepares to premiere boxing doc ‘La Guerra Civil’ in Sundance and alongside the launch of its 2022 content slate.
Discussion:
WORLD SCREEN, Digital TV Europe, Variety, C21Media and Broadband TV News
Clive Cookson / Financial Times:
The Royal Society finds social media sites banning misleading content is ineffective and can drive misinformation to “harder-to-address corners of the internet” — Risks of removing information rejected by the mainstream outweigh benefits, according to the Royal Society
Sara Fischer / Axios:
RocaNews, which delivers news via Instagram, raises a $4.4M seed and acquires River News, an app that provides news stories via a TikTok-like video feed — RocaNews, an Instagram news brand with 1 million followers, has raised $4.4 million in a seed round led by Ori Allon, the co-founder and executive chair of Compass Real Estate.
Jamie Grierson / The Guardian:
BBC DG Tim Davie says license fee freeze will leave a £285M gap in funding by 2027, which would mean “less services and less programmes” — Tim Davie says six-year licence fee settlement will mean fewer programmes and services — The BBC will be forced to axe …
Discussion:
@blackamazon, London Evening Standard, @jimwaterson and @leejbbc
Sara Fischer / Axios:
The Markup says it has 30 employees, two newsletters totaling 14K subscribers, and had $6.8M in 2021 revenue, up from $4.2M in 2020, aided by a $2.5M Ford grant — The Markup, a nonprofit newsroom that focuses on data-driven tech investigations, had $6.8 million in revenue in 2021 …
Discussion:
@jordannovet
Jennifer Maas / Variety:
Influencer and former NBA player Rex Chapman will host a weekly CNN+ show featuring “intimate conversations with athletes, entertainers, and everyday heroes” — Per the WarnerMedia-owned subscription streaming platform, which is set to debut in the first quarter of the year …
Discussion:
Mediaite, Awful Announcing, @peterhimler, @stevebastoni, @brittanylkaplan, @jeneuston, @philsancheztv, CNN, Fox News, USA Today, TVNewser, The Hill, Deadline, Sports Illustrated and nexttv.com
Scott Roxborough / Hollywood Reporter:
Study: Sky is Europe's largest TV company by revenue at €16.3B in 2020, followed by ARD at €6.53B and Netflix at €6.15B; Netflix has a 35% VOD market share — M&A activity is picking up pace in Europe, driven by the streaming wars and the COVID crisis, according to a new report by the European Audiovisual Observatory.
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