Top News:
Paul Farhi / Washington Post:
Journalists covering the Olympics plan to use burner phones and laptops as they assume total surveillance by the government intent on controlling China's image — Journalists covering the Winter Olympics next month say they'll do their work in Beijing on brand-new cellphones and laptops.
Discussion:
The Citizen Lab, @tonyajoriley, USA Today, New York Post, The Guardian, @yaqiu, @chrisbohjalian, Insider, @jsrailton, @julesboykoff, @mbgelman, Reclaim The Net and ScreenRant
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Andy Hall / ESPN Front Row:
ESPN, which planned to send four reporters to the Winter Olympics in China, says it won't send any personnel due to COVID-19 concerns and related restrictions — Robust remote coverage plans will kick off prior to start of competition — Due to concerns about COVID-19 …
Discussion:
nexttv.com, Awful Announcing, @femme_thoughts, @darcymaine_espn, @wyshynski and @espnpr
Christine Brennan / USA Today:
NBC Sports says it won't send any Winter Olympics announcing teams to Beijing due to COVID-19 but still plans “a large presence on the ground” — As the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games approach and COVID-19 concerns mount, NBC Sports will not send any of its announcing teams to China …
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Netflix reports Q4 revenue of $7.71B, up 16% YoY, net income of $607M, 222M paid subscribers, and $30B in 2021 revenue, up 19%; stock down 15%+ on weak guidance — Netflix ended 2021 with a slightly lower-than-expected subscriber gain in the fourth quarter, and its stock took a dive with a weak Q1 outlook.
Discussion:
Variety, The Wrap, New York Post, Ad Age, CNBC, Adweek, Deadline, @lucas_shaw, @xpangler, @dfriend, Netflix and Wall Street Journal, more at Techmeme »
Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:
Political reporter Robert Costa is leaving The Washington Post to become a full-time TV journalist at CBS News but will keep collaborating on some Post projects — The longtime Washington Post political reporter will take an on-air role covering campaigns and elections.
Discussion:
@costareports, @costareports, @brianstelter, @owillis, Deadline, @philiprucker, Variety, @jakesherman, @nytmedia, @ashleyrparker, @meredithshiner, @yamiche, @norahodonnell, @kaitlancollins, @weijia, @cbsnewspress, @edokeefe, @meredithshiner, @froomkin, @costareports, @costareports, TVNewser, The Hill and Hollywood Reporter
A.J. Katz / TVNewser:
Memo: David Firestone, NBC News Digital's executive editor and a former NYT reporter and editor, plans to retire in mid-May after 45 years in journalism — NBC News Digital executive editor David Firestone is retiring in mid-May after 45 years in the journalism business, the last five of them at NBC.
Discussion:
@mike_hixenbaugh, @kalhanr, @oneunderscore__, @david_ingram, @d_arkin, @gingergibson and @philmccausland
Mahira Dayal / The Information:
TikTok says it is testing letting creators charge subscriptions for their content — TikTok is testing the idea of allowing its creators to charge subscriptions for their content, a spokesperson told The Information. Earlier Wednesday, rival Instagram announced it was offering paid subscriptions to a small group of influencers.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, The Mac Observer, IGN, 9to5Mac, Observer, Wall Street Journal and Variety, more at Techmeme »
Mark Mulligan / MIDiA Research:
Research: global music subscribers hit 523.9M in Q2 2021, up 26.4% YoY; Spotify had 31% market share; Apple Music, 15%; Amazon Music, 13%, and YouTube Music, 8% — MIDiA's annual music subscriber market shares report is now available here (see below for more details of the report).
Tom Jones / Poynter:
Q&A with NBC News president Noah Oppenheim about advocacy journalism, the future of the NBC News NOW streaming service, what makes Dateline addictive, and more — 'We are ferociously defending the traditional approach to journalism ... that it's possible to hold the middle ground and be objective and nonpartisan.'
Discussion:
TVNewser, @poynter, @nbcnewspr, @jmacnyc, @oliverdarcy and Mediaite
Michael Malone / nexttv.com:
Peacock launches 24/7 local news channels for NBC-owned stations, starting with Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, and Miami; the channels won't be geo-targeted — WMAQ Chicago, WCAU Philadelphia, WBTS Boston and WTVJ Miami have debuted on streaming platform — Peacock is launching 24/7 local …
Discussion:
Too Much TV Newsletter, The Streamable, Cord Cutters News, Media Play News, Robert Feder and Daily Herald
Alex Weprin / Hollywood Reporter:
ABC announces a Good Morning America podcast and entertainment podcast Close Up as part of a renewed audio focus, starting on February 9 — A ‘Good Morning America’ podcast and new programming are part of the renewed audio focus. — ABC News is planning a fresh podcast push …
Discussion:
ABC News, @emarvelous and @kelleylcarter
Lydia Moynihan / New York Post:
Sources: TikTok ousted its marketing chief Nick Tran for “going rogue” with plans like TikTok Kitchen, NFTs by Lil Nas X and others, and TikTok Resumes — TikTok's marketing chief has been ousted after blindsiding top management with a series of increasingly bizarre campaigns, The Post has learned.
Discussion:
The Verge, @bmorrissey, Pandaily, @markmilian, @caseynewton, @tomgara, @joshsternberg, @alexeheath, @dinafierro_, @thedragonfeeder, MediaPost and Protocol, more at Techmeme »
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