Top News:
Paul Farhi / Washington Post:
Journalists covering Olympics say they'll be using burner phones and laptops as they assume 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, New York Post, USA Today, 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, @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:
CNBC, The Wrap, @dfriend, Netflix, Wall Street Journal and Hollywood Reporter, 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, @meredithshiner, @owillis, Deadline, @philiprucker, Variety, @jakesherman, @nytmedia, @ashleyrparker, @meredithshiner, @yamiche, @norahodonnell, @kaitlancollins, @weijia, @edokeefe, @froomkin, @costareports, @costareports, TVNewser, The Hill and Hollywood Reporter
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 »
A.J. Katz / TVNewser:
Memo: David Firestone, NBC News Digital's executive editor and a former NYT reporter and editor, plans to retire in 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:
@david_ingram, @d_arkin, @gingergibson and @philmccausland
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:
The Streamable, Cord Cutters News, Media Play News, Robert Feder and Daily Herald
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).
Discussion:
9to5Google, @johnkoetsier, The Verge, @mintroyale, JOMO, @mark_mulligan, @mark_mulligan, 9to5Mac, AppleInsider, Forbes, Complete Music Update and Music Ally, more at Techmeme »
Lydia Moynihan / New York Post:
Sources: TikTok ousted its marketing chief Nick Tran after he went “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, @joshsternberg, @alexeheath, @dinafierro_, Protocol, @bmorrissey, Pandaily, @markmilian, @caseynewton, @tomgara, @thedragonfeeder and MediaPost, more at Techmeme »
New York Times:
Journalist in Peru sentenced to prison and ordered to pay $100K in a defamation suit brought by a politician, part of a trend of using courts to punish media — The author of a book about a powerful politician has been sentenced to two years in prison. Media advocates say the case is part …
Discussion:
@cathyrosegarcia, @nytimesworld, @melissajpeltier, @chrissabatini, @penamerica and @kenroth
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