Top News:
Dawn Chmielewski / Reuters:
Spotify acquires Kinzen, which identifies misinformation and hate speech; the Dublin-based company partnered with Spotify in 2020, initially on election content — Audio-streaming service Spotify Technology SA (SPOT.N) on Wednesday said it has acquired Kinzen, a firm that has helped it identify harmful content on the platform.
Cynthia Littleton / Variety:
An interview with Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke on the company's big The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power bet and plans to invest more in film and TV — Jennifer Salke entered the Second Age in London. — The head of Amazon Studios spent the 72 hours leading up to the launch of …
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, SlashFilm, ScreenRant, Insider, The Playlist, New York Post, @great_katzby, CNET, Hollywood Life and Tiago's Random Thoughts
Chloe Melas / CNN:
Alec Baldwin and Rust Productions settle with Halyna Hutchins's family after the cinematographer was killed in 2021 on Rust's set; production resumes in January — The family of Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer killed on the “Rust” movie set in 2021, and Alec Baldwin have reached …
Discussion:
Variety, SlashFilm, Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg, ScreenRant, Deadline, Decider, TMZ.com, The Playlist, NPR, Al Jazeera, @usweekly, The Wrap, CBS News, The A.V. Club, WKRG-TV, Insider, Breitbart, The Week, The Guardian, New York Times, New York Post, The Hollywood Reporter, @edmorrissey, @four4thefire, @jessehawken, Page Six, KTLA, Rolling Stone, IndieWire, New York Daily News, Consequence and Fox News
Nieman Lab:
A study interviewing 64 US political journalists found many view their outlets' political endorsements as ineffective and jeopardizing editorial independence — Endorsements for politicians have a long history in U.S. newspapers, which until the 20th century were usually explicitly aligned with one political party or faction.
Discussion:
New Jersey Online, @gregperreault, @slulay2 and @niemanlab
Anna Edgerton / Bloomberg:
Experts say political ads on Meta's platforms no longer represent good ROI, thanks to a stagnating user base and policy changes that make targeting voters hard — Beth Becker had just finished teaching Democrats how to use Facebook's digital tools at the Netroots conference in Pittsburgh …
Discussion:
@jason_kint, more at Techmeme »
The Hollywood Reporter:
After Trevor Noah's shock exit, sources say MTV Entertainment CEO Chris McCarthy is more interested in squeezing margins than cultivating talent or hit shows — ‘The Daily Show’ host's shocking departure leaves the brand in an unfunny place, lacking vision for the streaming era under leadership …
Jalen Brown / CNN:
US Government Accountability Office's study: Hispanic workers are underrepresented in the media industry, growing from 11% in 2010 to 12% in 2019 — Latinos remain grossly underrepresented in the media industry and are significantly more likely to perform service roles …
Discussion:
The Wrap and U.S. Government …
Oliver Darcy / CNN:
Research: Alex Wagner's show had 304,000 viewers in September in the 25-54 demo, down 50% YoY from Rachel Maddow's audience in 2021; total viewers were down 34% — New York CNN Business — On Monday night, inside the upscale Parisian restaurant L'Avenue at Saks in midtown Manhattan …
Discussion:
@oliverdarcy, @keitholbermann and @57mcm
Sarah Scire / Nieman Lab:
A look at Russian-language news startup Helpdesk, a team of 50 Russian and Ukrainian journalists answering questions on the invasion, mobilizations, and more — “My son might be mobilized. I am panicking. What can I do?” “Can I cross the border in a car that isn't registered in my name?”
Discussion:
@janebsinger, @dmitryshishkin, @sarahscire and @_arianna
Meseret Ambachew / Adweek:
iHeartMedia's Triton Digital revamps its ad server platform Tap, adding precise geotargeting, grouping publisher podcast content into a one campaign, and more — Users experience fewer clicks to execute a campaign, company said — Wednesday iHeartMedia subsidiary Triton Digital launched …
Discussion:
RAIN News and Inside Radio
Todd Spangler / Variety:
NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell: Peacock added 2M+ paid subscribers in Q3 2022 to top 15M, after reclaiming NBCU next-day rights from Hulu; Q2 subscribers were flat — Has Peacock regained its forward momentum? — NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell claimed the media company's flagship streamer notched healthy growth …
The Guardian:
Guardian US expands its democracy coverage, announces a series called The Fight for Democracy, and names reporter Sam Levine as senior democracy correspondent — Guardian US today announces the expansion of its democracy coverage, a new multi-year series named The fight for democracy …
Discussion:
@srl, @jamilsmith, @jennwritesmoore, @jayrosen_nyu and @rachelwhitedc