Top News:
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Chris Licht tells CNN staff that layoffs are underway as part of a strategy shift, starting with “a limited number of individuals”, mostly paid contributors — “It will be a difficult time for everyone,” CNN EO Chris Licht told staff in an email Wednesday.
Discussion:
CNN, Variety, New York Times, Insider, @oliverdarcy, Fox News, Next TV, Forbes, Breitbart, @joeconchatv, Axios, New York Post, @karlbode, @jeremymbarr, IndieWire, Mediaite, Deadline, @paulrieckhoff, The Wrap, @sarafischer, @bristei, @bristei, Wall Street Journal, @daveweigel, @jeremymbarr, @maxwelltani, @claireatki, @curtishouck, @benmullin, @sarafischer, @elbordeaux and The Hill
Sarah Ellison / Washington Post:
The Washington Post will stop publishing its Sunday magazine on December 25, cutting the jobs of 10 staffers; some content will shift to the Style section — Executive editor Sally Buzbee said the magazine would end ‘in its current form’ after printing its final issue on Dec. 25.
David Folkenflik / NPR:
NPR says it needs to cut $10M+, or 3% of its budget, from the current fiscal year ending next September 30 and plans to nearly freeze hiring and avoid layoffs — NPR will need to cut at least $10 million from the current fiscal year ending next September 30, the network's chief executive …
Discussion:
Current, @alexleff, @brianmannadk, @laurelwamsley, Bloomberg, @davidfolkenflik, @jackshafer and @nprkelly
Ariel Shapiro / The Verge:
Spotify releases Wrapped 2022 for users, adding a “music personality” feature, and says Joe Rogan, Emma Chamberlain, and others were its top podcasters — Spotify Wrapped is here, and with it, a slew of year-end charts, data, and graphics ripe for sharing.
Discussion:
Spotify, Bloomberg, Billboard, Los Angeles Times, Never Hungover, Forbes, Vibe, New York Post, UPI, The A.V. Club, E! Online, @carnage4life, 9to5Mac, The Drum, Variety, Ad Age, @anthony, TechCrunch, @bysoheecho, Music Ally, Adweek, & More Newsletter, BGR, Engadget, Wall Street Journal, Unknown Rhythms, @jonnygabriel, The Hollywood Reporter, @musicstruggles1, Fortune, Gizmodo, Rolling Stone, All This Is True, ScreenRant, Washingtonian and CNET, more at Techmeme »
Ross A. Lincoln / The Wrap:
Memo: Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke will oversee MGM effective immediately, including scripted TV and film, distribution, and creative marketing — Shocking no one, on Tuesday night Amazon informed employees that Amazon Studios boss Jennifer Salke will now also oversee MGM …
Discussion:
Deadline, Digital TV Europe, Los Angeles Times, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Media Play News and MediaPost
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Research: women of color are “completely locked out” of the UK news industry and face “extraordinary exclusion” in the US, both in leadership and news coverage — Women of colour are “almost completely locked out” of the UK news industry making them “effectively invisible”, a new report has found.
Discussion:
The Guardian, @pressgazette, @raju and @akannampilly
David Z. Morris / CoinDesk:
As FTX collapsed, mainstream news organizations often failed to give a straightforward assessment of exactly what happened and potential crimes involved — Sam Bankman-Fried is a con man and fraudster of historic proportions. But you might not learn that from the New York Times …
Discussion:
CNET, CNBC, Financial Times, Quartz, The Verge, @seyitaylor, @davidzmorris, @cryptolawus, @coindesk, @timccopeland, @inkbacker, @rachaelrad, CBS News, New York Post, Insider, Gizmodo, Politico, Bloomberg, New York Magazine and KXAN-TV, more at Techmeme »
Elaine Díaz Rodríguez / LION Publishers:
LION Publishers' sustainability audits show more independent news founders are focusing on revenue and audience research to deal with some industry challenges — Takeaways from the LION-GNI Sustainability Audits and Funding program — Independent news founders are seeing …
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Netflix's Reed Hastings says he was wrong to avoid ads, the Glass Onion theatrical release left money on the table, and streaming competition has become a brawl — During a wide-ranging panel discussion, the mogul also said Elon Musk is “the bravest, most creative person on the planet.”
Stephen Engelberg / ProPublica:
ProPublica posts an editor's note about its Wuhan lab story after reevaluating what some called a mistranslation, and says “the totality of reporting” is sound — ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published.
Discussion:
@rottenindenmark, @rottenindenmark, @rottenindenmark, @aghuff, @ijbailey, @angie_rasmussen, @mjnanostretch, @hpmacd, @beijingpalmer, @beijingpalmer, @beijingpalmer, @r_h_ebright, @phealthsean, @r_h_ebright, @r_h_ebright, @ndukaorjinmo, @amymaxmen, @rottenindenmark, @dvergano, @dakekang, @robbiegramer, @jayrosen_nyu, @emilyakopp and @ben_alpers
Jim Waterson / The Guardian:
The BBC plans to make “lighter” dramas, sports documentaries, and crime shows to reach poorer audiences, after Ofcom said they are “persistently underserved” — Ofcom warns lower socio-economic viewers feel ‘persistently underserved’ by broadcaster
Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch:
Around 130,000 UK publishing businesses, covering ~1.75M websites and apps, sue Google and Alphabet for alleged anti-competitive behavior in adtech — Litigation against Google and its parent entity Alphabet being brought in the UK on behalf of thousands of digital publishers …
Discussion:
Press Gazette, Bloomberg and Reuters