Top News:
Washington Post:
Email: Twitter dissolves its Trust and Safety Council, saying it isn't “the best structure” for “external insights into our product and policy development work” — Meanwhile, a former top Twitter official fled his home amid attacks following Musk tweets
Discussion:
CNN, Committee to Protect …, @anthony, Associated Press, One Man & His Blog, @pressfreedom, Media Matters for America, NBC News, New York Post, Breitbart, Politico, CNN, Wall Street Journal, Gizmodo, @olganyc1211, @ronbrownstein, The Information, @ashleyesqueda, @exavierpope, BRIGHT, @rschooley, @davidaxelrod, @washingtonpost, @frankfigliuzzi1, @wholemarsblog, @cat_zakrzewski, @timinhonolulu, @davidalanmack, Quartz, @stringwallapp, @bizballmaury, @greenhousenyt, @ketanj0, @bobcesca_go, @jodieginsberg, @davidmweissman, @angry_staffer, @karoli, Bloomberg, Engadget, Rolling Stone, TechCrunch, CNET, The Wrap, The Guardian and Insider, more at Techmeme »
RELATED:
Platformer:
Casey Newton says he plans to only use Twitter to tweet out new Platformer posts and won't break news on the site, joining other big voices leaving the service — PLUS: Why it's time to start leaving Twitter behind — On Sunday, Elon Musk tweeted a vague warning: “the bots are in for a surprise tomorrow.”
Urvi Dugar / Reuters:
Elon Musk says Twitter Blue subscribers will see half the number of ads as non-subscribers and that the company plans to offer a higher tier with no ads in 2023 — Twitter owner Elon Musk tweeted on Monday that Twitter's Basic blue tick will have half the number of advertisements …
Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Twitter starts testing Blue for Business, which adds a gold checkmark for “corporate entities”, including media organizations — Alongside of the relaunch of Twitter Blue, Twitter's controversial subscription service, Twitter has begun rolling out a new offering called Blue …
Discussion:
NPR, The Drum, The Indian Express, Twitter Help Center, Waivly, Adweek, The Shortcut and 6abc
Laura Forman / Wall Street Journal:
Similarweb: Twitter ad manager visits fell nearly 74% YoY in October and 85% YoY in November, the largest drop since Musk's buyout, continuing into December
Similarweb: Twitter ad manager visits fell nearly 74% YoY in October and 85% YoY in November, the largest drop since Musk's buyout, continuing into December
Discussion:
Wired, Gizmodo, The Shortcut, @vranicawsj, @nancylevine, Boing Boing, @dsquareddigest, @djtgallagher, @dicktofel, @mattnavarra and Bloomberg
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Bari Weiss and Nellie Bowles launch The Free Press, hiring 10 full-time employees and more than 12 contractors, who plan to publish newsletters and podcasts — Bari Weiss, the New York Times columnist turned independent newsletter writer, has hired ten full-time employees and over a dozen contractors …
Jessica Toonkel / Wall Street Journal:
Jeff Zucker joins RedBird and IMI's new joint venture as CEO, where he will oversee $1B in investments in sports, media, and entertainment entities — New venture is partnership between International Media Investments and RedBird, part owner of Boston Red Sox and LeBron James's entertainment company
Lili Bayer / Politico:
An interview with Zoltán Varga, one of Hungary's last independent media moguls, on Viktor Orbán's tactics to silence the media, including via tax probes — Zoltán Varga, one of Hungary's last independent media moguls, tells POLITICO Viktor Orbán has taken his tactics to a ‘new level.’
Discussion:
@martapardavi, @politicoeurope and @panyiszabolcs
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
Spotify is pulling back on live audio shows, having canceled at least four, after launching Spotify Live in April — Spotify Technology SA, the music streaming giant, is ending production of several live audio shows, pulling back from a once-promising programming area.
Discussion:
@ashleyrcarman and @ashleyrcarman
Financial Times:
Elliott Management and others buy Nielsen's debt, propping up its $16B acquisition of the TV ratings provider and leaving it more exposed to Nielsen's fortunes — Investment by group comes weeks after it spent $1bn buying junk bonds tied to its takeover of Citrix
Torinmo Salau / Semafor:
A look at Opera News, which is pre-installed on Chinese-made smartphones in Nigeria, reaches around 3M people per day, and pays freelancers based on clicks — A popular Chinese-owned news app used by millions of Nigerians is being driven by algorithms that promote misinformation, according to a new study.
Andrew Kersley / Press Gazette:
Analysis: UK media outlets paid 60 MPs ~£350K for in 2021, with GB News spending the most: £82K between October 2021 and September 2022 — The highest earning MPs from the media were David Lammy, Esther McVey and Jess Phillips. — Sixty MPs made just under £350,000 …
Discussion:
@pressgazette and @justinevansje
James Pomfret / Reuters:
Chung Pui-kuen, former editor of liberal outlet Hong Kong's Stand News, is released on bail after a year, under the condition he give no media interviews — The former editor of a major Hong Kong media outlet, who stands accused of publishing seditious materials in a landmark press freedom case …