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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 »
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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.”


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 …


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

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


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 …


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


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


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


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


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.


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


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 …