Top News:


ByteDance fired four employees after finding in a probe they accessed data on US TikTok users, including reporters, while trying to learn the sources of a story — The company's internal investigation showed that workers also obtained data on a small number of other U.S. users.
Discussion:
@ebakerwhite, The Wrap, Variety, Reuters, @cathymcmorris, @redsteeze, @forbes, @lauferlaw, @richardjnieva, @johnpaczkowski, @schwabkatharine, NPR, @jdiamond1, @kenvogel, @semaforben, @james_t_quinn, @hawleymo, @byrontau, @lourdesgnavarro, @mikeisaac, @katienotopoulos, @kyliebytes, @mattnavarra, @ceciliakang and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »
RELATED:


Documents show TikTok parent ByteDance surveilled Forbes journalists Emily Baker-White, Katharine Schwab, and Richard Nieva, who had worked at BuzzFeed News — ByteDance confirmed it used TikTok to monitor journalists' physical location using their IP addresses, as first reported by Forbes in October.


YouTube buys NFL Sunday Ticket's residential rights for seven years, sources say for ~$2B/year; DirecTV paid $1.5B/year for residential and commercial rights — Video streamer to pay annual fee of roughly $2 billion under seven-year deal — Created with sketchtool.
Discussion:
CNET, Bloomberg, The Streamable, Awful Announcing, @jbflint, Axios, Associated Press, MediaPost, NFL.com, CBS News, New York Times, Adweek, Ad Age, The Verge, ProFootballTalk, @brucemurraynfl, Deadline, @joebucsfan, @brentscher, New York Post, @dcseifert@mastodon.social, @kantrowitz, The Wrap, @j_dot_j, The Verge, @kazeem, MacRumors, Variety, @philmackey, Media Play News, @pkafka, @pkafka, @jacksettleman, The Hollywood Reporter, @damonbruce, NBC New York, @peter_bukowski, The Information, @kurtbenkert, IndieWire, @pschrags, Bloomberg, @pkafka, @dabearsblog, Insider, AppleInsider, TechCrunch, The Desk, Tubefilter, Light Reading, Sports Business Journal, The Comeback and Sportico, more at Techmeme »


Fox News host Sean Hannity and others say they doubted 2020 claims of a voting fraud plot, as Dominion Voting lawyers try to show Fox knew it aired false claims — On Wednesday, lawyers for Dominion Voting Systems shared some of the strongest evidence yet that some Fox employees knew what they broadcast about the claims was false.
Discussion:
@exavierpope, National Review, @cassandrajar, @spytalker, @gtconway3d, @jaynordlinger, @froomkin, @jamieford, IndieWire, NPR, @jkarsh, @jessefferguson, @jreinermd, @kazweida, @brianstack153, @aghamilton29, @michael_muscato, @bradmossesq, @nytimes, @lisatozzi, @kimmasters, @mattgertz, @badler, @jillgeisler, @beckerdavidj, @peterhimler, @mattyglesias, @davidbernardtv, @jwpetersnyt, @froomkin@journa.host and Mediaite


A federal judge rules movie studios can be sued under false advertising laws if they release deceptive trailers, like ones featuring an actor cut from the movie — Movie studios can be sued under false advertising laws if they release deceptive movie trailers, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday.


More than 130 WGA East members at Bustle Digital Group sign a petition calling on CEO Bryan Goldberg to address salary demands after two years of negotiations — More than 130 WGA East members employed at several media outlets owned by Bustle Digital Group have signed a petition calling …


AMC Entertainment announces a $110M equity raise by selling its APE preferred stock to Antara Capital at 66 cents per share; AMC stock initially fell 25%+ — AMC Entertainment Holdings (AMC.N) said on Thursday it would raise $110 million in new equity capital through the sale of its preferred stock …
Discussion:
Corporate Profile, Bloomberg, The Wrap, Financial Times, Insider, Reuters, Deadline, @stickstocks, The Hollywood Reporter, @trengriffin, CNBC and IndieWire


Pathmatics: ~70% of Twitter's top 100 ad spenders before Elon Musk's takeover weren't spending as of the week ending December 18; 89% of 2021 revenue was ads — Executives are promising big incentives and new technology while also trying to explain the actions of their new owner
Discussion:
@tomfitton, more at Techmeme »


The US Copyright Office rules that a comic book made using AI art is ineligible for copyright protection, revoking its copyright granted in September 2022 — Reversing an earlier decision, the United States Copyright Office rules that a comic book made using A.I. art is ineligible for copyright protection
Discussion:
@dezziearts, @trumwill, @maryboys1 and @b4olivas, more at Techmeme »


A look at Twitter's major role in research and science communication, especially during the pandemic, as researchers and scientists now leave the service — In November, Vince Knight decided he'd had enough of Twitter. After more than a decade on the social-media platform, Knight …
Discussion:
@annecollier, Fast Company, @ibjiyongi, @evornithology and @kashprime, more at Techmeme »

[Thread] The Fort Worth NewsGuild ends a strike at McClatchy's Star-Telegram, after movement from the company on its $45K pay floor, and promises details later — Big news: We are back at work. Over 24 days, the Fort Worth Newsguild protested @mcclatchy's unwillingness to negotiate fair conditions and made history as the first Texas newsroom in modern history to go on strike. 🧵 https://twitter.com/...


Books, movies, and songs published in 1927 enter the public domain in 2023, including Agatha Christie's The Big Four and Bessie Smith's Back Water Blues — On January 1, 2023, copyrighted works from 1927 will enter the US public domain. 1 They will be free for all to copy, share, and build upon.
Discussion:
@michaeldthomas, @doctorow, @swordsmithlrg, @kottke and @elkmovie


Sources detail steps Netflix may take to reduce US password sharing, like charging account owners an extra sharing fee at just below the $6.99 ad-supported tier — Putting a stop to the practice without alienating customers will be a challenge — The end of password sharing is coming to Netflix soon …
Discussion:
Breitbart, The Sun, @wsj, @jtoonkel, @danrayburn, @asharma, AppleInsider, MacRumors, The Streamable and Boing Boing
RELATED: