Top News:
Cheyenne Roundtree / Rolling Stone:
Filing: text messages show HBO executives used fake Twitter accounts to troll TV critics and comment on trade publication stories from June 2020 to April 2021 — Casey Bloys ordered staffers to create fake accounts to fire back at critics, according to text conversations reviewed by Rolling Stone as part of a new lawsuit
Discussion:
The Wrap, Forbes, @taylorlorenz@threads.net, @shannonpareil@threads.net, @aulia@octodon.social, The Ankler, @taylorlorenz@mastodon.social, Vanity Fair, @alexwild@mastodon.online, @Nickiquote@mstdn.social, @paultassi, @moryan.bsky.social, @bigmeaninternet, @nina_metz, @film_girl, @tvgrimreaper, Screen Rant, @ddavidrenshaw, @moryan, @marlownyc, @arictoler, The A.V. Club, Winter is Coming, IndieWire, The Hollywood Reporter, @annevclark, @cheyenneisround, @marlownyc, @mattzeitlin, @kvanaren, @alissamarie, Eric Deggans on LinkedIn, @pkafka, @teroterotero, @emmajanepettit, Gizmodo, @dlberes, @kenlowery and Boing Boing
The Walt Disney Company:
Disney intends to acquire the 33% stake in Hulu held by Comcast's NBCUniversal, giving Disney full ownership; Disney expects to pay NBCU ~$8.61B by December 1 — The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) announced today that it will acquire the 33% stake in Hulu, LLC held by Comcast Corp.'s …
Discussion:
The Streamable, MediaPost, New York Times, Adweek, The Verge, Reuters, Radio & Television …, Next TV, Los Angeles Times, Screen Rant, Variety, The Wrap, CNN, CBS News, Advanced Television, Bloomberg, @s_burke97, @tvgrimreaper, @dylanbyers, @tvgrimreaper, @lucas_shaw, @tvgrimreaper, Axios, Deadline, CNBC, The Hill, The Hollywood Reporter, @tim_bays, @tim_bays, @gamoid, Media Play News, The A.V. Club, @dylanbyers, Gizmodo, WORLD SCREEN and Cord Cutters News, more at Techmeme »
Arlene Getz / Committee to Protect Journalists:
CPJ's Global Impunity Index: 261 journalists were murdered in retaliation for their work over the past decade; Haiti becomes the third-worst impunity offender — The persistent lack of justice for murdered reporters is a major threat to press freedom. Ten years after the United Nations declared …
Discussion:
LatAm Journalism Review, @pressfreedom, WAN-IFRA, Global Investigative … and Voice of America
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Memo: Daily Beast CEO Heather Dietrick is leaving to become chief media officer of Outside Inc., overseeing operations and 150+ staffers, at the end of 2023 — Dietrick has been hired as chief media officer at Outside Interactive, whose 13 editorial brands include Outside Magazine, Backpacker …
Discussion:
The Wrap and The Daily Beast
Sam Roberts / New York Times:
David Mitchell, former editor and co-publisher of a tiny newspaper that exposed the Synanon cult and won the 1979 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, dies at 79 — His tiny California newspaper won a Pulitzer Prize for its exposé of Synanon, a renowned drug rehabilitation program that had turned into a violent operation.
Discussion:
@pgourevitch, @paleofuture.bsky.social and @obits@gratefuldread …
Howard Koplowitz / al.com:
Atmore News says its publisher and one of its reporters were arrested on October 27 for allegedly revealing grand jury secrets in a COVID-19 funds investigation — A press freedom group on Tuesday called for charges to be dropped against the Alabama newspaper publisher and a reporter arrested Friday …
Discussion:
Fox News, The Brewton Standard, @sunnysouthal, @stjbs, @cfwij, The Rural Blog, @pressfreedom, WEAR-TV, Committee to Protect … and Atmore News
New York Times:
Condé Nast plans to cut ~5% of its workforce, or ~270 staff, citing digital ad pressures, a decline in social media traffic, and shifting audience behaviors — Roger Lynch, the chief executive, said the company was grappling with digital advertising pressures, a decline in social media traffic and shifting audience behaviors.
Discussion:
MediaPost, The Hollywood Reporter, @goodbyealma, @benmullin, Deadline, Reuters, Variety, @katie_robertson, @pkafka, New York Daily News and The Wrap
Filipe Espósito / 9to5Mac:
Apple quietly discontinued Apple Music's $4.99/month Voice Plan, which was introduced in 2021 and let users access the Apple Music catalog exclusively via Siri — Apple this week held a special event to announce new Macs, but what the company didn't tell is that it has just quietly discontinued the …
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Engadget, Apple Support, The Verge and MacRumors, more at Techmeme »
TVNewsCheck:
Sinclair reports Q3 revenue down 9% YoY to $767M and a net loss of $46M, reflecting the deconsolidation of the sports segment that held regional sports networks — Sinclair Broadcast Group on Wednesday afternoon reported that its third quarter total revenue decreased 9% to $767 million versus $843 million in the prior year period.
Discussion:
Sinclair, Inc
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Roku reports Q3 revenue up 20% YoY to $912M, vs. $853.2M est., net loss up 170% YoY to $330M, and forecasts a “similar” YoY ad growth for Q4; ROKU jumps 15%+ — Roku shares rose after the streaming-platform company beat Wall Street expectations for the third quarter of 2023 on the top line.
Discussion:
CNBC, Roku Inc., The Wrap, Reuters, The Hollywood Reporter and MediaPost, more at Techmeme »
Mike Corder / Associated Press:
Reporters Without Borders seeks a “priority investigation” by the International Criminal Court into the deaths of 34 journalists killed in the Israel-Hamas war — Thirty-four journalists have been killed in the war between Israel and Hamas, an international media freedom group said Wednesday …
Discussion:
The Times of Israel, The Hill, Associated Press, Committee to Protect …, Reporters Without Borders and Mediaite
Dade Hayes / Deadline:
Kino Lorber launches Kino Film Collection, a $6-per-month streaming service for arthouse and specialty films, available on Prime Video Channels in the US — - Condé Nast Laying Off 5% Of Its Workforce, Citing “Volatile” Nature Of Digital Video Marketplace
Discussion:
IndieWire, Media Play News, Collider, The Wrap and Variety
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