Top News:
Chris Willman / Variety:
Gannett appoints Bryan West as its Taylor Swift reporter, working out of the Tennessean's newsroom for USA Today and other Gannett local dailies — Gannett, the biggest newspaper chain in the U.S., no longer has a blank space under the title of “Taylor Swift reporter.”
Discussion:
@annatarkov.bsky.social, @variety, Media Play News, @annatarkov.bsky.social and @marcuskdowling
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Digital-i: fewer than 5% of Netflix's original programs in 2022 would have triggered performance bonuses under the new WGA-AMPTP contract — Using Hollywood's new metrics, less than 5% of streaming originals count as hit shows. — Let's kick things off with a fun data point.
Washington Post:
The Washington Post names former Wall Street Journal publisher and former Dow Jones CEO William Lewis as its new publisher and CEO, effective January 2, 2024 — The Washington Post announces William Lewis as its new Publisher and CEO. Lewis will assume the role effective Jan. 2, 2024 …
Discussion:
New York Post, Talking Biz News, Bill McIntosh on LinkedIn, Washington Post, @emilybell, Axios, @tcarmody.bsky.social, @sarafischer, @benmullin, @jason0x21.bsky.social, Press Gazette, @phostetlerart.bsky.social, @hammancheez.bsky.social, @samdrinksbeer.bsky.social, @trengriffin, @trengriffin, Financial Times, @nicolelee.bsky.social, MediaPost, @rahawahaile.bsky.social, @louisestory, @chrisgalea, @katie_robertson, @washpostpr, @_queenofstaves, @louisestory, @katie_robertson, Fox Business, @jeffjarvis@threads.net, Kamal Ahmed on LinkedIn, The Hill, CNN, Wall Street Journal, Axios and Reuters
RELATED:
Madison Malone Kircher / New York Times:
An interview with ex-TMZ staffer Kristi Cook, who revealed herself to be the person behind popular YouTube channel Spill Sesh, which covers social media stars — For years, people have wondered who's behind the popular Spill Sesh channel. On Friday, the person behind the account unmasked herself.
Discussion:
@4evrmalone, @takethepoints20 and @4evrmalone
Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge:
Meta says there are now 1M active subscriptions to Instagram creators, just over a year after launching the subscriptions feature, and unveils new creator tools — There are now 1 million paid subscriptions to creators on Instagram, slowly transforming the platform into a space where creators can get paid directly by their fans.
Discussion:
Meta, more at Techmeme »
Financial Times:
Sources detail Hunterbrook's plans for a “news hedge fund” and questions over its operations, complying with securities law, and retaining credibility — ‘Narrow needle to be threaded’ as start-up combines journalism with trading house — This summer, as investor Nathaniel Brooks Horwitz …
Discussion:
@tanarrowz, @jfk_america and @justin_cash_1
Karen Lema / Reuters:
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr condemns the killing of journalist Juan Jumalon, shot while broadcasting from his home, and orders an investigation — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Sunday strongly condemned the killing of a Filipino journalist and ordered the police …
Washington Post:
A look at changes in MrBeast's hometown of Greenville, NC: studios, high-stress new jobs, random pyrotechnics, and a college course on creating YouTube content — Jimmy ‘MrBeast’ Donaldson brought jobs to his North Carolina hometown. Now locals are part of the show, whether they like it or not.
Discussion:
Jim Roberts on LinkedIn, @sara__pequeno, @kelsaywhat, @supdogsecu and @mattnavarra@threads.net
Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
OpenAI debuts Copyright Shield, promising to defend ChatGPT Enterprise users and OpenAI customers facing copyright infringement claims related to its services — OpenAI — bowing to peer pressure — today announced it'll step in and defend businesses using OpenAI products …
Discussion:
@nathanwchan, more at Techmeme »
Nate Freeman / Vanity Fair:
How an open letter supporting Palestinians led to Artforum EIC David Velasco's firing, staff quitting in protest, and repercussions that are still playing out — The touchstone art publication's editor David Velasco decided, along with some members of his staff, to post an open letter …
Discussion:
Washington Post, @profitratedown, @nkulw, @noahhurowitz, @tobihaslett and MediaPost
Tim Ingham / Music Business Worldwide:
Sources: Spotify sets the threshold to receive royalties at 1,000 annual streams per track, demonetizing 0.5% of its Streamshare that earn less than $0.05/month — Last month Music Business Worldwide broke the news that major changes were coming to Spotify's royalty model in Q1 2024.
Editor and Publisher:
The Pulitzer Prize Board expands eligibility for its awards to written journalism from digital news sites operated by broadcast and audio organizations — The Pulitzer Prize Board has decided to expand eligibility for its journalism awards to digital news sites operated by broadcast and audio organizations.
Discussion:
@pulitzerprizes and @raju
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
CBS News and Stations launches CBS News Confirmed to examine misinformation and deepfakes, led by SVP and Head of Standards and Practices Claudia Milne — CBS' news-and-stations division will launch a new unit to examine misinformation and so-called “deepfakes,” or false videos that can often be generated via artificial intelligence.
Discussion:
Adweek, The Wrap and @davidclinchnews