Mediagazer: Disney names PepsiCo vice chairman and CFO Hugh Johnston as its senior executive VP and CFO, starting on December 4; CFO Christine McCarthy left in June 2023 (Alex Weprin/The Hollywood Reporter)

4:50 PM ET, November 6, 2023

Top News:

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: @chassnews, @justinjfj, @rbrtrmstrng, @simko_bednarski, @tanarrowz, @jfk_america and @justin_cash_1

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.

Discussion: IndieWire, Front Office Sports, @lucas_shaw, @tvgrimreaper, @joerussotweets, @loudmouthjulia, @lucas_shaw, @lucas_shaw, @tvgrimreaper, @tvgrimreaper, @lucas_shaw, @lucas_shaw and @lucas_shaw

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: Awful Announcing, MediaPost, The Tennessean, @annatarkov.bsky.social, @variety, Media Play News, @annatarkov.bsky.social and @marcuskdowling

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 »

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 …

Discussion: Committee to Protect …, Reporters Without Borders, Committee to Protect …, Associated Press, New York Times and Newser

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

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.

Discussion: Variety, Kristoff Hart on LinkedIn, @nickdawg, @shaknais@mastodon.social, @sgowsmith1988, @RobertaFidora@mastodon.social, @noahtheproducer, Chris O'Reilly on LinkedIn, Manojna Yeluri on LinkedIn, Music Ally, Sam Tall on LinkedIn and CMU

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: @nicolefcarr, @niketa, @pulitzerprizes and @raju

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, @jamesyeh, @bigmeaninternet, @alexnpress, @noahhurowitz, @profitratedown, @nkulw, @tobihaslett and MediaPost

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, Deadline, The Wrap and @davidclinchnews

Mia Sato / The Verge:

TikTok says its $1B creator fund will end on December 16 2023 for creators in the US, UK, Germany, and France; creators in Italy and Spain won't be affected — TikTok's $1 billion creator fund will come to an end on December 16th, 2023, the company told users today.

Discussion: Fortune and @paninid@mastodon.world

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 …

New York Times:
A profile of The Washington Post's next CEO, Will Lewis, a UK-born former reporter and former Telegraph EIC who co-founded The News Movement for young audiences

Discussion: Associated Press, Washington Post, @coolaqua1, @bubbz_daddy_jim, @dominique6138, @dominique6138, Media Nation, @tomryanlaw, @jayrosen_nyu, Christina Van Tassell on LinkedIn, @emilybell, @davidclinchnews, @emilybell, Louise Story on LinkedIn, Politico, The Daily Beast and The Wrap

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Senior Assignment Editor, DC — WaPo

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Local Government Reporter, IA — The Gazette

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Trade & Climate Correspondent, DC — FT

Reporter, WI — Racine County Eye

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Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
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Discussion: Variety, 9to5Google, Android Police and Cord Cutters News, more at Techmeme »

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
OpenAI debuts Copyright Shield, promising to defend ChatGPT Enterprise users and OpenAI customers facing copyright infringement claims related to its services

Discussion: @nathanwchan, more at Techmeme »

Sara Fischer / Axios:
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Discussion: @footballco, @sarafischer, James Lamon on LinkedIn, Jason Wagenheim on LinkedIn and Jessica Jones Studholme on LinkedIn

Matt Grobar / Deadline:
Time Studios names Majordomo Media co-founder Dave O'Connor as its president, replacing Ian Orefice, who left to launch the content studio EverWonder

Discussion: The Wrap, Variety and The Hollywood Reporter

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Disney names PepsiCo vice chairman and CFO Hugh Johnston as its senior executive VP and CFO, starting on December 4; CFO Christine McCarthy left in June 2023

Discussion: Observer, Reuters, Financial Times, @sherman4949, The San Diego Union-Tribune, The Walt Disney Company, The Information, @alexweprin, Disney Dining, @jbflint, CNBC, Deadline, Media Play News, Next TV, The Wrap, Variety and WORLD SCREEN

Georg Szalai / The Hollywood Reporter:
Dish Network reports losing 64K net pay TV subscribers in Q3, vs. adding 30K in Q3 2022, falling from 10.2M subscribers in Q3 2022 to 8.84M as of September 2023

Discussion: Radio & Television …, Reuters, Bloomberg, The Wrap and Next TV

Earlier Picks:

Sarah Scire / Nieman Lab:
A survey of 12+ US newsrooms on whether their journalists can bet on sports they cover: some ban the practice, few have a set policy, and others didn't respond

Discussion: @philipoconnor, @streetruffian, @hanaatameez and @sarahscire

Max Tani / Semafor:
Sources: some satellite imagery providers restrict imagery of Gaza to news outlets after a New York Times report on Israeli tank positions based on the images

Discussion: @maxwelltani, @arictoler, @mattzeitlin and The Times of Israel

Wes Davis / The Verge:
A look at companies' responses, including from Meta, Google, Microsoft, Adobe, and Apple, to potential US Copyright Office rules for AI and copyrighted content

Discussion: Sylvie Fodor on LinkedIn, Milton Pedraza on LinkedIn, @carnage4life@mas.to, Music Ally and @AnnemarieBridy@mastodon …

Jeremy Barr / Washington Post:
CNN blasts Fox News host Mark Levin for describing Wolf Blitzer and Jake Tapper as “self-hating Jews” on his radio show citing their Israel-Hamas war coverage

Discussion: @farhip and Mediaite

Deadline:
SAG-AFTRA says it's reviewing a proposal the AMPTP calls its “last, best, and final offer”; source: the offer includes a wage increase and “full” AI protections

From Techmeme:

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is working on a smart doorbell system with advanced facial recognition that can wirelessly connect and unlock third-party smart locks

Wall Street Journal:
Gina Raimondo says holding back China in the chips race is a “fool's errand”, and investment, more than export controls, will keep US ahead of Beijing

Reuters:
Albania bans TikTok for a year from January 2025, part of a broader plan to make schools safer following the killing of a 14-year-old near a school in November

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