Top News:
Lora Kolodny / CNBC:
Elon Musk scoffs at advertisers leaving X because of his controversial posts: “If somebody's going to try to blackmail me with advertising ... go fuck yourself” — - In recent weeks, Musk has promoted and sometimes verbally endorsed what the White House called “antisemitic and racist hate” …
Discussion:
Reuters, New York Times, MediaPost, Fast Company, Financial Times, Adweek, Ars Technica, CNBC, al.com, @lindayax, @juliusgoat, @lucas_shaw, The Verge, MIT Technology Review, @karaswisher, @anthony, @deggans, @davidsacks, @espiers, NBC 7 San Diego, @sarafischer, CBS News, @jd_durkin, Rolling Stone, @brianstelter, @corbinbolies, The A.V. Club, @brianstelter, TweakTown, @teddyschleifer, @jbarro, @carloseats, @karaswisher@threads.net, @rmac18, @williamlegate, Slate, @scottnover, @larakate, @danprimack, @aagave, @hollywoodreporter@threads.net, @teddyschleifer, Mumbrella, @radiofreetom, The Overspill, @jyarow, The Times of Israel, The Guardian, Wired, Awful Announcing, Bill Gately on LinkedIn, Jeremy Smith on LinkedIn, Mary Ellen Armstrong on LinkedIn, Elizabeth Rosenberg on LinkedIn, Kimberly C. on LinkedIn, Josh Sternberg on LinkedIn, David Berkowitz on LinkedIn, 9to5Mac, @oneunderscore__@threads.net, TechCrunch, @scalzi@mastodon.social, The Hill, Gizmodo, @emptywheel.bsky.social, @drewharwell@threads.net, @brianstelter@threads.net, Bloomberg, Washington Post, TMZ.com, @drewharwell.com, The Verge, Variety, @drewharwell.com, @joshuajfriedman.com, The Wrap, @drunkenmadman@aus.social, @justinling.bsky.social, @coachfinstock.bsky.social, @sam.robotsfightingdinosaurs …, @apocalypticanow.bsky.social, Wall Street Journal, CNN, @donniecash818@masto.ai, Boing Boing, The Messenger, Forbes and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
RELATED:
Kim Masters / The Hollywood Reporter:
Linda Yaccarino's former associates describe her as difficult and volatile, but hardworking, and say her self-regard made her think she could manage Elon Musk — The former NBCUniversal ad sales chief thought she could manage the mercurial Elon Musk. Her former colleagues are baffled at the result …
Discussion:
@nsedef, @halmarshall2309, @karaswisher, @nash076, @thr and The Information, more at Techmeme »
Jennifer Bowers Bahney / Mediaite:
Elon Musk says organizations that don't pay for X subscriptions don't get recommended, in a reply to a question about X's throttling of The New York Times — Elon Musk sat for a question and answer session with journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin during the 2023 DealBook Summit sponsored by The New York Times.
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Tubi hires David Salmon, former CTO of Endeavor Streaming, as executive VP and managing director of international, and plans to launch in the EU and the UK — Tubi, Fox Corp.'s ad-supported video-on-demand service, is eyeing a bigger international footprint: The streamer has tapped David Salmon …
Discussion:
WORLD SCREEN, The Hollywood Reporter and Cord Cutters News
Sports Business Journal:
NASCAR announces media rights deals with Amazon's Prime Video, WBD's TNT Sports, Fox Sports, and NBC Sports, for 2025 to 2031; sources: deals are worth $7.7B — NASCAR is on the cusp of announcing $7.7B worth of media rights deals with Fox Sports, NBC, Warner Bros. Discovery and Amazon.
Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal:
Bari Weiss' Free Press attracts readers miffed with “unfair” Israel media coverage; Free Press now has ~520K subscribers, including nearly 75K paying $8/month — At the Free Press, the site launched by the former New York Times opinion editor, traffic and subscriptions have surged during Israel-Hamas war
Sheena Vasani / The Verge:
TikTok launches verified artist accounts, offering various tools to deepen engagement and improve discoverability, seemingly inspired by Spotify — These accounts can be activated by any musician and come with tools to help artists reach new fans and increase engagement with existing ones.
Discussion:
The Messenger
CBC News:
Google and Canada reach an agreement in their dispute over the country's Online News Act; Google plans to pay news companies around CA$100M, or ~$74M, per year — Agreement comes 3 weeks before Online News Act rules come into force — Google and the federal government have reached …
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Verge, Media Voices, @cpac_tv, @bcmerchant, @bcmerchant, @andrewlawton, @bcmerchant, @supriyadwivedi, @slikk519, @doncochraneyow, Android Headlines, @dangillmor@mastodon.social, The Hollywood Reporter, Ars Technica, CNN, The Hill, New York Post, Financial Times, Gizmodo, Canadian Press, News/Media Alliance, Bloomberg, iPhone in Canada Blog, Agence France-Presse, Engadget, Android Central, Reuters and @johnefrancis@mastodon.social, more at Techmeme »
Alexandra Topping / The Guardian:
The BBC says Newsnight will become a “30-minute interview, debate, and discussion show” and cuts 30+ jobs to save £7.5M as part of plans to make £500M in cuts — More than half of jobs at flagship BBC Two political programme to be lost as corporation diverts money to digital platforms
Discussion:
BBC, Telegraph, BBC, @markurban01, @robburl, @markayresrws, @lewis_goodall, @jamesrbuk, @katierazz, @katierazz, @katierazz, @scouselakes, @liamfjournalist, @nujofficial, @georgiebingham, @liammustapha, @abdulmohamed02, @lorna_tveditor, @xtophercook, @redmadden, @johnsweeneyroar, @katierazz, @drfrancesryan, @silvesterldn, @jonlis1, @louisdegenhardt, @katierazz, Financial Times, National Union of Journalists … and The Wrap
RELATED:
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Meta plans to launch Threads in Europe in December, the largest expansion since its July debut, offering a choice of using Threads without a profile — Expansion is expected in December, a signal of company's commitment to microblogging service — Facebook parent Meta Platforms plans …
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Engadget, @edcarson1971@threads.net and @newley, more at Techmeme »
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Analysis: 11 of the 13 local news websites that UK-based Reach plans to close before the end of 2023 saw double-digit percentage audience drops in the past year — Ten sites have announced they will no longer be updated from Thursday. — Eleven of the 13 local news websites being closed …
Discussion:
Local News Initiative
Lisa Richwine / Reuters:
Disney CEO Bob Iger says ABC is not for sale, despite his earlier comment that it might not be “core” to Disney, and he'll “definitely” step down in 2026 — Walt Disney (DIS.N) Chief Executive Bob Iger said on Wednesday he would “definitely” step down when his current contract ends …
Institute for Nonprofit News:
The INN board announces that Karen Rundlet will become CEO of the Institute for Nonprofit News on January 8, succeeding Sue Cross — Philanthropy leader and multimedia journalist Karen Rundlet will become chief executive officer of the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN) …
Discussion:
Chris Krewson on LinkedIn and Current