Top News:
Siddharth Cavale / Reuters:
Walmart says it is not advertising on X “as we've found other platforms to better reach our customers” — Walmart (WMT.N) said on Friday it is not advertising on social media platform X, the latest brand to say it has dropped the Elon Musk-owned site.
Discussion:
The Hill, The Wrap, CNN, Ad Age, CBS News, The Information, Watcher Guru, Forbes, Bloomberg, The Messenger, Reuters, @MylesRyden@social.vivaldi.net and @noondlyt@mastodon.social
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Financial Times:
X accelerates its plan to attract ad spending by SMBs, including outsourcing some ad sales to third parties, such as US-based marketing startup JumpCrew — Social media site accelerates plan to attract small businesses as billionaire owner battles big brands
Discussion:
The Guardian and 9to5Mac, more at Techmeme »
New York Times:
Some marketing agencies say their brands don't plan to return to advertising on X while others advise brands to stop posting on X, after Elon Musk's comments — Elon Musk, the owner of X, criticized advertisers with expletives on Wednesday at The New York Times's DealBook Summit.
Discussion:
@lindayax, TechCrunch, @nifta@icosahedron.website, @danvanmoll@twit.social, The Messenger, @fmhilton@mastodon.sdf.org, Ars Technica, CNBC, David Berkowitz on LinkedIn, ☑️ Jesse Stay on LinkedIn, @ernie@writing.exchange, @GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social, Vanity Fair, Observer, Adweek, Variety, The Wrap, The Hill, The Desk, The A.V. Club, Los Angeles Times, Awful Announcing and The Information
Jessica Toonkel / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Apple and Paramount have discussed an Apple TV+ and Paramount+ bundle that would cost less than subscribing to both streaming services separately — Streamers are increasingly joining with rivals to offer bundles that help attract and keep subscribers
Kyodo News:
Sources: South China Morning Post reporter Minnie Chan has gone missing after visiting Beijing to cover a forum in October; SCMP says she's “on personal leave” — An award-winning reporter from Hong Kong has gone missing following a business trip to China in late October …
Taylor Lorenz / Washington Post:
Business Insider faces criticism after promoting a story about a female founder in a well-known “snark” subreddit notorious for harassment against women — But with thousands of subreddits, where exactly news sites should promote their work presents a dilemma
Ben Mullin / @benmullin:
The Washington Post Guild authorizes a 24-hour walkout on December 7 after securing 700 commitments, following the company's plans to cut staff by 240 positions — Scoop: The Washington Post Guild has authorized a 24-hour walkout for next Thursday, complete with a picket line outside the office. Guild announced the walkout internally after securing 700 commitments.
Discussion:
@genepark, @benmullin, @benmullin and Semafor
Ken Doctor / Nieman Lab:
Canada's deal with Google showed the flaws in the link tax, and now California and the US have a chance to adopt smarter ways to increase trustworthy local news — “You need Google to stay in this. Otherwise, it devastates the entire industry.” — Is the link tax dead?
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Mike Nelson / The Streamable:
Tegna's TV stations, which reach ~39% of households across the US, go dark on DirecTV after DirecTV and Tegna failed to renew their recent three year agreement — TEGNA stations reach approximately 39% of households across the nation — In a notable escalation in the broadcasting industry …
Aditya Kalra / Reuters:
Sources: Netflix, Viacom18, and other streamers plan to collectively lobby India to delay or revamp a bill that would set up content evaluation committees — Netflix (NFLX.O), billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Viacom18 and other streaming companies plan to collectively lobby the Indian government …
Discussion:
ScreenRant
Etan Vlessing / The Hollywood Reporter:
Sources: Hasbro's EOne cuts 10% of its workforce ahead of the closing of its sale to Lionsgate, likely by the end of 2023; eOne cut 20% of staff in June 2023 — The latest cost-cutting at the studio comes ahead of a $500 million deal for the Hasbro film and TV unit to be sold to the Hollywood studio …
Max Goldbart / Deadline:
Viaplay is selling its UK business back to Premier Sports, just a year after acquiring it for £30M, and plans to exit the Baltics and Poland by summer 2025 — Viaplay has sold its UK business back to Premier Sports and revealed “the renegotiation of credit arrangements and the proposed injection …
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Meta's and YouTube's use of celebrities' likenesses for AI chatbots and songs raises tough questions about identity, IP, compensation, safeguards, and licensing — Meta and YouTube are looking to Demi Lovato, Tom Brady and other A-listers to mainstream the technology — flawed guardrails and all.