Mediagazer: MrBeast, aka Jimmy Donaldson, launches ViewStats, a YouTube analytics platform for creators and their fans, in beta, along with co-founder Chucky Appleby (Amanda Silberling/TechCrunch)

10:35 PM ET, December 14, 2023

Top News:

James Bennet / The Economist:

Former NYT editor James Bennet chronicles how fewer jobs for young reporters, the NYT's business model, and new ideals have led to “illiberal bias” at the paper — America's media should do more to equip readers to think for themselves — Are we truly so precious?

Discussion: Fox News, New York Post, @davmicrot@threads.net, @digiphile, @brianstelter, @wesleylowery, @wesleylowery, @wesleylowery, @wesleylowery, @wesleylowery, Politico, Kimberly Lau on LinkedIn, @peterhimler.bsky.social, @asymmetricinfo, @poniewozik@threads.net, @macloo.bsky.social, @mrianleslie, @lugaricano, David D. Tawil on LinkedIn, @benklinepoet, @lionelbarber, @bigmeaninternet, @emilyctamkin, @macloo.bsky.social, @froomkin.bsky.social, Ron Fournier on LinkedIn, @macloo.bsky.social, @asveenstra.bsky.social, @macloo.bsky.social, @charlesornstein, @karenho.bsky.social, @nhannahjones, @karenho.bsky.social, @schreckreports, @awgordon.bsky.social, @tomscocca.bsky.social, @nhannahjones, @tomscocca.bsky.social, @cingraham.bsky.social, @macloo.bsky.social, @dicktofel, @shashj, @karaswisher@threads.net, @michaelhobbes.bsky.social, @codendahl and The Wrap

A.G. Sulzberger / The New York Times Company:

NYT Publisher AG Sulzberger says James Bennet constructed a “false narrative” about the outlet and the paper has a more diverse mix of opinions than ever before — James Bennet and I have always agreed on the importance of independent journalism, the challenges it faces in today's …

Discussion: @fifilamoura@eldritch.cafe, @maripuerta, @froomkin and @JoshuaHolland@mastodon.social

Wall Street Journal:

President Vladimir Putin hopes to “find a solution” regarding detained WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich, who on December 14 lost another court appeal for release — Russian president says he hopes to ‘find a solution’ regarding Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, who are both in Russian custody

Discussion: The Moscow Times, The Desk, NewsNation, Semafor, Voice of America, New York Times, CBS News, The Detroit News, HuffPost, CNN, The Hill, The Wrap, NPR, Talking Biz News, UPI, Associated Press, Bloomberg, Reuters, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, New York Post and The Sun

Wall Street Journal:

Some publishers estimate that Google's Search Generative Experience could cut referral traffic by 20% to 40% if the final version resembles recent iterations — Tech giant's AI-powered search product is being tested on roughly 10 million users; publishers rely on Google for traffic and see a gathering storm

Discussion: @carnage4life@mas.to, Ken Harlan on LinkedIn, Max Hogan on LinkedIn, Windows Central, Patrick Biltgen on LinkedIn, Digital Content Next and One Man & His Blog

Katie Robertson / New York Times:

Mother Jones and the Center for Investigative Reporting plan to merge in early 2024 with Monika Bauerlein as CEO and Clara Jeffery leading the combined newsroom — The combined newsroom will have more than 70 people. — Mother Jones and the Center for Investigative Reporting will merge next year …

Discussion: @jeffjarvis@threads.net, Mother Jones, @davidcorn1@threads.net, Angie Jean-Marie on LinkedIn, @dicktofel@threads.net, @_lizweil@threads.net, @wesleylowery and Nieman Lab

Eileen AJ Connelly / The Wrap:

Endeavor Group invests in Chess.com, and Endeavor's entertainment agency WME signs with Chess.com to help develop unscripted content including documentaries — The site, which hosts 10 million games daily, also signed with Endeavor's WME with eyes on projects like documentaries, celeb “moments”

Discussion: Variety, Chess.com, The Hollywood Reporter and Sportico

Amanda Silberling / TechCrunch:

MrBeast, aka Jimmy Donaldson, launches ViewStats, a YouTube analytics platform for creators and their fans, in beta, along with co-founder Chucky Appleby — The top YouTuber in the U.S., MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson) co-founded the new analytics platform ViewStats, which is now available in beta.

Discussion: Tubefilter

Jaspreet Singh / Reuters:

Sensor Tower: 51 of the top 100 US advertisers on Twitter in October 2022, when Elon Musk bought the company, have ceased ad spending on X as of November 2023 — Big U.S. companies including Walt Disney and Comcast increased advertising spending on Instagram after pausing commercials on X last month …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, @2xaught7.bsky.social, The Wrap, New York Post, Social Media Today, @carnage4life@mas.to and National Review, more at Techmeme »

Joseph Pimentel / Spectrum News 1:

The SCNG Guild's members held a one-day strike on December 14 amid protracted contract talks with Alden's Southern California News Group — LOS ANGELES, Calif. — The union representing Southern California newspaper reporters, photographers and others plans to hold a one-day strike Thursday, protesting working conditions and low pay.

Discussion: @katieporteroc@threads.net, @jeongpark52, @carleighbee, @hansgutknecht, @themindyschauer, @katieporteroc, @jim_alexander, @scngguild, SCNG Guild, @billplunkettocr, @mattdpearce, @regjeffcollins and @billplunkettocr

Cristina Criddle / Financial Times:

UK regulator Ofcom investigates TikTok over concerns the company supplied “inaccurate” information about its parental controls; TikTok blames a technical issue — Ofcom's investigation comes amid intensified efforts to protect children from harmful online material

Discussion: Ofcom, The Guardian and BBC, more at Techmeme »

Parker Molloy / The Present Age:

Two open letters, signed by dozens of Substack writers, criticize and defend the platform's approach to platforming and monetizing Nazis and white nationalists — Last month, The Atlantic published a piece by Jonathan Katz titled “Substack Has a Nazi Problem.”

Emma Roth / The Verge:

YouTube updates its TV app to show longer but less frequent ad breaks, after testing since September 2023, and adds a countdown timer in the bottom-right corner — The next time you sit down to watch YouTube on your TV, you might notice fewer ads breaking up the video you're watching.

Discussion: 9to5Google and The Messenger, more at Techmeme »

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More News:

CNBC:
Nelson Peltz's Trian Fund Management nominates him and former Disney CFO Jay Rasulo to Disney's board as the fund wages its proxy battle with the media giant

Discussion: Radio & Television …, New York Times, The Wrap, Variety, The Information, Deadline, CNN, Financial Times, Reuters, Wall Street Journal, The Messenger, Los Angeles Times, The Hollywood Reporter and LaughingPlace.com

Dan Primack / Axios:
Vivendi is weighing splitting into three businesses: pay TV platform Canal+, ad agency Havas, and an investment firm that would include publisher Lagardère

Discussion: Financial Times, Broadband TV News, Reuters and Wall Street Journal

Umar Shakir / The Verge:
Google plans to test Tracking Protection and blocking third-party cookies on January 4 for ~1% of Chrome users globally, ahead of a phased rollout in H2 2024

Discussion: Mediaweek, MediaPost, The Keyword, Social Media Today, Gizmodo, MarTech, 9to5Google and B&T, more at Techmeme »

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Film discussion and review app Letterboxd adds showtimes for paying members in the US, the UK, Australia, Canada, and more, using aggregator Assemble's data

Discussion: Letterboxd and Variety

Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
Punchbowl News acquires Electo Analytics, a deal sources say values Punchbowl at $100M+, and plans to raise Punchbowl's annual subscription by $50 in January

Discussion: Anna Palmer on LinkedIn

Drew Harwell / Washington Post:
A Pew survey of US adults finds that ~38% support a federal TikTok ban, down from 50% in March 2023; Republicans' rate of support for a ban fell from 60% to 50%

Discussion: Vox, Fox Business, Pew Research Center, The Hill and New York Times

Earlier Picks:

Lili Bayer / The Guardian:
Ten Hungarian media outlets warn that a new law creating a Sovereignty Protection Authority with broad investigatory power could severely restrict press freedom

Discussion: Associated Press and Radio Free Europe/Radio …

Andrew Deck / Rest of World:
How the rise in the US of Japanese news aggregator SmartNews, valued at $2B in 2021, came to a halt in 2023, leading to CEO Ken Suzuki's departure in November

Discussion: @restofworld and @restofworld@threads.net

Luke Bouma / Cord Cutters News:
WBD and YouTube announce that Max's ad-free tier is now available for $15.99 per month via YouTube's Primetime Channels in the US and includes access to CNN Max

Discussion: Marina Abayev on LinkedIn, Jill Stephenson on LinkedIn, TechRadar, Digital Trends and Next TV

Emma Roth / The Verge:
Twitch now allows some previously prohibited sexual content, including “deliberately highlighted breasts, buttocks or pelvic region”, with a sexual themes label

Discussion: UPROXX, Dot Esports, Music Ally, Gizmodo, @arilovetv, @infernoomni, @alexia_moi_voss, @twitch, @faaairlydecent, @keyokku, @madkurious, Dexerto, Engadget, Boing Boing, Dexerto, TweakTown, Dexerto, Dexerto, TechCrunch, Dot Esports, The Messenger, Variety and Know Your Meme

Isaac Chotiner / New Yorker:
Q&A with Committee to Protect Journalists President Jodie Ginsberg on why the Israel-Hamas war has been so dangerous for the press, the Ukraine war, and more

Discussion: Reuters Institute, @trevoremetcalfe, Agence France-Presse, Reporters Without Borders and Next TV

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
An interview with The Guardian Head of Audio Nicole Jackson on the outlet's daily news podcast Today in Focus, competition, newsroom collaboration, and more

Discussion: Media Voices

From Techmeme:

Amy Thomson / Bloomberg:
OpenAI pulls ChatGPT's Sky voice after users said it sounded like Scarlett Johansson, saying it is an actress' voice and wasn't chosen to be an “imitation”

Jamie Crawley / CoinDesk:
Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein resigns, to be replaced by the head of strategy for asset and wealth manager at Goldman Sachs, Peter Mintzberg, on August 15

Chae-Yeon Kim / KED Global:
Sources: LG has ended its Meta partnership due to a lack of “synergy”, three months after the companies agreed to develop XR devices; LG may partner with Amazon

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