Mediagazer: Arkansas-based publisher Helena World Chronicle sues Google on antitrust grounds and says Search Generative Experience and Bard make issues even worse (Sarah Perez/TechCrunch)

5:45 PM ET, December 16, 2023

Top News:

The Prince Harry hacking verdict shows that newspaper management at two of the UK's biggest media companies lied to Parliament, other journalists, and others — Piece by painful piece, the murky truth about the darker corners of the British newspaper industry has been revealed

Discussion: @jeffjarvis, @deniseshrivell, @arusbridger, @jonnyrmcfarlane, @hamzamsyed, @campbellclaret and Darren Burnett on LinkedIn

The Guardian:

Piers Morgan, Daily Mirror's editor from 1995 to 2004, denies he was aware of the paper's phone hacking, after a UK judge said there “can be no doubt” he knew — Former Daily Mirror editor says Prince Harry 'wouldn't know truth if it slapped him in his California-tanned face'

Discussion: @paulbully, Reuters, Hacked Off, Dan Johnson on LinkedIn, The Guardian, The Guardian, @ianbetteridge@writing …, @Andy_European@mastodon.online, Mediaite and Boing Boing

Alexandra Topping / The Guardian:

A UK judge rules that 15 out of 33 Daily Mirror articles about Prince Harry were a result of phone hacking and awards him £140,600 in damages for the “distress” — Duke awarded £140,600 in damages after judge rules articles were product of hacking or unlawful information gathering

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Arkansas-based publisher Helena World Chronicle sues Google on antitrust grounds and says Search Generative Experience and Bard make issues even worse — A new class action lawsuit filed this week in the U.S. District Court in D.C. accuses Google and parent company Alphabet of anticompetitive behavior …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal and Hausfeld

Tom Kizzia / Anchorage Daily News:

Pulitzer Prize winner Howard Weaver, former editor of the Anchorage Daily News and McClatchy vice president for news, dies at 73 of pancreatic cancer — Weaver led the Daily News through a period of remarkable growth and transformation for Anchorage and Alaska, and later became an executive with McClatchy newspapers.

Discussion: @dancow, @arianelange, @bgrueskin, Rusty Coats on LinkedIn, @jomalley17@threads.net, @bobbycalvan@threads.net, Associated Press and @EyeOnAlaska@alaskan.social

CBC News:

Canada plans to distribute 63% of Google's yearly CA$100M media fund to print and digital media, 7% to CBC/Radio-Canada, and 30% to other broadcasters — CBC/Radio-Canada will get a maximum of 7% of fund, other broadcasters to split 30% — Almost two-thirds of the $100 million Google must give …

Discussion: @cbcnews, @rf_journo, @karivierimaa, Business Wire and Yahoo Finance

Jay Peters / The Verge:

Adam Mosseri details Threads' fediverse plans, including following non-Threads accounts, showing replies from other platforms, and follower portability — The head of Instagram says a full integration with the fediverse could take ‘the better part of a year.’

Al Jazeera:

Israeli drones fired missiles in Khan Younis, Gaza, killing Al Jazeera Arabic journalist Samer Abudaqa on December 15 and wounding bureau chief Wael Dahdouh — Al Jazeera Arabic journalist Samer Abudaqa has died while covering an Israeli attack on a school in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.

Newslaundry:

After acquiring NDTV, Adani Group's AMG Media Networks acquires a 50.5% stake in Indo-Asian News Service, known for its Hindi and English news wire services — IANS will now operate as a subsidiary of Adani's AMG Media Networks. — Adani group-owned AMG Media Networks Ltd has acquired …

Discussion: PTI, NDTV Profit, Free Press Journal, @ttindia and @newslaundry

Joseph Cox / 404 Media:

Cox Media Group claims it can listen to consumers' conversations through microphones in smartphones, smart TVs, and other devices and use the data to target ads — A marketing team within media giant Cox Media Group (CMG) claims it has the capability to listen to ambient conversations …

Patrick Frater / Variety:

Alibaba Pictures plans to release Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour in theaters in mainland China on December 31, to be distributed by state-owned China Film Group — “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” movie has cleared multiple stages of approvals and will release in mainland Chinese theaters on Dec. 31.

Discussion: Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, The Hollywood Reporter and Forbes

Martin K.N Siele / Semafor:

TV BRICS, which focuses on Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, and is owned by Russia's MKR Media, expands with media company partnerships in Africa — The News — The BRICS economic bloc of countries is aggressively expanding its media presence in Africa through …

Discussion: Dickens Onditi Olewe on LinkedIn, Colin Smith on LinkedIn and @semaforben@threads.net

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More News:

Ash Parrish / The Verge:
Days after updating its content policy to permit certain kinds of sexual content, Twitch rescinds the “artistic nudity” portion, citing “community concern”

Discussion: Bounding Into Comics, Futurism, TweakTown, UPI, TechCrunch, Tubefilter, Engadget, Decrypt, UPROXX, Boing Boing, Dot Esports, Gizmodo, The Messenger and Kotaku

Mathieu Pollet / Politico:
EU negotiators reach an agreement on the European Media Freedom Act, a new set of rules aimed at safeguarding newsroom independence and fostering pluralism

Discussion: Council of the EU and TechRadar

Bloomberg:
Memo: Weibo sent notices warning users to “avoid expressing pessimism about the economy” and “avoid crossing the red lines” around economic or financial topics

Discussion: @wexler and Ethan Tan on LinkedIn, more at Techmeme »

Ben Strauss / Washington Post:
A look at local sports news coverage, particularly in places where The Athletic cut staff, as rabid fandom and proprietary coverage may make for a good business

Discussion: @toddbigphoto, @dcsportsbog, @afkostka and @ddiamond

Financial Times:
The trial of Hong Kong media mogul and activist Jimmy Lai, accused of collusion with foreign forces and publishing seditious material, starts on December 18

Discussion: Committee to Protect …, Reporters Without Borders, Hong Kong Free Press HKFP, Al Jazeera, Human Rights Watch, Reuters and Nikkei Asia

Earlier Picks:

John Buckley / Capital Brief:
Nine Entertainment Managing Director of Publishing James Chessell steps down from the role, but is set to remain involved in a different role or as a consultant

Discussion: @johnbuckley_, @mumbrellanews, Mediaweek and Mumbrella

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

Discussion: Steven Finch on LinkedIn, Justin Gerrard on LinkedIn and Tubefilter

A.G. Sulzberger / The New York Times Company:
NYT Publisher AG Sulzberger says James Bennet constructed a “false narrative” about the outlet, which has “a far more diverse mix of opinions than ever before”

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

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

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

From Techmeme:

Emma Roth / The Verge:
Nintendo delays Switch 2 preorders that were set for April 9 due to concerns about Trump's tariffs but the June 5 launch date remains unchanged

Dominic Preston / The Verge:
Microsoft Copilot adds support for memory, personalization, web-based actions, podcast creation, camera and screen analysis, deep research, and more

RT Watson / The Block:
The US SEC says that “covered” US dollar stablecoins like USDT and USDC are not securities, and registration is not required for minting or redeeming them

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