Top News:
Lili Bayer / The Guardian:
Some Slovakian ministers and political allies of Prime Minister Robert Fico blame the media for the attempt on Fico's life — Journalists voice concern after senior figures from ruling coalition blame independent outlets and opposition parties for incident
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Disney, Fox, and WBD unveil the name of their sports streaming venture: Venu Sports, whose debut is planned for fall 2024 — “We are excited to officially introduce Venu Sports, a brand that we feel captures the spirit of an all-new streaming home where sports fans outside …
Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
Sony Music sends letters to 700+ AI companies, developers, and music streaming platforms warning over the “unauthorized use” of Sony's content in training AI — Music group representing Adele and Beyoncé contacts more than 700 companies to prohibit use of content
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Billboard, City A.M., Music Ally, Fortune, @danielthomasldn, 9to5Mac and Music Business Worldwide, more at Techmeme »
Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
TikTok is testing 60-minute videos, which would let media companies post full TV show episodes and put TikTok in even more direct competition with YouTube — TikTok is testing the ability for users to upload 60-minute videos, the company confirmed to TechCrunch on Thursday.
Discussion:
Press Gazette
Financial Times:
A look at the competing Paramount bids from David Ellison's Skydance, backed by RedBird and KKR, and Apollo and Sony, a fight over surviving the streaming era — The tussle for the venerable studio has been billed as the money men against the creatives, but the outcome may help decide who survives in the streaming era
Discussion:
@tanarrowz
Jonathan Randles / Bloomberg:
Court hearing: an MLB lawyer says Diamond's dispute with Comcast is harming its teams, fans, and jeopardizing Diamond's plan to restructure and exit bankruptcy — - Diamond lawyer said Comcast negotiations are ongoing — MLB said it may have to set up alternate broadcasts for teams
Discussion:
New York Times, Sports Business Journal, Sportico, Reuters and Front Office Sports
Jon Campbell / Gothamist:
New York's $90M employment tax credit for local news outlets currently excludes publicly traded TV and radio companies as well as nonprofit news outlets — We rely on your support to make local news available to all — Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2024. Donate today
Discussion:
@baekdal, @vitalcitynyc, @civiletti, @nicdawes, @joncampbellny, @giambusso and @christrobbins
The Marshall Project:
Marshall Project Editor-in-Chief Susan Chira, who joined from the New York Times in 2019, plans to step down in early 2025 — Under her stewardship, the news nonprofit more than doubled in size, opened local newsrooms and won its second Pulitzer Prize.
Discussion:
@dicktofel and @benmullin
Todd Spangler / Variety:
YouTube formally launches YouTube Select Creator Takeovers, to let advertisers buy out the inventory on channels representing the top 1% of YouTube content — Video platform also inks deal to bring WNBA Friday night games to YouTube TV … At its annual Brandcast event …
Reuters:
EU ambassadors agree in principle to put four Russian media outlets, including Voice of Europe and RIA Novosti, on its sanctions list over propaganda concerns — EU ambassadors agreed in principle on Wednesday to place four Russian media outlets on its sanctions list, accusing them of propaganda …
Discussion:
@verajourova
Politico:
Joe Biden proposes two debates with Trump, ditching the bipartisan commission that has conducted presidential debates since the late 1980s; Trump accepts — During recent weeks, both the Trump and Biden campaigns held behind-the-scenes talks about debate planning.
Discussion:
@joebiden, @joebiden, Fox News, The Daily Beast, Breitbart, @kaitlancollins, CBS News, Decider, New York Times, NPR, HuffPost, WKBN-TV, @cspan, New York Daily News, @lucaspjohn, Associated Press, @dylanbyers, The Hill, The Wrap, @igorbobic, Washington Post, @samstein, @edokeefe, @natesilver538, @shelbytalcott, @jdawsey1, Axios, @brookesingman, @meridithmcgraw, @forecasterenten, @brianstelter, @michaelscherer, @brianstelter, @brianstelter, The Desk, The Message Box, Slate, Mediaite, CityNews Toronto, Vanity Fair, WRIC-TV, @andykaczynski@threads.net, Voice of America, New Republic, @tomtomorrow.bsky.social, @tomtomorrow.bsky.social, KTLA, Arizona Mirror, New York Post, Deadline, TVLine, Forbes, CNN, WCMH-TV, Semafor, Rolling Stone, Mediaite, Mediaite, ABC News and Washington Post
RELATED:
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Former CNN President and current RedBird IMI CEO Jeff Zucker defends RedBird's blocked bid to take over The Telegraph, which was backed by the UAE — Ex-CNN president Jeff Zucker has suggested critics of his failed Telegraph deal were simply “scared” of it.
Discussion:
Sportico, @pressgazette, @sirharrysummit@threads.net and The Guardian
Steven Melendez / Fast Company:
Nabiha Syed, previously CEO of The Markup and associate general counsel at BuzzFeed, joins the Mozilla Foundation as executive director — The Mozilla Foundation's new executive director was previously CEO of nonprofit tech news outlet The Markup. — Nabiha Syed, who was previously CEO …
CNBC:
Netflix says its ad tier has 40M MAUs, up from 23M in January 2024, and plans to launch its own ad platform and no longer partner with Microsoft for that tech — Netflix's cheaper, ad-supported tier has amassed 40 million global monthly active users, the company said Wednesday.
RELATED:
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Netflix strikes a three-year deal with the NFL to stream two new Christmas Day games this season, and “at least one game” in 2025 and in 2026
Discussion:
Netflix Tudum, Media Play News, Bloomberg, The Guardian, Sergey Fedorov on LinkedIn, Deadline, @sherman4949, @alexweprin, @sherman4949, @pkafka, Fox Business, New York Times, Reuters, Kelly Toye on LinkedIn, The Streamable, Jared Naylor on LinkedIn, Light Reading, Business Insider, Alex Lowry on LinkedIn, Damien Bernet on LinkedIn, Fast Company, Forbes, SlashFilm, Engadget, Doug Brodman on LinkedIn, Dan Rayburn on LinkedIn, Victoria Morris on LinkedIn, City A.M., Mitzi Reaugh on LinkedIn, The Hill, The Information, CNBC, USA Today, The Verge and Variety
India Reporter, New Delhi — 
China Markets Correspondent, Shanghai — 
Senior Assignment Editor, DC — 
Stocks Reporter, Tokyo — 
Senior Correspondent - Wealth, NY — 
Reporter - Ottawa Bureau — 
Research Director, CA — 
Editorial Writer, TX — 
Presque Island Reporter, ME — 
Audience Editor, MN — 
Contributing Parks Ed. - SW, CA — 
AI Content Editor, WA — 
Legislative Reporter, TN — 
Elon Musk Reporter, NY or CA — 
Government & Politics Editor, WA — 
Business & GA Reporter. VT — 
Lead Digital Editor, OK — 
Energy Reporter, TX — 
Senior Reporter, SC — 
Trade & Climate Correspondent, DC — 
Reporter, WI — 
Copy Editor, OR — 
Content Director/Chief Editor, GA — 
Breaking News Reporter, NV — 
Fearless Reporter/Producer, IA — 
Deputy Editor, FL — 
Editor, Remote US — 
City Reporter, WA — 
Executive Editor, OR — 
Education & Budget Reporter, CA — 
Senior Writer/Editor, FL — 
Scientific Editor, TX — 
Media Editor, Remote — 
