Top News:


Podcasting is becoming an industry of megastars with huge deals and the biggest audiences; Edison: the top 25 podcasts reach nearly 50% of US weekly listeners — The top shows are adding video, merchandise and live tours and signing megadeals with Spotify, Sirius and Amazon.
Discussion:
9to5Mac, @robenfarzad, @samro, @joshthomastn, @davidharsanyi, @ckwitt3 and @wsj, more at Techmeme »


Thelma, Longlegs, and Civil War are some of at least a half a dozen independent films to break out at the box office in 2024, a much needed boost for the sector — The decline of the independent film business has been a major concern among Hollywood producers and executives in recent years.
Discussion:
@lucas_shaw and Dexerto


Former BBC presenter Huw Edwards is charged with three counts of making indecent images of children; Edwards resigned from the BBC in April 2024 — The former BBC newsreader has not appeared in public since allegations about his personal life were made in The Sun
Discussion:
CNN, Press Gazette, The Guardian, Reuters, Variety, CBS News, Sky News, @jake_kanter, @jamesrbuk, PinkNews, The Hollywood Reporter, The Mirror and Deadline


Nielsen and Adobe Analytics: the Paris Olympics opening ceremony drew 28.6M viewers on NBC and Peacock, up 60%+ from Tokyo, plus 666K on Telemundo Deportes — Good news for NBCUniversal: The Paris Olympics are off to a great start with a big win out of Friday's Opening Ceremony.
Discussion:
The Media Leader, Outsports, The Hollywood Reporter, ComingSoon.net, NBCSports.com, Axios, TVNewsCheck, Sports Media Watch, Forbes, New York Times, HuffPost, Bloomberg, Sportico, TVLine, The Desk, The Wrap, Variety and Reuters


Sources: several Nikkei boardmembers push for consideration of a sale of the Financial Times as they have grown impatient with its economic performance — But first... 🗞️ Will the Financial Times head to the block?: Might the FT, the august salmon-hued internationalist business broadsheet, eventually hit the market?
Discussion:
Talking Biz News


Russia's state-run news agency TASS says the Olympic organizing committee revoked the accreditations of four of its journalists in Paris — Russia's state-run TASS news agency said the Olympic organising committee revoked accreditations for four of its journalists in Paris on Sunday …
Discussion:
The Desk and The Moscow Times


A look at Kamala Harris' efforts since early 2022 to improve her relationship with the national media, increasing the cadence of her interactions with reporters — The News — Kamala Harris has spent her last two years as vice president repairing a difficult relationship with the national media …
Discussion:
@semaforben and HuffPost


A few newspaper companies, including Lee and Alden's MediaNews Group, are offering ad-free premium subscription tiers as privacy concerns grow — It's not a new idea, but more publishers are offering it. Audiences, wary of privacy issues and primed by streaming, may be coming around.


BIA Advisory Services: 2024 US local media ad spending is expected to rise 9.5% YoY to $173.7B, with the gap between traditional and digital media spend closing — In October, BIA Advisory Services' initial forecast for 2024 had local advertising revenues hitting $175.6 billion.
Discussion:
Aspire, The Desk, Barrett Media and Inside Radio


Sources detail how Elon Musk undermined CEO Linda Yaccarino's efforts to repair X's business over the past year; X's US revenue fell 53% YoY to $114M in Q2 — Linda Yaccarino, the C.E.O. of X, has worked hard to bring back advertisers and fix the platform's business.
Discussion:
The Verge, The Guardian, @alexandregiess@threads.net, @renee.diresta@threads.net, @lessin@threads.net, @goldman@threads.net, @lessin@threads.net, @rmac18, @rmac18, @documentingmeta@threads.net, @lindayax, @renee.diresta@threads.net, @pkafka@threads.net, @renee.diresta@threads.net, @tvmojoe, Awful Announcing, @carnage4life@mas.to, @so_treu, @reddirtsport, @ron_fournier, @jeffjarvis, @hay_banda, @amydiehl@mstdn.social, @elistuy@threads.net, @crumbler@threads.net, @moskov@threads.net, @renee.diresta@threads.net, @hunterwalk@threads.net, @cachiporra.bsky.social, @nonlinear@social.praxis.nyc and @self.agency


WGA West: TV and film writer earnings fell ~32% to $1.29B in 2023, the lowest level since the 2007-08 strike, and employment fell 19.5% to 5,501 working writers — TV and film writer earnings fell $603 million last year, or about 32%, as the end of “Peak TV” coincided with a 148-day strike by the Writers of Guild of America.
Discussion:
Writers Guild America West, WGA Contract 2023, The Wrap and Deadline


In a documentary, Prince Harry said his choice to take legal action against UK tabloid newspapers was a “central piece” contributing to the rift with his family — Duke of Sussex tells ITV documentary that legal battles against newspapers ‘central’ to deterioration in relations
Discussion:
Associated Press, NBC News, CNN, Los Angeles Times and New York Times