Top News:
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Spotify is paying hundreds of millions for audiobooks annually; US audiobook users average five more hours on the app in the 60 days after starting a book — - Without Spotify, the audiobook industry in the U.S. grew 14% in unit sales between Q4 2022 and Q4 2023, according to Bookstat.
Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
Five ex-Pitchfork journalists launch online music outlet Hearing Things, aiming to capture Pitchfork's independent spirit; subscriptions start at $70 per year — After the popular publication was folded into GQ, a group of them is striking out on its own. One of the first orders of business: doing away with album scores.
Erik Hayden / The Hollywood Reporter:
Filing: Paramount sweetens compensation for its three co-CEOs ahead of its Skydance merger, expected in H1 2025; the deal protects their pay if they're demoted — The “Office of the CEO” just got additional bonuses — and the security of knowing that if they're demoted they can take their pay and walk away without a hit.
Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
Sources: Will Lewis has a mandate from Jeff Bezos to grow The Washington Post, including via acquisitions; it has explored deals with Punchbowl News and others — Will Lewis has said he has a mandate from the paper's owner, Jeff Bezos, to grow the business, including through acquisitions.
Discussion:
Benjamin Mullin on LinkedIn and @benmullin
Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
Internal memo: the BBC plans to cut 155 BBC News jobs, including closing Asian Network News and the HARDtalk program, to save £24M, or 4% of BBC News' budget — Broadcaster hopes move will save £24mn from budget, according to internal memo sent to staff
Discussion:
@stephensackur, @lizsly, @stephensackur, @stephensackur, TVNewsCheck, @dougalshaw, @j_bloodworth, @winterdakhan, @mazzucatom, @mrpmharrison, @ericlatiff, @timothy_stanley, The Guardian, @joannenadler, @doylech, @lucy_pawle, @mathewhulbert, @pankajpachauri, @oflynnsocial, @carmenkamanlau, @goldenmatonga, @john_foremancbe, @aflemingbrown, @soniasodha, @helenclarknz, Prolific North, @gideonrachman, @piersmorgan, Deadline, Press Gazette, @kimghattas, @mikehughes_, @bill_emmott, Clean Feed, @raymondsnoddy, @tmchivers, @robburl, Telegraph, @thusi_kumar, @nickbryantny, @stephensackur, @amitbasu71, @martp132, @peterboghossian, @afneil, Daily Star and Advanced Television
Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal:
The NYT sends a cease-and-desist letter to AI startup Perplexity to stop using its content; Perplexity says it is “interested in working with every” publisher — Publisher demands that Perplexity stop accessing its content. Startup isn't interested “in being anyone's antagonist,” CEO says.
Katie Kilkenny / The Hollywood Reporter:
Condé Nast reaches a tentative deal with The New Yorker union, ending a strike threat at the mag's annual festival; the union plans a final vote in a few weeks — The company's human resources department announced a tentative deal on Monday, a little over a week after the labor group threatened a work stoppage.
Discussion:
NewsGuild of New York, Crooked Media and The Nation
Sophie Culpepper / Nieman Lab:
Kansas City's news nonprofit The Beacon is shutting down its Wichita newsroom, three years after its launch with support from the Wichita Foundation — “We've realized that we can't do it all, and have made the decision to no longer have a staffed newsroom in Wichita.”
Discussion:
The Beacon and @sarahscire
Mark Stenberg / Adweek:
The Athletic names Fubo as its first streaming partner in a multi-year deal to integrate Fubo initially into live game blogs and then into newsletters and more — The partnership will see Fubo integrated throughout The Athletic's website — The New York Times sports publisher …
Jessica Testa / New York Times:
Tina Brown, who became synonymous with Manhattan media in the 1980s and 1990s, launches Fresh Hell, a weekly Substack diary newsletter in “notebook form” — Tina Brown's decision to join Substack is a coup for the newsletter company, which considers prestigious names to be magnets …
Discussion:
Business Insider, @mediaevan, @jtes and Fresh Hell
Associated Press:
Taliban-run media stops showing images of living beings in some Afghan provinces to comply with morality laws, sparking press freedom concerns — Taliban run-media have stopped showing images of living beings in some Afghan provinces to comply with morality laws, an official confirmed Tuesday.
Discussion:
@natiqmalikzada, @visegrad24, Times of India, LBC, The Independent, Global Village Space, @qaisalamdar, Daily Mail, WION, Amu TV, Outlook India, Telegraph, Boing Boing and PetaPixel
Jessica Rogen / St. Louis Public Radio:
Lee Enterprises' St. Louis Post-Dispatch plans to outsource printing to Gannett in Columbia, MO, in January; late sports info will not be in its print edition — Come January, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch will not be printed in the St. Louis area for the first time in its 146-year history.
Discussion:
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, @hollyedgell and St. Louis Business Journal
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