Mediagazer: Journalists and liberal critics blast the NYT and other US news outlets for “sanewashing”, false equivalence, and more, and call for sharper political reporting (Jeff Jarvis/Columbia Journalism Review)

Top News:

The Star-Ledger, New Jersey's largest newspaper, plans to end its print edition on January 30, 2025, citing growing costs and a shrinking demand for print — The Star-Ledger, New Jersey's largest newspaper, will stop publishing its print edition on January 30, 2025, transitioning fully to a digital format.

Discussion: New Jersey Online, New York Post, Morning Call, UPI, PennLive, New York Daily News, @jaspertylerkane, Jason Notte on LinkedIn, @davidfolkenflik, @jeffjarvis@mastodon.social, @jaspertylerkane, @bobbyolivier, @joeconchatv, @brianstelter@threads.net, Kevin Whitmer on LinkedIn and Associated Press

Upmanyu Trivedi / Bloomberg:

Google faces increasing legal challenges from Russia and fines in non-US courts, after YouTube blocked three Russian channels following the invasion of Ukraine — Law experts raise concerns about nationalism rearing its head in courts around the world — When YouTube blocked three Russian channels …

Discussion: The Moscow Times, Edson Porto on LinkedIn, Francis Bond on LinkedIn, Broadband TV News, Business Insider, Digital Trends and Gizmodo

Washington Post:

CCDH: of 283 X posts in 2024 with false election claims that Community Notes members had responded to, only 20 had notes with enough votes to be publicly shown — X's crowdsourced fact-checking program has been hailed as a bold idea for social media. Research shows it's failing at a critical moment.

Discussion: Engadget, The Washington Post on LinkedIn, @ma_franks, @willoremus and @willoremus

Karissa Bell / Engadget:
X says it has “re-architected” the scoring system for its Community Notes feature so that notes can now appear less than 20 minutes after a post is published

Discussion: Reclaim The Net, @_jaybaxter_, @elonmusk and @communitynotes

Neel Dhanesha / Nieman Lab:

A decade after the Serial podcast launched, public radio executives say they think true crime podcasts can bolster interest and support for their organizations — Amid the downturn in audio, some executives think the public radio model — with a dash of true crime — might provide a way forward.

Discussion: @jeffjarvis@mastodon.social, Nieman Lab and Nieman Lab

Lucas Manfredi / The Wrap:

Roku reports Q3 revenue up 16% YoY to $1.06B, vs. $1.02B est., a net loss of $9.03M, vs. $330.1M in Q3 2023, and 85.5M streaming households, up 2M from Q2 2024 — The streamer and hardware maker, which has 85.5 million households, will stop reporting the metric starting in the first quarter of 2025

Discussion: Variety, Barron's Online, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, Roku Inc., Media Play News and Benzinga

Peter White / Deadline:

The Grammys, which have aired on CBS for over 50 years, will air on ABC, Hulu, and Disney+ starting from 2027, as part of a 10-year deal — The Grammy Awards ceremony, which has aired on CBS for over 50 years, has a new home. — Disney has snatched the rights to the annual music awards show …

Discussion: IndieWire, New York Post, Radio & Television …, Variety, The Wrap, Billboard, TVLine, TVNewsCheck, The Hollywood Reporter, UPROXX, Associated Press, Bloomberg and Just Jared

Mike Allen / Axios:

Sources: NBC News plans to promote Way Too Early host Jonathan Lemire as the co-host of the “Morning Joe” 9am hour in January 2025 — - His Red Sox obsession gives him plenty to banter about with Scarborough and co-host Willie Geist — along with Liverpool soccer, “Star Wars,” presidential biographies and table tennis.

Discussion: TVNewsCheck, Raw Story, RedState and @maxwelltani

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:

Amazon invests in Spotter, a creator platform that counts MrBeast as a client and provides capital and tools to creators, as part of a wider partnership — Spotter, which counts MrBeast, Deestroying, and Dude Perfect as clients, will give the tech giant new ways to monetize content …

Discussion: Variety, The Wrap, Axios, Deadline, Business Insider and @kerrymflynn

Amanda Meade / The Guardian:

Australia's ABC Chair Kim Williams says pursuing “digital titans for a fair cut of the revenues drained from mainstream journalism” is a “democratic imperative” — Kim Williams says funding local news and public interest journalism is crucial in a world where 'the distortion …

Discussion: Crikey

Jeff Jarvis / Columbia Journalism Review:

Journalists and liberal critics blast the NYT and other US news outlets for “sanewashing”, false equivalence, and more, and call for sharper political reporting — From sanewashing to false equivalence, many readers have had it with their favorite news publications. Editors would do well to listen.

Discussion: Balloon Juice, @jeffjarvis, @jayrosen_nyu, @newsjennifer, @stevekettmann, @jamesfallows, @flo_a, @MissConstrue@mefi.social, Jeff Jarvis on LinkedIn, @rationaldoge@hachyderm.io and Newsbusters

Variety:

Barcelona-based Grup Mediapro launches a €1B sports rights brokering fund, targeting established and emerging sports — Grup Mediapro, the Barcelona-based global holding including The Mediapro Studio, is launching and will manage a €1 billion ($1.1 billion) sports rights brokering fund …

David Folkenflik / NPR:

The LA Times has lost 10,000 to 18,000 subscriptions, or up to 4.5% of its subscribers, since owner Patrick Soon-Shiong axed the paper's Harris endorsement — Subscribers keep deserting The Washington Post after it announced it would not endorse any candidate in the race for the White House.

Discussion: Washington Post, Nieman Lab, Semafor, HuffPost, 404 Media, One America News Network, New York Post, @GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social, CNN, American Press Institute, Axios, The Wrap and Fox News, more at Techmeme »