Mediagazer: WaPo names Liz Seymour managing editor; she has held various roles over 25 years at the outlet, including deputy managing editor and executive features editor (Washington Post)

3:15 PM ET, November 14, 2024

Top News:

Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:

The Onion, backed by some Sandy Hook families and Everytown for Gun Safety, buys Infowars in a bankruptcy auction, and plans a January 2025 relaunch as a parody — The satirical news site planned to turn Infowars into a parody of itself, mocking “weird internet personalities” who peddle conspiracy theories and health supplements.

Discussion: The Onion, Washington Post, Fox Business, Benzinga, Mediaite, NPR, The Ankler, Fast Company, Associated Press, Al Jazeera, Politico, TVNewsCheck, New Republic, Le Monde, David Wyatt on LinkedIn, Lawyers, Guns & Money, CNBC, @bencollins.bsky.social, @everytown@threads.net, Business Insider, @maxwelltani, To the Contrary, Engadget, Block Club Chicago, The Present Age, The Hill, @oneunderscore__, Raw Story, The Guardian, Just Jared, CNN, The Desk, I guess this is a …, Axios, Mashable, UPI, The Information, Fortune, Plain Dealer, HuffPost, Status, Breitbart, The Wrap, @oneunderscore__, Bloomberg, Mother Jones, Financial Times, The Verge, Washington Examiner, RedState, USA Today, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, @zimbalist, @semaforben, @yonetteajoseph@threads.net, Alternet.org, @hadas_gold, @jamesrbuk, 6abc, @bencollins.bsky.social, @colbyhall, Laurel Pinson on LinkedIn, @benmullin, @sherman4949, @jamesrbuk, Houston Public Media, Digby's Hullabaloo, @bencollins.bsky.social, Laura Seaton on LinkedIn, @oneunderscore__, @daithaigilbert, @pkafka, Newser, @brianstelter, @claireatki, @bencollins.bsky.social, @sherman4949, @mick@cosocial.ca, Hollywood Life, The Daily Caller, OMG.BLOG, @willguyatt, @pbump, @bencollins.bsky.social, @brianstelter, One America News Network, @theonion, ZeroHedge News, @laurenthomanwrites …, Rolling Stone, The Gateway Pundit, Boing Boing, CBS News, RTÉ, Barrett Media, Law & Crime, Deadline, Daring Fireball, Not the Bee, Consequence, NBC News, New York Daily News, Forbes, The National Pulse, AV Club, Press Herald, Crooks and Liars, Austin American-Statesman, Daily Kos, UnHerd and WHEC.com

The Hollywood Reporter:

Disney expects to spend $24B on content in 2025, up from $23.4B in 2024, due to sports programming expenses rising after NFL rate increases and NBA contracts — Rate hikes at the NFL and NBA may mean that sports drive the slight spending increase, with the company reporting $23.4 billion for this past year.

Discussion: @philthepill.bsky.social

Robbie Whelan / Wall Street Journal:

Disney reports Q4 revenue up 6% YoY to $22.6B, TV network revenue down 6% YoY to $2.5B, and a $321M DTC streaming profit, up from a $387M loss in Q4 2023 — Streaming profit and studio are bright spots, while income from cable and theme parks declines — Disney's streaming business …

Discussion: The Walt Disney Company, Orlando Sentinel, Sam Gillmer on LinkedIn, Fast Company, The Wrap, The Hollywood Reporter, @jtoonkel, Los Angeles Times, @thetranscript_, Bloomberg, @pkafka, Dylan Jones on LinkedIn, Theme Park Insider and Benzinga

Jennifer Maas / Variety:
In Q4, Disney added 4.4M Disney+ Core paid subscribers, reaching 120M in total, Disney+ Hotstar subscribers rose 1% YoY to 35.9M, and Hulu subscribers hit 52M

Discussion: Advanced Television and IndieWire

Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
Reliance and Disney complete their $8.5B Indian media merger, creating India's largest media group with $3.1B in annual revenue and 50M+ streaming subscribers

Discussion: Financial Times, Times of India, Reuters, Deadline, The Wrap, Hindustan Times, The Hollywood Reporter and YourStory.com

Brooks Barnes / New York Times:
In its Q4 report, Disney, which rarely offers guidance, shares growth expectations to 2027, including a ~$700M operating profit in DTC streaming in 2025

Discussion: Orange County Register, Yahoo Finance, Financial Times, WHEC.com, Benzinga, @brianstelter and WORLD SCREEN

Matthew Keys / The Desk:

Disney said Disney+ Q4 ARPU in the US and Canada, down 1% QoQ to $7.70, was affected partly by new wholesale arrangements with some distributors — The Walt Disney Company's recent distribution agreements with Charter Communications and DirecTV impacted a key metric that analysts …

Discussion: StreamTV Insider, The Verge, The Streamable and Cord Cutters News

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Disney plans to add an ESPN “tile” to Disney+ for US subscribers on December 4, giving users access to some free ESPN content — Disney has called its next streaming blitz: In a few weeks, Disney+ will add an ESPN “tile” to the streaming service — and the company will include …

Discussion: AdExchanger, Awful Announcing, Tv Technology, @sherman4949, Deadline and Barrett Media

Dade Hayes / Deadline:
Disney investor call: Bob Iger says 60% of all new Disney+ subscribers are for the ad tier, and in a hot-mic moment wonders if he should have said the detail

Discussion: Adweek, The Wrap, IndieWire, Tubefilter and Cord Cutters News

Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:

Google plans to stop showing political ads to users in the EU in 2025 due to uncertainties around new transparency rules coming into effect in October 2025 — Google has announced it will stop showing political ads to users in the European Union next year due to uncertainties around the bloc's new transparency regulations.

Discussion: The Keyword and Engadget

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:

CEOs at Nexstar, Sinclair, and Tegna, plus some analysts, say they expect deregulation and consolidation in the broadcast TV industry under Trump's FCC — Flush with political ad dollars and anticipating a deal-friendly environment, moguls are eyeing big moves to roll up lucrative local broadcasters.

Discussion: Patrick Caligiuri on LinkedIn, @mediaevan and @WarnerCrocker@mastodon.social

Washington Post:

WaPo names Liz Seymour managing editor; she has held various roles over 25 years at the outlet, including deputy managing editor and executive features editor — A veteran Washington Post newsroom leader, Seymour marks her 25th year at the publication — The Washington Post today named …

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Newsletter platform Beehiiv launches a “beehiiv Media Collective” for journalists, offering health insurance stipends, backend tools for accounting, and more — - Journalists that have recently joined the beehiiv platform include former CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy …

Janko Roettgers / Lowpass:

Proposed Trump tariffs on consumer electronics imports may raise prices for TVs and streaming devices, causing a drop in sign-ups for Netflix and other services — Also: Binging goes global — In partnership with … With Donald Trump set to return to the White House in January …

Discussion: NewsNation, Janko Roettgers on LinkedIn, The Japan News and Modern Retail

Wall Street Journal:

X names former Tubi CFO Mahmoud Reza Banki as its CFO; Trump pardoned Banki in January 2021 for making false statements; a source says he joined X in November — Mahmoud Reza Banki, former Tubi finance chief, joins platform amid financial challenges — Elon Musk's X Corp. named Mahmoud …

Discussion: Business Insider, Fortune, Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter, more at Techmeme »

Javier Espinoza / Financial Times:

The EU fines Meta €797.72M for tying Facebook Marketplace to Facebook and “imposing unfair trading conditions” on rival websites, the first such fine for Meta — Facebook is undermining rivals by ‘tying’ its free Marketplace services with the social network, Brussels says

Archived Page Info:

This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 3:15 PM ET, November 14, 2024.

View the current page or another snapshot:

Who's Hiring in Media?

Commissioning Editor - Practical Law — Reuters

Energy Markets Reporter, London — WSJ

Oil Reporter, Singapore — Bloomberg

Newsperson - State Govt. & Politics, CA — AP

Business Reporter, SC — Post & Courier

State Government Reporter, WA — Seattle Times

Climate Crisis Columnist — Prospect UK

Multimedia Journalist, CA — Paramount

Community Engagement Mgr., DC — Freedom Forum

Staff Writer - Business, NY — WIRED

Editor, MA — Nieman Reports

Team Editor - Breaking News, ON — Toronto Star

Senior Reporter & Event Host, NY/CA — Newcomer

Climate & Weather Reporter, MN — Star Tribune

Senior Tech Editor, Remote US — The Verge

News Reporter, MA — Berkshire Eagle

Multimedia Journalist, PA — Observer-Reporter

Managing Editor, WA — Everett Herald

Private Credit Reporter, NY — Debtwire

Legislative Reporter, CA — Sacramento Bee

Reporter, PA — Tribune-Review

Visual Editor, Remote — Rest of World

Staff Writer, MI — Watershed Voice

California Playbook Writer, CA — Politico

Senior Media Editor — Digiday

National Investigative Reporter, NY — HuffPost

Business & Gaming Reporter, NV — Las Vegas Sun

Coastal Climate Reporter, SC — Island Packet

Environment & Energy Reporter, CT — CT Mirror

Coordinating Editor, OR — OPB

Staff Reporter, CA — Daily Kos

Data Editor, NY — ProPublica

Editor-in-Chief, AZ — Phoenix New Times

Add your company here

See Also:

Mediagazer: site main

Mediagazer River: reverse chronological Mediagazer

Mediagazer Mobile: for phones

Mediagazer Leaderboard: Mediagazer's top sources

Subscribe:

Mediagazer RSS feed

Mediagazer on X

Mediagazer on Mastodon

More News:

Umar Shakir / The Verge:
Echoing TikTok's gifting, YouTube is rolling out “jewels” that users can buy to support creators during livestreams, for those in the YouTube Partner Program

Discussion: TechCrunch and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Erik Hayden / The Hollywood Reporter:
CNN promotes David Chalian, who joined the network in 2013 from Politico, to SVP and Washington, DC bureau chief

Discussion: Barrett Media, CNN, TVNewsCheck, Variety and Deadline

John Koblin / New York Times:
Nielsen: since Trump won, MSNBC has averaged 550K viewers, down 39% on October, and its prime time audience is down 53%; Fox's prime time audience is up 21%

Discussion: Frontpage Mag, RedState, @pierogie.bsky.social and HotAir

Jay Peters / The Verge:
The WSJ is testing AI-generated article summaries at the top of new stories in a “Key Points” box to see how readers respond, following Gannett and others

Discussion: TVNewsCheck and MediaPost

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Guido Fawkes owner Paul Staines plans to step down as editor of the UK political news blog after 20 years; the blog has crowdfunded £92K+ to fight a libel claim

New York Times:
A look at “blind box livestreaming”, an e-commerce trend in China that has become an entertaining and, some users and experts said, addictive pastime

Christianna Silva / Mashable:
The once-unified BookTok community has become a battleground over politics and how it intersects with writers, influencers, readers, and the books themselves

Discussion: @farrahrochon@threads.net, @farrahrochon@threads.net, Wired, @jesscamnj.bsky.social, @ingloriousgigi.bsky.social, @srmilesauthor.bsky.social, @drreznicek.bsky.social, @juliusgoat.bsky.social and Fast Company

Earlier Picks:

Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica:
A look at a legal case by record labels Universal, Warner, and Sony against an ISP for piracy by the ISP's users, as the labels seek bigger payouts for damages

Discussion: Digital Music News, Digital Music News, Plagiarism Today, @glynmoody@mastodon.social, The Hollywood Reporter and Music Business Worldwide

Alex Kantrowitz / Big Technology:
Q&A with Spotify Co-President and CTO Gustav Söderström on AI-generated music, NotebookLM podcasts, AI recommendations, improving discoverability, and more

more at Techmeme »

Anne Steele / Wall Street Journal:
Spotify plans to pay incentives to video creators who hit certain viewing thresholds and, in January 2025, to let Premium users view podcast videos without ads

Discussion: Bloomberg, Digital Music News, Music Ally, @spotifycreator, @spotifynews, @alexeheath, @paulroetzer, @kantrowitz, Spotify, @johnbuckley.bsky.social, Spotify, Engadget, Los Angeles Times, Business Insider, TechCrunch, Spotify, The Verge and Axios

Lillian Rizzo / CNBC:
Amazon Prime Video will offer Diamond Sports Group's 16 regional sports networks, newly branded as FanDuel Sports Network, as add-on subscriptions

Murray Stassen / Music Business Worldwide:
German royalty licensing group GEMA sues OpenAI and subsidiary OpenAI Ireland in Munich Regional Court, claiming ChatGPT violates copyrights of lyrics

Discussion: Markus Schwarzer on LinkedIn, ai fray, gema.de, Digital Music News, Jeff Rabhan on LinkedIn, The Decoder, CMU, @konkrit@mastodon.social, Billboard and Music Ally

Todd Spangler / Variety:
Don Lemon, who sued Elon Musk and X after a deal fell apart, says he's leaving X on November 15, citing X's new ToS that moves legal disputes to Texas courts

Dan Milmo / The Guardian:
The Guardian says it will no longer post on “any official Guardian editorial accounts” on “toxic media platform” X; reporters will still use X to gather news

Discussion: The Guardian, UnHerd, Fortune, The Irish Times, @maxwelltani, Guido Fawkes, @lindayax, @elonmusk, The Guardian, @nocontextbrits, Milica Pesic on LinkedIn, @rafat, @eurabist, @rmcgreevy1301, @scottaawilson, @nitashakaul, @sarafischer, @iandunt, @willguyatt, Townhall, Alex Smith on LinkedIn, Forbes, PCMag, @eloquence@social.coop, Bruce McCoy on LinkedIn, Donald Kau on LinkedIn, @RHW@mastodon.au, Wainer Lusoli on LinkedIn, Dan Papworth-Smyth on LinkedIn, CBS News, @cdarwin@c.im, James Harvey on LinkedIn, @jsamwrites@mastodon.social, George Niles Mekeel RN on LinkedIn, Nieman Lab, @fergusryan@aus.social, @michael@newsmast.social, @harrymccracken@mastodon …, Carlos Diaz Ruiz on LinkedIn, HotAir, Shannon Dunn on LinkedIn, Alix Bryan-Campos on LinkedIn, @dvsk@mastodon.nz, Breitbart, @ronaldtootall@tech.lgbt, The Hill, Thomas Johnson on LinkedIn, London Evening Standard, David Ward on LinkedIn, Al Jazeera, The National Pulse, Reuters, Mediaite, Press Gazette, Rob O'Hanrahan on LinkedIn, @ianRobinson@mastodon.social, Lucas Amaral Lauriano on LinkedIn, GB News, BBC, Variety, @worldguru.bsky.social, The Hollywood Reporter, Gordon MacMillan on LinkedIn, Politico, @earleyedition@aus.social, @viridis@achrilock.social, Just Jared, @jeffjarvis@mastodon.social, @renatolond@masto.donte.com.br, @brett@bne.social, Balloon Juice, Daily Sabah, @jimwaterson.bsky.social and Semafor

From Techmeme:

Financial Times:
Sources: the US FTC plans to investigate allegations that Microsoft is abusing its market power in productivity software to prevent customers from leaving Azure

David Pierce / The Verge:
Google releases a free Gemini app for iOS, letting users ask questions, chat via text, voice, or their camera, and use the conversational mode Gemini Live

Tony Romm / Washington Post:
Sources: the CFPB moves to place Google under formal federal supervision, an extraordinary move that may lead to regular inspections; Google fiercely resisted

Sister Sites:

Techmeme
Top news and commentary for technology's leaders, from all around the web

memeorandum
What US political commentators are discussing online right now

WeSmirch
The top celebrity news from all around the web on a single page