Top News:
Caitlin Huston / The Hollywood Reporter:
Internal memo: Hearst Magazines president announces layoffs as part of a decision to “reallocate resources” to “continue our focus on digital innovation” — The company is home to more than 25 brands in the U.S. including Elle, Esquire, Cosmopolitan, Harper's Bazaar and Town & Country.
Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica:
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced she will leave the agency on January 20; she was the first woman to be confirmed to lead the agency — Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced today that she will leave the agency on January 20, 2025, the day of President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration.
Discussion:
Federal Communications …, Reuters, The Hollywood Reporter, @waltmossberg.bsky.social, Digital Music News, Radio Ink, @arstechnica@mastodon.social, TechCrunch, RADIO ONLINE, Media Play News, @jrosenworcel@threads.net, @aram@aoir.social, Variety, The Hill, American Enterprise Institute, Cord Cutters News, Radio & Television …, Deadline, TVNewsCheck, Advanced Television, Inside Radio and CNET
Lachlan Cartwright / The Ankler:
Sources: MSNBC renewed Rachel Maddow's contract early this fall, but with a pay cut; MSNBC bosses' plan to shake up daytime and weekend programming — SCOOP: TV's ‘safe space for liberals’ is about to reshuffle its stars as the network re-ups its marquee name under a tough new spinoff-ready reality
Maxwell Zeff / TechCrunch:
Texas AG opens a probe into the World Federation of Advertisers to determine if it conspired to boycott “certain social media platforms”; X sued WFA in August — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced on Thursday he is opening an investigation into the World Federation of Advertisers …
Matthew Keys / The Desk:
DirecTV terminates its Dish acquisition after a group of Dish creditors rejected a modified bond exchange offer — The company has informed Dish Network parent Echostar that it will break off the merger agreement on Friday. — Pay television provider DirecTV on Thursday officially announced …
Discussion:
DIRECTV, The Wrap, Reuters, Axios, Wall Street Journal, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters, WORLD SCREEN and Bloomberg
Guthrie Scrimgeour / Wired:
Hawaii's The Garden Island stops using AI-generated newscasters on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram after two months, likely due to the negative public response — A local newspaper in Hawaii experimented with AI-generated presenters to engage and boost its readership. After two months, the bots have been shelved.
Discussion:
Futurism, @newsguy.bsky.social and Mandy DeLuca on LinkedIn, more at Techmeme »
Evan Drellich / New York Times:
The MLB is planning national packages for streaming companies to bid on in 2028, when its national TV deals with ESPN, Fox, and Turner expire — The year to watch in baseball is 2028. — At a time when Major League Baseball is offering employee buyouts at its flagship television station …
Discussion:
The Desk, TVNewsCheck, Keith Stoler on LinkedIn, The Streamable, Cord Cutters News and Sports Media Watch
The New York Times Company:
Elisabeth Bumiller, the NYT's Washington bureau chief since 2015 and nearly a 30-year NYT veteran, is stepping down to return to writing and reporting — Elisabeth, incomparable Washington bureau chief since 2015, has decided to return to writing and reporting.
Discussion:
@ignatiuspost, @glennthrush, @andrew_marshall, @moorehn, @moorehn, @peterbakernyt, @peterbakernyt, @peterbakernyt and @edmundlee.bsky.social
David Spector / New York Post:
Email: WaPo senior politics editor Dan Eggen says he was told Monday that he will “be removed” at the end of 2024, and “will leave it to others to explain why” — The Washington Post abruptly removed its politics editor without giving him a reason for the decision …
Parker Herren / Ad Age:
SMBs turn to Disney, Paramount, and Peacock's ad platforms; VAB: in H1 2024, 169 advertisers bought national TV ads for the first time and 67% spent <$500K — New-to-TV brands predict a ‘renaissance’ for growing businesses through streaming ads — As traditional TV networks shift …
Diane Sylvester / Editor and Publisher:
A look at The 51st, a worker-led nonprofit news startup in Washington, DC, and how the founders studied worker-led organizations and similar newsrooms — The 51st has set out to redefine local journalism in Washington, D.C., as one of the country's growing number of worker-led, nonprofit newsrooms.
Discussion:
The 51st, Gretchen A. Peck on LinkedIn and r/Journalism
Bron Maher / Press Gazette:
Reach's audience director says Google's Discover feed has become Reach's single largest traffic referral source, mostly promoting “soft-lens” content — Google's smartphone-based content recommendation feed, Google Discover, has become the single largest traffic referral source …
Discussion:
@adders.blog, Martin Little on LinkedIn, @jim.londoncentric.media and @londoncentric.media
Senior Data Journalist, NY — 
Manager - Publishing Editorial, Manila — 
Oil Reporter, Singapore — 
Newsperson - State Govt. & Politics, CA — 
Business Reporter, SC — 
State Government Reporter, WA — 
Climate Crisis Columnist — 
Multimedia Journalist, CA — 
Community Engagement Mgr., DC — 
Senior California Politics Reporter, CA — 
Staff Writer - Business, NY — 
Team Editor - Opinion, ON — 
Assistant Correspondent, DC — 
Climate & Weather Reporter, MN — 
Senior Tech Editor, Remote US — 
Lead Business Reporter, TN — 
Managing Editor, WA — 
Private Credit Reporter, NY — 
Trending News Reporter, TX — 
City Correspondent, London — 
Legislative Reporter, CA — 
Reporter, PA — 
Visual Editor, Remote — 
Staff Writer, MI — 
Senior Political Reporter, DC — 
California Playbook Writer, CA — 
National Investigative Reporter, NY — 
Business & Gaming Reporter, NV — 
Coastal Climate Reporter, SC — 
Environment & Energy Reporter, CT — 
Coordinating Editor, OR — 
Editor, Remote US — 
Business Reporter, WA — 
Editor-in-Chief, AZ — 
