Mediagazer: A look at Giant Robot, a magazine published from 1994 to 2011 that explored Asian American pop culture and peaked with a circulation of ~27K in the early 2000s (Hua Hsu/New Yorker)

5:00 AM ET, November 26, 2024

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Bill Donahue / Billboard:

Drake launches legal action against UMG and Spotify for allegedly using bots, payola, and more to inflate Kendrick Lamar's Not Like Us, a track attacking Drake — Drake has initiated legal action against Universal Music Group (UMG) and Spotify over allegations that the two companies conspired …

Discussion: The Independent, Associated Press, New York County Supreme Court, @desusnice, @dragonflyjonez, @hebennigatu, @nhoodpublicist, @wowthatshiphop, @gothamhiphop, @_zeets, @mrmedina, @variety, @_zeets, @casey_evans_, @dragonflyjonez, @umg, Digital Music News, Rolling Stone, People, ABC, Entertainment Weekly, CBS News, The Wrap, @daviddennisjr.bsky.social, @phil_lewis_, New York Daily News, @mford.bsky.social, @mannyfidel, @annaknicolaou, @myfakeironlung.bsky.social, Sandra Rose, @annaknicolaou, @janecoaston, Bossip, Los Angeles Times, Stereogum, UPROXX, @kashana.bsky.social, @brianzisook, @joshgondelman, @fadamgotdajuice, @billdonahue.bsky.social, @darrylc.bsky.social, @theneedledrop, @wowthatshiphop, @markroebuck.bsky.social, @mikemadden.bsky.social, @wickednfine, @skrappy83, TMZ.com, @big_business_, @arianfoster, theJasmineBRAND, Variety, @phil_lewis_, @engineeringbae.bsky.social, @britticisms.bsky.social, Music Business Worldwide, The Verge, Forbes, Deadline, Consequence, Just Jared, Fox News and Oh No They Didn't!, more at Techmeme »

Joe Flint / Wall Street Journal:

Sources: NBC's new deal with Macy's to keep the Thanksgiving Day Parade on NBC and Peacock has an average annual fee of $60M+, up from ~$20M in the current deal — Macy's and NBC near pact that would raise the spectacle's annual average price to $60 million.

Discussion: New York Post, The Wrap, @bsdtectr.bsky.social, @wsj.com, Benzinga, TVNewsCheck and Just Jared

Brian Stelter / CNN:

As Elon Musk posts memes about buying MSNBC, sources say one liberal billionaire expressed interest in buying the channel; Comcast is not looking to sell MSNBC — Elon Musk has called MSNBC “the utter scum of the Earth.” He has said the channel “peddles puerile propaganda.”

Discussion: @elonmusk, The Wrap, Raw Story, @brianstelter, @brianstelter, The Independent, @passantino@threads.net, @brianstelter, @brianstelter, Cord Cutters News, PolitiFact, Mediaite, TVNewsCheck, HuffPost, New York Post and The Gateway Pundit

Mark Kleinman / Sky News:

Sources: CVC Capital Partners and a major European broadcaster, thought to be France's Groupe TF1, are among those considering a takeover of the UK's ITV — The commercial broadcaster is back on alert for takeover approaches as financial and industry players evaluate offers which could lead …

Discussion: The Guardian, The Times, Deadline, Reuters, City A.M., Advanced Television, Bloomberg and RTÉ

David Gilmour / Mediaite:

Elon Musk appears to confirm that posts containing links in their main text are deprioritized on X, saying it is to stop “lazy linking” — Elon Musk confirmed that posts containing links in their main text are deprioritized on X in a revelation that renews criticism that the platform …

Jason Zinoman / New York Times:

A look at Disney's plans to compete with Netflix in standup comedy through Hulu, emphasizing quality over quantity while largely avoiding controversy — Under the Hulu banner, the company says it will offer quality over quantity while largely avoiding controversy. Many comedians are ready to give it a shot.

Discussion: Deadline, IndieWire and Comic Book

Ben Smith / Semafor:

Public figures are asking their PR advisers to reach out to podcasters like Joe Rogan and other right-leaning platforms after Trump's success in the US election — The News — Corporate executives and other public figures emerged from this month's election with a new task for their handlers …

Discussion: @cbalfe

Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:

Trade body data: copyrighted music revenue was $45.5B in 2023, above cinema box office spending of $33.2B in 2023 and $41.9B in 2019; record labels made $28.5B — Annual revenues from copyrighted music hit almost $46bn last year, against $33.2bn for cinema

Discussion: Pivotal Economics, Virgo Sillamaa on LinkedIn, Benzinga, CMU, Music Business Worldwide, Will Page on LinkedIn, Music Ally and Billboard

Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:

A UK House of Lords committee warns that UK news coverage is at risk of “fracturing irreparably” within 10 years as people rely on “dubious online sources” — Lords communications committee calls on government to take steps to avert ‘two-tier’ media environment

Discussion: HoldtheFrontPage and UnHerd

Hua Hsu / New Yorker:

A look at Giant Robot, a magazine published from 1994 to 2011 that explored Asian American pop culture and peaked with a circulation of ~27K in the early 2000s — The magazine explored Asian American culture, without dwelling too much on what that meant. — The first issue …

Dominic Patten / Deadline:

Filing: Disney agrees to pay $43.25M to settle a 2019 lawsuit over pay equity for up to 14,000 female Disney employees; the trial was set to begin in May 2025 — We now know how much Disney is writing a check for to end the pay equity class-action suit that has loomed over the company for the past five years.

Discussion: Reuters, Variety, @rwhelanwsj, Wall Street Journal, @barkjack_, The Wrap and TVNewsCheck

Anna Marie de la Fuente / Variety:

NBC News launches its 24/7 streaming service NBC News Now in Latin America in two of its biggest markets, Mexico and Brazil — NBC News' 24/7 streaming platform, NBC News Now, is launching in Mexico and Brazil, Latin America's biggest markets, as it continues to expand across the world.

Discussion: The Desk and TVNewsCheck

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Earlier Picks:

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Experts expect a surge in FOIA requests in Trump's second term, causing more delays and lawsuits; FOIA.gov: as of Q3 2024, the backlog of requests reached 222K+

Discussion: Jason Leopold on LinkedIn, @mvtopic, @mvtopic, @decka227 and @mvtopic

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From Techmeme:

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