Top News:
Ryan Grim / Drop Site News:
An investigation finds that OCCRP, which works with major newspapers on scoops like the Panama Papers, is primarily bankrolled by the US and its Western allies — Drew Sullivan is unknown to the broad public, but the head of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project is one of the most influential journalists in the world.
Discussion:
@smaurizi, @jessicalburbank, @yphilippin, @yphilippin, @ryangrim, @yphilippin, @yphilippin, @ryangrim, @yphilippin, @yphilippin and @ryangrim.bsky.social
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Yann Philippin / Mediapart:
Docs: German public broadcaster NDR shelved an investigation it started into OCCRP as part of a consortium due to pressure from OCCRP co-founder Drew Sullivan — After launching an investigation into the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), and after subsequently inviting Mediapart …
Discussion:
@ryangrim
Kat Tenbarge / NBC News:
Some reporters say they are finding more readers and less hate on Bluesky, as Elon Musk turns X into an increasingly difficult place for journalists — Journalists are finding more readers and less hate on Bluesky than on the platform they used to know as Twitter.
Discussion:
@duanedichiara, Dr. Carsten Stöcker on LinkedIn, Alexis B. on LinkedIn, @jayrosen.bsky.social, @bigbluewaveusa.bsky.social, @thechrisbenson.bsky.social, @takethelongway.bsky.social, @americanfietser.com, @alexhuot.bsky.social, @ashtonpittman.bsky.social, @newhercules.bsky.social, Le Monde, @gemmaclark.bsky.social, @grrlscientist@mastodon.social, Boston Herald, The Hill, Press Gazette and Awful Announcing
Sapna Maheshwari / New York Times:
How YouTuber Ms. Rachel, whose baby-focused educational videos get 100M views, has attracted huge interest from toy companies and publishers before the holidays — About a year and a half ago, Laura Henderson, a toy company executive and 38-year-old mother in Toronto, was at the tail end of maternity leave with her second child.
Discussion:
@dru.bsky.social
John Jurgensen / Wall Street Journal:
Paramount co-CEO Chris McCarthy aims to revitalize Showtime by using successful formulas like Yellowstone from Paramount+ and investing in high-profile projects — Before a new owner takes over, the TV brand once known for ‘Billions’ and ‘Homeland’ is working to come up with new marquee hits
Discussion:
@mediaevan
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Memo: TelevisaUnivision will undergo a reorganization under new CEO Daniel Alegre; source: mid to high single digit percentage of staff will be laid off — José Luis Fabila will lead all content globally for the company, which will reduce its workforce by the mid-high single digits.
Discussion:
Deadline
Pamela McClintock / The Hollywood Reporter:
Disney's Moana 2 took $221M in the US during the five-day Thanksgiving weekend, including $135.3M from Friday to Sunday, breaking multiple Box Office records — The Walt Disney Animation sequel sailed into history with a Thanksgiving haul of $221 million, the biggest five-day opening of all time, among numerous other milestones.
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Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Documents: in 2023, LeBron James' Springhill lost $28M on $104M in sales; the production company aims to be profitable in 2024, after its merger with Fulwell 73 — Film and TV businesses started by celebrities have raised lots of money. What's missing are profits — I changed my mind about the newsletter.
Discussion:
Awful Announcing, The Gateway Pundit, @ddiamond, @lucas_shaw and @howielongshort
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Ofcom: the BBC had a 37% share of local news page views in H1 2024 in the UK, up from 26% in 2022; commercial publishers' share in England fell from 80% to 67% — An increase in local news being produced online by the BBC is adding to the “headwinds” facing commercial publishers, regulator Ofcom has found.
Discussion:
HoldtheFrontPage
Columbia Journalism Review:
A Tow Center analysis finds ChatGPT was partially or entirely incorrect in 153 out of 200 quote citations whether or not publishers allowed OpenAI's crawler — ChatGPT search — which is positioned as a competitor to search engines like Google and Bing — launched with a press release …
Financial Times:
OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar says OpenAI is weighing an ads model, but plans to be “thoughtful”; sources and LinkedIn analysis: OpenAI hired Meta and Google ad talent — ChatGPT maker hires advertising talent from big tech rivals — OpenAI is discussing plans to introduce advertising …
Discussion:
MediaPost, @eric_seufert, @lukaszolejnik.bsky.social and @ohmrun@cr8r.gg, more at Techmeme »
Alex Ritman / Variety:
Mubi plans to launch Mubi Editions, a new global publishing arm dedicated to cinema and the arts, in April 2025 and hopes to publish three titles in 2025 — Arthouse distributor, streamer and production company Mubi is venturing into the world of publishing.
Discussion:
Publishers Weekly, The Bookseller and @hannahstrong.co.uk