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Former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz joins OANN to host a weeknight political talk show and co-host a weekly podcast with Dan Ball, starting in January 2025 — Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, who was President-elect Donald Trump's first pick to be attorney general before removing his name from consideration …
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Sources: The Washington Post Acting Executive Editor Matt Murray blocked a story on the departure of Matea Gold, a contender to be WaPo's new executive editor — As the Washington Post newsroom awaits the appointment of a new top editor, its acting news chief intervened to block an article …
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Washington Post, @jackshafer, @seamushughes, @joestrupp, @digiphile, @TonyStark@progressivecafe …, Media Nation, @ktumulty, Status, @farhip, @davidfolkenflik, @oliverdarcy.bsky.social, @jimvandehei, @benmullin, @brunojnavarro.bsky.social, @oliverdarcy.bsky.social, @silvermanjacob, New York Times, @watchdogdiva.bsky.social, @jimnaughton.bsky.social, @chopeski.bsky.social, @kennysmith.bsky.social, @joshuaeaton.bsky.social, @tyleraking.com, @amandabecker.bsky.social, @froomkin.bsky.social, @dangillmor@mastodon.social, @exum.bsky.social, @stphnfwlr.com, MediaPost, The Wrap and Marc Lacey on LinkedIn


Interviews with 30+ current and former PinkNews employees detail multiple incidents of alleged sexual misconduct by founders Benjamin Cohen and Anthony James — The couple who run PinkNews, the world's largest LGBT news website, have been accused by staff of multiple incidents of sexual misconduct.


Sealed doc: Rupert Murdoch failed in an attempt to change his family trust to consolidate Lachlan's control of his empire and lock in Fox News' right-wing bent — A Nevada commissioner ruled resoundingly against Mr. Murdoch, who was trying to give full control of his empire to his son Lachlan …
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The Free Press hires WSJ editor-turned-banker Dennis Berman as its first publisher and president and media product veteran Daniel Hallac as chief growth officer — - She launched The Free Press as independent publishing was becoming more sustainable.
Discussion:
@bariweiss, @matthewkassel, @petersavodnik and Daniel Hallac on LinkedIn


Source: Sony Music removes its catalog from African streaming service Boomplay over late royalty payments; several labels and distributors report similar issues — Multiple rightsholders tell Billboard they have failed to receive recent royalty payments from the streaming service, which has a sizable user base in Africa.
Discussion:
Pulse Nigeria, CMU, Music Ally, @turntablecharts, Music Business Worldwide, @theadeszn, RouteNote Blog and Digital Music News


The News Media Alliance sent the DOJ and FTC an open letter last week urging a probe into a Google Search update that upended affiliate businesses of news pubs — The new policy has left penalized publishers in a kafkaesque limbo, unsure of how to fix their unspecified violations
Discussion:
Lily Ray on LinkedIn, @carlivelocci.com, @markstenberg3 and The News Media Alliance


The incoming GOP-led Congress and White House, with help from Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy's DOGE, could redouble efforts to defund NPR and other public media — THE SCOOP — Last week, Republican Sen. John Kennedy introduced the subtly named “No Propaganda Act.”


Sources: in October 2024, EU regulators asked Google for more information about its secret ads deal with Meta that skirted Google's rules for targeting minors — Regulators request information after FT investigation into partnership that skirted search giant's rules on minors
Discussion:
Skift, Yahoo Finance, Engadget, Benzinga, Reuters and Search Engine Land, more at Techmeme »


Channel 4 Chair Ian Cheshire plans to step down next year, at the end of his first three-year term; Ofcom says a search for Cheshire's successor will begin soon — Channel 4 Chair Ian Cheshire is to step down at the end of his three-year term next year. — Regulator Ofcom …
Discussion:
London Evening Standard, @c4press and @c4press


Over 350 musicians sign Fight for the Future's open letter demanding that major labels drop a lawsuit over Internet Archive's efforts to preserve 78-rpm records — Over 300 artists signed Fight for the Future's open letter opposing the major label-led litigation over the Archive's preservation of 78rpm records


Sirius XM's shares drop 9%+ after the company issued a 2025 revenue forecast below est., plans a cost-cutting drive, and expects to reduce debt by $700M — The stock was down 8.7% to $26.25 in New York trading after falling as low as $25.92, the steepest one-day drop since late September.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal and @specialsitsnews


SiriusXM names Wayne Thorsen as COO and unveils a strategic plan focused on costs, including $200M in annualized savings, and on its car subscription business — The company will also move its marketing and other resources away from “high-cost, high-churn audiences in streaming.”


OpenAI says it will give only a “subset” of Sora users access to a feature for creating videos of a real person using uploaded photos or footage of the person — OpenAI launched its video-generating tool, Sora, on Monday. But the company's opting not to release a key feature for most users pending further testing.
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OpenAI launches Sora in select countries; ChatGPT Pro offers up to 500 videos per month at up to 1080p, and ChatGPT Plus offers up to 50 videos at up to 720p
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