Top News:
Liam Scott / Voice of America:
RSF says 23 journalists were jailed in Syria and 10 others were missing as of December 9; press freedom groups call for accountability for Assad's government — When news broke about the fall of President Bashar al-Assad's government in Syria this week, photojournalist Paul Conroy found himself thinking …
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Ellen Nakashima / Washington Post:
The rebel group that now runs Syria's government says the search for Austin Tice, abducted in 2012, is ongoing and offers to “cooperate directly” with the US — Biden administration officials say that, for now, it is too dangerous to deploy personnel to look for the missing American …
Discussion:
Middle East Eye, Reporters Without Borders, New York Times, HuffPost and Los Angeles Times
Katie Kilkenny / The Hollywood Reporter:
The WGA demands studios take “immediate legal action” against companies that used writers' work to train AI, in a letter to CEOs of Disney, Netflix, and others — The union is arguing that tech companies “looted the studios' intellectual property” while Hollywood's major companies stood by.
Katie Robertson / New York Times:
Sources: Patrick Soon-Shiong told LA Times opinion leaders not to publish an editorial critical of Trump's cabinet picks without publishing an opposing view — Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong's public comments and actions, including recently blocking an editorial weighing in on President-elect Trump's cabinet picks …
Discussion:
The Wrap, @jeffgreco.com, @damon.kiesow.net, @justinbaragona.bsky.social, Mediaite, @cephalopod.bsky.social, @katekilla.bsky.social, @scottjohnson.wtf, @ashtonlattimore.bsky.social, The Present Age, @emilybell.bsky.social, @jamellebouie.net, @rmac.bsky.social, @noahshachtman.bsky.social, @katierobertson.bsky.social and @edmundlee.bsky.social
Aidan Ryan / The Boston Globe:
Boston NPR affiliate WBUR to cancel Radio Boston, its midday show that spent 15 years on air, and move its staff to a new production team focused on local news — Boston NPR news station WBUR is canceling “Radio Boston,” its midday show focused on local affairs, as part of an overhaul of its schedule and coverage.
Discussion:
WBUR
Mauro Orru / Wall Street Journal:
The UK CMA opens a formal probe into BlackRock's acquisition of UK data provider Preqin over concerns that the £2.55B deal could stifle competition in the UK — A decision is due by Feb. 12 on whether the deal warrants an in-depth investigation — British antitrust officials …
Discussion:
Reuters
Ben Mullin / @benmullin:
Memo: Chuck Lane, deputy opinion editor for The Washington Post, is leaving the newspaper after 24 years to join The Free Press — News: Chuck Lane, deputy opinion editor for The Washington Post, is leaving the newspaper. He'll be joining The Free Press, I'm told.
Discussion:
@bariweiss, @bariweiss, @edmorrissey and @benmullin
Taylan Bilgic / Bloomberg:
Turkey's antitrust regulator fines Google $75M in an ad tech probe, says the company favored its own supply-side platform at the expense of its rivals — Turkey's antitrust regulator fined Google 2.61 billion liras ($75 million), saying the company provided an unfair advantage to its own supply-side platform at the expense of rivals.
Discussion:
Daily Sabah
Pew Research Center:
A survey of US teens aged 13 to 17 shows 73% use YouTube daily, 57% TikTok, 50% Instagram, and 20% Facebook; 17% use X daily, down from 23% in 2022 — YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat remain widely used among U.S. teens; some say they're on these sites almost constantly
Discussion:
Michelle Faverio on LinkedIn, PCMag, Social Media Today, @johngramlich, @npmigreg@threads.net, @mcuban.bsky.social, Business Insider, WUSA, The Information, TechCrunch, @scriban.bsky.social, @rayminehane.bsky.social, @conradhackett.bsky.social, @faineg.bsky.social and The Verge, more at Techmeme »
Patrick Coffee / Wall Street Journal:
The failure of the Kroger-Albertsons merger likely curbs the companies' efforts to grow digital ad businesses to compete better with bigger rivals like Walmart — The combined company would have competed more with Walmart for ad dollars, industry observers say
Jennifer Maas / Variety:
In a strategy change, Netflix plans to make its Squid Games battle royale game available for free to non-members for a limited time after its December 17 launch — Netflix is going against its tradition of paywalling its steadily growing offering of mobile games by making its upcoming …
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck, Screen Rant, Deadline, Yahoo Finance and Los Angeles Business Journal, more at Techmeme »
Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
ITV partners with YouTube to make hundreds of hours of its programs available on the platform, in a bid to “maximize reach and viewing opportunities” — Partnership is latest sign of diminishing importance of traditional TV platforms in favour of social media channels
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck, The Media Leader, Irish News, Broadband TV News, Advanced Television and Deadline
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Warner Bros. Discovery announces a restructuring to create two separate units: one for linear TV networks and one for production studios and streaming platforms — The maneuver was unveiled just days after Comcast said it planned to spin off the bulk of its NBCUniversal cable networks …
Discussion:
Business Insider, Warner Bros. Discovery, @sherman4949, @willmckinley, @asharma, @bristei, @bristei, @tvgrimreaper, @brianstelter, @brianstelter, Deadline, Brian Steinberg on LinkedIn, Business Insider, Barrett Media, TVNewsCheck, @pkafka@threads.net, New York Post, Cord Cutters News, Benzinga, Yahoo Finance, The Hill, Broadband TV News, Bloomberg, The Wrap, The Information, @mediaevan.bsky.social, Reuters, Advanced Television, CNBC, LightShed Partners, The Verge, WORLD SCREEN and Barron's Online
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Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
BuzzFeed reaches a deal to sell Hot Ones owner First We Feast for $82.5M in cash to a consortium of investors led by an affiliate of Soros Fund Management — The sale, to a group that includes the show's host, Sean Evans, and Soros Fund Management, will allow BuzzFeed to pay down tens of millions of dollars in debt.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, @jusaire, @lanceulanoff, @pkafka, @maxwelltani, @sizpatel, @benmullin, @pkafka, AV Club, Tubefilter, Bloomberg, @derekberes.bsky.social, Samantha Tomaszewski on LinkedIn, Business Insider, Forbes, Nicholas Schonberger on LinkedIn, The Wrap, @pkafka@threads.net, @ernie.tedium.co, @katienotopoulos.bsky.social, Deadline, The Information, @katienotopoulos.bsky.social and The Hollywood Reporter
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Todd Spangler / Variety:
BuzzFeed says selling First We Feast will cut its outstanding debt by $89M to $30M and let it operate with a cash balance larger than its total outstanding debt
Discussion:
Cele|bitchy, Daily Star, Scott Rosman on LinkedIn, Fox News, Digiday, The Desk, The Daily Caller, Brian Samuels on LinkedIn, Adweek, Karim Lateef on LinkedIn, Rummel A Medina on LinkedIn, Todd Spangler on LinkedIn, BuzzFeed, Inc., NBC News, Reuters, Benzinga, Just Jared, Oh No They Didn't!, Rich Antoniello on LinkedIn, New York Daily News and The Verge
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