Top News:
Max Tani / @maxwelltani:
Memo: WaPo's Matt Murray lays out plans for WP Ventures, the “third newsroom”; Krissah Thompson will be editor and Samantha Henig will be general manager — New: In a note to staff, WaPo lays out details about the third newsroom, WP Ventures. The company announces that Krissah Thompson will lead WP Ventures, Samantha Henig will be GM. Video, audio, newsletters, special initiatives, other verticals will be part of WP Ventures. [image]
Discussion:
Talking Biz News, The Wrap, @bybethrankin, @davidfolkenflik, @benmullin, @dylanbyers and @benmullin
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Stephen Alpher / CoinDesk:
Rumble announces a $775M investment from Tether and plans to use $525M to fund a tender offer for ~70M shares of its common stock; RUM jumps 35%+ after hours — YouTube competitor Rumble (RUM) is in a deal for a $775 million strategic investment from stablecoin giant Tether.
Discussion:
Fortune, The Information, Tether, Rumble, Inc., Reclaim The Net, Decrypt, The Hollywood Reporter and Benzinga, more at Techmeme »
Leo Schwartz / Fortune:
Sources: CoinDesk owner Bullish fired three editors, including EIC Kevin Reynold, amid controversy over forcing editors to take down an article on Justin Sun — Bullish, the owner of leading crypto publication CoinDesk, abruptly dismissed three top editors on Friday, according to sources familiar …
Wall Street Journal:
Sources detail creative differences between the Broccoli family, which has creative control over the James Bond franchise, and Amazon, which owns the franchise — A clash between the Broccoli family, which has creative control over 007, and the e-commerce giant, which owns the franchise, has put Bond's future on pause
Discussion:
Screen Rant, Engadget, @tvgrimreaper, The Information, The InSneider, BGR, @xenocryptsite, @mannyfidel, Metro.co.uk, Collider, @matthewstoller, @worldofreel, Comic Book, @cade_onder, Esquire, Consequence, The Sun, Deseret News, The Playlist, @jb007_news, @joegalarn, Daily Mail, @thefienprint.bsky.social, @simondowens@threads.net, SlashFilm, New York Post, @jmrivera.bsky.social, The Information, World of Reel, TVNewsCheck, Just Jared, SFGATE and CBS News
Robert Booth / The Guardian:
The UK ICO criticizes Google as “irresponsible” after the company announced plans to let advertisers employ fingerprinting techniques from February 16, 2025 — ICO says allowing advertisers to track digital ‘fingerprints’ will undermine consumers' control over information
Discussion:
Google Help Center, Wired, @eric_seufert, The Information, Ad Age, MediaPost, @simonjharris, @aripap, @robleathern, @drbarnard, @lukolejnik, @iconews, @dmarti@federate.social, Information Commissioner's …, Agence France-Presse, MediaPost, Forbes, The Mirror, London Evening Standard and The Independent
Catherine Komp / NC Local News Workshop:
Q&A with Laura Lee, news director of Blue Ridge Public Radio, on managing a team after Hurricane Helene, focusing on producing info about basic needs, and more — In the early days of Helene, when we spent our nights in the dark and our days clearing debris, one of the only places to get news and information was BPR.
Discussion:
@timcollinsavl.bsky.social
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
Source: producers of My Favorite Murder, which signed a 3-year Wondery deal for $100M+ in 2022, secured a new deal with iHeartMedia; they had sought $10M/year — Plus: music, podcasting and audiobook predictions for the year ahead — Hello, hello. Welcome back to Soundbite for our last issue of 2024.
Winston Cho / The Hollywood Reporter:
The US Senate gives final approval to a bill loosening restrictions on commercial filming and photography in national parks; Biden is expected to sign it — The measure was passed a day after a lawsuit was filed against the government accusing it of censoring speech by making filmmakers pay …
Discussion:
FIRE, National Parks Traveler and Outdoor Life
Liz Pelly / Harper's:
How Spotify used its Perfect Fit Content program to rig its system against musicians, filling popular playlists with “ghost artists” to cut its royalty payouts — I first heard about ghost artists in the summer of 2017. At the time, I was new to the music-streaming beat.
Discussion:
@harpers, @thelarchmage.bsky.social, @briancrain, @iliasalami, @98migrocha, @paperaviator.bsky.social, @philosopher70, Owen Grover on LinkedIn, @future_of_music, @joeyquits, @mrsimonraymonde, @kennytorrella, @zervel, @tsalmoth.bsky.social, @jgrayatua, @elcharlemagne2, @larrypareigis, @calsthoughts, @sr_lazarus, @lawrencedonegan, @carnage4life@mas.to, Cole Davis on LinkedIn, Jacob Sanders on LinkedIn, @jhv85, @sandiptodg, @niurn_writes, @roneilr, @jimmyjacktoth, @glenn_mcdonald, Ethan Holben on LinkedIn, @umaw_, @joeyquits, @1000timesyes, @big_keez, @umaw_, @harpers, @alias_eitel, @diemkay, @karonliu, @rulesdisobeyer, @mossbergwalt@threads.net, @thetonearm.com, @dfeldman.org, @bullivant@mastodon.ie, @caseynewton.bsky.social, @teakagee, AV Club, @draglikepull.bsky.social, Boing Boing, @nightrazor.bsky.social, @bernardzuel.bsky.social, @slowmusicmovement.bsky.social, @kyokokitamura.bsky.social, @robhorning.bsky.social, @trashpandaqc@mastodon.online, @carnage4life.bsky.social, @obrhoff@chaos.social, @dante@masto.posting.haus, @lardmotel@mastodon.sdf.org, @madskjeldgaard@sonomu.club, @alisonwillmore.bsky.social, @paco@infosec.exchange, Futurism, Digital Music News and Associated Press, more at Techmeme »
Michael J. de la Merced / New York Times:
How Britannica survived the Wikipedia era by changing itself into a maker of education software and AI agents, as it reportedly weighs an IPO at a $1B valuation — The encyclopedia maker could have become a casualty of the Wikipedia era. But it has remade itself into a digital learning giant that is weighing going public.
Discussion:
@britannica_edu, Kunal Sen on LinkedIn and Cara Lustik on LinkedIn
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Netflix secures exclusive US streaming rights to the 2027 and 2031 editions of the FIFA Women's World Cup, plans to produce documentaries around the tournaments — The streaming giant will exclusively stream the 2027 an 2031 tournaments, with documentaries also planned.
Discussion:
Cord Cutters News, Inside FIFA, Deadline, Trusted Reviews, @tvgrimreaper, @sherman4949, @sam__carp, Front Office Sports, @austinkarp, Benzinga, Associated Press, Radio & Television …, Jen Gruskoff on LinkedIn, Engadget, Ars Technica, Latest from Tv Technology, Cord Cutter Weekly, KVIA-TV, Digital Trends, The Information, New York Times, Axios, The Guardian, CNBC, Sports Video Group, UPI, Los Angeles Times, Media Play News, Reuters, Awful Announcing, The Sun, Yahoo Finance, The Verge, The Wrap, Barrett Media, Sports Media Watch, Variety, Netflix Tudum, The Sun Chronicle, Sportico, Forbes, City A.M. and TVLine
Maddy Crowell / Columbia Journalism Review:
A look at the erosion of editorial independence at Los Angeles magazine, which was bought in late 2022 by Mark Geragos and Ben Meiselas' Engine Vision Media — The editor of Los Angeles magazine recruited new owners, who promised to invest in ambitious journalism. The trouble was, he believed them.
Discussion:
@maerroshan, @editorialiste, @cjr and @maerroshan.bsky.social