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:
@bybethrankin, @benmullin, @dylanbyers, @benmullin, @davidfolkenflik, Talking Biz News and The Wrap
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New York Times:
Court docs detail a smear campaign against actor Blake Lively via media articles and social media posts after she accused director Justin Baldoni of misconduct — Last summer, as the release of “It Ends With Us” approached, Justin Baldoni, the director and a star of the film, and Jamey Heath …
Discussion:
IndieWire, TMZ.com, The Wrap, Daily Mail, Us Weekly, Vanity Fair, Fox News, RADAR, @fifilamoura@eldritch.cafe, The Mirror, @rainesford.bsky.social, @mmiedl.bsky.social, @jonfortt, @justsayrad, @stanrmitchell, @femmevillain, @nikelodeon2021, @evanromano, @iwatchiam, @dontlikeacidrck, @suhaunah, @nicolerprause, @claytoonz, @ellysmelancholy, @maria_portugal2, @chloemelas, @temalone, @farhip, @mikeisaac, @nick_field90, @mistershila, @sunsprite33, @effoff1988, @mega2e, @normalguy8, @davidpoland, @simoneumba, @hunteryharris, Full Feed, @aaronhuertas.bsky.social, Perez Hilton, KVIA-TV, E! Online, @charliencontext.bsky.social, CBS News, Teen Vogue, @meredithconroy.bsky.social, Rolling Stone, WBNS-TV, UPI, The Guardian, New York Daily News, Forbes, OK!, @melissaryan.bsky.social, USA Today, SlashFilm, Deadline, SheKnows, Variety, Page Six, Socialite Life, New York Post, Consequence, @mollyknight.bsky.social, @service-worker.bsky.social, Suggest, The Hollywood Gossip, Daily Star, World of Reel, @michellegoldberg.bsky.social, Celebrity News & …, @johnmcquaid.bsky.social, TVLine, Metro.co.uk, @millhousebooty.bsky.social, @karenho.bsky.social, @yourombudsmom.bsky.social, Just Jared, Extra and The Daily Caller
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:
BeInCrypto, Reclaim The Net, Decrypt, Benzinga, Rumble, Inc., Fortune, Tether, The Information and The Hollywood Reporter, 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 …
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:
@paperaviator.bsky.social, @joshgondelman.bsky.social, @mathver.bsky.social, Michael Lewis on LinkedIn, @nanobii.com, @dangillmor@mastodon.social, @mossbergwalt@threads.net, @dfeldman.org, @kevinmarks.com, @harpers, @mrsimonraymonde, @philosopher70, @zervel, @sr_lazarus, @iliasalami, @jgrayatua, @jhv85, @calsthoughts, @rulesdisobeyer, @1000timesyes, @alias_eitel, @future_of_music, @roneilr, @diemkay, @niurn_writes, @umaw_, @jimmyjacktoth, @teakagee, @98migrocha, @kennytorrella, @sandiptodg, @joeyquits, @karonliu, @elcharlemagne2, @larrypareigis, @glenn_mcdonald, @harpers, @briancrain, @lawrencedonegan, @big_keez, @joeyquits, @umaw_, @thelarchmage.bsky.social, @carnage4life@mas.to, @bullivant@mastodon.ie, Owen Grover on LinkedIn, @thetonearm.com, Ethan Holben on LinkedIn, Cole Davis on LinkedIn, Jacob Sanders on LinkedIn, AV Club, @caseynewton.bsky.social, @tsalmoth.bsky.social, @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
Jack Dunn / Variety:
Trump appoints Mark Burnett, the British TV executive who created and produced the reality show The Apprentice, as a special envoy to the UK — Donald Trump has appointed British television producer Mark Burnett, who produced the president-elect's reality show “The Apprentice,” as a special envoy to the United Kingdom.
Discussion:
The Wrap, @realDonaldTrump …, Bloomberg, Deadline, Fox News, Daily Mail, Associated Press, The Hollywood Reporter and The Post Millennial
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:
Fox News, Engadget, The InSneider, Collider, @mannyfidel, @cade_onder, @matthewstoller, @xenocryptsite, @worldofreel, BGR, @tvgrimreaper, The Information, Comic Book, Metro.co.uk, @jb007_news, @joegalarn, Esquire, Consequence, The Sun, Screen Rant, Deseret News, The Playlist, 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
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, Outdoor Life and National Parks Traveler
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:
Forbes, Google Help Center, @ianb@mastodon.well.com, @eric_seufert, Wired, @simonjharris, @aripap, @robleathern, @drbarnard, @lukolejnik, @iconews, The Information, Ad Age, MediaPost, @dmarti@federate.social, Information Commissioner's …, Agence France-Presse, MediaPost, 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:
John Robinson on LinkedIn and @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.
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:
Kunal Sen on LinkedIn, @britannica_edu and Cara Lustik on LinkedIn