Top News:
New York Times:
Sources detail Zuckerberg's sprint to remake Meta after meeting with Trump at Thanksgiving; he no longer wants to keep his views of how Meta should be run quiet — After visiting President-elect Donald J. Trump in November, Mr. Zuckerberg decided to relax Meta's speech policies.
Discussion:
The Intercept, Fox Business, 404 Media, Semafor, The Japan Times, The Post Millennial, People, @accountabletech.bsky.social, Engadget, @brianstelter.bsky.social, @mikeisaac, @slothropsmap.bsky.social, @mikeisaac, @mattrosoff.bsky.social, Business Insider, @bgrueskin.bsky.social, @isaacdovere.bsky.social, @juddlegum.bsky.social, @branzellan.bsky.social, @lauren@mastodon …, Sander van der Linden on LinkedIn, @Khrys@mamot.fr, Forbes, @sheeraf.bsky.social, Gizmodo, @kateconger.com, @laurenshof@indieweb.social, @donmoyn.bsky.social, @eff.org, @matthewstoller, @harrymccracken@mastodon …, @haleaziz.bsky.social, @sydney-bauer.com, @mvario@mastodon.social, @jaredwhite@indieweb.social, @GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social, @h@social.besties.house, Truth on the Market and Breitbart, more at Techmeme »
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Angrej Singh / Axios:
Zuckerberg says Meta's fact-checking was “something out of 1984” and criticized the media for hounding Facebook to clamp down on misinfo after the 2016 election — - Zuckerberg told Rogan, who was a prominent sceptic of the COVID-19 vaccine, that the Biden administration would …
Discussion:
Variety, The Verge, TechCrunch, Townhall, Twitchy, Reclaim The Net, One America News Network, Power Line, Dexerto, HotAir, Breitbart, The Post Millennial, Shore News Network, Deseret News, BGR, RedState, CNBC, The Wrap, The Gateway Pundit, Bloomberg, GB News, The San Francisco Standard, The Hollywood Reporter, Washington Examiner and Daring Fireball, more at Techmeme »
Josh Wingrove / Bloomberg:
Biden assailed Meta over its move to end third-party fact-checking on its social media platforms in the US, saying “it's really shameful” — - President gives impromptu press conference on Friday evening — Biden looks to defend economic legacy with Trump returning
Greg Stohr / Bloomberg:
SCOTUS signals it is likely to uphold the TikTok divest-or-ban law, as a majority of justices suggested they see national security overriding free speech issues — - Roberts points to parent company's close ties to China — Law would ban TikTok on Jan. 19 if ByteDance doesn't sell
Discussion:
Variety, New York Times, @gshans.bsky.social, Android Authority, Mother Jones, CNET, @stevierea.bsky.social, New York Daily News, Fast Company, Scientific American, Courthouse News Service, Gizmodo, @ruddock.bsky.social, @charliencontext.bsky.social, The Wrap, @arozenshtein.bsky.social, The Information, 9to5Mac, Associated Press, Ad Age, MacRumors, Joel Bervell on LinkedIn, Washington Post, Skift, @kissphoria.bsky.social, Law Dork, @mikeroe.bsky.social, Reuters, HotAir, Forbes, Townhall, Vox, Adweek, Politico, Wired, @gshans.bsky.social, @jonbecker.bsky.social, Entrepreneur, Raw Story, Rolling Stone, Al Jazeera, @loudmouthjulia, Wall Street Journal, Arkansas Advocate, freebeacon.com, HuffPost, Semafor, @stevevladeck.bsky.social, @genevievelakier.bsky.social, Blue Virginia, NewsNation, Deseret News, Knight First Amendment …, AV Club, CBS News, Poynter, UPI, Fox News, Newsbusters, Althouse, DV Journal, Kevin Drum, Digital Music News and PhoneArena, more at Techmeme »
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Wired:
A live blog where The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments in TikTok's appeal against the divest-or-ban law — We're tuning in live as the justices consider what could be one of the most consequential First Amendment rulings of the past several decades. — The US Supreme Court is expected …
Discussion:
Deadline, New York Magazine, @mikesacksesq, Reason, @drewharwell.com, Los Angeles Times, @mikesacksesq, @wired.com, Mediaite, @mikesacksesq, @swiftstories, Deseret News, New York Times, CNN, @willoremus.com, @mikesacksesq, @mikesacksesq, The Verge, @mikesacksesq, @mikesacksesq, @mikesacksesq, Amy Howe, Roll Call, @jason_kint, @mikesacksesq, @swiftstories, Supreme Court of the United States, @drewharwell.com, @davelee.me, Politico, Associated Press, @mikesacksesq, @genevievelakier.bsky.social, @drewharwell.com, @davelee.me, The Verge, The Guardian, WBNS-TV, PBS NewsHour, Vanity Fair and CNBC, more at Techmeme »
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Disney, Fox, and WBD say they have agreed to discontinue their Venu Sports streaming joint venture and will focus on existing products and distribution channels — The sports-focused streaming service will not move forward, the companies said Friday. — Venu is dead.
Discussion:
Variety, Deadline, ESPN Press Room U.S., IndieWire, CNN, The Verge, @morningbrew, @ourand_puck, Engadget, Mediaite, @espnpr, @bristei, @jacobfeldman4, @novy_williams, AV Club, @sherman4949, Barrett Media, Rameez Tase on LinkedIn, @dylanbyers, NBC News, @jasoninquires, New York Times, @matthewstoller, The Desk, @compound248, @kaplansportsbiz, Business Insider, Radio & Television …, CNET, @pkafka, @sherman4949, Liz Spaulding on LinkedIn, Ars Technica, Los Angeles Times, Yahoo Finance, Adweek, The Wrap, The Streamable, The Information, WDW News Today, New York Times, TVLine, 9to5Mac, Barron's Online, @welch.bsky.social, Sports Media Watch, Wall Street Journal, Awful Announcing, Reuters, DeepNewz, What's On Disney Plus, AOL, Pocket-lint and Sportico, more at Techmeme »
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CNBC:
Sources: Venu's cancellation came after the companies decided it was better to avoid the risk of an extended lawsuit that could jeopardize bundling in general
Discussion:
Advanced Television, Latest from Tv Technology, UPI, @lionelhutz_esq, @sherman4949, SportsPro, Zachary Block on LinkedIn, Media Play News, Awful Announcing, Light Reading, @sherman4949, Fortune, RetailWire, @morningbrew, Earth breaks yearly …, Streaming Better, Reuters, New York Post, Front Office Sports, Ad Age, MediaPost, Axios, The TV Answer Man!, USA Today and Radio & Television …, more at Techmeme »
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Sources: UFC is looking to get more than $1B a year from its next media-rights deal, more than double its current ESPN contract, which goes through 2025's end — - The mixed martial arts league wants to double its media money — Viewership of the UFC has grown over the last decade
Discussion:
Awful Announcing, @jackwannan.bsky.social and @kirkmurphy.bsky.social
Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: The Washington Post's loss in 2024 was roughly 30% greater than the loss a year earlier, as advertising revenue fell to $174M from $190M in 2023 — Financial struggles and concerns over editorial strategy rattle staffers at the Jeff Bezos-owned publication; rivals poach top talent
Discussion:
@alexbruell, @tvgrimreaper and @alexbruell
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Nexstar's NewsNation and 63 of its stations go dark on Altice cable systems amid a carriage dispute; Altice says Nexstar rejected an interim contract extension — Nexstar said Friday that 63 of its local TV stations had gone dark in 42 markets around the U.S. as a result of a contract disagreement.
Denny Jacob / Wall Street Journal:
Former WWE boss Vince McMahon reaches a $1.7M settlement with the SEC over his failure to properly disclose payments linked to sexual misconduct allegations — Wrestling entrepreneur settles charges he failed to properly disclose payments to women alleging sexual misconduct
Discussion:
US Securities …, Variety, Reuters, @vincemcmahon, New York Times, Fox News, Sports Illustrated, Associated Press, Us Weekly, Rolling Stone, The Hill, Los Angeles Times, ABC News, Wrestlezone, The Wrap, Screen Rant, Front Office Sports, ITR Wrestling, The Daily Caller, TVNewsCheck, ITR Wrestling, UPI, Wrestlezone, TMZ.com, CNN, @brandonthurston, Deadline, Awful Announcing, @davidbix.bsky.social, NBC News, The Hollywood Reporter, Bloomberg and CNBC
Rick Edmonds / Poynter:
Sarah Leach, who was fired by Gannett for talking to Poynter about staffing levels, launches the Ottawa News Network with help from the Tiny News Collective — Sarah Leach, who was fired for talking to a Poynter columnist, launched the nonprofit Ottawa News Network with backing from local sponsors
Discussion:
Nick Reynolds on LinkedIn, @localnewsini, @dankennedy.net and @poynterinstitute.bsky.social
Erik Hayden / The Hollywood Reporter:
Disney commits $15M to various relief efforts following the fires in Los Angeles, and Paramount Global says it will donate $1M to relief organizations — Studios are mobilizing their own response efforts amid the devastation; Paramount Global commits $1 million to multiple nonprofits.
Discussion:
Variety, The Desk, Los Angeles Times, TVNewsCheck, The Wrap, The Mirror US, Adweek, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Deadline, ABC7 and MyNewsLA.com
Cecilia D'Anastasio / Bloomberg:
More than half a dozen celebrity video game streamers returned exclusively to Twitch in 2024, after their multimillion-dollar YouTube and Kick contracts expired — YouTube, Kick offered multimillion-dollar deals but viewers didn't necessarily follow. — Video-game influencers are returning …
Discussion:
Simon Owens's Media Newsletter, @cecianasta and Dexerto, more at Techmeme »
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