Top News:
Vivian Wang / New York Times:
How China stopped an NYC-based independent Chinese film festival, including pressuring directors and moderators, as it largely erases independent films in China — A showcase for independent Chinese films was scrapped after the Chinese authorities pressured directors, moderators and even a volunteer to pull out.
Discussion:
@mikejjensen.bsky.social, @kooyjan.bsky.social and Vogue
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Kamal Ahmed, who previously hosted The Telegraph's The Daily T podcast, leaves to join Fortune as executive editorial director for UK and Europe — Kamal Ahmed is leaving The Telegraph to join business publisher Fortune as executive editorial director for UK and Europe.
Vanity Fair:
Vanity Fair announces new hires, including Ta-Nehisi Coates as senior staff writer and Adrienne Green as executive editor, plus new contributing editors — Ta-Nehisi Coates, Adrienne Green, José Criales-Unzueta, Marisa Meltzer, and more join the magazine
Discussion:
@vanityfair.com and Daily Mail
Anna Kaminski / Kansas Reflector:
The US county involved in the 2023 raid of the Marion County Record in Kansas agrees to pay a cumulative $3M to three journalists and a city councilor — Record editor says court cases against city continue — TOPEKA — The county involved in a small-town Kansas newspaper raid in 2023 …
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck, New York Times, Fox News, NPR, Brian Reed on LinkedIn, KDFX-TV, Newser, The Guardian, Straight Arrow News, The Hill, Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, @sobroquet.bsky.social, @kenstonemedia.bsky.social, Marion County Record, @clancyny.bsky.social, @jaredmcclain.bsky.social, @papermarisa.bsky.social, @themountaingoats.bsky.social and PBS NewsHour
Adam Leventhal / The Athletic:
Amazon says it is rolling out a tougher approach to combat illegal sports streaming on Fire TV Stick devices, aiming to block apps that stream pirated content — Amazon is rolling out a tougher approach to combat illegal streaming, with the United States-based tech company aiming …
Discussion:
Tom's Guide, GB News and How-To Geek, more at Techmeme »
Michael D. Shear / New York Times:
Trump threatens to sue the BBC over the Panorama edit, seeking “no less than $1B in damages” if he does not get a full retraction and an apology — A lawyer for President Trump said the BBC's editing of a speech he gave was “defamatory.” The broadcaster apologized on Monday for an “error in judgment.”
Discussion:
BBC, Financial Times, El País, BBC, Al Jazeera, Public Notice, BBC, Deadline, The American Spectator, @jayrosen_nyu, Telegraph, GB News, Associated Press, Megyn Kelly, PBS NewsHour, @number10cat, @trobinsonnewera, @benhabib6, TV Blackbox, @jacobnyrup.bsky.social, Fox News, KDFX-TV, IJR, Metro.co.uk, @dankennedy.net, Channel 4 News on YouTube, GBNews on YouTube, CBS News, Sky News, Daily Mail, The Times, TalkTV on YouTube, Yahoo News, Mirror US, The Independent, The Standard, The Guardian, Financial Times, International Business Times, The Law and Policy Blog, The Guardian, @robfordmancs.bsky.social, Mediaite, Time, Benzinga, Screen, HuffPost, Reuters, The Guardian, Telegraph, BBC, @markmcgeoghegan.bsky.social, ZeroHedge News, Agence France-Presse, The Guardian, Variety and Goodall and Good Luck
RELATED:
Max Goldbart / Deadline:
In Parliament, the UK's culture secretary says concerns about the BBC are legitimate but some politicians are “launching a sustained attack on the institution”
Discussion:
The Spectator Australia, GB News, Advanced Television, New Statesman, Sky News, Mirror and @jakekanter.bsky.social
Jin Yu Young / New York Times:
Bonhams says it sold three Bob Ross paintings at an LA auction for $600K+, with the proceeds going to support US public broadcasters, and plans to sell 27 more — Three Bob Ross paintings sold at auction in Los Angeles for over $600,000 on Tuesday, the first of 30 canvases by the artist …
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck, Plain Dealer, The Sun, Straight Arrow News, NBC News and PBS NewsHour
Naman Ramachandran / Variety:
Tencent Music reports Q3 revenue up 20.6% YoY to $1.19B, online music services revenue up 27.2% YoY to $979M, and subscription revenue up 17.2% YoY to $632M — Tencent Music Entertainment Group, China's dominant online music and audio platform, reported strong third-quarter financial results …
Discussion:
Benzinga and Tencent Music
Sarah Scire / Nieman Lab:
Amid US public media funding cuts, a look at how the model of private donations can lead to an audience that's older, whiter, and richer than average Americans — After years of interviews, research, and writing, Laura Garbes submitted the final draft of her book on public radio in December 2024.
Discussion:
Barrett Media, @sarahscire.com, @niemanlab.org and @hanaatameez.bsky.social
Sara Germano / The Information:
Sources: Versant, the NBCUniversal spinoff, is exploring a sale of its youth sports management app SportsEngine; NBC bought SportsEngine in 2016 — Versant, Comcast's planned spinoff of its cable channels, is exploring a sale of its youth sports management app, SportsEngine, people familiar with the matter said.
Discussion:
The Wrap
Matthew Keys / TheDesk.net:
DirecTV launches DirecTV Elect, an AI-driven political ad platform offering access to CTV ad inventory across DirecTV and US cable networks — Political advertising has been a cash cow of the local broadcast television industry for decades. Now, satellite and streaming TV provider DIRECTV is hoping to chip away at that lead.
Discussion:
Radio & Television …, TV Tech, TVNewsCheck and Streaming Better
Matthew Keys / TheDesk.net:
Montreal-based music and video distributor Stingray Group is acquiring TuneIn for up to $175M, in a deal expected to close by the end of 2025 — TuneIn, a streaming audio and radio platform that offers access to hundreds of thousands of live music streams, is being acquired by Stingray Music …
