Top News:
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, BBC, Status, Associated Press, Telegraph, The American Spectator, @jayrosen_nyu, @number10cat, @benhabib6, @trobinsonnewera, Megyn Kelly, GB News, TV Blackbox, @jacobnyrup.bsky.social, PBS NewsHour, 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, Reuters, HuffPost, The Guardian, Telegraph, BBC, @markmcgeoghegan.bsky.social, ZeroHedge News, Agence France-Presse, UPI, Deseret News, Breitbart, Washington Post, Washington Examiner, The Hill, Courthouse News Service, The Gateway Pundit, GZERO, The American Bazaar and 9News
RELATED:
Jake Kanter / Deadline:
At an all-hands, BBC chair Samir Shah dismissed concerns of a Conservative coup at the BBC as “fanciful”; source: Gibb did not want DG Tim Davie to resign
Discussion:
@maitlis, The Guardian, @aljwhite.bsky.social and @karlbode.com
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”
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:
Sky News, GB News, New Statesman, Mirror and @jakekanter.bsky.social
Michael Savage / The Guardian:
Inside the downfall of the BBC's top bosses: many see their departure as part of a wider political effort to shift BBC reporting to the right on key issues
Inside the downfall of the BBC's top bosses: many see their departure as part of a wider political effort to shift BBC reporting to the right on key issues
Discussion:
FRESH HELL Tina Brown's Diary, Byline Times, @dgcassidy.bsky.social, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters, Advanced Television, Michael Markovitz on LinkedIn, @ianfraser.bsky.social, @mc00.bsky.social, Semafor, @dangillmor@mastodon.social, @sundersays.bsky.social, Wall Street Journal, Goodall and Good Luck, Financial Times and Broadband TV 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
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 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:
Los Angeles Times, The Hill, Straight Arrow News, KDFX-TV, Brian Reed on LinkedIn, Associated Press, Newser, The Guardian, @sobroquet.bsky.social, @kenstonemedia.bsky.social, Marion County Record, @clancyny.bsky.social, @jaredmcclain.bsky.social, @papermarisa.bsky.social, @themountaingoats.bsky.social and PBS NewsHour
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
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Paramount Skydance plans to increase Paramount+ prices in the US starting January 15; monthly rates will rise $1, ad-supported tier will rise $30 to $90/year — David Ellison's Paramount Skydance is planning to spend more on content — and at the same time, it's going to charge more for streaming.
Discussion:
The Verge, WFAA-TV, Comic Book, 9to5Mac, IGN, Barrett Media, How-To Geek, CinemaBlend, masslive.com, Tom's Guide, Mashable, @char2025.bsky.social, Awful Announcing, WPXI-TV, Advanced Television, Broadband TV News, Streaming Better, PCMag, Beebom, MacDailyNews, TechRadar, Screen Rant, Deadline, The Wrap and The Hollywood Reporter
RELATED:
Reuters:
Paramount says it will invest $1.5B+ to grow its streaming business and revitalize its film studio in 2026; David Ellison says its 2025 films “underperformed”
Paramount says it will invest $1.5B+ to grow its streaming business and revitalize its film studio in 2026; David Ellison says its 2025 films “underperformed”
Discussion:
Business Insider, TrekMovie.com, FOX 13 Tampa Bay, The A.V. Club, Observer, The Wrap, NewsMax.com, Deadline, StreamTV Insider, The Hill, Morningstar, Proactive, Yahoo Finance, Radio & Television …, Los Angeles Times, TVNewsCheck, Adweek, Benzinga, CNBC, archive.ph, Variety, The Wrap, Bloomberg and The Hollywood Reporter
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:
TV Tech, TVNewsCheck and Streaming Better
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
Ben Schoon / 9to5Google:
Puck: Disney offered YouTube the same rates as major distributors, at least for ESPN, but YouTube wants to pay less; Disney is losing $30M/week without YouTube — The YouTube TV and Disney feud continues to rage on, with the latest reporting suggesting that YouTube TV may now be the hang-up …
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 …
Columbia Journalism Review:
A look at censorship at student papers in Texas, Iowa, and Oklahoma; at two colleges, students started independent papers after conflicts with administrators — On university campuses, student papers are fighting their own administrations—and sometimes the government—for the right to report.
Nicole Sperling / New York Times:
FilmLA: in Q3, LA-based commercial production dropped 18% YoY and was 40% lower than the five-year average, leaving a major hole in industry workers' safety net — Commercial production has long been crucial to sustaining entertainment workers in the Los Angeles area. But it continues to plummet.
Discussion:
Matt Miller on LinkedIn and Ali Brown on LinkedIn
