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Rohan Goswami / Semafor:
Sources: some WBD investors warm to David Ellison and his top team, after they were reassured that Paramount's Middle Eastern financing is secure — THE SCENE — Paramount CEO David Ellison spent Tuesday morning and afternoon meeting with major shareholders in Warner Bros. Discovery …
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Status, CNN, Poynter, @semaforben, Benzinga, @maxwelltani, Breaking the News, Axios, Business Insider, Daring Fireball, Raw Story, TVNewsCheck, Proactive and primetimer.com
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Max Tani / Semafor:
Democrats warn that their party, when it returns to power, may attempt to block or unravel any Paramount acquisition of WBD due to national security concerns — The Scoop — As the battle over Warner Bros. Discovery grows, two Democratic lawmakers are warning that their party may try …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Telegraph, @maxwelltani, Cord Cutters News and AzerNews
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
CBS names Tony Dokoupil as the new anchor of CBS Evening News as part of a major overhaul under Bari Weiss; Dokoupil is currently an anchor on CBS' morning show — Dokoupil, currently an anchor on the CBS morning show, will lead an overhaul of the evening newscast under CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss.
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CBS News, New York Times, Fox News, RADAR, Forbes, Washington Examiner, The Hill, Newsbusters, Adweek, Breitbart, al.com, Entertainment Weekly, WWL-TV, Reuters, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Washington Post, TV Insider, The Guardian, National Enquirer, The Wrap, HELLO!, Deadline, Mirror US, Wall Street Journal, @dannygroner.bsky.social, TVNewsCheck, TVLine, Barrett Media, Los Angeles Times, New York Post, The Daily Caller, Showbiz411 and The Independent
Todd Spangler / Variety:
YouTube TV plans to launch over 10 genre-specific, cheaper YouTube TV Plans in early 2026, including a Sports Plan featuring ESPN Unlimited and Fox Sports 1 — YouTube TV's base package currently costs $82.99 per month. But early next year, the streaming service will roll out a range …
Discussion:
Engadget, Awful Announcing, TheDesk.net, Los Angeles Times, Deadline, TechCrunch, YouTube Official Blog, Sports Business Journal, Pocket-lint, The Athletic, Android Authority, Sportico, The Wrap, Chrome Unboxed, Wall Street Journal, Media Play News, Thurrott, Business Insider, The Hollywood Reporter, The US Sun, Droid Life, 9to5Google, Front Office Sports, The Streamable, @lucas_shaw, @tvgrimreaper, Cord Cutters News, Streaming Better, Bloomberg and BGR, more at Techmeme »
Kara Voght / Washington Post:
A profile of Brian Glenn, Real America's Voice WH reporter and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's boyfriend, who is giving up his WH gig after the Trump-MTG split — The day before Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene announced she was quitting Congress, her boyfriend was outside the White House.
Discussion:
Mediaite, Daily Mail, New Jersey Online, The Independent, @brianglenntv, @ddiamond, @patcaldwell, @patcaldwell, @juliannemcshane, @kelliemeyernews, @tvietor08, The Hill, @murphyajc and CNN
Bloomberg:
Australia's under-16 social media ban excludes Discord, GitHub, LEGO Play, Roblox, Steam, Google Classroom, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and YouTube Kids — Young teenagers in Australia have been barred from social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok in one of the toughest crackdowns …
Discussion:
Techdirt, Blaze Media, Forbes, @nvbinder.io, @davezatz and CNBC, more at Techmeme »
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Joe Wilkins / Futurism:
McDonald's Netherlands pulls an AI-generated Christmas ad, made by ad agency TBWA\NEBOKO with film production company The Sweetshop, after social media backlash — There's just one issue: pretty much everybody hates it. — This year, McDonald's decided to get in on the corporate slopfest …
Discussion:
Entertainment Weekly, Times of India, Wil Reynolds on LinkedIn, ZeroHedge News, BBC, @joncomms, Newser, Breitbart, eWeek, WCNC-TV, Interesting Engineering, Los Angeles Times, @richarderoeper, @aishamadeit, @chatgpt21, @lukemiani, @writerofscratch, @mattwalshblog, @lucian_armasu, @echotrx, New York Post, @gnoofiest, @peterwildeford, @octanesam, @girldrawsghosts, @saberspark, The Sun, @erulez_23, @andymasley, @jacksfilms, @ronaldmannak, @yfcherries, @culturecrave, @firagawalkwthme, WinBuzzer, TheJournal.ie, The A.V. Club, Gizmodo, Forbes, Digital Trends, The Verge, Kotaku, IJR, Creative Bloq and NDTV Profit, more at Techmeme »
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Spotify will begin testing a feature that lets a user write a prompt for a playlist and receive a unique set of songs based on the user's earlier behavior — Spotify announced on Wednesday that, for the first time, it's giving users more control over the streaming service's algorithm.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Spotify, Engadget, T3 and How-To Geek
Nick Vivarelli / Variety:
The UK's Channel 4 names Priya Dogra as CEO, starting March 2026, replacing Alex Mahon, who stepped down after eight years; Dogra currently works for Sky — Priya Dogra has been appointed as the next chief executive of U.K. public service broadcaster Channel 4, replacing Alex Mahon who stepped …
Barry Schwartz / Search Engine Land:
Google rolls out Preferred Sources globally, letting users customize “top stories” in Search, and launches highlighted links from users' news subscriptions — Table of Contents — Spotlighting subscriptions are coming to Gemini first and then AI Mode and AI Overviews within Google Search.
Discussion:
Android Central, The Information, The Verge, Search Engine Journal, 9to5Google, Phandroid, The Keyword and KnowTechie
Lauren Johnson / Adweek:
Shopify launches Product Network, an ad tool that lets merchants recommend and advertise products on other merchants' storefronts — Shopify is taking a big step forward in its much-watched advertising business. The e-commerce firm is formally rolling out a product that allows its merchants …
Discussion:
Lauren Johnson on LinkedIn, AdExchanger and Search Engine Land, more at Techmeme »
Emanuel Maiberg / 404 Media:
Instagram appears to be generating often misleading SEO-style headlines and long descriptions for users' Instagram posts, appearing in Google Search results — Instagram is generating headlines for users' Instagram posts without their knowledge, seemingly in an attempt to get those posts to rank higher in Google Search results.
Amanda Silberling / TechCrunch:
Reddit starts a limited test of verified profiles, an opt-in feature that places a gray checkmark beside the usernames of notable people or businesses — Reddit is starting a limited test of verified profiles, which places a grey checkmark beside the username of a notable person or business.
Discussion:
Social Media Today, Android Police, WeRSM, The Verge, Reuters, Reddit Upvoted, Engadget and @techcrunch.com
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Amazon plans to let authors offer their DRM-free ebooks in the EPUB and PDF formats through Kindle Direct Publishing, starting January 20, 2026 — Amazon says it will allow authors to offer their DRM-free e-books in the EPUB and PDF formats through its self-publishing platform, Kindle Direct Publishing.
Discussion:
Pocket-lint and Android Authority, more at Techmeme »
Jem Aswad / Variety:
TikTok launches a podcast series called TikTok in the Mix, featuring four 30-minute episodes streamed live on TikTok; the first episode stars Demi Lovato — TikTok is launching a brand-new live podcast series called “TikTok in the Mix,” a four-episode season of conversations with major artists.
Discussion:
Mashable and Digital Music News
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