Top News:
Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
Sources: the BBC plans to announce a major deal to make bespoke shows for YouTube for the first time, which will later be aired on the BBC iPlayer and Sounds — British public sector broadcaster will make unique shows for the platform and generate revenue from ads overseas
Discussion:
Deadline, The Guardian, Advanced Television, Daily Star, BBC, Cord Cutters News, @pranman.com, RTÉ, Telegraph, nScreenMedia, Reuters and TVBEurope
Financial Times:
OpenAI plans to test ads below ChatGPT replies for users of free and Go tiers in the US; source: OpenAI expects to make “low billions” from ads in 2026 — $500bn start-up seeks ways to fund expansion and fend off competition from rivals Google and Anthropic
Discussion:
CNBC, Bloomberg, The Verge, Axios, OpenAI, Türkiye Today, NewsMax.com, 9to5Mac, Reuters, Fast Company, PCMag, The Decoder and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »
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Maxwell Zeff / Wired:
OpenAI will match ads to conversation topics using some personalization data, but claims it will not sell user data or expose user conversations to advertisers — OpenAI says ads will not influence ChatGPT's responses, and that it won't sell user data to advertisers.
Jeremy Barr / The Guardian:
Some CBS News staffers expressed deep skepticism about a story that used unnamed sources to report that the ICE officer who shot a woman had “internal bleeding” — Anonymously sourced report that Jonathan Ross ‘suffered internal bleeding’ after killing Renee Good faced skepticism inside CBS newsroom
Discussion:
Status, @murshedz.bsky.social, @truxmintinbox.bsky.social, @red-sparrows.bsky.social, The Independent, Newser, Mediaite, TV Insider, @rachelbitecofer, @deanobeidallah.bsky.social, @portlandken.bsky.social, @tbonier, @charliesaito22.bsky.social, @jeffjarvis@mastodon.social, @shonamurray.bsky.social, @lebassett, @eddwilson.bsky.social, @olganyc1211, Raw Story, @callyson.bsky.social, @markfollman.bsky.social, @sarcasmodemiami.bsky.social, @skewray@mathstodon.xyz, @furtherexchange.bsky.social, @2xaught7.ing, @nitishpahwa.com, @adamisacson.com, @peterflaire.bsky.social, @poniewozik.bsky.social, @adamweinstein.bsky.social, @jessehawken.bsky.social, @bgrueskin.bsky.social, @robertscotthorton.bsky.social, Blaze Media, NBC News, Raw Story, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Wonkette
Mike Fleming Jr / Deadline:
Q&A with Kathleen Kennedy about the highs and lows of her 14 years at Lucasfilm, going back to producing, the future of Star Wars, exploring AI tools, and more — She's handing the reins to her longtime lieutenants. The Disney division will be run by Chief Creative Officer Dave Filoni …
Discussion:
Screen Rant, /Film, The Wrap, Forbes, GeekTyrant, Kotaku, CinemaBlend, Gizmodo, Comic Book, @thespaceshipper.com, @republ33k.bsky.social, @ericjgeller.com, Polygon.com, Barron's Online, World of Reel, @dailycosmicmarvel.bsky.social, Puck, Paste, Collider, Fortune, Screen and The Hollywood Reporter
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Brooks Barnes / New York Times:
Kathleen Kennedy is stepping down as the president of Lucasfilm after nearly 14 years and will be succeeded by the studio's Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan
Kathleen Kennedy is stepping down as the president of Lucasfilm after nearly 14 years and will be succeeded by the studio's Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan
Discussion:
Screen Rant, Dexerto, @benfritz, @benfritz, GeekTyrant, LaineyGossip, Comic Book, Deadline, Mashable, MediaBrief, @thewrap, Daily Mail, BBC, Entertainment Weekly, Cord Cutters News, Engadget, Forbes, TMZ.com, Collider, Empire, Financial Times, Variety, Daily Disney News, @ericjgeller.com, Polygon.com, Consequence, The Verge, Reuters, Gizmodo, The Wrap, CinemaBlend, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Wrap, heise online and Just Jared
Nicole Sperling / New York Times:
Q&A with Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos about the $83B WBD bid, Trump's involvement in the deal, maintaining a 45-day theatrical window for WBD releases, and more — The company's co-chief executive sat down for an extensive interview for the first time since announcing plans to buy Warner Bros. Discovery's film and TV business.
Discussion:
StreamTV Insider, /Film, The Wrap, Variety, The Verge, The Hollywood Reporter, Screen, Deadline, GamesRadar, Far Out Magazine, Media Play News, Screen Rant, Inc, PR Daily, Spyglass, Engadget, @tvgrimreaper, @dannygroner.bsky.social, World of Reel and Android Headlines, more at Techmeme »
Washington Post:
The Pentagon says Stars and Stripes will move “away from woke distractions” and cease publishing AP “reprints”; its EIC says he'll work to save its independence — Plans for more Defense Department control surface after job applicants were asked about their commitment to President Donald Trump's policies.
Discussion:
Stars & Stripes, The Guardian, CNN, @seanparnellasw, PEN America, Mediaite, @buckyrea.bsky.social, @defensebaron, @freedomofpress@social …, NBC News, @blackforestcyclist …, @brucedlittle.bsky.social, @danlamothe, @caitlindoornbos, @reichlinmelnick, @idreesali114, @danlamothe, @rarmyreddit, @ktoropin, DeeDee Doke on LinkedIn, @jimlaporta, @defensebaron, @kimmasters.bsky.social, @brianstelter, @starsandstripes.bsky.social, @chadstanton.blacksky.app, @laurenmeidasa.bsky.social, @altnatarchives.altgov.info, @attorneynora.bsky.social, @rjohnston4, @wyattderpy, @53856ted, @friendspancakes, @angrydonkeynews.bsky.social, @hcrichardson.bsky.social, Politico, New York Times, New York Post, Newser, @dearlstephens.bsky.social, The Daily Wire, The Hill, NOTUS, Associated Press, Fox News, @sodrock.bsky.social, @terigoodson.bsky.social, NewsMax.com, @scottnover.bsky.social, Washington Times, New York Daily News and r/Journalism
Todd Spangler / Variety:
YouTube adds over 100 full episodes from previous seasons of Sesame Street and also hosts an expanded library of Sesame Street content on Shorts — It's a sunny day for “Sesame Street” fans: YouTube, under an agreement with Sesame Workshop, has become the largest digital library for content …
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Condé Nast owner Advance Publications and Vox Media sue Google over its ad market monopolization, following Penske, The Atlantic, and McClatchy — Five major US publishers have filed lawsuits against Google claiming its “deceptive and manipulative” adtech practices seriously limited their potential revenue.
Discussion:
The Verge, Digiday, Search Engine Land, PPC Land and What's New in Publishing
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Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:
Goalhanger now has 250K+ paying subscribers across podcasts like The Rest Is History, who pay an average of £60/year, or an annual subscriber income of ~£15M — Podcast production company Goalhanger now has more than 250,000 paying subscribers across its network of shows including …
Maddy Crowell / Columbia Journalism Review:
An interview with security expert Runa Sandvik on the FBI search of a WaPo reporter's home and seizure of devices, and how journalists should reassess security — On Christmas Eve, the Washington Post published a story by Hannah Natanson, a reporter who works as part of a team covering …
Discussion:
American Press Institute, @agpambondi, Journalism Institute, Democracy Now, The Intercept, CNN, @cjr, Olivia of Troye, International Business Times, NewsMax.com, Reporters Without Borders, Associated Press, JURISTnews, The Reporters Committee …, We Got This Covered, The Wrap, @bgrueskin.bsky.social, New Republic, WebProNews, @runasand.bsky.social, The Onion, @rationaldoge@hachyderm.io, NPR, Townhall, New York Magazine, Washington Post, Deadline, Newsbusters and The Boston Globe
Ben Gose / Chronicle of Philanthropy:
Craig Newmark shifts away from journalism as a primary focus of his philanthropy, saying “a lot of my efforts haven't been as effective as I'd like them to be” — Craig Newmark's philanthropic strategy is shaped as much by what didn't work as by what did …
Discussion:
@sarahscire and @craignewmark.bsky.social
