Top News:
Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:
Amid a debate on the value of broadcasting Trump's primetime speech, network anchors responded with several corrections for some of his misleading claims — Moments after President Trump concluded his Oval Office remarks on border security on Tuesday, the NBC anchor Chuck Todd came on air with a blunt assessment.
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Variety, Associated Press, @jeremymbarr, The Daily Beast, CNN, CNN, @erikwemple, @wjcarter, Mediaite, Vanity Fair, @jamesfallows, Media Matters for America, @peterbakernyt, @ddale8, @ddale8, The Daily Caller, @davidfolkenflik, @ddale8, @atticuswest, Mediaite and @brianstelter
Sara Fischer / Axios:
NBCUniversal says it will reduce the number of ads airing during prime time TV shows by 20% by 2020, as it tries to shift away from old advertising model — NBCUniversal tells Axios it's reducing the amount of ads its serves during prime-time even further, and it's looking now at other times throughout the day to do the same.
Discussion:
@digitalshields, @alexweprin, @sarafischer, Adweek and Variety
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Hulu says its ad revenue increased 45%+ YoY to nearly $1.5B, a record for the company — Hulu is keeping its pedal to metal in the streaming TV race: The company said it ended 2018 with more than 25 million total subscribers, a net gain of 8 million for the year.
Discussion:
Hulu, MediaPost and Fortune, more at Techmeme »
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A.G. Sulzberger / The New York Times Company:
A.G. Sulzberger's “State of the Times” memo for employees emphasizes the global impact of the publishers' journalism but fails to address metrics — A.G. Sulzberger to Times employees at 2019 State of The Times address. — One of the most important is that the way people find and engage with news is changing.
Discussion:
@emilybell, @moorehn, @corneliafuchs, @toddlighty, @timesopen, @nicdawes, @jeremymbarr, @jasonabbruzzese, @amychozick and @johnibbitson
Jon Lafayette / Broadcasting & Cable:
Google agrees to add YouTube viewers on mobile devices to Nielsen's Total Ad Ratings, which measures audience across TV, computers, tablets, and smartphones — YouTube mobile viewing included in Total Ad Ratings — Nielsen has reached an agreement with Google that will upgrade its measurement …
Discussion:
Fast Company, MediaPost, Axios, Adweek, @davidwkenny, Axios and Deadline
Benjamin Mullin / Wall Street Journal:
Dotdash, which owns sites such as Investopedia and others created from About.com's remnants, is buying two beauty domains, Byrdie and Mydomaine — The publisher, which owns sites including The Spruce and Verywell, is buying two beauty websites as annual revenue passes $100 million
Discussion:
Digiday, @neilvogel and @moorehn
Mike Farrell / Multichannel News:
Discovery says it has purchased a 71% controlling stake in Play Sports Group, a digital sports media company focused on global cycling — Digital sports media company to help Discovery create global cycling platform — Discovery Inc., said it has purchased a 71% controlling stake in Play Sports Group …
Discussion:
Hollywood Reporter, Discovery, Inc., SportsPro Media, Variety and Deadline
John Reed / Financial Times:
Vietnam accuses Facebook of failing to take down “slanderous content” in violation of cyber security law which took effect on January 1 — Vietnam has accused Facebook of failing to take down “slanderous content” and said it was considering withholding money for some advertising paid …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Channel NewsAsia, @ericgoldman, @nprashley, @tostevinm, @wrgeography, @johnreedwrites and vietnamnews.vn
Colby Hall / Mediaite:
CNN's Chris Cillizza, who is frequently criticized on Twitter for his political hot takes, wrote over 900 articles in 2018 and drove over 360M global page views — Chris Cillizza deserves a break. — The former Washington Post columnist turned creator of voluminous content both on CNN's airwaves …
Discussion:
@ashleyfeinberg, @anamariecox, @yashar, @ashleyfeinberg, @garylegum, @hashtaggriswold, @dellcam, @abensonij, @anamariecox, @mirandayaver and CNN
Mollie Leavitt / The Idea:
Interview with Skift founder Rafat Ali on company growth to 60 staffers, media business models, and the choice of travel, dining, and wellness as verticals — This week, The Idea caught up with Rafat Ali. Rafat co-founded Skift, a B2B publication that focuses on the “leisure” industry.
Discussion:
@atlantic57 and @rafat
Michael Paulson / New York Times:
Lin-Manuel Miranda and three Hamilton collaborators buy NYC's Drama Book Shop and are partnering with the city to find the store an affordable space in Midtown — Lin-Manuel Miranda is already a composer, a lyricist, an actor and an author. Now he's going to be a bookseller.
Discussion:
The Wrap, @playbill, @xeni, @benjpasek, @joshgroban, @roryomalley, 6sqft, @theferocity, @redhourben, @cherylstrayed, @lin_manuel, Playbill, The Guardian, Boing Boing, Fast Company, Curbed NY and Publishers Lunch
Keach Hagey / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Sumner Redstone and his family have agreed to settle their long-running legal dispute with his former companion Manuela Herzer — Herzer to pay back $3.25 million in gifts from Redstone — Media mogul Sumner Redstone and his family have agreed to settle their long-running legal dispute …
Discussion:
@keachhagey and The Wrap
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