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Peter Kafka / Vox:
HBO Max to launch in May and cost $15 a month, same as the existing HBO; AT&T plans to bundle free subscriptions for some customers of its other services — HBOMax, WarnerMedia's new streaming service, will feature all of HBO's shows, like Game of Thrones, plus new programing. HBO
Ryan Glasspiegel / The Big Lead:
Deadspin's interim editor-in-chief, Barry Petchesky, who has worked for the publication for 10 years, says he has been fired for “not sticking to sports” — It was a solid bet when The Daily Beast reported that G/O Media management issued an edict to Deadspin to stick to sports …
Discussion:
@barry, @kerrymflynn, Wall Street Journal, The Outline, @gmgunion, Fox News, The Wrap, @dansolomon, The Guardian, @gmgunion, @bubbaprog, @maxkennerly, @megreenwell, Awful Announcing, Washington Post, @ryanlcooper, @stephentotilo, @dansolomon, @libbycwatson, @bruce_arthur, @mlcalderone, @sportsrapport, @catmsilverman, @brianpshea, @dceiver, @maxwelltani, @ashleyfeinberg, @jonbolds, @robneyer, @kentremendous, @sdkstl, @weareyourfek, @taylorcocke and @natalieweiner
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Maxwell Tani / The Daily Beast:
G/O Media Editorial Director Paul Maidment calls Deadspin's focus an “incredibly broad mandate”: “We are sorry that some on the Deadspin staff don't agree” — “We are sorry that some on the Deadspin staff don't agree with that editorial direction, and refuse to work within that incredibly broad mandate."
Discussion:
Sports Media Guy, Mother Jones, Business Insider, HuffPost, @andrewkirell, @shortformernie and @kantrowitz
Kelsey Mckinney / @mckinneykelsey:
Deadspin writer says G/O Media management removed a letter to the readers from Deadspin staff that criticised the recent addition of autoplay videos to the site
Discussion:
@gmgunion, @chronotope, CNN, VICE, @sueonthetown, Awful Announcing, @barry, @williamfleitch, @katiedrumm, @mckinneykelsey, @ashleyfeinberg, Gizmodo and The Daily Beast
Mike Isaac / New York Times:
Sources: over 250 Facebook employees have signed a letter visible on an internal forum that says letting politicians lie in ads is “a threat” to the company — In an open letter, the social network's employees said letting politicians post false claims in ads was “a threat” to the company.
Discussion:
@mikeisaac, CNN, USA Today, The Guardian, New York Times, USA Today, @donie, @carolecadwalla, @sarahfrier, @cnbc, @aoc, Fortune, The Hill, Breitbart, @bariawilliams, @peterwsinger, @mattlech, @davmicrot, The A.V. Club, @thegrugq, Mercury News, @senblumenthal, @wiczipedia, @mikeisaac, @profcarroll, KTLA, @nickconfessore, Politico, @rmac18, @donttrythis, @donie, The Independent, VICE, MediaPost, @wiczipedia, @benioff, @ewarren, @brianstelter, @oneunderscore__, Business Insider, The Next Web, The Verge, Ad Age, RAPPLER, Beyond Search, Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch, Memex 1.1, The Wrap, The Week, Mashable, Gizmodo and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
Jason Gurwin / The Streamable:
Sony says it will shut down its PlayStation Vue live TV subscription service on January 30 — The Streamable is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission when you sign up with our links. — This is breaking news, the story will be updated. — After much speculation …
Discussion:
PlayStation.Blog, USA Today, Variety, MediaPost, /Film and Awful Announcing, more at Techmeme »
Ben Terris / Washington Post:
James Bennet may be a candidate for NYT EIC; he has wrestled with family allegiances, like to brother Michael, but has recused himself from coverage in the past — Michael Bennet is running for president. His sibling James is a big shot at the New York Times.
Discussion:
@justinjm1, @mlcalderone, @shanegoldmacher, @mlcalderone, @drvox, @ashleyfeinberg, @drewharwell and @lam_barrett
John Sands / Knight Foundation:
Local news survey: 45% of Americans trust it “quite a lot” or more; 53% of Americans view it as balanced though 50% of Democrats trust it vs. 27% of Republicans — When it comes to trust, local news media continue to outperform their national counterparts.
Discussion:
Knight Foundation, Nieman Lab, @maryellenklas, The Rural Blog, @newsalliance, @newsbyschmidt, @niemanlab, @brizzyc, @dangillmor and Fast Company
Will Cathcart / Washington Post:
WhatsApp sues NSO Group after investigating an attack that sent malware to 1,400 devices, targeting 100+ journalists and human rights defenders — Will Cathcart is head of WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook. — In May, WhatsApp announced that we had detected and blocked a new kind …
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Sources: NBC News Digital is expanding its staff by 20% over the next year, amounting to ~70 new jobs, and shutting down its digital video studio NBC Left Field — NBC News Digital is expanding its staff by 20% over the next year, an addition of roughly 70 jobs across multiple departments …
Discussion:
Variety, @sarafischer and @oliverdarcy
Committee to Protect Journalists:
CPJ's 2019 Global Impunity Index: Somalia, Syria, Iraq have the worst records for prosecuting murderers of journalists; Philippines, Mexico top unsolved cases — CPJ's 2019 Global Impunity Index spotlights countries where journalists are slain and their killers go free
Discussion:
@joshua__frank, @pressfreedom, @spj_tweets, @dillidurast, @pressfreedom and RAPPLER
Alex Weprin / Hollywood Reporter:
National Amusements has voted to approve the CBS-Viacom merger, which is now expected to close by early December; the merged company will be called ViacomCBS — National Amusements, the company controlled by the Redstone family, has voted to approve the merger.
Discussion:
Variety, The Wrap, Deadline and TVWeek.com
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
70+ female MPs release a letter supporting Meghan Markle and criticizing the “often distasteful and misleading nature” of UK newspaper stories about her — A cross-party group of female MPs have written to Meghan Markle to express solidarity over what they called …
Discussion:
Metro.co.uk, WWD, The Hill, Los Angeles Times, @hollylynch5 and The Guardian
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