Top News:
John Koblin / New York Times:
Richard Plepler, former CEO of HBO, signs a five-year deal with Apple through his company Eden Productions to produce films and shows exclusively for Apple TV+ — Ten months after he chafed under AT&T's takeover of the network, he reboots himself as a producer in a five-year deal with Apple TV Plus.
Discussion:
@sherman4949, Variety, @koblin, The Wrap, Broadcasting & Cable, CNN, @lucas_shaw, Axios, Wired, @film_girl, Always Be Watching, New York Post, Bloomberg, @grynbaum, @ericjackson, @taralach, @therealdvorak, @9to5mac, @mgsiegler, Engadget, @jimwindolf, @pkafka, @tedgioia, @hshaban, @kimmasters, Deadline, @jasonhirschhorn, @joan_e, @greta, @samsifton, @mgsiegler, The Verge, @garrett_oh, @jonesonthenba, @jakelahut, @dfriend, @felixgillette, @mgsiegler, @mgsiegler, @nicsperling, 9to5Mac and @richlightshed
Charlie Nash / Mediaite:
NYT deletes a tweet calling Eddie Gallagher a “retired” Navy SEAL with a new apparel line while failing to mention his court martial and clemency from Trump — The New York Times on Thursday deleted a Twitter post which characterized Eddie Gallagher, who was charged …
Ben Sisario / New York Times:
Q&A with Jimmy Iovine about music industry's reconciliation with tech in the last decade, why streaming music services are like utilities with low margins, more — The record executive who made the leap to Silicon Valley looks back on the decade in the music business, and sees a major problem on the horizon.
Discussion:
Business Insider, @mattrosoff, 9to5Mac, @yangcliu, @theprophetpizza, @ineverglow, @aservais1, @drgonzo123, @ballmatthew, @alecstapp and Lefsetz Letter, more at Techmeme »
Brent Lang / Variety:
Study: 10.6% of 2019's 100 highest-grossing films were from female directors, up from 4.5% in '18; women co-directed 2 of top 10 most successful global releases — Hollywood's glass ceiling may not be shattered, but it's showing some cracks. — The number of top-grossing films directed …
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Wrap, @amydiehl, Axios, The Hill, VICE, @inclusionists, The Playlist, @ckcinephile, @inclusionists, @moorehn, @apentertainment and ScreenRant
Hamilton Nolan / The Guardian:
A retrospective look at a decade in journalism, from a Gawker alum who reported on media and is now unemployed after Splinter's closure — You won't make much money, your best stories will be forgotten, and you'll be doomed to constant disappointment and despair. I recommend it highly
Discussion:
@alanenglish9, @elanazak, @jackshafer, @jaysunsilver, @davidsirota, @patrickcoffee, @micahuetricht, @scottwamplerbmd, @annakareninaxx, @beervana, @lindakinstler, @gabrielsnyder, @thejewishdream, @stephengutowski, @picardonhealth, @rightaboutbeer, @beervana, @cecilenguerin, @jackshafer, @lukeoneil47, @rightaboutbeer, @mathewi and @danielmarans
Tony Bizjak / Sacramento Bee:
CFO says McClatchy will stop paying some executive pension benefits, affecting 100+ people, as it keeps talking with a federal agency about its pension plan — The McClatchy Co., owner of 30 newspapers including the Sacramento Bee, disclosed Thursday that it will stop paying supplemental or non-qualified executive retirement benefits.
Discussion:
@saemin4655, Bloomberg, McClatchy Co and Wall Street Journal
Scott Soshnick / Bloomberg:
Sources: Endeavor to buy luxury events biz On Location Experiences in a deal valued at $660M, name Paul Caine as CEO; NFL to boost stake in On Location to 20% — - NFL to boost stake in On Location as part of $660 million deal — Endeavor Group Holdings Inc., the talent agency …
Discussion:
Variety, @keithgrossman and The Wrap
Siva Vaidhyanathan / The Guardian:
Boycotting the NYT after Bret Stephens' column would be a mistake due to its important journalism; shaming is sufficient as the NYT cares about its reputation — Bret Stephens' article was ridiculous, eugenicist garbage. But calls to boycott the newspaper won't help
Jason Gurwin / The Streamable:
FuboTV drops Disney-owned NatGeo, FX, FXM, and FXX cable channels and the 21 regional sports networks that Fox recently sold to Sinclair — It's a tough way to start the year for fuboTV subscribers, the service not only has lost Disney-owned Fox networks (FX, FXM, FXX, and Nat Geo) …
Discussion:
Cord Cutters News, MediaPost and Awful Announcing
Alex Barker / Financial Times:
Group M: spending on outdoor ads to overtake newspaper ad sales in 2020 for the first time, with $40.6B spent on outdoor ads, ~$4B more than on newspapers — Spending on outdoor advertising is set to overtake newspaper ad sales in 2020 for the first time since records began …
Discussion:
@robertalanward and @alecmacgillis
Ben Casselman / @bencasselman:
[Thread] NYT reporter tracks his source list for gender and racial diversity, concludes the effort improved his journalism and forced him to be more thoughtful — One of my goals this year was to be more aware of the diversity (or lack thereof) of my source list. To that end, I've been tracking (as best I can) the gender and race of everyone I quote in my stories. In the interest of accountability, some stats:
Discussion:
@jeffreylkatz, @cmonique1023, Talking Biz News, @naomimartin, @kellyperil, @tcwittes and @asteadwesley
Variety:
Comscore: Disney earned 33% of domestic box office grosses in 2019, the first time since 1999 that one studio had such a high revenue share in US/Canada — At the start of the decade, Disney's film business was enfeebled. The studio ran perpetually last or nearly last for domestic market share …
Discussion:
IndieWire, Associated Press, The A.V. Club, @deusexcinema, @adambvary, @lucas_shaw and The Week
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