Mediagazer: Memo to NYT staff from Arthur Sulzberger Jr., retiring after 42 years: “A 170-year old institution doesn't survive by standing still” (Cliff Levy/@cliffordlevy)

5:30 PM ET, December 31, 2020

Top News:

David Folkenflik / NPR:

Boards of RFE/RL and Radio Free Asia and their chairman Michael Pack have added binding contractual agreements that they can't be removed for the next two years — Michael Pack's stormy tenure over the federal agency that oversees government-funded broadcasters abroad — including Voice of America — appears to be coming to a close.

Discussion: @paulwaldman1, @melissajpeltier, @digiphile, @npr, @urielepshtein, @mollymckew, @mandacollins, @davidfolkenflik, @petersoa840 and @anneapplebaum

Brian Schwartz / CNBC:

Letter signed by leaders of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's news division and editorial board says Michael Pack appointed a board of “inexperienced” partisans — - Leaders of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty blasted the Trump-appointed CEO of the U.S. federal media agency.

Discussion: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, @gkates, @27khv, @davidfolkenflik, @kevinrothrock, @nprinskeep, @joshgerstein, @micheleberdy, @ckummer, @schwartzbcnbc, @schwartzbcnbc and @nickschifrin

Michael J. de la Merced / New York Times:

Alden says it is bidding for full control of Tribune Publishing, in which it has a ~32% stake, with an offer that values the newspaper chain at about $520.6M — Alden Global Capital, which is already Tribune's biggest shareholder, valued the company at about $520.6 million.

Wall Street Journal:

Sources: Alden Global is seeking to buy Tribune Publishing, in which it already owns a 32% stake — Hedge fund already owns 32% of the Chicago Tribune publisher — A hedge fund that owns a big stake in Tribune Publishing Co. is seeking to buy the newspaper chain behind titles including …

Discussion: Poynter, @sueblueswilson, @ehernandez, Media Nation, @benbradleytv, @thenewsan, @mattdpearce, The Wrap, @andrewgiambrone, @carriemelago, @cerconejeff, @fineout, @vellastrations, @garywhite13, Talking Biz News and bookforum.com

Wall Street Journal:

Top nine streaming services to end 2020 with combined US subscribers up 50%+ YoY; US households now subscribe to 3.1 services on average, up from 2.7 in 2019 — From Hulu to Disney+, largest streaming services are expected to end the year with 50% more U.S. subscribers

Discussion: Business Insider, @wsj, @jbflint, @drewfitzgerald, Fast Company, New York Post, Context is King, The Guardian and ScreenRant, more at Techmeme »

MediaPost:

Parks Associates: 20% of US broadband households currently use ad-supported streaming services and 15% us a freemium service, like Peacock — - by Karlene Lukovitz @KLmarketdaily, Yesterday — Twenty percent of U.S. broadband households currently use an ad-supported OTT service …

Christopher Palmeri / Bloomberg:
Over Christmas holiday, Apptopia says HBO Max had ~554K app signups; Sensor Tower says Disney+ had ~2.3M global app installations, up 28% from prior weekend

Discussion: ScreenRant, The Desk, DIRT, The Streamable and TechCrunch

Steve Inskeep / NPR:

Biden's press secretary Jen Psaki on not letting the briefing room become a “platform for propaganda”, engaging with right-wing media, dealing with leaks, more — Toggle more options — President-elect Joe Biden's choice for White House press secretary says she will restore a tradition.

About Amazon:

Amazon plans to acquire podcast network Wondery, which will join Amazon Music — We've signed an agreement to acquire Wondery, a top-rated podcast creator and producer that entertains and educates listeners. — We're pleased to announce that Wondery—an innovative podcast publisher …

Rachel Olding / The Daily Beast:

The 5 female anchors at NY1 who sued for age and gender discrimination say they have mutually agreed to leave the local news station after settling their suit — STARS DEPART — Five female anchors at NY1 said Thursday they have “mutually agreed” to leave the local news station after settling …

Discussion: TVNewser, New York Times, @erinmdurkin, The Wrap, @nygovcuomo, @wigdorlaw, @aoc, @dianafalzone, @galeabrewer, @katie_honan, @s_evangelina, @nycspeakercojo, @jimmyvanbramer, @liamstack, @mcbc, @vanya42nd and @specificny

Todd Spangler / Variety:

ESPN Plus is raising the annual subscription for new subscribers by 20%, from $49.99 to $59.99, and increasing the price of UFC pay-per-view events to $69.99 — UFC fans are going to pay more to catch the promoter's premiere fights on Disney's ESPN Plus streaming sports package next year.

Discussion: The Streamable, Sports Business Daily, @jevan_bay, @thenotoriousmma, @yoda, @mrmwellsart, @trentreinsmith, @seansheehanba, @yay_yee, Gizmodo, The Verge, Awful Announcing and Engadget, more at Techmeme »

Cliff Levy / @cliffordlevy:

Memo to NYT staff from Arthur Sulzberger Jr., retiring after 42 years: “A 170-year old institution doesn't survive by standing still” — “It has been the privilege of my life to support your important work.” — After 42 years, Arthur Sulzberger Jr., one of the most influential figures in journalism in recent decades, retires and says goodbye to @nytimes. https://twitter.com/...

Discussion: @nickkristof and @marclacey

Reuters:

Reuters cameraman Kumerra Gemechu has been detained in Ethiopia without charge; police say they are investigating allegations of spreading false information — NAIROBI (Reuters) - Reuters cameraman Kumerra Gemechu has been held in solitary confinement for nearly a week without charge …

Discussion: @reuterspr

Archived Page Info:

This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 5:30 PM ET, December 31, 2020.

View the current page or another snapshot:

Who's Hiring in Media?

Deputy Ed. - Gen. Assignment Desk, DC — WaPo

EU Technology Reporter, Brussels — Bloomberg

Breaking News Reporter, NY — Guardian US

Harrisburg Reporter, PA — PCBC

Senior Editor - Styles, NY — NYT

Part-time Editor, Remote — Techmeme

Home & Travel Reporter, Ireland — Newsweek

Assistant Digital Editor, MA — Boston Globe

Senior Editor - Visuals (Temporary), DC — NPR

Copy Editor, Remote US — ProPublica

Markets Reporter, NY/CA — Sherwood Media

Staff Writer, MI — Watershed Voice

Food Reporter, CA — SF Standard

Staff Writer, NV — Las Vegas Weekly

Pharma Editor, Remote — Endpoints

Higher Ed. Reporter, Remote CA — EdSource

Politics Reporter, Brussels — Politico

Investigations & Enterprise Ed., WI — Cap Times

Social Strategy Editor, NY — WSJ

Senior Narrative Editor, CA — Cloud Chamber

Editor-in-Chief, NY (flexible) — The 74

Housing Reporter, OK — The Frontier

Writer/AI Content Reviewer, CA — Outlier

Writer/Editor, Remote — Mediaite

Multi Media Reporter, NC — Cardinal & Pine

Afternoon/Night Editor, NH — Keene Sentinel

Education Lab Editor, WA — Seattle Times

Senior Editor, Remote US — PCWorld

State Worker Reporter, CA — Sacramento Bee

Executive Editor, NM — Searchlight

News Assistant, NY — Quanta Magazine

Local Editor, NJ (Remote) — Patch

News Writer, CA — Hollywood Reporter

News Editor/Reporter, KS — Blade-Empire

Add your company here

See Also:

Mediagazer: site main

Mediagazer River: reverse chronological Mediagazer

Mediagazer Mobile: for phones

Mediagazer Leaderboard: Mediagazer's top sources

Subscribe:

Mediagazer RSS feed

Mediagazer on X

Mediagazer on Mastodon

More News:

Cevheri Güven / Turkish Minute:
A YouTube channel run from Germany by exiled Turkish journalists was shut down due to copyright claims from Turkey; one expert blames YouTube's Turkey office

Discussion: Context is King, @doener, @turkishminutetm, @berlinyeni, @berlinyeni, The Times and @csagir2015

Ken Symon / Insider.co.uk:
JPI Media, owner of The Scotsman and other newspapers, has been sold for £10.2M, or around $13.9M, to a new group set up by industry veteran David Montgomery

Discussion: The Guardian, BBC and Yorkshire Post

Byron Tau / Wall Street Journal:
Acting attorney general says WSJ reporter Daniel Pearl's accused killer could be prosecuted in the US if Pakistani courts fail to keep him in jail

Discussion: @bgrueskin, @rohded, @jessepesta, @schoofsfeed, @alanmillernlp, USA Today, CBS News, Reuters, Al Jazeera, The Hill and Associated Press

Elizabeth A. Harris / New York Times:
Association of American Publishers: audiobooks revenue is up 17%+ YoY, e-book sales are up 16%+; NPD BookScan says US print book sales are up ~8% in 2020

Discussion: @sejorg, @nytimesbooks, @pamelapaulnyt, @likaluca, @fidmart85, @bobproehl, @hermionehoby, @jldelbourgo, @scalzi, @magiciansbook, @mariskreizman and bookforum.com, more at Techmeme »

Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter:
Judge rules Viacom shareholders can pursue claims of fiduciary duty breach against Shari Redstone and board members representing Viacom in the merger with CBS

Discussion: The Wrap, @eriqgardner, Deadline and Variety

John Hopewell / Variety:
Comscore: global box office fell between 57%, in the Netherlands, and 76%, in UK, vs. 2019, depending on length of closure and strength of local movie industry

Discussion: Variety

Earlier Picks:

Lisa Richwine / Reuters:
Nielsen: Fox News tops all news and basic cable channels for the fifth consecutive year, averaging 1.9M viewers/day; CNN had its most-watched year in history

Discussion: TVNewser and TVNewser

Dave Lee / Financial Times:
FactSet: Amazon's “other” business unit, which is made up almost entirely of its ads business, will make $21B in revenue in 2020, up 47% YoY

Discussion: @raju, @financialtimes, @tonytassell, @read_cap, @juokaz and @hughhewitt

Jeremy Barr / Washington Post:
Interviews with 15 longtime Fox News loyalists on why they switched to Newsmax, often seeking programming that denies Joe Biden's victory

Discussion: Mediaite, @seanspicer, @dcdianadc, @kirktousaw, @evilgalprods, @kimmasters, @chessninja, @poniewozik, @elise_jordan, @donal_okeeffe, @ericbolling and @jayrosen_nyu

Wall Street Journal:
Unredacted draft version of the lawsuit filed by 10 states earlier this month details a Google-Facebook ad deal that allegedly constituted illegal price fixing

Discussion: @greglinden, @phyllisstein, @bowknowsbiz, @bowknowsbiz, @johnvoorhees, @repkenbuck, @jonspaihts, @bikehugger, @moonalice, @halsinger, @jason_kint, @jason_kint, @jason_kint, @jason_kint, @jason_kint and New York Post

Inside Radio:
Univision sale to Searchlight Capital is formalized, and Wade Davis becomes CEO; FCC granted an exception to a cap on foreign ownership, as Televisa holds 36.1%

Discussion: Variety, The Wrap, Awful Announcing and Radio & Television …

From Techmeme:

Thomas Barrabi / New York Post:
Google fires 28 employees over their participation in a 10-hour sit-in at the company's New York and Sunnyvale offices to protest its business ties with Israel

Bill Toulas / BleepingComputer:
Europol and 19 countries make 37 arrests and disrupt phishing-as-a-service platform LabHost in a year-long operation with help from Microsoft, Intel, and others

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
The US CFPB fines BloomTech, formerly Lambda School, and CEO Austen Allred $164K and bans BloomTech from lending for 10 years over deceiving students on loans

Sister Sites:

Techmeme
Top news and commentary for technology's leaders, from all around the web

memeorandum
What US political commentators are discussing online right now

WeSmirch
The top celebrity news from all around the web on a single page