Mediagazer: Content recommendation company Taboola says it has agreed to go public via a SPAC, valuing the company at $2.6B and raising $545M (Sara Fischer/Axios)

9:10 AM ET, January 25, 2021

Top News:

CNN:

Larry King, a long time CNN talk show host, dies at 87 — (CNN)Larry King, the longtime CNN host who became an icon through his interviews with countless newsmakers and his sartorial sensibilities, has died. He was 87. — His son, Chance, confirmed King's death Saturday morning.

Discussion: @kingsthings, New York Times, @piersmorgan, @cnn, Poynter, TVNewser, Axios, @cnnpr, New York Times, @craigyferg, Always Be Watching, @missbitcoin_mai, @hughriminton, @jscollinsap, @philippecorbe, @jmileskhou, @booth, @trevinwax, @sapere_vivere, @edborgato, @aeharshada, @derekwatts, @matthwatson, @ajkatztv, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, @nygovcuomo, @ashkan, @karaszewski, @keitholbermann, @annericeauthor, @camanpour, @acosta, @edlavacnn, @davidbegnaud, @sedano, @roybelly, @rolandsmartin, @marclamonthill, E! Online, @marclamonthill, @sruhle, @wajahatali, @bob_wachter, @mariashriver, @anacabrera, @oliverjia1014, @stephaniebusari, @adweek, @brianstelter, @bensherwood, @harrymccracken, @kaitlancollins, @cwarzel, @shinangovani, @madisonsiriusxm, @trevorncube, @kimberleyeleo, @ddayen, @sagaftrafound, @markwarner, @trevorncube, @edlavacnn, @wakeupsheeeep, @raysteelertv6, @adweek, Associated Press, @karaszewski, @dcsportsbog, @theryanparker, @mastertes, @georgetakei, @nytimes, @jeffreygoldberg, @philrosenthal, Mononym Mythology, @sizwedhlomo, @shimonpro, @edlavacnn, @ocktalks, @scottwthr, @viaalana, @thr, Larry King, @markdevenport, @oliverdarcy, @patkiernan, @virsanghvi, RT, ScreenRant, The Guardian, The A.V. Club, Ad Age, Slate, Washington Post, /Film, Vox, BBC, Daily Mail, Sky News, NBC News, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, The Guardian and Los Angeles Times

Marisa Sarnoff / Mediaite:

NYT reportedly cancels the contract of an editor after her tweets about having “chills” watching Biden's plane land drew criticism, mostly from conservatives — The New York Times has reportedly terminated the contract of an editor who tweeted that she had “chills” …

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Content recommendation company Taboola says it has agreed to go public via a SPAC, valuing the company at $2.6B and raising $545M — Taboola, the content recommendation company known best for the chum box ads at the bottom of publishers' websites, has agreed to merge with special purpose …

Discussion: TechCrunch, Business Insider, New York Times, Adweek, Bloomberg, @m_delamerced, CNBC, @sam_baker, @sarafischer, Taboola Blog, @silvermanjacob, @mdudas, Reuters and contextisking.com, more at Techmeme »

Robert P. Baird / Columbia Journalism Review:

An in-depth look at Laurene Powell Jobs' Emerson Collective, which a source says has spent $250M on journalism, buying stakes in The Atlantic, Axios, and others — With the Emerson Collective, Laurene Powell Jobs is becoming a force in American media. What is she trying to achieve?

Discussion: @cjr, @pennyriordan1, @_meher, @raju, @mathewi, @teddyschleifer, @zunguzungu and @cjr

Archie Bland / The Guardian:

Emails suggest members of Rolling Stone's influencer network, who pay $2K in fees, can have their content published; Rolling Stone says it labels the content — Emails from ‘best-known entertainment media outlet’ invite ‘Culture Council’ to pay for chance to publish on website

Meg James / Los Angeles Times:

Inside CBS' fraught investigation into allegations of racism and misogyny on the part of CBS Television Stations President Peter Dunn and another senior exec — Gripped by scandal in the summer of 2018, CBS came up with a way to contain the crisis. — The television giant's board hired …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, @latimes, @davidcayj, @mattdpearce, @deggans, @latimes and @megjameslat

Jason Gurwin / The Streamable:

WWE Network and NBC's Peacock sign a deal for exclusive streaming rights for WWE Network content in the US from March 18 — Wrestling fans will have a new way to stream WWE Network starting in March. Peacock has reached a deal that will bring exclusive streaming rights to WWE Network in the U.S. to the service.

Discussion: Variety, Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Axios, The Wrap, The Wrap, @sherman4949, Hollywood Reporter, PR Newswire, TVLine, @notsam, @perlberg, @xpangler and @vishal1mehra, Thanks:@thestreamable

Russell Contreras / Axios:

Ex-CNN exec S. Mitra Kalita and PA radio exec Sara Lomax-Reese launch URL Media, a newsletter seeking to expand local news on Black and brown communities — Former CNN executive S. Mitra Kalita and Philadelphia radio executive Sara Lomax-Reese have launched a newsletter seeking to expand local news …

USAGM:

USAGM's acting CEO replaces the heads of RFE/RL, RFA, and Middle East Broadcasting Networks and three board directors named by Pack days before his resignation — WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) Acting Chief Executive Officer Kelu Chao has replaced …

Discussion: @davidfolkenflik, @vermontgmg, The Hill, @davidfolkenflik, @ilangoldenberg, @byronyork, NPR, Politico and New York Times

Alexander Gladstone / Wall Street Journal:

AMC Entertainment says it signed deals for $917M in funding to survive the COVID-19 pandemic for months and avoid bankruptcy — World's largest movie theater chain buys time with debt and equity deals as it continues to burn cash during the Covid-19 pandemic

Discussion: Variety, New York Times, Business Wire and Sunday Snapshots

Gerry Smith / Bloomberg:

Beyond unhappy customers and claims of censorship, cable providers won't drop networks like Fox News due to FCC statutes, leased access, programming leverage — - Comcast has limited ability to ditch competing news channels — Smaller networks like Newsmax could pay for distribution

Discussion: Washington Post, @sulliview, Baer in Mind, @justinhendrix, Three Arrows Blog, @guypbenson, @postopinions and @newsynick

Chris Erik Thomas / Study Hall:

A deep dive into NYT's crossword puzzle, as long time editor Will Shortz has been slow to address cultural changes and diversify its constructors and editors — Despite decades worth of missteps and competition from a growing indie scene, the Times puzzle is slow to change.

Discussion: @michaelluo, @kerrymflynn and @niemanlab

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Caitlin L. Chandler / Columbia Journalism Review:
In Germany, the publication and court-ordered retraction of articles alleging sexual abuse raise questions about the right to privacy vs. press freedom

Discussion: @rosao_hara, @laloeffelstiel, @legalnomads, @sesmith, @laloeffelstiel, @davidmackau, @leahlibresco and @katiejmbaker

Julia Alexander / Musings on Mouse:
Studios must find a way to make movies that both grow subscribers and work for the huge box office in China, where their streaming services likely won't launch

Discussion: @loudmouthjulia

Todd Spangler / Variety:
MoffettNathanson survey: 62% of Apple TV+ subscribers were on free offers in Q4 2020, only 30% said they plan to renew at the regular $4.99/month price

Discussion: The A.V. Club, Cord Cutters News, @tealambition, @kipjmooney, @colettelala, @lanceulanoff, @tvgrimreaper, @xpangler and @mrtvstud

Marc Tracy / New York Times:
The New Yorker returns National Magazine Award for a 2018 story after its investigation found that the main subjects deceived the author and its fact-checkers

Discussion: @mantzarlis and @brianstelter

Chuck Lindell / Austin American-Statesman:
Texas Supreme Court clears the way for four defamation lawsuits from Sandy Hook parents to proceed against Alex Jones and Infowars

Earlier Picks:

Byron Kaye / Reuters:
Google classifies an Australian regional gov't PR site as a news source, a first for the country and illustrative of gaps left by the loss of smaller outlets

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, @_a_y_o_o and @reuters

Dan Rather / Steady:
Dan Rather, who built a large Facebook audience in recent years after his career in TV news, joins Substack

Discussion: @danrather, @martinrather and @kantrowitz

J. Clara Chan / The Wrap:
Tom Brokaw, who anchored NBC Nightly News from 1982 to 2004, announced on Friday that he is retiring from the network after 55 years

Discussion: @meetthepress, The Guardian, @yahooent, @abcworldnews, @usatoday, @brianstelter and @danrather

Wall Street Journal:
Comcast's NBCUniversal is shutting down its sports cable channel, NBCSN, at the end of the year and moving much of its programming to USA network

Eric Boehm / Reason:
WaPo updated an article about Kamala Harris from July 2019 by removing an anecdote where she jokingly compared life on the campaign trail to jail

Discussion: Washington Post, @read_n_learn, Snopes.com, @levinejonathan, @hansmahncke, @benyt, Wide World of News and @reason

Zoe Greenberg / The Boston Globe:
Boston Globe launches Fresh Start, an initiative that will allow individuals to ask the paper to update or anonymize past coverage of them online

From Techmeme:

Jody Godoy / Reuters:
Filing: Apple asks to participate in the remedial phase of Google's US antitrust case, saying it can't rely on Google to defend their revenue-sharing agreements

Bloomberg:
Iran's Supreme Council of Cyberspace approves lifting its ban on “certain widely used foreign platforms”, naming WhatsApp and Google Play as the first two apps

The Information:
Two major China-based Amazon merchants say Amazon reps have recently been offering incentives like free ads and lower commissions if they stop selling on Temu

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