Top News:
Washington Post:
Sean Hannity's on-air angst reflects the tumult inside Fox News, as it faces a dip in January ratings and renewed scrutiny from the Murdoch family — Since Donald Trump's election loss in November, Sean Hannity seems to have been working through a process, live and on camera …
Discussion:
CNN, The Daily Beast, @brianstelter, @oliverdarcy, TVNewser, @drdenagrayson, @dabeard, @thetowncrier, @riegerreport, @mlcalderone, @ericboehlert, @joshuahol, @chrispolpsych, @jeremylittau, @kbandersen and CNN
Brent Lang / Variety:
Streaming services dominated nominations for the 78th Golden Globes: Netflix got a record 42 nominations across film and TV and Amazon Studios got 10 — Streaming services dominated nominations for the 78th Golden Globe Awards, signaling a power shift in Hollywood from traditional movie studios and TV broadcasters to digital upstarts.
Discussion:
Variety, Variety, Variety, Observer, The Wrap, The Wrap, MediaPost, The Wrap, The Streamable, /Film, Variety, Adweek, @zeitchikwapo, The Wrap, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, WWD, 9to5Mac, The Ringer, @indiewire, @mdrndad, Axios and @xpangler
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Spotify says it had 2.2M podcasts in Q4, up from 1.9M in Q3, 25% of total MAUs engaged with podcast content, and podcast consumption nearly doubled YoY in Q4 — Spotify packed in a strong end to the year roiled by the pandemic, topping forecasts for Premium subscribers to reach 155 million …
Discussion:
The Guardian, RAIN News, Axios, Music Business Worldwide, @kerrymflynn, Bloomberg, @kerrymflynn, @kerrymflynn, @xpangler and Podcast Business Journal
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Anne Steele / Wall Street Journal:
Spotify reports Q4 results: 345M MAUs, up 27% YoY, as paying subscribers grew to 155M, up 24% YoY, topping expectations; revenue was up 17% YoY to €2.17B — But streaming giant offers conservative outlook for the current year as new sign-ups could ebb
Discussion:
Spotify, Financial Times, Reuters, Spotify, @davidclowery, 9to5Mac, @kerrymflynn, @kerrymflynn, @dylanbyers, @paul__armstrong, The Verge, @kerrymflynn and @kerrymflynn, more at Techmeme »
J. Clara Chan / The Wrap:
Gizmodo senior editor Alex Cranz says she was fired for involvement in a union letter and for false claims about performance; Gizmodo calls her claims meritless — Gizmodo's senior consumer tech editor, Alex Cranz, said she was fired from the company last Friday for her involvement …
Discussion:
@alexhcranz, @kellybourdet, @bcmerchant, @jetscott, @alexhcranz, @cecianasta, @jasonschreier, @xoxogossipgita, @lisaeadicicco, @charlespulliam, @briannawu, @film_girl, @joemfbrown, @k_trendacosta, @samrutherford, @whitsongordon, @paleofuture, @annamerlan, @davegershgorn, @halophoenix, @krichbutler, @bombur, @katiecollins, @xoxogossipgita, @vicmsong, @chrisvelazco, @itsdavidford, @harrisonweber, @vksmith, @jlnwrites, @outonalumb, @ballaban, @yessfun, @themadstone and @jasonschreier
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
BBC Global News says it had ~£115M annual revenues for the past five years and is considering a subscription model due to the pandemic's impact — The BBC has suggested it could look into launching a subscription model for its global news services after seeing other news providers try it with “significant success”.
Chase DiFeliciantonio / San Francisco Chronicle:
Hearst releases its first US diversity and inclusion report, says 78% of employees who were managers or above, and 73% of its US employees were white — Hearst, the owner of The Chronicle, released its first U.S. diversity and inclusion report on Tuesday. — CEO Steven Swartz …
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, @bylhernandez and @niemanlab
Meg James / Los Angeles Times:
Current and ex-employees at CBS' flagship station, WCBS NY, allege they worked in a hostile environment, after allegations at CBS' Philadelphia station — ViacomCBS is confronting a widening crisis over allegations of mistreatment in its TV stations group.
Discussion:
@megjameslat, @kerrymflynn and @megjameslat
Reuters:
Microsoft says it supports Australia's proposed new laws forcing Google and Facebook to pay for news content and it would be “willing to live by these rules” — (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp said on Wednesday it fully supported proposed new laws in Australia that would force internet giants Google …
Discussion:
CNBC, Financial Times and The Guardian, more at Techmeme »
Natalie Jarvey / Hollywood Reporter:
Joe Budden launches Joe Budden Network on Patreon, five months after leaving Spotify; Budden will become Patreon's head of creator equity — The podcaster will also work with the company as head of creator equity. — Five months after walking away from his exclusive podcast deal with Spotify …
Discussion:
The Verge, Billboard, Music Business Worldwide and Variety
Jaeah Lee / Columbia Journalism Review:
Profile of Nate Gartrell, a court reporter for East Bay Times, who says the US judicial system has turned into a black hole as local reporter numbers dwindle — If Nate Gartrell doesn't report on police misconduct in his county, who will? — Nate Gartrell flipped through a fat stack of pages.
Discussion:
@johnsimerman, @bluechalkmedia, @mediaactive, @facoalition, @csburt, @mackenziemays, @haleaziz, @tasneemraja, @jon_allsop, @edsall, @katcameron91, @daviddebolt, @awinston, @mgafni, @betsymorais, @jaeahjlee, @grace_lightning, @anniesciacca, @kerrymflynn, @ljfernandez and Columbia Journalism Review
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
Any US legislation to ban anonymity online will be unconstitutional, will not work, and most importantly will put many marginalized/vulnerable people at risk — There's an idea that pops up every so often among people who are upset about misinformation online but don't actually understand …
Discussion:
@mmasnick, @mmasnick, @senatorshoshana, @jeffjarvis, @casuallaw and @dispositive
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