Top News:
Sapna Maheshwari / New York Times:
Brands are flocking to TikTok with dedicated ad campaigns, attracted by its 1B users and its algorithm that can make an ad seem like just another video — Brands are flocking to the platform like never before, drawn by its more than 1 billion users and its algorithm, which can make an ad seem like just another video.
Discussion:
American Press Institute, @nytimesbusiness, @sapna, @frankpasquale, @katherinemiller, @migold, Fast Company, Gizmodo and Insider
Elaine Woo / Los Angeles Times:
Joan Didion, whose career spanned traditional reporting, screenwriting, cultural criticism, and fiction, dies of complications from Parkinson's disease at 87 — Joan Didion, the celebrated prose stylist, novelist and screenwriter who chronicled American culture and consciousness with cool detachment …
Discussion:
@markharrisnyc, New York Times, New York Times, SlashFilm, Observer, The Wrap, @juliaccarpenter, The Week, Al Jazeera, @rrrrnessa, IndieWire, @4thestatebooks, @dastageermuska, @racheldonadio, UPI, @kimjnews, @daveyalba, @elisewho, @sarayasin, Chicago Sun-Times, Insider, @the_60s_at_60, The Guardian, Washington Post, @parisreview, 6abc, @chimeracoder, @latimes, @lindseyboylan, @latimes, @pattmlatimes, @kimjnews, @johnmyers, @hannahcwiley, @paperhaus, @jfmclooney, @condelibrary, @nytimes, Hollywood Reporter and @mathewi
Jill Goldsmith / Deadline:
EU Commission grants antitrust clearance to Discovery's acquisition of WarnerMedia; Discovery expects the deal to close in mid-2022 — Discovery, announced today that the European Commission has granted unconditional antitrust clearance of the company's proposed acquisition of AT&T's WarnerMedia business.
Discussion:
Variety, Broadband TV News, The Hollywood Reporter and C21Media
Rebecca Davis / Variety:
Studio executives and others predict China's film industry will decouple from the global film industry in 2022 as the country turns inward under Xi Jinping — The tea leaves aren't difficult to read: China and Hollywood can bid adieu to any attempts at in-depth cultural collaboration …
Discussion:
Variety, @chineseciv, @fy4chan, @darksecretplace, @penamerica and @sonnybunch
The Economic Times:
India bans 20 YouTube channels and two websites for alleged “anti-India” propaganda from Pakistan, invoking its new IT Act's emergency powers for the first time — India banned 20 YouTube channels and two websites on Monday for allegedly running anti-India propaganda from Pakistan …
Discussion:
@mhbergen, Reclaim The Net, @carnage4life, @evelyndouek, @rahultripathi, pib.gov.in and MediaNama
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Nielsen says it undercounted “out of home” TV audiences since September 2020 due to a “software issue”, and vows to release corrected estimates from mid-January — Nielsen is in the midst of a battle to count TV audiences of the future, but the company …
Discussion:
@epro, MediaPost, @cramersshirt, @jyarow, @bristei, @bristei, @bristei, @maskedscheduler and Hollywood Reporter
Ryan Broderick / Garbage Day:
Analysis of Garbage Day's Substack metrics: 16K readers, about 10% of which pay to subscribe, driven mainly by announcements or coupons, not paywalled posts — Read to the end for a bunch of really good two-sentence horror stories — Tomorrow paying subscribers will get an interview in their inboxes with journalist Michael Hobbes.
Discussion:
@broderick, @hshaban, @broderick, @simonowens, @llegrarosenberg, @cwarzel, @caseynewton and Insider
David Pierce / Protocol:
Interview with Automattic's Matt Mullenweg on working from his always-connected RV, making “the Berkshire Hathaway of the internet”, and betting on open systems — In the early days of the pandemic, Matt Mullenweg didn't move to a compound in Hawaii, bug out to a bunker …
Discussion:
@dimensionmedia, @harrymccracken, @markosaric, @jboogie, @pierce, @automattic and @protocol
Kristina Davis / San Diego Union-Tribune:
US judge orders a podcast to turn over unaired interviews as defendants' rights to due process outweigh 1A rights to protect sources and unpublished materials — Lawyers for six naval officers want the recordings to help defend their clients against criminal bribery charges
Discussion:
@nickochsnerwbtv, @rcfp, @tomwrightasia, @bradleyhope, @tomwrightasia, @tomwrightasia, @tomgara, @benyt, @davecbenoit and @tomwrightasia
Reuters:
Belarus puts Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty on its list of extremist organizations, meaning Belarusian subscribers could face six years in prison — Belarus' interior ministry said on Thursday it has added United States broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty to its list of extremist organisations.
Ari Paparo Dot Eth / @aripap:
[Thread] For media and advertising, Web3's focus on decentralization and tokenization solves few, if any, problems and is the last thing ad tech needs — This web3 shit is starting to annoy me, so here's a thread with my opinions on the relevance to media and advertising. 1/21 🧵
Discussion:
@hisamblake, @aripap, @tswirly, @aripap, @aripap, @hakosam, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @aripap, @rafat, @modestproposal1, @myles_younger, @bd2k, @zachcoelius and @eric_seufert
Claudia Eller / Variety:
Q&A with Bob Iger, as he prepares to leave Disney at the end of 2021, on his disinterest in running another company, Bob Chapek, investing in startups, and more — “I'm being resolute about it — this time around. I haven't once second-guessed it or hesitated," he tells me. “It's bittersweet.
Discussion:
@tvgrimreaper, @mhawk9955, @jesterbestie, CNBC, @variety_cynthia, @williamsjon, @joshgad, @variety, @variety, @tylermooore, @variety, @variety, Puck, Insider, @variety_claudia and The Week
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