Top News:

Memo: The Washington Post media critic Margaret Sullivan is retiring her column at the end of August 2022 and will join Duke University as a visiting professor — New York (CNN Business)Media critic Margaret Sullivan is retiring her column and departing The Washington Post this month.
Discussion:
@oliverdarcy, @sulliview, @oliverdarcy, @bgrueskin, @emilybell, @newsceo, @stuartemmrich, @film_girl, @meredithshiner, @nfl_dougfarrar, @sulliview, @jayrosen_nyu, @mlcalderone, @ericmgarcia, @katzish, @brandonetc, @karenkho, @mathewi, @timjgraham, @lisatozzi, @citizencohn, @jasonabbruzzese, @brandyzadrozny, @ddiamond, @froomkin, @ericschultz, @oneunderscore__, @dansaltzstein, @mollyjongfast, @dankennedy_nu, @malitzd, @deborahblum, @joshuahol, @journalistslike and @markberman

Spotify quietly tests Spotify Tickets, directly selling live music tickets to users in the US, instead of redirecting buyers to Ticketmaster or Eventbrite — Spotify has launched a new site to sell fans tickets to live gigs directly from its platform instead of redirecting users to partners like Ticketmaster and Eventbrite.
Discussion:
Music Ally, Forbes, Billboard, CNET, Tubefilter, Music Business Worldwide, Gizmodo, The Verge, Engadget, @emmaswiftsings, @musically and @indianidle, more at Techmeme »

Fox Corp reports Q4 revenue rose 5% YoY to $3.03B, ad revenue up 7% YoY, and $308M net income; full year revenue grew 8% YoY to $13.97B, with $1.23B net income — Despite concerns that a looming recession would depress ad sales, Fox Corp. is bucking the trend thus far.
Discussion:
MediaPost, Deadline, Variety, Fox Corp, The Hollywood Reporter and @great_katzby

Filings: Russia-backed TV Novosti and two entities are funding four “news” TV shows from US conspiracy theorist Ben Swann, covering the US, NATO, war, and more — Russia's state-backed media apparatus is financing four new TV programs produced by a U.S. conspiracy theorist …
Discussion:
@lachlan, @ldrogen, @m_c_klein, @robertcaruso, @andrewsweiss and @andrew_danieri

Satirical feminist site Reductress says it has been acquired by Phenomenal Media, a media company focused on women and historically excluded communities — The merger combines like-minded publishers with an eye toward entertainment — The satirical publisher Reductress …
Discussion:
Insider, Vulture, @katienotopoulos, @katienotopoulos, The Hollywood Reporter, @markstenberg3 and @lexandrapinel
Whip Media:
Survey: 72% of Netflix subscribers say they are unlikely to switch to an ad-supported tier, 92% of HBO Max users with ads are satisfied with the tier, and more — Spotlight on the Ad-Supported Experience whipmedia.com Introduction © 2022 Whip Media All product names, logos, and brands are property of their respective owners.
Discussion:
The Streamable, The Streamable, Next TV, MediaPost, MediaPost, Next TV and MediaPost

Sources: the Golden Globe Awards will be back on NBC in 2023; the ceremony was not aired in 2022 after HFPA was criticized for its lack of diversity and ethics — The awards ceremony was not aired in 2022 as the organization behind it, the HFPA, was under fire for its lack of diversity and ethics.
Discussion:
Vanity Fair, @gracerandolph, @alexritman, @adrierising, @yongchavezla, HOLA!, Deadline, Los Angeles Times, The A.V. Club, New York Post, IndieWire and The Wrap

Biden, marking the 10th anniversary of journalist Austin Tice's abduction, calls on Syria's government to work with the US “so that we can bring Austin home” — President Joe Biden said Wednesday the U.S. is certain that the Syrian government is holding American journalist Austin Tice …
Discussion:
@davejorgenson, The Guardian, McClatchy Washington Bureau, @cforman, @cforman, CBS News, CNN, Al Jazeera, @jmhansler, Texas Monthly, The Hill and Next TV

Many small businesses that use personalized online ads are cutting back on marketing, in part due to Apple's ATT, as they face rising customer acquisition costs — Online brands reliant on personalised ads ramp back marketing spending — Small businesses are cutting back marketing spending due …
Discussion:
@shiraovide, @glenngabe, @nigelbarron, @1br0wn and 9to5Mac, more at Techmeme »

BuzzFeed reports Q2 revenue up 20% YoY to $106.8M, including Complex Networks, a $23.6M net loss, vs. $0.8M YoY, and time spent down 19% YoY to 154M hours — BZFD stock has dropped roughly 50 percent in price over the past six months. — BuzzFeed brought in $106.8 million in revenue during …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, @joshsternberg and @thr

SEC filing: WWE discloses $5M in payments made by former CEO Vince McMahon, in addition to the previously disclosed $14.6M, and delays its earnings report — - World Wrestling Entertainment disclosed another $5 million in payments from former CEO Vince McMahon and delayed its earnings report, according to an SEC filing Tuesday.

NFT startup Dapper Labs hires Nick Grudin, who was at Meta for nearly 12 years and at Newsweek before that, as chief business officer starting in September 2022 — After nearly 12 years at Meta and Facebook, Nick Grudin is leaving the social-media giant. Grudin next month …
Discussion:
@pkafka, more at Techmeme »

IAC executives explain the company's decision to end the print editions of InStyle and others, saying print magazines are now seen as “a luxury good” — The commentary comes after the company cut the print editions of publications such as Entertainment Weekly.