Top News:
NPR:
A freelance ABC News producer was working for a consulting firm representing utility companies; sources: she falsely traded on her work for ABC at least thrice — NPR's David Folkenflik reported this story with Mario Ariza and Miranda Green of Floodlight, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates …
Discussion:
@mirandacgreen, @mirandacgreen, @draperrobert, Floodlight, @4lisaguerrero, @joshmankiewicz, @cliffschecter, @edmundlee, @emilygorcenski, @floodlightnews, @lindaholmes, @davidfolkenflik, @johnson_carrie, @marioarizabaez, @marioarizabaez, @tcblume, @jbarro, @grace_panetta, @byrontau, @johnarchibald and @jeffweineros
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: the NFL is in advanced talks to give YouTube exclusive Sunday Ticket rights; a deal could be reached as early as December 21 after an NFL owner meeting — DirecTV currently pays for rights to subscription package that allows football fans to watch most Sunday afternoon games
Discussion:
New York Times, Ad Age, Tubefilter, Ars Technica, Awful Announcing, Light Reading, Sports Business Journal, Next in Marketing, @ourand_sbj, ProFootballTalk, @sherman4949, @ourand_sbj, @matthewkeyslive, @haffnhaff_tpl, @realmamaeagle, @jelynchjr, @matthewkeyslive, KRON4, @darrenrovell, @mhbergen, @mediumbuying, AppleInsider, MediaPost, The Comeback, Sportico, UPROXX, CNBC, CNET, The Desk, The Information, The Streamable, Deadline and MacRumors, more at Techmeme »
ProPublica:
Google's Display Network, which places ads on 2M+ websites, lets site owners stay anonymous, while putting ads on sites with pirated content, porn, and disinfo — In late 2021, the right-wing site Conservative Beaver published a story falsely claiming the FBI had arrested Pfizer's CEO for fraud.
Anne Steele / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Justin Bieber is close to a deal to sell his music rights to Blackstone-backed Hipgnosis Songs Capital in a transaction valued at around $200M — Expected deal for star's publishing and recorded music includes hit songs ‘Love Yourself’ and ‘Baby’ — Justin Bieber is close to a deal …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Reuters, TMZ.com, @themimireign, Music Business Worldwide, @ashkan, @danprimack, @phil_lewis_, @hoodiegleyber and @threetwoeephus
Jim Waterson / The Guardian:
The Guardian says it has been hit with a “serious incident” affecting IT systems, believed to be a ransomware attack; online publishing is largely unaffected — Incident has hit parts of media company's technology infrastructure, with staff told to work from home
Discussion:
Engadget, The Register, @yonettejo, @janlemnitzer, @pressgazette, @tomphillipsin, @profwoodward, Financial Times, @dangainor, @jackinpogform, TechCrunch and Bloomberg
Tom Gerken / BBC:
The UK's IPO says sharing passwords for online streaming services such as Netflix breaks the law if the intent is to access copyright works without payment — Sharing passwords for online streaming services such as Netflix is against the law, according to a government agency.
Discussion:
The Streamable, The Guardian, Wall Street Journal, The Sun, AppleInsider and Boing Boing, more at Techmeme »
Jeremy Barr / Washington Post:
Vox Media plans to return nearly all of a $200,000 grant from Sam Bankman-Fried's foundation; others like Semafor and The Intercept await investigation details — ProPublica and Vox Media plan to give back journalism grants from the indicted crypto tycoon. Other newsrooms have been less clear.
Discussion:
New York Magazine, @raylong, New York Post, @jeremymbarr, @mcelarier, @rwpusa, Observer and Axios
Katie Campione / Deadline:
The Netflix series Wednesday topped Nielsen's US streaming chart in its first week, with 5.9B minutes viewed, the second-highest weekly total since early 2020 — By now, it should come as no surprise that Netflix's Wednesday generated a massive audience in its opening week.
Discussion:
Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, TVLine, Media Play News and Collider
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Deep Voodoo, founded by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone to develop deepfake tech and cost-effective visual effect services, raised a $20M seed — The creators of “South Park” have secured a $20 million investment for their AI entertainment startup Deep Voodoo.
Discussion:
PRESS - DEEP VOODOO, TechCrunch, @beforesmag, @blackamazon, @lanceulanoff, The A.V. Club and Deadline, more at Techmeme »
Laura Barton / The Guardian:
Q&A with two true-crime podcasters who have helped the genre become a vital new form of investigative journalism, taking inspiration from Serial, and more — Mandy Matney's Murdaugh Murders and Hedley Thomas's The Teacher's Pet have recently seen the subjects of their investigations jailed.
Discussion:
@janebsinger and Slate
Agence France-Presse:
Mirror Group Newspapers apologizes to Princess Diana's former butler and will pay substantial damages in a phone hacking case involving his voicemail messages — Member of the British royal family; first wife of Prince Charles (1961-1997) — Former domestic servant of the British Royal Household
Matt Tamanini / The Streamable:
fuboTV strikes a deal with Sinclair to stream Bally Sports' 19 regional sports networks to in-market customers as part of the Pro tier, which costs $69.95/month — Cord-cutting sports fans, fuboTV just delivered an extra special holiday present in the form of a new, major carriage agreement.
Discussion:
Radio & Television …, Sportico, MediaPost, Business Wire, Deadline, Cord Cutters News, Next TV and Awful Announcing
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