Top News:
Steven Waldman / Columbia Journalism Review:
Jeff Bezos should donate The Washington Post to a public charity that maintains its quality and independence, as he is too financially compromised to own it — His conflicts of interests are insurmountable. He can take a heroic path to strengthen journalism.
RELATED:
Sarah Scire / Nieman Lab:
A broad group of news outlets attracted new subscribers after WaPo's lack of an endorsement for president; The Philadelphia Inquirer gained 4,200+ subscribers — The Philadelphia Inquirer had its best week for new subscriptions ever and The Guardian U.S. broke its single-day fundraising record — twice.
David Folkenflik / NPR:
The LA Times has lost 10,000 to 18,000 subscriptions, or up to 4.5% of its subscribers, since owner Patrick Soon-Shiong axed the paper's Harris endorsement — Subscribers keep deserting The Washington Post after it announced it would not endorse any candidate in the race for the White House.
Edward Helmore / The Guardian:
Source: WaPo subscription cancellations hit 250,000 on Tuesday, or 10% of subscribers, since October 25, based on the number of cancellation emails sent out
Source: WaPo subscription cancellations hit 250,000 on Tuesday, or 10% of subscribers, since October 25, based on the number of cancellation emails sent out
Discussion:
City Journal, @craig.forman@threads.net, @davidfolkenflik, Associated Press, One America News Network, @hadas_gold, Mercury News, Chris Rauber on LinkedIn, Cele|bitchy, Foreign Policy, @nickbaumann, HuffPost, Minneapolis Star Tribune, @cbecker@hci.social, @jakeadelstein, @myhlee, @craig.forman@threads.net, @craig.forman@threads.net, @stacycowley, @kenvogel, Newser, Techdirt, @GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social, @genevaoh@threads.net, Le Monde.fr, Poynter, Daring Fireball, MediaPost, Fox News, The National Pulse, @Balkingpoints@mastodon.online, The Handbasket, @edmundlee@threads.net, Gizmodo, @nelson@tech.lgbt, @carlmalamud@official …, @mpm@mstdn.social, UnHerd, The Wrap, The Hill, The American Conservative, Semafor and Washington Post
New Jersey Digest:
The Star-Ledger, New Jersey's largest newspaper, plans to end its print edition on January 30, 2025, citing growing costs and a shrinking demand for print — The Star-Ledger, New Jersey's largest newspaper, will stop publishing its print edition on January 30, 2025, transitioning fully to a digital format.
Discussion:
New Jersey Online, @jaspertylerkane, New York Times, Ivy Charmatz on LinkedIn, Jason Notte on LinkedIn, Morning Call, @davidfolkenflik, @jeffjarvis@mastodon.social, @jaspertylerkane, New York Post, @bobbyolivier, @joeconchatv, New Jersey Globe, Allison Altobelli on LinkedIn, PennLive, UPI, Bruno Tedeschi on LinkedIn, Kevin Whitmer on LinkedIn, New York Daily News, @brianstelter@threads.net and Associated Press
Alexandra Canal / Yahoo Finance:
Roku reports Q3 revenue up 16% YoY to $1.06B, vs. $1.02B est., 85.5M streaming households, up 2M QoQ, and Q4 guidance below est.; ROKU drops 11%+ after hours — Roku (ROKU) stock fell more than 10% in after-hours trading on Wednesday after the company's Q4 guidance disappointed …
Discussion:
Media Play News
RELATED:
Caitlin Huston / The Hollywood Reporter:
Roku will stop giving quarterly updates on the number of streaming households and average revenue per user, starting Q1 2025, following Netflix's footsteps — “Our business has also grown and evolved, and we are now primarily focused on growing Platform revenue and profitability," the company said in the Q3 shareholder letter.
Discussion:
The Wrap, Barron's Online, Cord Cutters News, Benzinga, Deadline, Reuters, Streaming Better, Motley Fool, Roku Inc., Variety and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »
Upmanyu Trivedi / Bloomberg:
Google faces increasing legal challenges from Russia and fines in non-US courts, after YouTube blocked three Russian channels following the invasion of Ukraine — Law experts raise concerns about nationalism rearing its head in courts around the world — When YouTube blocked three Russian channels …
Kyle Orland / Ars Technica:
How The New York Times used LLMs to help reporters sort through hundreds of hours of audio to report on the Republican-affiliated Election Integrity Project — But a recent New York Times story highlights the other side of that coin, where AI models simply become a powerful tool aiding …
Washington Post:
CCDH: of 283 X posts in 2024 with false election claims that Community Notes members had responded to, only 20 had notes with enough votes to be publicly shown — X's crowdsourced fact-checking program has been hailed as a bold idea for social media. Research shows it's failing at a critical moment.
RELATED:
Neel Dhanesha / Nieman Lab:
A decade after the Serial podcast launched, public radio executives say they think true crime podcasts can bolster interest and support for their organizations — Amid the downturn in audio, some executives think the public radio model — with a dash of true crime — might provide a way forward.
Discussion:
@jeffjarvis@mastodon.social, Nieman Lab and Nieman Lab
Corbin Bolies / The Daily Beast:
Dozens of NYT Tech Guild members picketed on Wednesday, protesting drawn-out contract negotiations and raising the possibility of an Election Day strike — ALRIGHT ON THE NIGHT? — The Times Tech Guild, the union backing the New York Times' tech workers, says it is ready to imperil …
Discussion:
@zohrankmamdani, @nytguildtech and @brndngrffth
Peter White / Deadline:
The Grammys, which have aired on CBS for over 50 years, will air on ABC, Hulu, and Disney+ starting from 2027, as part of a 10-year deal — The Grammy Awards ceremony, which has aired on CBS for over 50 years, has a new home. — Disney has snatched the rights to the annual music awards show …