Mediagazer: OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar says OpenAI is weighing an ads model, but plans to be “thoughtful”; sources and LinkedIn analysis: OpenAI hired Meta and Google ad talent (Financial Times)

2:15 PM ET, December 2, 2024

Top News:

An investigation finds that OCCRP, which works with major newspapers on scoops like the Panama Papers, is primarily bankrolled by the US and its Western allies — Drew Sullivan is unknown to the broad public, but the head of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project is one of the most influential journalists in the world.

Discussion: @theserfstv.bsky.social, @smaurizi, @jessicalburbank, @yphilippin, @yphilippin, @ryangrim, @yphilippin, @yphilippin, @ryangrim, @yphilippin, @yphilippin and @ryangrim.bsky.social

Yann Philippin / Mediapart:

Docs: German public broadcaster NDR shelved an investigation it started into OCCRP as part of a consortium due to pressure from OCCRP co-founder Drew Sullivan — After launching an investigation into the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), and after subsequently inviting Mediapart …

Discussion: @ryangrim.bsky.social and @ryangrim

Kat Tenbarge / NBC News:

Some reporters say they are finding more readers and less hate on Bluesky, as Elon Musk turns X into an increasingly difficult place for journalists — Journalists are finding more readers and less hate on Bluesky than on the platform they used to know as Twitter.

Financial Times:

OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar says OpenAI is weighing an ads model, but plans to be “thoughtful”; sources and LinkedIn analysis: OpenAI hired Meta and Google ad talent — ChatGPT maker hires advertising talent from big tech rivals — OpenAI is discussing plans to introduce advertising …

John Jurgensen / Wall Street Journal:

Paramount co-CEO Chris McCarthy aims to revitalize Showtime by using successful formulas like Yellowstone from Paramount+ and investing in high-profile projects — Before a new owner takes over, the TV brand once known for ‘Billions’ and ‘Homeland’ is working to come up with new marquee hits

Discussion: @mediaevan

Sapna Maheshwari / New York Times:

How YouTuber Ms. Rachel, whose baby-focused educational videos get 100M views, has attracted huge interest from toy companies and publishers before the holidays — About a year and a half ago, Laura Henderson, a toy company executive and 38-year-old mother in Toronto, was at the tail end of maternity leave with her second child.

Discussion: @dru.bsky.social

Ben Smith / Semafor:

The Verge plans to launch a $7/month or $50/year sitewide paywall on Tuesday; some content and the publication's social feed-like homepage will remain free — In this edition: media consolidation.

Discussion: Talking Biz News, Payday Report and @maxwelltani

Pamela McClintock / The Hollywood Reporter:

Disney's Moana 2 took $221M in the US during the five-day Thanksgiving weekend, including $135.3M from Friday to Sunday, breaking multiple Box Office records — The Walt Disney Animation sequel sailed into history with a Thanksgiving haul of $221 million, the biggest five-day opening of all time, among numerous other milestones.

Discussion: Variety, MediaPost, The Transom, Forbes, CNBC, Wall Street Journal, @discussingfilm, Benzinga, Daily Mail, Deadline, World of Reel, The Wrap, Just Jared, Business Insider, SlashFilm, Media Play News and Los Angeles Times

Ben Cohen / Wall Street Journal:
How Disney's Moana, which wasn't a big hit at its 2016 launch, became a top streaming movie in every year from 2020 to 2024, per Nielsen, with 1B+ hours watched

Discussion: The Hollywood Reporter, KRON4, @deitaone, @rwmead.bsky.social, Bloomberg, @mousterpiece.bsky.social, Digital Spy, Screen Rant, Ofer Mintz on LinkedIn and SlashFilm

Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:

Documents: in 2023, LeBron James' Springhill lost $28M on $104M in sales; the production company aims to be profitable in 2024, after its merger with Fulwell 73 — Film and TV businesses started by celebrities have raised lots of money. What's missing are profits — I changed my mind about the newsletter.

Discussion: New York Post, theJasmineBRAND, Awful Announcing, @ddiamond, @lucas_shaw, @howielongshort and The Gateway Pundit

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

Ofcom: the BBC had a 37% share of local news page views in H1 2024 in the UK, up from 26% in 2022; commercial publishers' share in England fell from 80% to 67% — An increase in local news being produced online by the BBC is adding to the “headwinds” facing commercial publishers, regulator Ofcom has found.

Discussion: @timkarr.bsky.social and HoldtheFrontPage

Ido David Cohen / Haaretz:

A site linked to Israel's ruling Likud party publishes a list ranking presenters from public radio Kan Reshet Bet according to their support for the government — Melukadim News publishes a list ranking Kan Reshet Bet presenters by their government support, as the government advances a bill to privatize the broadcaster.

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:

Memo: TelevisaUnivision will undergo a reorganization under new CEO Daniel Alegre; source: mid to high single digit percentage of staff will be laid off — José Luis Fabila will lead all content globally for the company, which will reduce its workforce by the mid-high single digits.

Discussion: The Wrap, TVNewsCheck, The Desk, Variety and Deadline

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This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 2:15 PM ET, December 2, 2024.

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Who's Hiring in Media?

Energy & Commodities Editor, Tokyo — Bloomberg

Politics Reporter, TX — Texas Tribune

Consumer Brands Reporter, GA — AJC

Deputy Editor - Health Care, VA — Politico

Product Editor, CA — CalMatters

Indigenous Affairs Editor, Sydney — Guardian US

China Markets Correspondent, Shanghai — Reuters

Bangor Reporter, ME — Bangor Daily News

Commerce Editor - Health, Remote US — Yahoo

Sports Editor, MI — Detroit News

Deputy Politics Editor, CA — Sacramento Bee

Alphaville Reporter, London — FT

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More News:

Alex Ritman / Variety:
Mubi plans to launch Mubi Editions, a new global publishing arm dedicated to cinema and the arts, in April 2025 and hopes to publish three titles in 2025

Discussion: Publishers Weekly, @hannahstrong.co.uk and The Bookseller

Columbia Journalism Review:
A Tow Center analysis finds ChatGPT was partially or entirely incorrect in 153 out of 200 quote citations whether or not publishers allowed OpenAI's crawler

Discussion: @timobrien.bsky.social, MediaPost, @christinkallama …, @glynmoody@mastodon.social and TechCrunch

Josh Taylor / The Guardian:
Meta says it will require advertisers globally to get verified before running financial service ads targeting Australian users, starting in early February 2025

Discussion: The Canberra Times, Mediaweek and Reuters

Feven Merid / Columbia Journalism Review:
Q&A with journalism professor Stephen G. Bloom on working in Brazil as a young reporter, the history of expat English-language papers in the country, and more

New York Times:
Trump says he plans to nominate Kash Patel as FBI director; Patel vowed last year to “come after” journalists who “helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections”

Discussion: Vanity Fair, The Hill, The Root, The Atlantic, Associated Press, CBS News, Washington Post, CNN, Talking Points Memo, Bloomberg, RADAR, Reuters, Le Monde, Mother Jones, Raw Story, Voice of America, al.com, HuffPost, Ken Klippenstein, American Crisis, Washington Times, New York Daily News, NBC Bay Area, RedState, Forbes, Mediaite, Washington Examiner, New York Times, Politico, Axios, Fox News, IJR, Alternet.org, @amuse, Contemplating Life …, American Greatness, Rolling Stone, emptywheel, The Gateway Pundit, Bangor Daily News, Althouse, CNN, Al Jazeera, Associated Press, Townhall, @brianstelter, @brianstelter, @kylegriffin1, @krassenstein, @mattgertz, @harryjsisson, @adgirlmm, @ninaburleigh, @noliewithbtc, @opdeatheaters, The Moderate Voice, Power Line, The Guardian, Crooks and Liars, Twitchy, UPI, @nukestrat.bsky.social, @edwardwinkleman.bsky.social, ZeroHedge News, Bloomberg, MSNBC, Financial Times, Axios, @mediaanddemocracy.bsky.social, Mediaite, BBC, ABC News, Washington Post, @justinhendrix.bsky.social, NPR, Tampa Free Press, Wall Street Journal, Politico, Rolling Stone, Forbes, The Independent, The Daily Signal, The Hill, CBS News, New York Post, NBC News, @realDonaldTrump …, The Daily Caller, Daily Kos, Just The News and Semafor

Melanie Goodfellow / Deadline:
France says global streamers invested €974.6M in French film and TV shows from 2021 to 2023, after the country introduced investment obligations in 2021

Earlier Picks:

Anna Nicolaou / Financial Times:
Nielsen: Fox News averaged 2M viewers a day from November 6-22, up from 1.4M for the year to November 4; MSNBC had 526K a day, down from 847K before November 5

Discussion: @thedailybeast, @dennislennox, @iankmsmith.bsky.social, Advanced Television and MediaPost

Reuters:
Italy's data protection watchdog warns publisher GEDI not to share its personal data archives with OpenAI, citing concern over potential breaches of EU rules

Discussion: @claeshs.bsky.social and Hindustan Times

Rick Porter / The Hollywood Reporter:
NBC says the 2024 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade drew a record 31.3M viewers, up 10% YoY, on NBC and Peacock; streaming hours on Peacock grew 26% YoY

Discussion: The Ankler, TV Insider, @jbflint, @brianstelter, Media Play News, Daily Mail, The Desk, Will Coss on LinkedIn, The Wrap, Variety, TVLine and Deadline

Michael Grothaus / Fast Company:
Hybe shares closed down 4% after K-pop girl group NewJeans said they are ending their contract with Hybe in protest against its dispute with the band's producer

Scott Jennings / @scottjenningsky:
Conservative CNN commentator Scott Jennings says he is joining the LA Times editorial board, as owner Patrick Soon-Shiong works to add “balance” to the board

From Techmeme:

Emma Roth / The Verge:
Nintendo delays Switch 2 preorders that were set for April 9 due to concerns about Trump's tariffs but the June 5 launch date remains unchanged

Dominic Preston / The Verge:
Microsoft Copilot adds support for memory, personalization, web-based actions, podcast creation, camera and screen analysis, deep research, and more

RT Watson / The Block:
The US SEC says that “covered” US dollar stablecoins like USDT and USDC are not securities, and registration is not required for minting or redeeming them

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