Top News:

Neil Cavuto is leaving Fox News after 28 years at the network; source: Fox offered him a new deal that he declined to accept and ultimately decided to leave — Neil Cavuto is leaving Fox News after 28 years at the network and will bid viewers farewell at the end of Your World Thursday afternoon, Mediaite has learned.
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Sony buys ~$320M of shares in Japanese media powerhouse Kadokawa, which owns FromSoftware, taking its stake to ~10% and becoming Kadokawa's top shareholder — Sony Group (6758.T) said on Thursday it will invest about 50 billion yen ($320 million) to acquire new shares of Kadokawa (9468.T) …
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Engadget, Comic Book, @madcap412, Newsweek, @cattheplayed11, @_nixne, @ssstylishhuntr, @playstationsize, Screen Rant, @naijeru03, @jawmuncher, Gematsu, @gibbogame, @crylowe_, The Japan Times, @hoeglaw, @stealth40k.bsky.social, Polygon, Wccftech, Eurogamer.net, Sony Group Portal, The Verge, Benzinga, r/Games, r/GamingLeaksAndRumours and r/PHGamers, more at Techmeme »
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As part of Sony's Kadokawa investment, the companies plan to adapt Kadokawa's IP into live-action films and TV dramas globally, co-produce anime works, and more — PlayStation firm will up existing stake to 10% for $318 million — News by James Batchelor Editor-in-chief
Discussion:
@kujikawaii.bsky.social and Windows Central

Semafor plans to launch an invite-only newsletter for CEOs, The CEO Signal, in January 2025, written by former FT US News Editor Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson — Numerous media outlets, looking for new lucrative lines of business, are pursuing newsletters and events aimed specifically at top executives.
Discussion:
@mediaevan, @semaforben, Sara Fischer on LinkedIn, @semafor, @katie_robertson, @semafor, Semafor and @dcnorg

Gower Street predicts 2025 global box office revenue to hit $33B, up 8% from 2024's estimated $30.5B, and the North American market rising 9% YoY to ~$9.7B — Global box office revenues are expected to rebound to $33 billion in 2025, marking an 8% increase from 2024's estimated $30.5 billion take …
Discussion:
@dailycosmicmarvel.bsky.social and Deadline

The Baltimore Banner, launched in June 2022, expects 2024 revenue to rise 37% YoY to $13M+, with subscriber count growing 50%+ in 2024 to ~55,000 — The 2.5-year-old non-profit generates nearly half of its business from paying readers — Nonprofit newsroom The Baltimore Banner will bring …
Discussion:
Imtiaz Patel on LinkedIn, Klas Uden on LinkedIn and Mark Stenberg on LinkedIn

Bloomberg EIC John Micklethwait calls paywalls “the safest way to guarantee journalistic jobs” and predicts AI would do more to change editing than reporting — Bloomberg editor-in-chief John Micklethwait has called paywalls “the safest way to guarantee journalistic jobs” in a speech about the future of journalism.

Canal+ shares sink 15%+ as UBS says the stock is fairly valued after its London listing on December 16; CAN is down 32%+ since its listing — The stock dropped as much as 19% to 191.10 pence as UBS analysts including Ben Shelley started coverage with a neutral rating and a 240 pence price target.

John Robson, co-founder of kid-focused studio Moonbug, is stepping down; Moonbug bought CoComelon in 2020, and Candle Media acquired Moonbug in 2021 — Moonbug is owned by Candle Media and has the lucrative CoComelon franchise. Robson's fellow Co-Founder, Rene Rechtman told staff about the news in a memo circulated today.

Ankler hires Alison Brower as its executive editor; Brower was Los Angeles bureau chief at Business Insider before leaving in February — Ankler, which covers the entertainment industry, has hired Alison Brower as its executive editor. — Brower was Los Angeles bureau chief at Business Insider before leaving in February.

At least 10 outlets, including AP and DW, retracted or amended stories after NPR reported that a man billed as a bold Chinese dissident appears to be a conman — AMSTERDAM - In recent years, dozens of news organizations around the world have quoted or covered a young Chinese man named Wang Jingyu …
Discussion:
@thedesk.net, NPR and r/Journalism

Reporters Without Borders urges Apple to scrap Apple Intelligence's notification summaries after a BBC complaint said the feature created a misleading headline — A major journalism body has urged Apple to scrap its new generative AI feature after it created a misleading headline about a high-profile killing in the United States.
Discussion:
CNN, Reporters Without Borders, BGR, MacRumors, 9to5Mac, @yacc143@mastodon.social and Washington Examiner