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.
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, Politico, Adweek, New York Post, Marty Davis on LinkedIn, HuffPost, The Hill, TVLine, Talking Biz News, al.com, Newser, acecomments.mu.nu, Associated Press, Daily Mail, @brianstelter, Daily Caller News Foundation, @markpmeredith, The US Sun, @meghanmccain, The Hollywood Reporter, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, The Independent, @mattklewis, @howardkurtz, BizPac Review, @janicedean, @brianstelter, The Wrap, Washington Examiner, Daily Kos, Deadline, The Gateway Pundit and Barrett Media

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) …
Discussion:
Engadget, @madcap412, Newsweek, @cattheplayed11, @_nixne, @ssstylishhuntr, @playstationsize, Screen Rant, @naijeru03, @jawmuncher, Gematsu, @gibbogame, @crylowe_, The Japan Times, Comic Book, @hoeglaw, @stealth40k.bsky.social, Polygon, Wccftech, Eurogamer.net, Sony Group Portal, The Verge, Benzinga, r/Games, r/GamingLeaksAndRumours and r/PHGamers, more at Techmeme »
RELATED:

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

A look at NBCUniversal's push to increase revenue through live events and other “experiential” products tied to its famous shows and anchors like Wille Geist — Geist has interviewed 539 different celebrities and newsmakers during his tenure as Sunday host, and, on January 22 …
Discussion:
@dannygroner.bsky.social, @likesherlock17.bsky.social and @bristei

Q&A with Mother Jones Senior Reporter Anna Merlan on disinfo's role in the 2024 election, the importance of using TikTok and Instagram for journalists, and more — The forces behind Donald Trump's election win are still being dissected, and it would be unwise and simplistic to point to any single factor.

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:
@yaqiu.bsky.social, @thedesk.net, NPR and r/Journalism