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Max Tani / @maxwelltani:
Memo: WaPo's Matt Murray lays out plans for WP Ventures, the “third newsroom”; Krissah Thompson will be editor and Samantha Henig will be general manager — New: In a note to staff, WaPo lays out details about the third newsroom, WP Ventures. The company announces that Krissah Thompson will lead WP Ventures, Samantha Henig will be GM. Video, audio, newsletters, special initiatives, other verticals will be part of WP Ventures. [image]
Discussion:
Talking Biz News, The Wrap, @benmullin, @dylanbyers, @bybethrankin, @davidfolkenflik and @benmullin
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WaPo names Karen Pensiero as standards editor, a new masthead position reporting to Executive Editor Matt Murray; she earlier worked with Murray at The WSJ — The role is a newly formed masthead position that will report to the executive editor Matt Murray. — By WashPostPR

Sources: Washington Post Publisher and CEO Will Lewis plans to announce acting Executive Editor Matt Murray as the newsroom's permanent chief next year — After six excruciating months, Washington Post C.E.O. Will Lewis is naming acting executive editor Matt Murray as his new editorial leader …
Discussion:
@zerohedge, @ericfingerhut, @dylanbyers and @juwanthecurator.bsky.social

Sources: CoinDesk owner Bullish fired three editors, including EIC Kevin Reynold, amid controversy over forcing editors to take down an article on Justin Sun — Bullish, the owner of leading crypto publication CoinDesk, abruptly dismissed three top editors on Friday, according to sources familiar …

Rumble announces a $775M investment from Tether and plans to use $525M to fund a tender offer for ~70M shares of its common stock; RUM jumps 35%+ after hours — YouTube competitor Rumble (RUM) is in a deal for a $775 million strategic investment from stablecoin giant Tether.
Discussion:
Fortune, The Information, Rumble, Inc. and The Hollywood Reporter, more at Techmeme »

Sources detail creative differences between the Broccoli family, which has creative control over the James Bond franchise, and Amazon, which owns the franchise — A clash between the Broccoli family, which has creative control over 007, and the e-commerce giant, which owns the franchise, has put Bond's future on pause
Discussion:
Engadget, BGR, Comic Book, Metro.co.uk, Esquire, HELLO!, SlashFilm, The Sun, Daily Mail, @tvgrimreaper, Digital Trends, The Playlist, @joegalarn, @xenocryptsite, World of Reel, The Information, @mannyfidel, @jb007_news, Collider, TVNewsCheck, @matthewstoller, @worldofreel, Deseret News, Consequence, @cade_onder, @thefienprint.bsky.social, New York Post, @jmrivera.bsky.social, Screen Rant, Just Jared and CBS News

The UK ICO criticizes Google as “irresponsible” after the company announced plans to let advertisers employ fingerprinting techniques from February 16, 2025 — ICO says allowing advertisers to track digital ‘fingerprints’ will undermine consumers' control over information
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Google Help Center, Ad Age, MediaPost, Information Commissioner's …, The Information, @simonjharris, @aripap, @robleathern, @drbarnard, @iconews, @dmarti@federate.social, @lukolejnik, Agence France-Presse, MediaPost, Forbes, The Mirror, London Evening Standard and The Independent, more at Techmeme »

Source: producers of My Favorite Murder, which signed a 3-year Wondery deal for $100M+ in 2022, secured a new deal with iHeartMedia; they had sought $10M/year — Plus: music, podcasting and audiobook predictions for the year ahead — Hello, hello. Welcome back to Soundbite for our last issue of 2024.
Discussion:
Simon Owens's Media Newsletter and Tony Onwuchekwa on LinkedIn

Netflix secures exclusive US streaming rights to the 2027 and 2031 editions of the FIFA Women's World Cup, plans to produce documentaries around the tournaments — The streaming giant will exclusively stream the 2027 an 2031 tournaments, with documentaries also planned.
Discussion:
Awful Announcing, Inside FIFA, Deadline, The Information, Trusted Reviews, Benzinga, Radio & Television …, Associated Press, Cord Cutter Weekly, The Sun Chronicle, Latest from Tv Technology, Sports Media Watch, The Guardian, Digital Trends, Barrett Media, Reuters, Jen Gruskoff on LinkedIn, @sam__carp, Sports Video Group, Media Play News, Variety, MediaPost, @tvgrimreaper, Axios, Engadget, CNBC, Front Office Sports, The Sun, @austinkarp, @sherman4949, Ars Technica, Los Angeles Times, UPI, The Wrap, The Verge, New York Times, Netflix Tudum, Sportico, KVIA-TV, Yahoo Finance, WORLD SCREEN, Forbes, City A.M. and TVLine

How Britannica survived the Wikipedia era by changing itself into a maker of education software and AI agents, as it reportedly weighs an IPO at a $1B valuation — The encyclopedia maker could have become a casualty of the Wikipedia era. But it has remade itself into a digital learning giant that is weighing going public.
Discussion:
@britannica_edu and Cara Lustik on LinkedIn

A look at the erosion of editorial independence at Los Angeles magazine, which was bought in late 2022 by Mark Geragos and Ben Meiselas' Engine Vision Media — The editor of Los Angeles magazine recruited new owners, who promised to invest in ambitious journalism. The trouble was, he believed them.
Discussion:
@maerroshan, @editorialiste, @cjr and @maerroshan.bsky.social

How Spotify used its Perfect Fit Content program to rig its system against musicians, filling popular playlists with “ghost artists” to cut its royalty payouts — I first heard about ghost artists in the summer of 2017. At the time, I was new to the music-streaming beat.
Discussion:
Owen Grover on LinkedIn, Ethan Holben on LinkedIn, Cole Davis on LinkedIn, Jacob Sanders on LinkedIn, AV Club, @harpers, @briancrain, @iliasalami, @98migrocha, @philosopher70, @future_of_music, @joeyquits, @mrsimonraymonde, @kennytorrella, @paco@infosec.exchange, @dante@masto.posting.haus, @zervel, @tsalmoth.bsky.social, Boing Boing, @jgrayatua, @alisonwillmore.bsky.social, @elcharlemagne2, @larrypareigis, @calsthoughts, @sr_lazarus, @lawrencedonegan, @lardmotel@mastodon.sdf.org, @slowmusicmovement.bsky.social, @carnage4life.bsky.social, @jhv85, @trashpandaqc@mastodon.online, @obrhoff@chaos.social, @sandiptodg, @nightrazor.bsky.social, @niurn_writes, @roneilr, @jimmyjacktoth, @glenn_mcdonald, @umaw_, @joeyquits, @1000timesyes, @bernardzuel.bsky.social, @big_keez, @umaw_, @harpers, @alias_eitel, @diemkay, @draglikepull.bsky.social, Futurism, @madskjeldgaard@sonomu.club, @robhorning.bsky.social, @karonliu, @rulesdisobeyer, @caseynewton.bsky.social, @kyokokitamura.bsky.social, @teakagee, Digital Music News and Associated Press, more at Techmeme »