Top News:
Brian Stelter / CNN:
Opinion columnist Jennifer Rubin leaves WaPo to launch The Contrarian on Substack, to combat the “authoritarian threat” with the tagline “Not owned by anybody” — New York CNN — — Veteran opinion columnist Jennifer Rubin is becoming the latest in a long list …
Discussion:
The Hill, New York Post, The Contrarian, Mediaite, Instapundit, Newser, CNBC, acecomments.mu.nu, Fox News, Townhall, RedState, Breitbart, Semafor, Diane Ravitch's blog, @glegum.bsky.social, @jeffjarvis, @benmullin, @dcboy.bsky.social, Raw Story, @brianstelter, @tribelaw.bsky.social, @brianstelter, @leahmcelrath.bsky.social, The Post Millennial, @brianstelter, The Gateway Pundit, @bgrueskin.bsky.social, @milesklee.bsky.social, The Daily Caller, @robertpjones.bsky.social, @passantino.bsky.social, @benmullin, @ianbassin.bsky.social, @jik@federate.social, @brianstelter, @gtconway.bsky.social, @benmullin, @marisakabas.bsky.social, @brianstelter.bsky.social and Twitchy
Ben Smith / Semafor:
Tech reporter Ashlee Vance has left Bloomberg to start a media company called Core Memory, with documentaries, a YouTube show, podcast, and newsletter planned — The Scoop — The prolific Bloomberg tech journalist Ashlee Vance has left to start a new media company around his curious …
Discussion:
Core Memory, CNN, @alanjeffries, @jamescham, @davidramli, @nearcyan, @ashleevance, @johncoogan, @bznotes, @ashleevance, @markmilian, @gaurabc, @ashleevance, @urbanistvc, @dadiomov, @fleetwood___ and Talking Biz News
Dominic Preston / The Verge:
Mastodon CEO Eugen Rochko plans to transfer Mastodon's ownership to a new non-profit, saying it “should not be owned or controlled by a single individual” — Mastodon says the decentralized network ‘should not be owned or controlled by a single individual.’
Discussion:
Mastodon Blog, TechCrunch, @zeldman@threads.net, Magdalena Hai on LinkedIn, Anil Dash on LinkedIn, Hannah Aubry on LinkedIn, @jeffgreco.com, @icesheetmike.bsky.social, Esra'a Al Shafei on LinkedIn, @aardrian.bsky.social, @kissane@mas.to, @GuyNamedBrian@mastodon.social, @nevillehobson.xyz, @faraiwe@beige.party, @Johannab@wandering.shop, @JMarkOckerbloom …, @Ascendor@social.tchncs.de, @cliffwade@infosec.exchange, @digiphile@mastodon.social, BetaNews, @john@vyrse.social, @mszll@datasci.social, @matt@oslo.town, @GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social, @webology@mastodon.social, @Edent@mastodon.social, @thegibson@hackers.town, @mhoye@mastodon.social and @tilvids@mstdn.social, more at Techmeme »
Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:
UK's Daily Mirror gives journalists individual online page-view targets; some print reporters covering more serious news fear the targets will affect quality — Mirror journalists have been given individual targets for online page views in a move that has raised concerns for some about the potential impact …
Bloomberg:
Amid LA's fires, studios halted work on over a dozen projects, including shows like Wheel of Fortune; IATSE union: 8K+ of its members live in evacuation zones — First came the pandemic. Then came the strikes. Now, the fires. — Every Angeleno has experienced an earthquake, but the threat of fire has often felt more distant.
Discussion:
Screen Rant, Lucas Shaw on LinkedIn and @carlquintanilla.bsky.social
RELATED:
Richard Nieva / Forbes:
Jimmy Wales, Mark Ruffalo, others debut Free Our Feeds to raise $30M by 2028 to “billionaire-proof” AT Protocol, by making it easier for users to leave Bluesky — Free Our Feeds, which includes support from the Mozilla Foundation, is working with Bluesky to make sure …
Discussion:
Social Web Foundation, TechCrunch, The Desk, The Verge, @johnhatchard.bsky.social, @davewiner, @bmlto, @william_fitz, @ben.werdmuller@threads.net, @shoqv4@threads.net, @taylorlorenz, @taylorlorenz.bsky.social, @marcfaddoul.com, @aiforensics.org, @richardnieva.bsky.social, @dmeyer.eu, @robin.berjon.com, Fortune, User Mag, @newpublic.substack.com, @taylorlorenz.bsky.social, @freeourfeeds.com, @jordanuhl.com and @taylorlorenz.bsky.social, more at Techmeme »
Financial Times:
Some advertisers raise brand safety concerns over Meta's content moderation changes, fearing a surge in harmful content and misinformation on its platforms — Mark Zuckerberg's unexpected ‘free speech’ overhaul of Meta's content moderation has sparked concerns among advertisers that it will lead …
Discussion:
Gizmodo, @petertl.bsky.social and @claradoodle.bsky.social
RELATED:
David Allen Green / Financial Times:
How aligning with Trump's new administration lets Meta and X pivot from futile cooperation with the EU and other jurisdictions to confrontation and coercion
Discussion:
TechRadar, ZeroHedge News, Lauri Rechardt on LinkedIn, @diegocastaneda, @gideonrachman, @shaneliamconway, @reichenstein@mastodon.social, Stuart Lambert on LinkedIn, @danielagabor.bsky.social, @jwsidders.bsky.social, Hürriyet Daily News, @davidallengreen …, @henrymance.bsky.social, @ianfraser.bsky.social and New York Times
Jonathan Vanian / CNBC:
Sources: Mark Zuckerberg faces less friction in making broad policy changes after Meta's layoffs in 2022 and 2023, which hit much of its civic integrity teams
Discussion:
notes from all fours, Quartz, Benzinga, @sbyrnes.bsky.social, @justiceleague00.bsky.social and Daring Fireball
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sonos CEO Patrick Spence is leaving following a botched app revamp that upset customers and stymied growth; Sonos names board member Tom Conrad as interim CEO — - 'We've let far too many people down,' company tells staffers — Former Snap and Pandora executive Tom Conrad named interim CEO
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Rachel Maddow, who scaled back anchoring duties to Mondays in 2022, will return to five nights a week as part of MSNBC's plans for Trump's first 100 days — Maddow, who scaled back anchoring duties after the spring of 2022, holding forth only on Mondays, will return to five nights a week …
Discussion:
New York Times, CNN, The Hill, Deadline, The Wrap, USA Today, Mediaite, Adweek, RedState, Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, TV Insider, Raw Story, @micheil.bsky.social, @brianstelter and @garymlevin
Etan Vlessing / The Hollywood Reporter:
Fox & Friends Weekend co-host Will Cain will replace Neil Cavuto on Fox News, aiming to bring his “signature podcast style” to the 4pm slot — The ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ co-host will take over the 4 p.m. time slot with ‘The Will Cain Show’ on Jan. 21.
Matthew Martin / Bloomberg:
Sources: SURJ Sports, the sports investment arm of Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, is in advanced talks to invest $1B+ in sports streaming platform Dazn — The deal between SURJ Sports Investment, a unit of the $925 billion Public Investment Fund, and Dazn could be announced as soon as this month …
Discussion:
The Streamable and @kennysmith.bsky.social
Naman Ramachandran / Variety:
Ormax Media: the Indian box office shrank 3% YoY to $1.37B in 2024, the second-highest-grossing year in the history of Indian cinema despite the dip — The Indian box office grossed $1.37 billion in 2024, marking a 3% decline from the record-breaking $1.41 billion achieved in 2023, per numbers from Ormax Media.
Discussion:
Deadline
Kerry Flynn / Axios:
T-Mobile agrees to acquire Vistar Media, which focuses on programmatic digital out of home advertising, for $600M in cash; the deal is expected to close in Q1 — T-Mobile has agreed to acquire Vistar Media, an ad tech firm specializing in digital out-of-home, for $600 million, the companies announced on Monday
Discussion:
Adweek, Reuters, @martyswant, Light Reading, MediaPost, @kerrymflynn, T-Mobile US, Inc., Ben Billingsley on LinkedIn and Digiday, more at Techmeme »
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