The English Premier League ends its content partnership with IMG and plans to bring content production and distribution in-house in 2026 (Max Goldbart/Deadline)

Mediagazer: The English Premier League ends its content partnership with IMG and plans to bring content production and distribution in-house in 2026 (Max Goldbart/Deadline)

Top News:

The Hollywood Reporter:

Internal memo: Hearst Magazines president announces layoffs as part of a decision to “reallocate resources” to “continue our focus on digital innovation”— The company is home to more than 25 brands in the U.S. including Elle, Esquire, Cosmopolitan, Harper's Bazaar and Town & Country.
Discussion:

Caley Fretz /
@caleyfretz: Big layoffs at Hearst (Bicycling, Car and Driver, Esquire, many others). 60+ staff. At least 3 who worked on Bicycling, including Rosael below. Shared with her permission. [image]

Erika W. Smith /
@erikawynn: Some professional news: After almost 5 yrs at Cosmo, I was laid off from Hearst this morning. At Cosmo, I ran the astro section, but I have past experience in sex & relationships, entertainment, and lifestyle. Hire me! Clips & bio: https://erikawsmith.com/ @HearstUnion forever❤️

Julia Mercado /
Julia Mercado on LinkedIn: To all my former Hearst Mags colleagues, I'm thinking of you! While I'm fresh to the FT, I'm more than happy to consider anyone who was affected by the layoffs today for a role. …

Charlotte Klein /
@charlottetklein: Layoffs at Hearst today. Staff got an email saying those impacted would get an HR meeting invite by 9 am. But then President Debi Chirichella noted there'd been some technical difficulties... [image]

Chandra Turner /
Chandra Turner on LinkedIn: Raise your hand if you've been laid off from Hearst before? 🙋🏻 ♀️You're not alone, my talented friends. …

Sean Burch /
The Wrap: Writers Guild Accuses Hearst of Being ‘Anti-Union’ Following ‘Irresponsible and Cruel’ Round of Layoffs

Andrew Nicla /
@andrewnicla.bsky.social: if you or anybody you know has lost their job at Hearst (or anywhere else) recently, know there are resources and people who want to help. www.spj.org/together.asp

Andrew Nicla /
@andrewnicla.bsky.social: hearing from friends affected by today's Hearst layoffs. The company has laid off at least 200 people, they say. www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/ bus...

Simon /
@bauxoffice.bsky.social: Hearst, ugh — as someone who grew up absolutely loving magazines, i'm sad the entire industry continually gets put in a vice and squeezed

Katie Campione /
Deadline: WGA East Slams “Anti-Union” Hearst Following Another Round Of Layoffs: “Needless, Irresponsible, And Cruel”

The Guardian:

National World, one of the UK's biggest newspaper groups, gets a £56.2M buyout offer from shareholder Media Concierge, a 40% premium to its Nov. 21 stock price— Media Concierge submits £56.2m cash offer for National World, underbidder in the auction for the Telegraph titles

Discussion:
Press Gazette, Financial Times, London Evening Standard and HoldtheFrontPage

Discussion:

Bron Maher /
Press Gazette: Battle for future of National World as shareholder launches takeover bid

Daniel Thomas /
Financial Times: Yorkshire Post owner attracts £56mn buyout bid from largest shareholder

Henry Saker-Clark /
London Evening Standard: Media Concierge launches £56.2m takeover move for National World

Deadline:

The English Premier League ends its content partnership with IMG and plans to bring content production and distribution in-house in 2026— The UK's Premier League soccer is to start producing and distributing its own content for the first time in two decades after ending its partnership with IMG.

Discussion:
Advanced Television

The Ankler:

Sources: MSNBC renewed Rachel Maddow's contract early this fall, but with a pay cut; MSNBC bosses' plan to shake up daytime and weekend programming— SCOOP: TV's ‘safe space for liberals’ is about to reshuffle its stars as the network re-ups its marquee name under a tough new spinoff-ready reality

Discussion:

Ben Blanchet /
HuffPost: Rachel Maddow Reportedly Taking Massive Pay Cut At MSNBC As Worries Loom Over Shakeup

Luke Bouma /
Cord Cutters News: MSNBC Reportedly Cuts Rachel Maddow's Salary & Plans to Shakeup Its Lineup

Brian Steinberg /
Variety: MSNBC's ‘Morning Joe’ Midweek Ratings Plunge 15% After Hosts Visit Trump at Mar-A-Lago

Stephen M. Lepore /
Daily Mail: Weary MSNBC stars Joe and Mika return to their penthouse while co-workers get salaries cut and ratings tank

Taylor Herzlich /
New York Post: MSNBC's Rachel Maddow's salary reportedly cut by $5M despite being ‘ratings Viagra’ - as parent company Comcast deals with ‘difficult time’

Michael Socolow /
@michaelsocolow.bsky.social: .... and MSNBC (which Comcast will spin-off into a new company) announced a new deal with Rachel Maddow that includes a $5 million pay cut, while indicating significant program changes at the channel. — A lot going on in media world today. — theankler.com/p/msnbc-mayh... [embedded post]

Justin Baragona /
@justinbaragona.bsky.social: Let's all pour one out for Rachel Maddow, who will now only be earning $25 million a year. — theankler.com/p/msnbc-mayh...

Lachlan Cartwright /
TVNewsCheck: MSNBC Mayhem: Rachel Maddow Pay Cut, Brutal Lineup Shakeup Coming

Ars Technica:

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced she will leave the agency on January 20; she was the first woman to be confirmed to lead the agency— Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced today that she will leave the agency on January 20, 2025, the day of President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration.

Discussion:
UPI, Federal Communications …, Inside Radio, Reuters, The Hill, RADIO ONLINE, Digital Music News, Radio Ink, @aram@aoir.social, @jrosenworcel@threads.net, The Hollywood Reporter, @arstechnica@mastodon.social, TechCrunch, Media Play News, @waltmossberg.bsky.social, Variety, Cord Cutters News, American Enterprise Institute, Deadline, Radio & Television …, TVNewsCheck, Advanced Television and CNET, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Clyde Hughes /
UPI: SEC, FCC chairs say they will leave offices on Jan. 20

Daniel Anstandig /
Inside Radio: Rosenworcel Says Federal Law Protects Broadcasters From Political Retribution.

David Shepardson /
Reuters: Rosenworcel to step down as US Federal Communications Commission chair on Jan. 20

Aram Sinnreich /
@aram@aoir.social: So long and thanks for all the policy. — @jrosenworcel out at the FCC. — https://arstechnica.com/...

Jessica Rosenworcel /
@jrosenworcel@threads.net: It's been a wild ride and great honor to be the first woman confirmed to lead the Federal Communications Commission. Grateful to President for the opportunity, the Senate for confirmation, and the staff for our efforts to build a digital future that works for everyone. https://www.fcc.gov/... @arstechnica@mastodon.social: FCC chairwoman announces departure, paving way for Republican majority — Rosenworcel had to lead agency without Democratic majority for most of her term. — https://arstechnica.com/... [image]

Kyle Wiggers /
TechCrunch: FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel agrees to step down

Erik Gruenwedel /
Media Play News: FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel Leaving Agency on President-Elect Trump's Inauguration Day

Luke Bouma /
Cord Cutters News: The Head of The FCC is Stepping Down

James C. Capretta /
American Enterprise Institute: Vote Counting in the 119th Congress

Ted Johnson /
Deadline: FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel To Depart Agency On January 20, When Donald Trump Takes Office

Ted Hearn /
TVNewsCheck: Chairwoman Rosenworcel Leaving FCC On Jan. 20

Colin Mann /
Advanced Television: FCC's Rosenworcel announces departure

Columbia Journalism Review:

A look at the Agora Center for Research, a Ugandan newsroom sitting between activism and investigative reporting, posting its work on various social media sites— Reporting that pops up in different media, documents as proof, and crowdsourced investigations have revealed corruption.

New York Post:

Email: WaPo senior politics editor Dan Eggen says he was told Monday that he will “be removed” at the end of 2024, and “will leave it to others to explain why”— The Washington Post abruptly removed its politics editor without giving him a reason for the decision …

Discussion:

Lachlan Cartwright /
@lachcartwright: Scoop: Washington Post senior politics editor Dan Eggen is being removed from his post at the end of the year. In a message to colleagues he writes: “I struggled with how to write this message since there is an element of begging to it that is not particularly attractive. But

Will Slaughter /
@bamabonds: With government contracts on the line, @washingtonpost continues to bend the knee (or more properly have its knees bent for it) to MAGA reality. The purported courage of the liberal press, when its rice bowl is threatened, is flimsy indeed.

Paul Farhi /
@farhip: Surprising. Dan is a vet. Knows his stuff.

Nicole Perlroth /
@nicoleperlroth: What is happening right now at WaPo is a Murdoch-esque downward slide into the Daily Mail. I feel so badly for the great journalists at the Washington Post right now. Every American should want this paper to be successful and should fear what comes if it isn't.

Bill Hangley Jr /
@hangleyjr: if you haven't unsubscribed yet, you probably should. this is almost certainly the result of Bezos's new bootlicking toady publisher wanting a bootlicking toady political editor

Ali Winston /
@awinston: Nooooo coincidence https://x.com/...

Dan Froomkin /
@froomkin: I've been waiting all day to get a hint of what this means. Anyone? Was he too aggressive about Trump? Not aggressive enough? Who made the call? There's plenty of reason to assume the worst — that he was shitcanned by Lewis to make room for Bezosian lickspittles. But who knows?

Lachlan Cartwright /
@lachcartwright: what the hey: I was informed Monday that I will be removed as senior politics editor at the end of the year. I will leave it to others to explain why." Eggen says he is “crushed” by the news. I have reached out to @washingtonpost for comment.

Ali Winston /
@awinston: This is fucking CRAZY. Eggen is one of the most reputable journalists at the Post. I've read people like him and Ellen Nakashima religiously over the years . Bezos and Lewis are gutting that institution, trashing its integrity and remaking it in the image of Fleet Street @sjvn@mastodon.social: Self-censorship is how you start losing freedom of the press: — https://nypost.com/...

Sarah Scire /
@scire.bsky.social: All today ... Washington Post senior politics editor Dan Eggen says he was removed from post, Wall Street Journal laid off politics editor Ben Pershing, and New York Times announced Washington bureau chief Elisabeth Bumiller is stepping down

Ad Age:

SMBs turn to Disney, Paramount, and Peacock's ad platforms; VAB: in H1 2024, 169 advertisers bought national TV ads for the first time and 67% spent <$500K— New-to-TV brands predict a ‘renaissance’ for growing businesses through streaming ads — As traditional TV networks shift …

Discussion:
MediaPost

Discussion:

Dave Morgan /
MediaPost: Biggest Threat To CTV Is ‘CTV-like’

The New York Times Company:

Elisabeth Bumiller, the NYT's Washington bureau chief since 2015 and nearly a 30-year NYT veteran, is stepping down to return to writing and reporting— Elisabeth, incomparable Washington bureau chief since 2015, has decided to return to writing and reporting.

Discussion:
@peterbakernyt, @ignatiuspost, @glennthrush, @moorehn, @peterbakernyt, @andrew_marshall, @peterbakernyt, @moorehn and @edmundlee.bsky.social

Discussion:

Peter Baker /
@peterbakernyt: ... challenging periods ever when so much was at stake. And she did it with extraordinary intelligence, integrity, grace, determination, good judgment and most of all a spine of steel. No one has done more to deliver first-rate journalism in Washington under such ... (2)

David Ignatius /
@ignatiuspost: @BumillerNYT has been a peerless Washington bureau chief. A total professional, hard to compete against but easy to admire.

Glenn Thrush /
@glennthrush: No one could have done the job better.

Heidi N. Moore /
@moorehn: Leave aside that the Washington bureau chief played a major role in the miserable Trump-enabling coverage of Maggie H a b e r m a n, the Judy Miller of the Trump Administration. The nation got through that period of miserable stenography, but barely.

Peter Baker /
@peterbakernyt: When the history of the current media era is written, there should be a major chapter about Elisabeth Bumiller (@BumillerNYT). She has led the @nytimes Washington Bureau tirelessly for nearly a decade, a modern record, including one of the most ... (1) https://www.nytco.com/...

Andrew Marshall /
@andrew_marshall: one of the best

Peter Baker /
@peterbakernyt: ... withering pressure. We're going to miss her as a boss but the good news is she's a magnificent writer too and soon we'll get to see her byline again. (3)

Heidi N. Moore /
@moorehn: Oh, I dunno, I remember when young women came forward to say Glenn Thrush had sexually harassed them with the promise of helping their careers and Ms. Bumiller here sided with the harasser and suggested that young women were just too sensitive. https://jezebel.com/...

Edmund Lee /
@edmundlee.bsky.social: Elisabeth Bumiller to step down as Washington bureau chief at The New York Times (via inbox) — It's one of the hardest jobs in journalism and it's one of the stepping stones to the top of the masthead. — The Times has a deep bench of younger editors to choose from, and then there's turmoil at WaPo...

The Desk:

DirecTV terminates its Dish acquisition after a group of Dish creditors rejected a modified bond exchange offer— Pay television provider DirecTV on Thursday officially announced it will terminate its agreement to acquire rival satellite company Dish Network and its streaming service Sling TV from Echostar this week.

Discussion:

Tim Baysinger /
Axios: DirecTV to spike Dish deal over debt swap exchange DIRECTV: DIRECTV Announces Termination of Agreement to Acquire EchoStar's Video Distribution Business

Luke Bouma /
Cord Cutters News: DIRECTV & Dish Network Merger is Officially Dead as Bondholders Reject Debt Swap

Gnaneshwar Rajan /
Reuters: DirecTV terminates Dish deal over failed debt swap

Ross A. Lincoln /
The Wrap: DirecTV Terminates Dish Acquisition Over Debt Exchange Dispute

Gnaneshwar Rajan /
Reuters: DirecTV to terminate Dish deal over debt swap exchange, Axios reports

Todd Spangler /
Variety: DirecTV Ditches Dish Deal

Mansha Daswani /
WORLD SCREEN: DIRECTV Abandons DISH Acquisition

Kelcee Griffis /
Bloomberg: DirecTV to Call Off Dish Takeover After Bondholders Balk

TechCrunch:

Texas AG opens a probe into the World Federation of Advertisers to determine if it conspired to boycott “certain social media platforms”; X sued WFA in August— Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced on Thursday he is opening an investigation into the World Federation of Advertisers …

Discussion:

Wendy Davis /
MediaPost: Texas AG Investigates WFA Over Ad ‘Boycott’ Texas Attorney General: Attorney General Ken Paxton Opens Investigation Into Possible Conspiracy by Advertising Companies to Boycott Certain Social Media Platforms

Elon Musk /
@elonmusk: @KenPaxtonTX It's still a major problem

Dan Frieth /
Reclaim The Net: Texas AG Ken Paxton Investigates GARM Over Alleged Ad Cartel Demonetization Conspiracy

Attorney General Ken Paxton /
@kenpaxtontx: BREAKING: I have opened an investigation into a possible conspiracy by advertising companies to boycott certain social media platforms. It is completely unacceptable and un-American that the Department of Justice under the Biden Administration failed to enforce antitrust laws

Thomas Barrabi /
New York Post: Texas AG Ken Paxton investigates GARM ad cartel over boycott ‘conspiracy’

Thomas Stevenson /
The Post Millennial: NEW: Texas AG Ken Paxton investigates possible conspiracy by ad companies to boycott social media platforms

Wired:

Hawaii's The Garden Island stops using AI-generated newscasters on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram after two months, likely due to the negative public response— A local newspaper in Hawaii experimented with AI-generated presenters to engage and boost its readership. After two months, the bots have been shelved.

Discussion:
Mandy DeLuca on LinkedIn, @newsguy.bsky.social and Futurism, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Mandy DeLuca /
Mandy DeLuca on LinkedIn: James and Rose, Hawaii's (and the US') first AI News Broadcasters, have been fired from The Garden Island newspaper after being used for only two months. …

Steve Herman /
@newsguy.bsky.social: AI newscasters in Hawaii “covered topics as varied as a fall pumpkin giveaway and a vigil for a labor massacre—all in the same distant, matter-of-fact tone of beings incapable of comprehending human emotions.” www.wired.com/story/the-ai...

Victor Tangermann /