Memos: Scripps is "winding down" its linear national TV news business on November 15, resulting in ~200 layoffs, and president of news Kate O'Brian is leaving (Brian Steinberg/Variety)

Mediagazer: Memos: Scripps is “winding down” its linear national TV news business on November 15, resulting in ~200 layoffs, and president of news Kate O'Brian is leaving (Brian Steinberg/Variety)

Top News:

Deadline:

Newsmax and election systems company Smartmatic reach a confidential settlement that averts Smartmatic's defamation lawsuit over 2020 election lies— Newsmax has reached a settlement with election systems company Smartmatic, averting a defamation trial that was set to start next week.
Discussion: Advanced Television, NBC News, Adweek, ABC News, Washington Post, DNyuz, @katie_robertson, The Hill, Politico, @stuartathompsonnyt …, Newser, Axios, New York Times, CNN, NPR, Forbes, @jswatz_tx@threads.net, CNN, Crooks and Liars, Mediaite, The Desk, The Wrap, The Daily Beast, Associated Press, The Guardian, Reuters, Los Angeles Times, Radio & Television …, New York Daily News, TVNewsCheck, Barrett Media, ABC7 and Media Matters for America

Discussion:

Brad Pareso /
Adweek: Newsmax, Smartmatic Settle Defamation Case

Jeremy Barr /
Washington Post: Smartmatic and Newsmax settle defamation case involving 2020 election

Katie Robertson /
@katie_robertson: Smartmatic and Newsmax settled for an undisclosed amount today, as a jury was being selected for trial. Smartmatic settled a similar case against OANN earlier this year. They still have a pending case against Fox. https://www.nytimes.com/...

Dominick Mastrangelo /
The Hill: Newsmax settles with Smartmatic days ahead of trial

Stuart A. Thompson /
@stuartathompsonnyt@threads.net: with Smartmatic and Dominion winning big $$$ in lawsuits, it'll be interesting to see how election deniers handle 2024. they'll avoid naming specific companies — only because they know their claims are BS. expect their lies to be vaguer, targeting people and groups and things that can't actually sue.

Sara Fischer /
Axios: Newsmax, Smartmatic settle defamation lawsuit

Katie Robertson /
New York Times: Newsmax and Smartmatic Settle Defamation Case Over 2020 Election

Alison Durkee /
Forbes: Smartmatic Settles With Newsmax: Here's Where It And Dominion's Other Lawsuits Stand

Marshall Cohen /
CNN: Newsmax faces ‘bet-your-company’ defamation trial over 2020 election lies

Josh Dickey /
The Wrap: Newsmax Settles Smartmatic Defamation Suit One Week Before Trial Opening Statements

Lily Mae Lazarus /
The Daily Beast: Newsmax Settles Defamation Case With 2020 Election Firm on Eve of Trial

Randall Chase /
Associated Press: Smartmatic voting tech firm reaches settlement with Newsmax in 2020 election defamation case

Tom Hals /
Reuters: Smartmatic has settled its defamation case against Newsmax, according to court official

Stephen Battaglio /
Los Angeles Times: Right wing network Newsmax settles defamation lawsuit with Smartmatic

Ted Johnson /
TVNewsCheck: Newsmax Settles Smartmatic Defamation Lawsuit, Averting Trial Over 2020 Election Rigging Claims

Olivia Rubin /
ABC7: Newsmax reaches settlement with Smartmatic regarding claims about 2020 election

Variety:

Memos: Scripps is “winding down” its linear national TV news business on November 15, resulting in ~200 layoffs, and president of news Kate O'Brian is leaving— Scripps is backing out of a ambitious effort to offer national news across its many TV stations, and its reasons for doing so may give rivals the shudders.

Discussion:
@maxwelltani, Adweek, Deadline, @jeremymbarr and TVNewsCheck

Discussion:

Max Tani /
@maxwelltani: Here's the email Adam Symson president and CEO of Scripps sent out this morning to staff [image]

Ethan Alter /
Adweek: Scripps News Announces Layoffs and Programming Changes

Ted Johnson /
Deadline: Scripps News To Cut More Than 200 Jobs, Scale Back National News Programming Amid “Difficult” Linear TV Advertising Market

Jeremy Barr /
@jeremymbarr: Some news this morning: Scripps announced to employees that they are shutting down their national linear TV news business on Nov. 15, cutting more than 200 jobs in the process. Only a staff of 50 will remain. Employees are in a town hall right now...

The Hollywood Reporter:

Former child star Demi Lovato joined California Governor Gavin Newsom as he signed two bills that financially protect child influencers and content creators— Former child star Demi Lovato joined the California governor on Thursday as he greenlit legislation that expands the Coogan Law …

Discussion:

Elanaross /
Governor of California: Governor Newsom joins Demi Lovato to sign legislation to protect the financial security of child influencers

Sharon Knolle /
The Wrap: Demi Lovato Meets With Gavin Newsom as He Signs Legislation to Protect Child Influencers

Elizabeth Wagmeister /
Marin Independent Journal: Demi Lovato joins Gov. Newsom as he signs legislation protecting young social media influencers @kayreneeesq: This is a good start. Hope for even more protection from exploitative parents Newsom signs bill requiring compensation for child influencers. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ ...

Filip Timotija /
The Hill: Newsom signs bills protecting earnings of child influencers, content creators Maria J Da Mata Mulero on LinkedIn: Great news. This is so important in this digital and social media age.

David González /
ABC7: New California laws protect ‘child influencers’ from financial abuse

Ethan Millman /
Rolling Stone: Demi Lovato Champions Signed Law to Protect Child Influencers From Financial Abuse

Daysia Tolentino /
NBC News: California enacts laws to protect child influencers' financial security

Chase DiBenedetto /
Mashable: Child ‘content creators’ granted protections in California by Gov. Newsom

Rania Aniftos /
Billboard: Demi Lovato Joins Governor Gavin Newsom to Sign Legislation to Protect Child Influencers' Financial Security

Press Gazette:

Future announces the closure of several “low to no growth assets” including some events and magazines, among them 3D World, All About Space, and Total 911— Future has announced it is closing a number of “low to no growth assets” including magazines and events.

Discussion:
Karen Freeman on LinkedIn and @beardedtechguy …

Discussion:

Karen Freeman /
Karen Freeman on LinkedIn: It's the end of an era. Though I was “just” a freelancer, iMore was a huge part of my professional life for more than six years. … @beardedtechguy@allthingstech.social: Waking up to see yet another blog closing due to AI breaks my heart. iMore was one of the great Apple blogs, granted after Rene left it wasn't the same, but none the less, it's sad to see blogs continuing to die. — https://www.imore.com/... #iMore #Tech #News #TechNews #Journalism #Blogs #Blog

Bloomberg:

Sources: Apple rethinks its movie strategy, including rolling back theatrical releases and cutting budgets for most to under $100M, after some box office misses— The tech giant intended to spend $1 billion annually on films for cinemas. After several box office disappointments …

Discussion:
Variety and 9to5Mac, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Rebecca Rubin /
Variety: New York Film Festival Director on Curating the 2024 Slate and Why He Doesn't Prioritize World Premieres

Ryan Christoffel /
9to5Mac: Apple TV+ shifts movie strategy to be very Netflix-like, per report

Nieman Lab:

A look at National Trust for Local News, which owns 65 newspapers across Colorado, Maine, and Georgia, employs ~250 journalists, and has 100K paying subscribers— “What we're trying to solve for is not necessarily a business model problem. We're trying to solve for an ownership incentive problem."

Discussion:
Rodney Gibbs on LinkedIn

The Information:

Source: Amazon exceeded its goal of $1.8B in ad-spending commitments for its video-streaming offerings, including Thursday Night Football, in the coming year— Amazon's decision to introduce ads within its Prime Video streaming service is already paying off for the company.

Discussion:
Deadline, The Wrap, Reuters and Adweek, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Juby Babu /
Reuters: Amazon tops $1.8 bln ad-spending commitment target for video-streaming services, The Information reports

Bill Bradley /
Adweek: Here's What Buyers Really Thought of the 2024 Upfront

Press Gazette:

A look at publishers' growing use of Subtext, founded in 2019 by Advance Local's Alpha Group, to drive traffic, reduce churn, and drive affiliate revenue— Could old-fashioned SMS texting be a more reliable alternative to fickle social media algorithms for publishers?

The Verge:

X is blocking links to Ken Klippenstein's newsletter with a hacked JD Vance dossier and has suspended Klippenstein's X account for posting Vance's personal info— X is preventing users from posting links to a newsletter containing a hacked document that's alleged to be the Trump campaign's research …

Discussion:
Fast Company, Axios, HuffPost, New York Post, @pkafka@threads.net, Adweek, Reason, NBC News, Breitbart, @eliothiggins, @thezedwards, @alibreland, @rmac18, @justinbaragona, @leahmcelrath, @rmac18, @emptywheel, @jessicalburbank, New York Daily News, @newrepublic@threads.net, Engadget, @omimesis@mastodon.social, @BackFromTheDud@mas.to, New Republic, @oremus.bsky.social, @davekarpf.bsky.social, @Cyberpreppy@mastodon.social, @hn50@social.lansky.name, Ken Klippenstein, @digiphile@mastodon.social, The Hill, Elizabeth Lopatto on LinkedIn, @passantino@threads.net, DNyuz, @mmasnick.bsky.social and Hacker News, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Chris Stokel-Walker /
Fast Company: Why X suspended journalist Ken Klippenstein for sharing a hacked document on JD Vance

Angrej Singh /
Axios: X suspends journalist who shared leaked Vance docs

Paige Skinner /
HuffPost: Journalist Banned From X After Publishing JD Vance Dossier

Taylor Herzlich /
New York Post: X blocks links to hacked JD Vance dossier, suspends journalist's account

Peter Kafka /
@pkafka@threads.net: For those asking: This is not the same as the Biden laptop story. But it does have echoes: Twitter (and others, including Facebook), *thought* the laptop story could have been a hack and leak, with good reason. But no evidence ever emerged that it was, and Jack Dorsey subsequently apologized for banning links to the NY Post story that used the material. …

Brad Pareso /
Adweek: Journalist Banned From X After Publishing Vance Dossier, Links to Material Blocked

Liz Wolfe /
Reason: More Vance Than Anyone Could Ever Need

Kevin Collier /
NBC News: Independent journalist publishes Trump campaign document hacked by Iran despite election interference concerns

Paul Bois /
Breitbart: Journalist Ken Klippenstein Temporarily Banned from X for Sharing JD Vance's Personal Information

Eliot Higgins /
@eliothiggins: There's whole bot networks pushing Russian disinformation designed to interfere with the US election, yet they seem to operate without this level of intervention.

Zach Edwards /
@thezedwards: X is locking accounts that link to the J.D. Vance report released by Ken Klippenstein. I assume they are locking all the accounts that linked to the old 2016 leaked docs too? Oh right, forgot this is a partisan network now. [image]

Ali Breland /
@alibreland: got temporarily locked out of twitter for posting about the jd vance dossier with a screenshot from his investments portion. it's not “private information” anymore [image]

Ali Breland /
@alibreland: notable how quickly they started enforcing the vance dossier given how diminished the moderation team is and how they often dont bother to handle a lot of things that otherwise violate the rules, or at least handle them quickly [image]

Ryan Mac /
@rmac18: There are parallels to the NYPost Hunter Biden laptop story. The key difference is Twitter prevented distribution of the NYPost story because it believed the material had been hacked (though it later turned out not to be.) In Klippenstein's case, it's been established that the

Justin Baragona /
@justinbaragona: UPDATE A Twitter/X spokesman told me that Ken Klippenstein was temporarily suspended for sharing JD Vance's personal information, specifically his home address and partial Social Security number. https://x.com/...

Leah McElrath /
@leahmcelrath: Musk also locked Ken's attorney's account:

Leah McElrath /
@leahmcelrath: The TOS are whatever Musk says they are, essentially.

Leah McElrath /
@leahmcelrath: So @kenklippenstein published the hacked dossier on JD Vance, and Elon Musk suspended his account: [image]

Leah McElrath /
@leahmcelrath: I read through the table of contents of the JD Vance dossier. The information it contains appears to be all—or mostly all—part of the public record. It's hard to see how Ken violated TOS, especially since this entire platform is weaponized by foreign ICs.

Ryan Mac /
@rmac18: The irony of this is that it appears X got rid of the page explaining its once existent “hacked materials” policy. So it's unclear why Klippenstein was suspended. https://help.x.com/... https://x.com/... [image] @emptywheel: Hey @elonmusk: Did you just suspend @kenklippenstein bc you like JD Vance more than Hunter Biden? @jessicalburbank: This is what happens when I try to click on @kenklippenstein's link to the JD Vance Dossier piece. Elon Musk, big free speech guy! [image]

David Matthews /
New York Daily News: Journalist suspended from X after publishing allegedly hacked Vance dossier @newrepublic@threads.net: Independent journalist Ken Klippenstein was suspended from X shortly after sharing a leaked dossier on Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance. https://newrepublic.com/...

Danny Gallagher /
Engadget: X suspends journalist Ken Klippenstein after he published J.D. Vance dossier @BackFromTheDud@mas.to: @Mediagazer Ay, Melon Husk has a variable definition of what “Free Speech” is.

Will Oremus /
@oremus.bsky.social: ingenious move by musk to go ham on the vance dossier while all the content moderation experts are locked up at a stanford trust and safety conference [embedded post]

Dave Karpf /
@davekarpf.bsky.social: I mean sure, I'm happy to point and laugh at Elon's hypocrisy here. — But I'm not gonna rally to the cause of engagement-bait. — Two things can both be bad for different reasons at the same time.

Dave Karpf /
@davekarpf.bsky.social: The Klippenstein thing is just raw Substackonomics: —Dude posts the Vance dossier, declaring “sure it's Iranian hackers but I'm a courageous journalist btw plz subscribe.” —bunch of people say “lol fuck yeah here's money.” —Elon suspends. —Next he'll say “I'm being silenced! plz subscribe!” [image]

Adrian Randall /
@Cyberpreppy@mastodon.social: It's Elon Musk's personal website. He owns it 100%. He can do whatever he wants with it. And he will never, ever let you use it in a way that threatens him or his allies. — https://www.theverge.com/... @hn50@social.lansky.name: X (Twitter) blocks links to hacked JD Vance dossier — Link: https://www.theverge.com/... Discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/ ... #twitter

Alex Howard /
@digiphile@mastodon.social: Today, X suspended @kenklippenstein after he published a dossier the Trump campaign compiled on J.D. Vance on his newsletter on Substack, citing a rule against “posting private info.” Verge reports X is blocking the URL, scrubbing it from search, & deleted their hacked materials policy. https://www.theverge.com/... …

Julia Shapero /
The Hill: Journalist booted from X after publishing hacked Vance document

Elizabeth Lopatto /
Elizabeth Lopatto on LinkedIn: seems familiar... https://lnkd.in/g4DCN5Zm

Jon Passantino /
@passantino@threads.net: A spox for X says: “Ken Klippenstein was temporarily suspended for violating our rules on posting unredacted private personal information, specifically Sen. Vance's physical addresses and the majority of his Social Security number.” — RE: https://www.threads.net/... DNyuz: X platform suspends journalist after he publishes JD Vance dossier allegedly hacked and leaked by Iran

Mike Masnick /
@mmasnick.bsky.social: I am sure that Jim Jordan will be launching an investigation into Elon Musk's suppression of this leak about someone close to a presidential campaign this close to an election. — Right? — Or did that only apply to the Hunter Biden laptop? [embedded post]

New York Times:

Sources: ESPN lays off NBA senior writer Zach Lowe as part of continuing cost cutting; his salary, in excess of seven figures annually, was the biggest factor— ESPN has parted ways with NBA senior writer Zach Lowe as part of the network's continuing layoffs, sources briefed on the decision told The Athletic on Thursday.

Discussion:
Awful Announcing, TVNewsCheck, Washington Post, Front Office Sports, New York Post, Adweek, ComingSoon.net, @sepinwall@threads.net, @kforch1@threads.net, Deadline, @johnjf125, @tyler_greever, @sherman4949, @waldersports, @philiprr_omd, @fmaddennba, @yourmandevine, @marcatracy, Mediaite, Sports Media Watch, New Jersey Online, @howelloneill.bsky.social, UPROXX, Barrett Media and USA Today

Discussion:

Ben Strauss /
Washington Post: Zach Lowe, star NBA journalist, laid off by ESPN

Michael McCarthy /
Front Office Sports: Chiefs Have Replaced Cowboys as NFL's No. 1 TV Team

Erich Richter /
New York Post: Bill Simmons unloads on ESPN bosses for firing Zach Lowe: ‘Who is in charge?’

Brad Pareso /
Adweek: ESPN Lays Off NBA Senior Writer Zach Lowe

Tamal Kundu /
ComingSoon.net: What Happened to Zach Lowe? ESPN Lay-off Explained

Alan Sepinwall /
@sepinwall@threads.net: It's so depressing that there's so much more money to be made from angry bad-faith debate than there is from someone who is incredibly smart and eloquent about his area of expertise, whom everyone in the audience likes in large part because he makes them feel smarter, too. https://www.nytimes.com/... @kforch1@threads.net: This makes me so mad. Zach is the reason I got back into sports writing, his podcast is tied so closely with my love of the game and following hoops. I know he will land somewhere great but such a bummer to see this chapter close https://www.nytimes.com/...

John Fleming /
@johnjf125: I'm sure he'll go to The Athletic or The Ringer in a heartbeat, but is ESPN really this invested in spending half their payroll to have Pat McAfee run around shirtless and Stephen A. Smith yell directly at the New York Knicks?

Tyler Greever /
@tyler_greever: Coupling this with Woj retiring is one hell of a way to get people amped up for your NBA coverage.

Alex Sherman /
@sherman4949: Tectonic shift in ESPN's NBA coverage in the past week.

Chris Walder /
@waldersports: ESPN doesn't want knowledgable, sensible personalities. They want loud, obnoxious, hot take artists who can gain traction on social media. This is ridiculous. Zach Lowe is one of the best basketball writers on the planet.

Philip Rossman-Reich /
@philiprr_omd: Zach Lowe is what we all should want our NBA coverage to be. Endlessly curious about every facet of the league and smart about teaching why it's so fascinating. He is also a genuinely great guy from the few interactions I've had with him. He's the model for NBA coverage.

Frank Madden /
@fmaddennba: I'm sorry WHAT??????? Woj retires and ESPN responds by laying off the single best writer/analyst/podcaster in the NBA universe? Good lord what a clown show.

Dan Devine /
@yourmandevine: If this is true, it is galactically stupid.

Marc Tracy /
@marcatracy: I'm just a country NBA fan and ex-media reporter, but ... I think Lowe operated wonderfully as a sort of loss leader in front of the paywall, helping all of us be better NBA fans —> consuming more ESPN, and was less of a fit behind that specific paywall https://x.com/...

Ahmad Austin Jr /
Mediaite: Top NBA Writer Zach Lowe Let Go From ESPN as Layoffs Continue: Report

Jimmy Hascup /
New Jersey Online: ESPN layoffs continue with shocker: ‘This move is tough to figure out’

Patrick Howell O'Neill /
@howelloneill.bsky.social: please put a trigger warning on that salary for journalists working on anything but sports [embedded post]

Robby Kalland /
UPROXX: ESPN Laid Off Zach Lowe In Latest Shakeup To Their NBA Coverage

Charles Curtis /
USA Today: ESPN lays off Zach Lowe, beloved NBA analyst: What we know

Radio World:

The FCC voted to impose fines for three Miami-area pirate radio operators totaling $800K+ and proposes fines totaling $1M for three suspected NYC-area operators— Commission carries out three fines, has three more proposed — The Federal Communications Commission has taken swift action …

Discussion:
@ampersine@mastodon.online: @Mediagazer — I heard it, I heard it, I heard it on the X — https://youtube.com/...

Kelcee Griffis /
Bloomberg: FCC Levies $6 Million Fine Against Biden Robocaller

Adam Jacobson /
Radio & Television Business Report: FCC Affirms Miami Pirate Radio Fines As N.Y. Offenders Get Proposed Penalties

CNN:

Nevada court hearings in the Murdoch family succession fight ended outside of public view; resolution may take weeks and be appealed to Nevada's Supreme Court— New York CNN — — The fate of Rupert Murdoch's vast media empire, including Fox News, is now in the hands of a Reno probate commissioner …

Discussion: