News

YouTube: 45M+ people in the US watched election content on November 5; top livestreams were from Fox News, NBC News, LiveNOW, ABC News, and the PBD Podcast (Alex Weprin/The Hollywood Reporter)

Mediagazer · last updated

Mediagazer: YouTube: 45M+ people in the US watched election content on November 5; top livestreams were from Fox News, NBC News, LiveNOW, ABC News, and the PBD Podcast (Alex Weprin/The Hollywood Reporter)

Top News:

New York Times:

The Onion, backed by some Sandy Hook families and Everytown for Gun Safety, buys Infowars in a bankruptcy auction, and plans a January 2025 relaunch as a parody— The satirical news site planned to turn Infowars into a parody of itself, mocking “weird internet personalities” who peddle conspiracy theories and health supplements.
Discussion: The Onion, Washington Post, Nieman Lab, NPR, Fox Business, Benzinga, Mediaite, The Ankler, Fast Company, Esquire, Associated Press, Inc.com, Alternet.org, Al Jazeera, Above the Law, @bencollins.bsky.social, New Republic, @maxwelltani, Le Monde, NBC News, New York Post, David Wyatt on LinkedIn, Lawyers, Guns & Money, @oneunderscore__, CNN, @bencollins.bsky.social, @everytown@threads.net, Associated Press, Politico, Just Jared, Engadget, TVNewsCheck, @oneunderscore__, Fortune, The Information, UPI, Plain Dealer, Breitbart, @zimbalist, @semaforben, @yonetteajoseph@threads.net, To the Contrary, @hadas_gold, @jamesrbuk, 6abc, @bencollins.bsky.social, Raw Story, Financial Times, @colbyhall, Laurel Pinson on LinkedIn, @benmullin, @sherman4949, @jamesrbuk, Houston Public Media, Mashable, The Verge, USA Today, Digby's Hullabaloo, Block Club Chicago, RedState, Laura Seaton on LinkedIn, The Present Age, @oneunderscore__, Status, @daithaigilbert, @pkafka, Bloomberg, Mother Jones, Axios, Newser, @brianstelter, The Wrap, @claireatki, @bencollins.bsky.social, The Guardian, @sherman4949, The Hill, @mick@cosocial.ca, Washington Examiner, The Desk, Hollywood Life, The Daily Caller, OMG.BLOG, Variety, @willguyatt, @pbump, @bencollins.bsky.social, @brianstelter, @web_martin@mastodon.social, One America News Network, @theonion, ZeroHedge News, @laurenthomanwrites …, The Hollywood Reporter, I guess this is a …, HuffPost, Business Insider, The Gateway Pundit, Rolling Stone, CBS News, Barrett Media, RTÉ, Law & Crime, Boing Boing, Deadline, Not the Bee, Consequence, New York Daily News, Forbes, The National Pulse, Daring Fireball, Press Herald, AV Club, Crooks and Liars, Austin American-Statesman, Daily Kos, WHEC.com and UnHerd

Discussion:

Joshua Benton /
Nieman Lab: The Onion adds a new layer, buying Alex Jones' Infowars and turning it into a parody of itself

Tovia Smith /
NPR: The Onion wins auction for Alex Jones' media company

Anthony Noto /
Benzinga: Joke's On Jones: Onion, Backed By Families Of Sandy Hook Victims, Buys Info Wars

Zachary Leeman /
Mediaite: Colby Hall Says Alex Jones's ‘Days In the Sun Are Probably Ending,’ But Don't Expect Him To Go Away: ‘Hucksters Hustle’

Sean McNulty /
The Ankler: ☀️DISNEY Price Hikes, Movies Save Linear TV Melt

Joe Berkowitz /
Fast Company: ‘The Onion’ buys Alex Jones's ‘Infowars’—and it's already having fun with the purchase

Charles P. Pierce /
Esquire: Congrats To ‘The Onion’, Which Bought Vile Misinformation Site ‘Infowars’ Out Of Bankruptcy

Bruce Crumley /
Inc.com: Not a Joke: The Onion Buys Up Alex Jones's Infowars Site

Carl Gibson /
Alternet.org: How Sandy Hook families got the last laugh in legal battle with Alex Jones

Liz Dye /
Above the Law: The Onion Peels Infowars

Tim Onion /
@bencollins.bsky.social: Also, part of the reason we did bought InfoWars is because people on Bluesky told us it would be funny to buy InfoWars. And those people were right. This is the funniest thing that has ever happened.

Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling /
New Republic: Alex Jones Is Having a Total Meltdown Over The Onion Buying Infowars Le Monde: Satirical US site The Onion buys Infowars with the backing of Sandy Hook victims' families

David Wyatt /
David Wyatt on LinkedIn: A master stroke. — Via the The New York Times: “The Onion, a satirical publication that skewers newsmakers and current events …

Scott Lemieux /
Lawyers, Guns & Money: Actually the Onion — We will return to the decline and fall of the American republic shortly …

Hadas Gold /
CNN: The Onion wins bidding for InfoWars assets

Tim Onion /
@bencollins.bsky.social: I would like to reiterate: We own everything. The broadcasting equipment, the supplements, the intellectual property for Brain Force Plus. We are still trying to figure out what to do with it.

Dave Collins /
Associated Press: Satire publication The Onion buys Alex Jones' Infowars at auction with Sandy Hook families' backing

Irie Sentner /
Politico: Bad day for Alex Jones as The Onion buys Infowars Just Jared: The Onion Picks Up Alex Jones' Bankrupt Infowars, Reveals Plans to Relaunch Site With New Vision

Will Shanklin /
Engadget: In an outcome beyond parody, The Onion has bought Infowars @oneunderscore__: Hello! The Onion, with the help of the Sandy Hook families, has purchased InfoWars. We're planning on making a very stupid website. We've retained some Onion and Clickhole Hall of Famers to pull it off. I can't wait to show you what we cooked up. https://www.nytimes.com/...

Doug Cunningham /
UPI: Satire publication The Onion wins Alex Jones' Infowars in bankruptcy auction

Simon Kent /
Breitbart: The Onion Buys Alex Jones' Infowars at Auction with Backing from Sandy Hook Families

Michael Zimbalist /
@zimbalist: This is a great outcome!

Yonette Joseph /
@yonetteajoseph@threads.net: The Onion said that the bid was sanctioned by the families of the victims of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, who in 2022 won a $1.4 billion defamation lawsuit against Alex Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems. …

Charlie Sykes /
To the Contrary: They Broke it. They Bought It. — “Are you shitting me? No.” Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) …

Hadas Gold /
@hadas_gold: BREAKING: THE ONION backed by some of the Sandy Hook families and in a special deal with Everytown for Gun Safety has acquired INFOWARS story coming

James Ball /
@jamesrbuk: The absolute best bit The Onion could do with this would be to continue the output entirely unchanged, but with a tiny satire tag somewhere.

Aaron Katersky /
6abc: Satire news site The Onion buys Alex Jones' Infowars at auction with help from Sandy Hook families

Tim Onion /
@bencollins.bsky.social: Hi everyone. — The Onion, with the help of the Sandy Hook families, has purchased InfoWars. — We are planning on making it a very funny, very stupid website. — We have retained the services of some Onion and Clickhole Hall of Famers to pull this off. — I can't wait to show you what we have cooked up.

Kathleen Culliton /
Raw Story: ‘I needed this news’: The Onion spurs tears of laughter with Infowars takeover

Daniel Thomas /
Financial Times: The Onion to acquire InfoWars from bankruptcy

Colby Hall /
@colbyhall: Public Service Announcement: Bryce P. Tetraender, CEO of The Onion's so-called parent company, Global Tetrahendra, is not real. People are missing the intended satire of a story rooted in the massacre of 21 innocent lives, many of whom were 6 years old. Enormous fail by

Laurel Pinson /
Laurel Pinson on LinkedIn: Wow, this is absolutely brilliant. — {slow clap} — Talk about shifting the narrative! Genius-tier acquisition from the Onion team 👏 …

Ben Mullin /
@benmullin: scoop: in an insane twist, The Onion has acquired Infowars in a bankruptcy auction. They're planning to relaunch the site next year with a new sponsor: Everytown for Gun Safety https://www.nytimes.com/...

Alex Sherman /
@sherman4949: Not The Onion. Wait, Yes The Onion.

James Ball /
@jamesrbuk: I'm deeply worried that buying the Infowars brand will damage The Onion's commitment to in-depth, fact-checked reported journalism.

Andrew Weber /
Houston Public Media: The Onion buys Infowars at Alex Jones' bankruptcy auction. No, seriously.

Tim Marcin /
Mashable: Yes, The Onion really bought Alex Jones' InfoWars

Emma Roth /
The Verge: The Onion just bought Infowars

Jeanine Santucci /
USA Today: Satire publication The Onion acquires Alex Jones' Infowars at auction

Tom Sullivan /
Digby's Hullabaloo: Onionized — Alex Jones found out — NBC News: — The Onion, the satirical news company …

Clint Worthington /
Block Club Chicago: The Onion Buys Alex Jones' InfoWars As ‘A Hilarious Joke’

Teri Christoph /
RedState: WHOA: The Onion, Aided by Sandy Hook Parents, Has Bought Infowars; Alex Jones Reacts

Laura Seaton /
Laura Seaton on LinkedIn: 🚨This is NOT a joke. The Onion buys Infowars out of bankruptcy. — Really looking forward to seeing what the champion of satire does with the platform. …

Parker Molloy /
The Present Age: The Onion Now Owns Infowars, Because Reality's Ridiculousness Finally Outpaced Satire

Oliver Darcy /
Status: Not Satire: The Onion acquires Infowars

David Gilbert /
@daithaigilbert: Congrats to @oneunderscore__ on buying Alex Jones' InfoWars. Looking forward to seeing what supplements they are going to be selling.... [image]

Peter Kafka /
@pkafka: Oliver Darcy: “The Onion has successfully acquired Infowars. The satirical news outlet purchased Alex Jones' right-wing conspiracy empire at a court-ordered auction.” https://www.status.news/...

Tim Baysinger /
Axios: The Onion acquires Alex Jones' Infowars

Polly Davis Doig /
Newser: The Onion Just Bought Alex Jones' Infowars

Brian Stelter /
@brianstelter: Quoting the press release: “The Onion's goal with the acquisition is to end Infowars' relentless barrage of disinformation for the sake of selling supplements and replace it with The Onion's relentless barrage of humor for good.”

Claire Atkinson /
@claireatki: The best revenge! Congrats Ben. [image]

Tim Onion /
@bencollins.bsky.social: You better fucking subscribe to The Onion. This is the kind of thing we will do with your money. — It allowed us to buy InfoWars. Now help us staff it. — membership.theonion.com

Anna Betts /
The Guardian: The Onion buys conspiracy theory site Infowars with plans to make it ‘very funny, very stupid’

Alex Sherman /
@sherman4949: For those asking, yes, I had this on my 2024 Bingo Card.

Lauren Irwin /
The Hill: The Onion buys Alex Jones's Infowars at auction

Mick /
@mick@cosocial.ca: “Through it all, InfoWars has shown an unswerving commitment to manufacturing anger and radicalizing the most vulnerable members of society—values that resonate deeply with all of us at Global Tetrahedron.” — #TheOnion #NotTheOnion — https://theonion.com/...

Elisabeth McGowan /
Hollywood Life: ‘The Onion’ Buys ‘InfoWars’: What Will It Do With Alex Jones' Website?

Nicole Silverio /
The Daily Caller: ‘The Onion’ Buys Alex Jones' Infowars Network

Igor /
OMG.BLOG: OMG, The Onion buys InfoWars

Todd Spangler /
Variety: The Onion Buys Infowars in Bankruptcy Auction

Will Guyatt /
@willguyatt: What a satisfying end to a terrible website.

Philip Bump /
@pbump: Absolutely legendary. https://x.com/...

Tim Onion /
@bencollins.bsky.social: I am hearing word that Alex Jones, in true Alex Jones fashion, is reading the press release from our fictitious CEO as fact.

Brian Stelter /
@brianstelter: CNN's @Hadas_Gold was the first to report that The Onion was in the mix as a potential bidder for Infowars. Here's her full story about this 🤯 outcome https://www.cnn.com/...

Martin Weber /
@web_martin@mastodon.social: Congrats. What a stunt. (Free to read) #theonion https://www.nytimes.com/...

James Meyers /
One America News Network: The Onion Purchases Infowars At Auction With Support From Sandy Hook Families @theonion: Via our parent company @GlobTetrahedron CEO @BryceTetraeder: https://theonion.com/... [image]

Lauren Thoman /
@laurenthomanwrites@threads.net: Okay so I know @theonion said they're going to shutter Infowars and turn it into a humor site but WHAT IF they just kept the branding exactly the same but just started putting out actual real news instead of misinformation and conspiracy theories so that Infowars fans who didn't realize the change had happened would accidentally start hearing some actual facts?

Caitlin Huston /
The Hollywood Reporter: The Onion Buys Alex Jones' Infowars With Plans to Make It a “Cosmic Joke” I guess this is a political blog now: The Onion has won the bid for Infowars' assets | CNN Business — Finally, some good fucking news! …

Grace Eliza Goodwin /
Business Insider: The Onion buys Alex Jones' Infowars — and that's not a joke

Cassandra MacDonald /
The Gateway Pundit: BREAKING: The Onion Purchases InfoWars at Auction, Plans to Turn it Into Satirical Version of Iconic Brand

Nikki McCann Ramirez /
Rolling Stone: The Onion Just Bought Infowars — and Alex Jones Is Pissed

Aimee Picchi /
CBS News: The Onion buys Alex Jones' Infowars at bankruptcy auction

Jerry Lambe /
Law & Crime: Alex Jones promises ‘injunctions’ after The Onion wins auction to buy Infowars with help of Sandy Hook families

Rob Beschizza /
Boing Boing: The Onion nabs Infowars in bankruptcy auction, plans to make it ‘very funny, very stupid’

Muri Assunção /
New York Daily News: The Onion wins Alex Jones' Infowars auction, backed by Sandy Hook victims

Jack Montgomery /
The National Pulse: Satire Site The Onion Purchases Alex Jones's Infowars.

Dave Collins /
Press Herald: The Onion, Sandy Hook families team up to win Alex Jones' Infowars at auction

Emma Keates /
AV Club: It's time to auction off all of Alex Jones' InfoWars shit

Karoline Leonard /
Austin American-Statesman: Alex Jones' Infowars to be auctioned Wednesday. One bid is in the ‘seven-figure range’ WHEC.com: Satirical outlet The Onion has bought Alex Jones' Infowars at auction, relatives of Sandy Hook shooting victims say

Oliver Bateman /
UnHerd: Infowars auction won't be the end of Alex Jones

The Hollywood Reporter:

Disney expects to spend $24B on content in 2025, up from $23.4B in 2024, due to sports programming expenses rising after NFL rate increases and NBA contracts— Rate hikes at the NFL and NBA may mean that sports drive the slight spending increase, with the company reporting $23.4 billion for this past year.

Discussion:
@philthepill.bsky.social

RELATED:

Wall Street Journal: Disney reports Q4 revenue up 6% YoY to $22.6B, TV network revenue down 6% YoY to $2.5B, and a $321M DTC streaming profit, up from a $387M loss in Q4 2023

Discussion:
The Walt Disney Company: THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY REPORTS FOURTH QUARTER AND FULL YEAR EARNINGS FOR FISCAL 2024

Dewayne Bevil /
Orlando Sentinel: Disney present quarterly earnings gains, optimism about theme parks

Derek Saul /
Forbes: Disney Stock Surges To 6-Month High Thanks To Earnings Beat And Streaming Profit Optimism

Lucas Manfredi /
The Wrap: Disney Swings to Streaming Profit of $321 Million in Q4, $134 Million for 2024

Alex Weprin /
The Hollywood Reporter: Streaming and ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Power Disney Fiscal Q4 Earnings

Jessica Toonkel /
@jtoonkel: Disney is the latest company to report streamig profit, growth this quarter....seems like it's not such a terrible business after all https://www.wsj.com/... via @WSJ

Samantha Masunaga /
Los Angeles Times: ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ and ‘Inside Out 2’ propel Disney studio earnings @thetranscript_: Disney CEO: “In Q4 we saw one of the best quarters in the history of our film studio, improved profitability in our streaming businesses, a record-breaking 60 Emmy Awards for the company, the continued power of live sports...” $DIS: +2.4% Pre-Market [image]

Thomas Buckley /
Bloomberg: Disney Profit Beats Expectations as Movies, Streaming Post Gains

Peter Kafka /
@pkafka: Disney CEO Bob Iger, responding to earnings q about M&A in Trump 2.0: “we've already consolidated... we don't really need more assets right now.”

Dylan Jones /
Dylan Jones on LinkedIn: Wouldn't be unsurprising to see chatter accelerating about a possible spin out the cable networks from The Walt Disney Company after this latest earnings announcement. …

Sam Gillmer /
Sam Gillmer on LinkedIn: This was always the game with streaming. Netflix had the lead, but there was space for 1-2 other top tier options. …

Variety:
In Q4, Disney added 4.4M Disney+ Core paid subscribers, reaching 120M in total, Disney+ Hotstar subscribers rose 1% YoY to 35.9M, and Hulu subscribers hit 52M

Discussion:
Advanced Television, IndieWire and Awful Announcing

Discussion:

Tony Maglio /
IndieWire: Disney Had a Much Better Summer Than Spring

TechCrunch:
Reliance and Disney complete their $8.5B Indian media merger, creating India's largest media group with $3.1B in annual revenue and 50M+ streaming subscribers

Discussion:
Financial Times, Times of India, Deadline, The Wrap, Reuters, The Hollywood Reporter, Hindustan Times and YourStory.com

Discussion:

Chris Kay /
Financial Times: Disney-Reliance Indian media giant says TV ‘is not dead’ following $8.5bn merger Times of India: Reliance Industries, Walt Disney completes merger to create Rs 70,352 crore joint venture

Lucas Manfredi /
The Wrap: Disney, Reliance Industries Close $8.5 Billion Merger of Star India and Viacom18

Georg Szalai /
The Hollywood Reporter: Disney, Reliance Close Mega-Deal to Form Indian Entertainment Powerhouse

New York Times:
In its Q4 report, Disney, which rarely offers guidance, shares growth expectations to 2027, including a ~$700M operating profit in DTC streaming in 2025

Discussion:
Orange County Register, Yahoo Finance, Financial Times, WHEC.com, Benzinga, @brianstelter and WORLD SCREEN

Discussion:

Alexandra Canal /
Yahoo Finance: Disney posts earnings beat as streaming profit tops estimates

Christopher Grimes /
Financial Times: Disney boosted by ‘Deadpool’ and ‘Inside Out 2’

WHEC.com:
Disney Q4 bolstered by strong results from streaming, ‘Inside Out 2’ and ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’

Anusuya Lahiri /
Benzinga: Disney Q4 Earnings: Revenue And Profit Beat, Best Film Studio Performance, 3-Year Outlook And More

Brian Stelter /
@brianstelter: NYT's @brooksbarnesNYT: “Disney Paints a Rosy Picture for Coming Years” “The company, which does not typically release guidance to investors, said that profit would jump over the next three years” https://www.nytimes.com/...

Mansha Daswani /
WORLD SCREEN: Q4 Revenue Boost For Disney

The Desk:

Disney said Disney+ Q4 ARPU in the US and Canada, down 1% QoQ to $7.70, was affected partly by new wholesale arrangements with some distributors— The Walt Disney Company's recent distribution agreements with Charter Communications and DirecTV impacted a key metric that analysts …

Discussion:
StreamTV Insider, The Verge, The Streamable and Cord Cutters News

Discussion:

Daniel Frankel /
StreamTV Insider: Disney DTC streaming income surges to $321M

Luke Bouma /
Cord Cutters News: Disney+ Sees Ad Revenue Jump 14% Helping Drive Profitability at Disney

RELATED:

Variety:

Disney plans to add an ESPN “tile” to Disney+ for US subscribers on December 4, giving users access to some free ESPN content— Disney has called its next streaming blitz: In a few weeks, Disney+ will add an ESPN “tile” to the streaming service — and the company will include …

Discussion:
Awful Announcing, AdExchanger, @sherman4949, Deadline, Tv Technology and Barrett Media

Discussion:

Victoria McNally /
AdExchanger: ESPN+ Content Is Coming To Disney+ This Winter

Alex Sherman /
@sherman4949: ESPN “Flagship” direct-to-consumer will be “in my opinion the best product the consumer has ever seen in sports,” Disney CEO Bob Iger says on earnings conference call.

George Winslow /
Tv Technology: Disney+ to Add ESPN Content Dec. 4

Deadline:
Disney investor call: Bob Iger says 60% of all new Disney+ subscribers are for the ad tier, and in a hot-mic moment wonders if he should have said the detail

Discussion:
Adweek, The Wrap, IndieWire, Tubefilter and Cord Cutters News

Discussion:

Saleah Blancaflor /
Adweek: Disney CEO Might've Mistakenly Revealed Ad-Supported Subscriber Numbers

Lucas Manfredi /
The Wrap: Bob Iger Has Hot Mic Moment on Disney Earnings Call After Accidentally Revealing Ad-Tier Streaming Numbers

Tony Maglio /
IndieWire: Bob Iger Accidentally Reveals Disney's Ad-Supported Streaming Subscriber Numbers

The Verge:

Google plans to stop showing political ads to users in the EU in 2025 due to uncertainties around new transparency rules coming into effect in October 2025— Google has announced it will stop showing political ads to users in the European Union next year due to uncertainties around the bloc's new transparency regulations.

Discussion:
The Keyword and Engadget, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Annette Kroeber-Riel /
The Keyword: An update on political advertising in the European Union

Will Shanklin /
Engadget: A Google ‘test’ will omit EU publishers from news links

Washington Post:

WaPo names Liz Seymour managing editor; she has held various roles over 25 years at the outlet, including deputy managing editor and executive features editor— A veteran Washington Post newsroom leader, Seymour marks her 25th year at the publication — The Washington Post today named …

Discussion:
The Wrap and Kathy Baird on LinkedIn

Axios:

Newsletter platform Beehiiv launches a “beehiiv Media Collective” for journalists, offering health insurance stipends, backend tools for accounting, and more— - Journalists that have recently joined the beehiiv platform include former CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy …

The Hollywood Reporter:

YouTube: 45M+ people in the US watched election content on November 5; top livestreams were from Fox News, NBC News, LiveNOW, ABC News, and the PBD Podcast— The Google-owned video platform released data Thursday indicating that tens of millions of Americans decided to watch their election returns there.

Discussion:
TVNewsCheck, @alexweprin, @youtubeinsider, Fox News, Business Insider and Forbes

Discussion:

Alex Weprin /
TVNewsCheck: Where Did Election Night TV Viewers Disappear To? New Data Suggests They Flocked To YouTube

Alex Weprin /
@alexweprin: I have data from YouTube from election night: More than 45 million Americans watched election returns on YouTube, suggesting a major shift in media consumption habits: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ ... @youtubeinsider: NEW: In the 2 weeks before the election, the most viewed election-related videos were: - Joe Rogan's interviews w/ Trump & Vance - Dylan Anderson's Short of Trump at McDonald's - SNL's Cold Open w/ Harris - Jubilee's Surrounded episode “1 Republican vs. 25 Kamala Harris voters”

@youtubeinsider:
NEW: The biggest U.S.-based live stream on Election Night was Fox News's coverage of President Trump's speech, with over 1 million peak concurrent viewers - followed by live streams from NBC News, ABC News, and the PBD Podcast.

Peter Kafka /
Business Insider: Let's call it the YouTube election

Brad Adgate /
Forbes: Some Viewers Abandon Television Networks On Election Day

Columbia Journalism Review:

Just before the election, a Trump lawyer demanded $10B in damages from the NYT and Penguin Random House, part of a flurry of Trump's legal threats to media— Legal letter follows complaints aimed at CBS News, the Washington Post, and the Daily Beast. — The letter, addressed to lawyers …

Discussion:
@lachcartwright

Discussion:

Lachlan Cartwright /
@lachcartwright: Days before the presidential election, a lawyer for Donald Trump sent a letter to the New York Times and Penguin Random House demanding $10b in damages over critical articles. “It really has a mental chilling effect to be under a microscope like that.” https://www.cjr.org/...

The Hollywood Reporter:

CEOs at Nexstar, Sinclair, and Tegna, plus some analysts, say they expect deregulation and consolidation in the broadcast TV industry under Trump's FCC— Flush with political ad dollars and anticipating a deal-friendly environment, moguls are eyeing big moves to roll up lucrative local broadcasters.

Discussion:
Patrick Caligiuri on LinkedIn, @mediaevan and @WarnerCrocker@mastodon.social

Discussion:

Patrick Caligiuri /
Patrick Caligiuri on LinkedIn: All this talk about big TV media mergers... yet not a peep about how they expect to engage/maintain their audiences. These days, it feels like that's a critical part of the equation.

Evan DeSimone /
@mediaevan: It's not clear to me what a “massive TV station land grab” does except slow the decline of the industry slightly while piling on a bunch of debt. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ ...

Wired:

The PRESS Act, shielding journalists from US government spying, stalls as Senate Democrats juggle legislative priorities before ceding control January 3— The PRESS Act, which would protect journalists from government spying, enjoys broad bipartisan support and has passed the House …

Discussion:
@freedomofpress: The PRESS Act “has so much bipartisan support and barely any opposition,” @TrevorTimm told @WIRED. “But the only chance it has is to pass during the lame-duck session.” https://www.wired.com/... @freedomofpress@newsie.social: The PRESS Act “has so much bipartisan support and barely any opposition,” Trevor Timm told @WIRED. — “But the only chance it has is to pass during the lame-duck session.” — https://www.wired.com/... @runwithskizzers.bsky.social: I just called both my Senators about this AND the judiciary confirmations. Spoke to two very nice staffers, took less than five minutes. I know we all hate talking on the phone, and it is very anxiety inducing, but if you can do it, please do so today! — Find your senator > [embedded post]

Senator Ron Wyden /
@wyden.senate.gov: Yes. Anyone who cares about protecting journalism and a free press should tell their elected officials to bring it to the floor for a vote.

Clara Jeffery /
@clarajeffery.bsky.social: Very very very important. Call your reps. [embedded post]

Timothy Burke /
@bubbaprog.ilovecitr.us: This is such an obvious bill to pass that it's supported by Jim Jordan, @wyden.senate.gov, and everyone in between. It's absolutely bonkers that Schumer won't let it come to a vote, and every single person in NY who works as a journalist or with journalists should be lighting up his switchboard. …

Senator Ron Wyden /
@wyden.senate.gov: Democrats have the majority for less than two more months. I'll be using every second to push for passage of my PRESS Act to protect journalists from government spying and surveillance. [embedded post]

Paul Chambers /
@paul@oldfriends.live: Senate Democrats Are Running Out of Time to Pass a Shield Law to Protect Journalism. I support that. — Although, it would have been nice if many journalists, esp mainstream, had reported to protect democracy, instead of this Bothsidesism crap and even worse cover for Trump. …

Wall Street Journal:

X names former Tubi CFO Mahmoud Reza Banki as its CFO; Trump pardoned Banki in January 2021 for making false statements; a source says he joined X in November— Mahmoud Reza Banki, former Tubi finance chief, joins platform amid financial challenges — Elon Musk's X Corp. named Mahmoud …

Discussion:
Business Insider, Fortune, Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Beatrice Nolan /
Business Insider: X's new CFO received a presidential pardon from Donald Trump

Sheryl Estrada /
Fortune: Why the CEO of Nasdaq says the ‘renaissance period’ for tech in finance will last another decade

Matt Grobar /
Deadline: CAA Names John Storey Chief Financial Officer

Erik Hayden /