“The News Media Alliance, a trade association representing over 2,200 publishers, sent the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission an open letter last week urging the organizations to investigate an algorithm update issued by Google earlier this year. This update, which amended Google’s Site Reputation Abuse (SRA) policy, has upended the affiliate businesses of major news publishers across the industry.”

“The proceedings revealed that Mr. Murdoch’s children had started secretly discussing the public-relations strategy for their father’s death in April 2023. Setting off these discussions was the episode of the HBO drama Succession, the commissioner wrote, ‘where the patriarch of the family dies, leaving his family and business in chaos.’ The episode prompted Elisabeth’s representative to the trust, Mark Devereux, to write a ‘Succession memo’ intended to help avoid a real-life repeat.”

“As the Washington Post newsroom awaits the appointment of a new top editor, its acting news chief intervened to block an article about the departure of its second-highest-ranking editor, a contender for the position … Managing Editor Matea Gold, a veteran of 11-and-a-half years at the Post who has built up deep loyalty among staffers, had been herself considered a top internal candidate to run the newsroom … She is instead headed to be second-highest ranking leader of the New York Times Washington bureau.”

“Several former staff members told the BBC they saw Anthony James, a director at the UK-based company and husband of its founder, kissing and touching a junior colleague who they say appeared too drunk to consent. And more than 30 current and former members of staff said a culture of heavy drinking led to instances when founder Benjamin Cohen and his husband behaved inappropriately towards younger male employees.”

“A two-week jury trial has been scheduled for Jan. 6. If it goes forward, CNN’s journalists and producers will have to give public testimony on the internal workings in the news organization, some of it potentially embarrassing. Evidence in the case includes text messages from CNN journalists describing Young as a ‘s—bag’ and ‘a—.’ There was also a text that said ‘we gonna nail this Young mf—.'”

“In a letter sent with copies of the January and February issue of the Condé Nast-owned magazine, the UK edition of the title also told readers that it had ‘gone global’ and would be ‘uniting our global newsroom into a single, powerful team.’ The changes will go into effect beginning with the next issue of Wired UK. Subscriptions are to be extended ‘to ensure that you still receive the number of issues you were expecting in your current subscription period,’ the magazine said.”

“The letter, spearheaded by the digital advocacy group Fight for the Future, states that the signatories ‘wholeheartedly oppose’ the lawsuit, which they suggest benefits ‘shareholder profits’ more than actual artists. It continues: ‘We don’t believe that the Internet Archive should be destroyed in our name. The biggest players of our industry clearly need better ideas for supporting us, the artists.'”

“The layoff, which amounts to roughly 11 percent of STAT’s 101 employees, comes after years of growth, including a significant expansion during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The cuts are a surprising turn for the New England media company that owns STAT, Boston.com, and The Boston Globe, one of the few profitable regional newspapers in the country. The Boston Globe and Boston.com were not affected by the layoff.”