Category Archives: Media

New York Times poised for first mass staff walkout in 40 years

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Daylong action comes as union and management clash over wages and remote work

The New York Times is bracing for a 24-hour walkout on Thursday by hundreds of journalists and other employees, in what would be the first strike of its kind at the newspaper in more than 40 years.

Newsroom employees and other members of the NewsGuild of New York say they are fed up with bargaining that has dragged on since their last contract expired in March 2021. The union announced last week that more than 1,100 employees would stage a 24-hour work stoppage starting at 12.01am on Thursday unless the two sides reached a contract deal.

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ABC News pulls hosts TJ Holmes and Amy Robach off air after romance revealed

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US network says the anchors, who are married to other people, will be temporarily pulled from GMA3 as their romance is ‘an internal and an external distraction’

Two TV anchors working for ABC News in the US have been pulled from air after their workplace romance came to light, amid a storm of public gossip and tabloid coverage.

TJ Holmes and Amy Robach, who have worked as hosts on Good Morning America spinoff talkshow GMA3 since 2020, were revealed to be in a relationship last week after paparazzi photos of the pair were published online. Both Holmes and Robach are married, but after the photos were published a representative for the pair said they had both separated from their spouses and the relationship only began recently.

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Nigeria frees student arrested after tweet about first lady Aisha Buhari

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Aminu Adamu’s detention had sparked widespread outrage before Aisha Buhari withdrew complaint

Nigeria has freed a student charged with “criminal defamation” over a tweet he posted about the physical appearance of the country’s first lady.

Aminu Adamu was arrested at his university in northern Jigawa state on 18 November after Aisha Buhari filed a complaint and then remanded into custody until January.

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China accused of flooding social media with spam to cover up Covid protests

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US firm says network of bot accounts also hijacking hashtags in large-scale attempt to obscure coverage

An attempt to flood social media platforms with spam in order to drown out coverage of the lockdown protests in China was probably backed by the Chinese government, according to analysis by a US cybersecurity firm.

Recorded Future found that networks of coordinated bot accounts were targeting non-Chinese social media platforms to crowd out genuine posts about the demonstrations with spam content and by hijacking hashtags of names of Chinese cities. It said China’s government was most likely to be behind the tactic.

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Her dark materials: Tim Burton’s Wednesday sparks a gothic fashion revival

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Take a crisp white shirt, layers of black tulle and lace, and team with a sullen stare. Now you’re tuned in to Netflix’s new take on the Addams family

If you are seeing a lot of Gen Z wearing black, plaiting their hair into pigtails and giving you a Kubrick Stare, it’s all because of their new anti-heroine heroine, Wednesday. It has been just over a week since Tim Burton’s new series Wednesday debuted on Netflix but already tweens and teens are channelling the sullen and sardonic daughter of the Addams family.

Defined by the deadpan Christina Ricci in the 90s films, this time round Wednesday has been given a Gen-Z makeover. The series follows a now teenage Wednesday (Jenna Ortega) as she is banished to Nevermore Academy, a creepy boarding school, after an incident involving a school swimming team and a bag of piranhas. What ensues is an action-packed melodrama fusing the genres of murder mystery with horror and a dollop of teenage angst. It has swiftly become Netflix’s most popular show, beating the last series of Stranger Things.

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Daily Mail seeks to delay court allegations of high-profile breaches of privacy

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Lawyers for group including Prince Harry, Doreen Lawrence and Elton John filed claims two months ago

The Daily Mail has sought to delay the publication of potentially damaging court allegations about its journalism made by Prince Harry, Doreen Lawrence, Elton John and others.

Lawyers acting for the group of high-profile individuals claim they have “compelling and highly distressing evidence” they have been the “victims of abhorrent criminal activity and gross breaches of privacy” by Associated Newspapers over many years.

The hiring of private investigators to secretly place listening devices inside people’s cars and homes.

The commissioning of individuals to surreptitiously listen in to, and record, people’s live, private telephone calls while they were taking place.

The payment of police officials, with allegedly corrupt links to private investigators, for sensitive inside information.

The impersonation of individuals to obtain medical information from private hospitals, clinics, and treatment centres by deception.

The accessing of bank accounts, credit histories and financial transactions through illicit means and manipulation.

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Twitter and TikTok could be called to negotiate under Australia’s news media code

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Review of Google and Meta agreements suggests ACCC look at what other social media platforms should be brought to table with publishers

Social media sites like TikTok and Twitter could be assessed for whether they should pay news companies for content, under recommendations from the Treasury’s review of the news media bargaining code.

In its first year of operation, the code was a success, facilitating 23 agreements between Google and news publishers, and 13 agreements between Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, and news publishers, according to a Treasury report released on Thursday.

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Billionaire Modi ally on verge of taking over independent Indian news channel

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Gautam Adani’s takeover of NDTV is ‘serious threat to democracy’ in India, says news anchor

One of India’s few remaining news channels known for independent reporting is about to be taken over by a billionaire ally of the prime minister, Narendra Modi.

In recent years, NDTV (New Delhi Television) has earned a reputation as one of the last bastions of independent journalism among India’s mainstream media, which have increasingly been put under pressure to toe the government line under Modi, who came to power in 2014.

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Israel condemns Netflix film showing murder of Palestinian family in 1948 war

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Farha, debut film of Jordanian film-maker, depicts Zionist atrocities against Palestinians during Nakba conflict

A Netflix film depicting Zionist forces murdering a Palestinian family during the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation has been condemned by Israeli officials as “creating a false narrative”.

Farha, the debut of the Jordanian film-maker Darin Sallam, has been shown at several film festivals around the world since its release last year, and is Jordan’s Oscars entry for 2023. It is due to begin streaming to a global audience on the online entertainment service on Thursday.

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French regulator called on to withdraw licence allowing CGTN to broadcast from London

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Chinese state broadcaster transmits from Chiswick studio despite Ofcom revoking UK licence last year

France’s media regulator is under pressure to withdraw a licence that allows the Chinese state broadcaster to beam its programmes across Europe from a studio in west London.

Ofcom revoked the organisation’s licence to transmit in the UK last year but the China Global Television Network (CGTN) was able to continue broadcasting following authorisation from the French authority.

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Senior media figures call for law to stop oligarchs silencing UK journalists

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Editors urge ministers to end ‘endemic’ use of Slapps – legal cases designed to hinder investigations

A coalition of senior journalists and editors from across the political spectrum are calling on the justice secretary, Dominic Raab, to back a proposed law to tackle the global super-rich’s use of “abusive legal tactics to shut down investigations”.

More than 70 newspaper editors, publishers and media lawyers wrote to Raab on Tuesday demanding that the government take urgent action to stop oligarchs and kleptocrats from using their fortunes to exploit British courts, intimidating and silencing investigative journalists with strategic lawsuits against public participation (Slapps).

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‘There is a lot to do’: Bob Iger outlines vision for Disney as he returns as CEO

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Priorities will be creativity and profitability, a shift from a costly streaming services growth strategy pursued by predecessor

Returning Disney boss Bob Iger told employees that he will prioritize creativity and profitability at a staff meeting at the company’s Burbank headquarters on Monday – outlining a shift from a costly streaming services growth strategy pursued by his predecessor, who was dramatically ousted from the company eight days ago.

Iger, 71, held the top Disney job from 2005 to 2020. After a two-year break, he was reinstated after the company ousted Bob Chapek following an earnings report that showed the company lost close to $1.5bn in just three months on its streaming services platform.

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BBC says Chinese police assaulted and detained its reporter at Shanghai protest

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Journalist Ed Lawrence was beaten after being arrested at a protest against China’s strict Covid restrictions, broadcaster says

Chinese police assaulted and detained a BBC journalist covering a protest in Shanghai on Sunday, releasing him after several hours, the broadcaster has said.

“The BBC is extremely concerned about the treatment of our journalist Ed Lawrence, who was arrested and handcuffed while covering the protests in Shanghai,” a spokesperson for the British public service broadcaster said.

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Former Desert Island Discs host Kirsty Young to return as Christmas guest

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Long-time presenter will share her thoughts on the Queen’s funeral in BBC festive schedule highlight

The turntables will be turned on Kirsty Young this Christmas Day, the BBC has revealed, when the former Desert Island Discs presenter is to be asked to choose eight of her favourite pieces of music as a castaway on the famous show.

Young, who has marooned almost 500 other guests on the fictional island in her time, revealed this weekend that she found it strange to be at the other end of the famous Radio 4 format: “It was a slightly discombobulating and thoroughly enjoyable experience,” she said, adding: “Although making anyone narrow down their favourite discs to just eight is frankly unreasonable. It’ll never catch on.”

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Crime coverage on Fox News halved once US midterms were over

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Just a week after elections, number of weekly segments focused on crime slashed in half on Rupert Murdoch’s flagship network

In the weeks leading up to the US midterm elections, the message from Fox News was clear: violent crime is surging, cities are dangerous hellscapes and Democrats are responsible.

With the vote over, however, the rightwing news channel appeared to decide things weren’t that bad after all, and decreased its coverage of violent crime by 50% compared with the pre-election average.

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Journalist under strict bail terms in Somalia after arrest in crackdown

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Abdalle Mumin was held after press groups said government edicts on coverage of offensive against al-Shabaab put them at risk

Authorities in Somalia have imposed strict bail conditions on a respected journalist and media rights campaigner that will prevent him from seeking medical attention for a suspected kidney condition aggravated by poor conditions during his detention by intelligence services and police earlier this year.

Abdalle Mumin, a co-founder of the Somali Journalists Syndicate and a frequent contributor to the Guardian, was arrested in October after press organisations protested that directives issued by the information ministry on coverage of an offensive against Islamic militants in the unstable east African state put them at risk.

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BBC’s Alex Scott wears rainbow armband for England World Cup match

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Pundit opts to wear OneLove armband in apparent gesture of solidarity with LGBTQ+ people in Qatar

The BBC pundit Alex Scott wore a rainbow armband as she presented coverage of England’s first match of the Qatar World Cup, in an apparent gesture of solidarity with LGBTQ+ people in a country where same-sex relationships are illegal.

Her decision to wear the OneLove armband – which officially represents a stand against all forms of discrimination – came hours after the England and Wales teams decided not to wear the same armbands after being informed that players could receive yellow cards for breaching Fifa rules on clothing.

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Two-thirds of UK’s biggest advertisers to cut television spend

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Traditional TV shunned in favour of digital media and last-minute promotional campaigns

More than two-thirds of the UK’s biggest advertisers intend to cut back spending on traditional TV next year, as the recession fuels a shift to digital media and last-minute bursts of promotion.

A survey of 59 UK advertisers has found that 67% will make the deepest budget cuts to ads on broadcast TV, according to the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers (ISBA) and the media investment analysts Ebiquity.

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Revealed: star football pundits promote World Cup gambling despite ban

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Spirit of rules on use of celebrities in advertising is being ignored, claims charity supporting victims of gambling addiction

Football pundits Harry Redknapp, Peter Crouch and Robbie Keane are helping to promote betting on World Cup matches despite stricter rules on celebrity gambling endorsements to protect young people.

Fifa officials estimate the last World Cup generated £120bn in betting turnover. Gambling companies hope for a similar betting spree for this year’s tournament, despite a ban on gambling in Qatar.

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Armed police guard Iranian TV studios in London after Tehran threats

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Persian language channel said threats to journalists had escalated in response to coverage of protests

Armed vehicles have been deployed outside the Iran International television studios in London after two of its journalists were threatened by Tehran, the channel said.

There were about seven vehicles outside the studio in Chiswick Park, west London, after “severe and credible” threats were recently made against two of the UK-based channel’s journalists, one of its spokesmen told AFP.

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