Here are the top media industry stories we’re following this week:
The Big News: Yahoo to spin off core web businesses (Entrepreneur); Walmart launches mobile payment (Reuters); Police in Australia raid home of supposed Bitcoin creator (Ars Technica); Boston Globe to offer Spotlight fellowship (Boston Globe); Kickstarter hires reporter to investigate failed mini-drone project, Zano (BBC News).
Around the Water Cooler: Kim Kardashian and Kanye West name their son Saint (E!); Dying police horse comforted by its officer (Yahoo News); Red Robin to offer free menu item to those named Santa, or close to it (KTTV-TV); Donald Trump dodges bald eagle (TIME); 2016 Golden Globe nominations announced (CNN); Speaking of Trump, The Huffington Post is no longer relegating his coverage to entertainment (HuffPo).
RIP: The Washington Post‘s editor and literary agent Timothy Seldes (WaPo); Associated Press legend Barry Schweid (AP); North Face co-founder Douglas Tompkins (HuffPo); Former ABC News correspondent Bob Clark (Deadline).
Letting Go: Time Out to lay off 40 across US/UK (The Guardian); Dropbox discontinues carousel and mailbox (Dropbox Blog).
Expanding: Netflix to double down on original programming in 2016 (The Verge); WaPo moves offices (FishbowlDC); TIME welcomes Hulu, Zealot and Yahoo to its video distribution network (WWD); Alibaba buying South China Morning Post (The New York Times); NBC streaming service Seeso to launch next month (The Verge); Knight Foundation grants 106k to news startup Billy Penn for mobile journalism guide (Knight Foundation); Digital ad spending to soon surpass television ads (Los Angeles Times); Streaming services now account for 70 percent of net traffic (TheWrap);
It’s Back! Serial podcast returns (TIME); MADtv returns for reunion special (Paste Magazine)
Image courtesy of @foundanimalfoundation via flickr
