"Hallmark rose from the sixth-most-watched cable network at the top of October to the third-most-watched the week of Nov. 20, when it won out over CNN and MSNBC in total eyeballs. … It’s time to admit that Hallmark movies are actually just Hollywood movies — and specifically rom-coms." - The New York Times Magazine
A study surveying 300 leaders across the entertainment industry reports that three-fourths of respondents indicated that AI tools supported the elimination, reduction or consolidation of jobs at their companies. Over the next three years, it estimates that nearly 204,000 positions will be adversely affected. - The Hollywood Reporter
“A lot of people who are walking out of musicals and loving them may not even know that it was a musical,” said Paul Dergarabedian, a senior media analyst at Comscore. - The Wall Street Journal
"The comic-turned media mogul (Byron Allen) has made a $14.3 billion offer to buy all outstanding shares of Paramount Global. … The deal would also see Allen Media Group assume Paramount’s roughly $15 billion debt load, valuing the shares at about a 50% premium to their recent trading prices." - The Hollywood Reporter
"The biggest player in this new genre is ReelShort, an app that offers melodramatic content in minute-long, vertically shot episodes and is hoping to bring a successful formula established abroad to the United States by hooking millions of people on its short-form content." - The New York Times
"In deference to this milestone, the film’s enduring appeal in J-school classrooms, and its rent-free existence in the backs of reporters’ minds, Poynter spoke with more than a dozen people involved in either (Stephen) Glass’s rise and fall or the making of Shattered Glass over three months." - Poynter
"The viral videos and popular conspiracy theorists are, of course, important. But the reality is that the number and perhaps even importance of those videos is dwarfed by hours-long church services, condo-board meetings, and other miscellaneous clips. … For many people, YouTube is now … infrastructure." - The Atlantic (MSN)
The grand unified theory of plane watching includes love stories, action stories, fun stories, and anything that includes a happy ending on a plane - but never a plane crash. - Slate
No, it didn't have blockbuster deals, and no, it might not have had the shine of some previous celebrity-laden fests, but boy did it have indie heart. - Vulture
"The news organization best positioned to take on the mantle is The Baltimore Banner, the bustling nonprofit digital newsroom described from launch as the Sun’s crosstown rival. The Banner's newsroom has grown to 70 journalists, including several prominent hires from the Sun." - Nieman Lab
Basically, indies. (And, don't tell the Oscars of 2025, but a lot of women directors crushed it at Sundance too.) In the Summers, the movie that won the top dramatic prize, "snuck up on us," wrote the jury. - The New York Times
Over the last three decades, a number of French movies have earned Oscar recognition, but none have been the official French Oscar submission. - Variety
"The Kyoto District Court found defendant Shinji Aoba mentally capable to face punishment for his crimes and announced the sentence … on Thursday. Aoba stormed into Kyoto Animation’s No. 1 studio on July 18, 2019, and set it on fire. … More than 30 other people were badly burned or injured." - AP
