For the Record

"Stumbling Block":

Amid struggles in the digital media sphere, venture capitalists are on track to close 19 media deals worth $130 million in 2018 — a $76 million decline from 2014, when 27 deals closed. "Media as a sector is under a lot of different types of challenges," said Jim Bankoff, chairman and chief executive of Vox Media. "Whether you are Thomson Reuters, Conde Nast, whether you are Mic or a linear cable company, the industry is being disrupted through technology that is giving consumers choices and that leads to change, giving advertisers new choices that lead to change."

"Unparalleled Trust":

Following its acquisition by Marc and Lynn Benioff, Time magazine is hiring more than 25 staffers, including three technology reporters, a newsletter editor and a marketing director. In an interview with CNN's Brian Stelter, Editor in Chief Edward Felsenthal said that the Salesforce owners believe "in the potential of the brand."

"All Good Things":

Weekly Standard Editor-in-Chief Stephen Hayes announced Friday that the magazine will shut down after 23 years. "This is a volatile time in American journalism and politics," Hayes said in an internal email. "Many media outlets have responded to the challenges of the moment by prioritizing affirmation over information, giving into the pull of polarization and the lure of clickbait. I'm proud that we've remained both conservative and independent, providing substantive reporting and analysis based on facts, logic and reason." Co-founded by Bill Kristol and Fred Barnes and considered the standard-bearer of the neoconservative movement, the magazine published work by such disparate figures as John Bolton, Christopher Hitchens and Cynthia Ozick.

Vanished:

Actress Cybill Shepherd alleged Thursday that her eponymous CBS sitcom (which ended on a cliffhanger after four seasons in 1998) was canceled shortly after she rebuffed the advances of former CEO Les Moonves. "[H]e [said], 'Well, you know, why don't you let me take you home?' I said, 'No, I've got a ride,'" Shepherd recalled. "And I had my car outside with a good friend of mine who is an off-duty LAPD officer." December 14 marks the self-imposed deadline for the company's disbursement of $20 million in grants to "organizations that are helping to ensure safety and equity in our industry, as well as providing both prevention and assistance for victims of sexual assault, abuse and harassment in all workplaces."

The Inbox:

Leaked emails from TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts (who owned the hyperlocal news site DNAInfo from 2009 to 2017) have revealed that the billionaire frequently worried about "slanted news" and the "radical left press" while lambasting a "bleeding heart" article on a Manhattan taco truck. "The publication of private emails, which were taken without my knowledge or consent, doesn’t change the fact that the company’s editorial standards never wavered," said Ricketts in a statement.

"The Platform Becomes All Powerful":

Apple "is preparing to relaunch Texture, an app it agreed to buy in March that offers unlimited access to about 200 magazines." However, media executives fear that the $9.99-per-month app "could steal their current subscribers, who would save money by reading articles" on the platform. "I’d be careful if I were a newspaper because I’d really want to have a feel for how much revenue I might be giving up," said media entrepreneur Steven Brill.

"They Don't Care":

Journalists working as fact checkers for Facebook "have pushed to end a controversial media partnership with the social network, saying the company has ignored their concerns and failed to use their expertise to combat misinformation." "They've essentially used us for crisis PR," said Brooke Binkowski, former managing editor of Snopes, which has partnered with Facebook since 2016.

"Damaging Dynamic":

Former Los Angeles Times Editor/Publisher Davan Maharaj allegedly received a wrongful termination settlement in excess of $2.5 million after proffering recordings of "unguarded conversations" involving Michael Ferro, the former chairman of Tronc. In one of the conversations, Ferro asserted that billionaire Eli Broad was part of a "Jewish cabal" that "ran Los Angeles." A spokesperson for Ferro called the claim "reckless allegations," while Maharaj would not comment on the alleged settlement.

"Nefarious":

The U.S. Agency for Global Media will conduct a "full content audit" of Spanish-language propaganda broadcaster Radio y Televisión Martí after the division published an opinion piece that likened the "Islamization" of Europe to a threat "greater than that from the Nazis in the 1940s." The piece's writer, Juan Felipe Benemelis, has characterized himself as "the Spanish-language Kissinger" and "the foremost expert in Islamic culture, Africa, international politics and terrorism." In recent months, the broadcaster came under fire for publishing a piece that described philanthropist George Soros as a "nonpracticing Jew of flexible morals" and as a "left-wing billionaire of Hungarian-Jewish origin." Office of Cuba Broadcasting Director Tomás Regalado declined to comment on the story.