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Media Matters has named Fox News its Misinformer of the Year for 2020. The network takes the baton from Fox contributor and founder of JusttheNews.com founder John Solomon, who won in 2019. Fox employees and executives who have received the prize in the past include Lachlan Murdoch (2017), Sean Hannity (2008) and Bill O’Reilly (2004). The main reason that Fox News as a whole won the award this year was its coverage of the COVID pandemic. “The right-wing network has promoted coronavirus misinformation an estimated 13,551 times on its weekday programs over the course of the pandemic,” according to Media Matters. A timeline illustrating the network’s qualifications for the award can be seen here.
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Politico has acquired E&E News, a news organization that covers energy and the environment. E&E News, which currently employs more than 65 reporters and editors in cities including Washington, New York City and Los Angeles, will continue to operate under its own name. E&E News principal founder and owner Michael Witt will remain with the company for the time being. Politico says that the acquisition will allow it to grow its footprint in the energy news space as the company focuses on bolstering its professional news business. Politico has survived the current economic relatively intact, with the company saying that it has added staff, now employing about 600 people in North America and close to 200 in Europe. Witt said that the combined company “will provide unparalleled and unique coverage of energy and environmental issues.”
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Amazon has signed an agreement to acquire podcast creator and producer Wondery. Reports in the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg put the deal in the $300 million range. Wondery will still operate independently under its own name. Amazon Music launched podcasts in September, and the acquisition sets the company up to compete with Spotify, which acquired podcast advertising and publishing platform Megaphopne in November. Amazon says that it intends for its purchase of Wondery to “accelerate the growth and evolution of podcasts by bringing creators, hosts, and immersive experiences to even more listeners across the globe.”
Michael Kaminer, who was responsible for the Observer’s “Power List” for the past 13 years, has cut ties with the publication... The New York Times Company continues the march toward its goal of 15 million subscribers by the end of 2027... The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is providing more than $6 million in funding to eight organizations working to address the challenges local news and information environments face along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Conservative outlets Fox News, Newsmax and the Daily Caller are holding back from signing Pete Hegseth’s edict restricting press access in the Pentagon... CBS News sees the first executive departure of the Bari Weiss era as head of standards and practices Claudia Milne exits... Indiana University shuts down the print version of The Indiana Daily Student.
Rothschild family plans to unload 26.7 percent stake in The Economist... STAT, a digital media company that focuses the life sciences, brings back Damian Garde, who anchored its biotech newsletter and podcast from 2016 to 2024... High Times officially resumes print publication (following its 2024 shutdown) with the release of a limited-edition, collectible 50th anniversary issue. 
CBS News is set to hand over its reins to The Free Press co-founder Bari Weiss as Paramount acquires her site for $155M... C-SPAN comes on board as an official media partner of the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, which is charged by Congress to lead the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence... A new Gallup survey says that the level of trust that US audiences have in the media has hit a new low.
Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison has named Kenneth Weinstein, former head of the conservative Hudson Institute, as ombudsman for CBS News.
