Jimmy Lai, the Hong Kong media tycoon and owner of the newspaper Apple Daily, has been arrested for fraud and denied bail. Lai is a pro-democracy activist whose media outlet has been critical of the Chinese government and its efforts to impose sweeping national security measures over Hong Kong. Lai has been charged with fraud related to the building that serves as Apple Daily's headquarters. He was previously arrested in August and released on bail – he is now scheduled to be detained until April, when court proceedings will start.

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• Lai has regularly attempted to rally support for Hong Kong democracy. Beijing has called him a traitor and criticized his visits to Washington, where he's met with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
• Two other executives from Lai's media company Next Digital, which publishes Apple Daily, were also arrested.
• The charges allege that Lai and his associates have been using the Apple Daily headquarters for illegal purposes not allowed under the terms of the lease.
• Hong Kong has experienced mass protests going back to June 2019 over what has been seen as encroachments on Hong Kong's tenuous autonomy from the Chinese government.

Former Entertainment Weekly (EW) editor-in-chief JD Heyman was reportedly let go from the publication after eight senior staffers filed complaints alleging that he had made "inappropriate" and "racially insensitive" comments, according to The Wrap. The staffers presented emails and audio recordings to human resources documenting Heyman's behavior, which they say created a hostile work environment.

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• One former EW employee said Heyman created a "culture clash" with a cynical management style.
• EW's former EIC, Henry Goldblatt, left the publication in June 2019.
• Meredith Corp., which owns Entertainment Weekly, recently named Catherine Levene president of its National Media Group. She is now the company's first female corporate officer.

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel found "a substantial likelihood of wrongdoing" by Michael Pack, CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), the parent of Voice of America (VOA). The finding by the watchdog group is the latest in a series of rebukes from federal agencies and judges against Pack, who has investigated his agency's journalists for perceived bias and ousted a number of executives since being appointed to the position by President Trump. The Office of Special Counsel has ordered USAGM to conduct a review of Pack's actions. President-elect Joe Biden has signaled his intention to replace Pack.

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• In November, a federal judge ruled that Pack acted unconstitutionally by sidelining editors and executives in an effort to ensure more positive coverage of Trump from USAGM outlets.
• NPR revealed that one of the whistleblowers against Pack was VOA White House bureau chief Steve Herman, who was investigated by two of Pack's aides who wanted him reassigned, alleging a bias against the president.
• USAGM outlets are federally financed and reach 350 million people overseas weekly. The outlets are intended to serve as examples of independent American journalism and provide local journalism to areas in the world lacking a free press.

Rotten Tomatoes has updated its Top Critics program to prioritize individual merit over the status of a critic's publication in an effort to promote diversity. The website offers an overview of critical opinions on new films and TV shows, with Top Critics getting significant placement on its website. Rotten Tomatoes says it has added 170 new Top Critics, 60% of whom are women and 25% of whom are people of color. Additionally, about a quarter of the new critics publish primarily via video or podcast.

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• Top Critics will be determined by a committee that includes Rotten Tomatoes curators, industry professionals, and an advisory board.
• Rotten Tomatoes previously updated its criteria for all critics in 2018. Since then, 51% of the 825 critics it added have been women and 20% are people of color.
• Rotten Tomatoes has been owned by Comcast's Fandango since 2016.

A number of pay-TV providers will distribute refunds to some subscribers who paid fees for sports programming that never aired due to the pandemic. Though rebates could total as much as $1.1B, the average customer may receive as little as $14, one analyst told Bloomberg. AT&T, Verizon, and Charter are among the providers who will distribute refunds.

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• The providers will distribute funds they receive back from regional sports networks (RSNs), to which they pay to provide content.
• Dish Network is providing bill credits instead of refunds to customers, plus replacement sports coverage. The company says the value of these efforts is greater than the total in refunds it received from RSNs.

QUICK HITS 

• During this holiday season, find out how SimpliSafe is protecting over 3 million homes with less markup and more security.*
• Tiffany Cross and Jonathan Capeheart are taking over a weekend time slot on MSNBC previously hosted by Joy Reid.
• Cris Collinsworth apologized for a comment made on NBC during Wednesday's NFL game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens where he said he was "blown away" by the enthusiasm of fans of Pittsburgh, "in particular, the ladies that I met."
• NPR profiled the co-founders of Substack and interviewed Casey Newton about why he left The Verge to start his own newsletter.
• Brooke Jaffe has been named Head of Public Affairs and Communications for Penske Media Corporation.
• Revtown’s changing the denim game by applying the best parts of workout clothes – comfort, flexibility & durability – to jeans.*

*This is sponsored content.