Top News:
Los Angeles Times:
Sources: Tronc expected to announce, as early as Wednesday, sale of LA Times and San Diego Union-Tribune to shareholder Patrick Soon-Shiong for ~$500M in cash — Los Angeles biotech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong is nearing a deal to buy the Los Angeles Times and the San Diego Union-Tribune …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, New York Times, 89.3 KPCC, @rachelking, Fast Company, Press Gazette, The Week, Financial Times, @latlands, Washington Post, CNNMoney, Fortune, Politico, Splinter, @chrismegerian, @bencjacobs, LA Observed, The Wrap, @kevinding, @billshaikin, @jayrosen_nyu, Variety, @byrosenberg, @kenvogel, Mediawire, @petersterne, @jbflint, @mayorofla, KTLA, NPR, @brianstelter, @gabekahn, @mollyesque, @jackshafer and Editor & Publisher
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Terri Cullen / CNBC:
Tronc says it has agreed to sell the Los Angeles Times to billionaire biotech investor Patrick Soon-Shiong — Tronc on Wednesday said it has struck a deal to sell the Los Angeles Times, The San Diego Union-Tribune, and other titles in the California News Group to billionaire biotech investor Patrick Soon-Shiong.
Christine Wang / CNBC:
Disney reports mixed Q1 results with revenue of $15.35B vs. $15.45B expected; media and networks, consumer and interactive, and studio units miss targets — The Walt Disney Company reported quarterly earnings that beat expectations on Tuesday, but revenue missed estimates.
Discussion:
The Walt Disney Company, Variety, Broadcasting & Cable, FierceCable, The Wrap, The Playlist, The New York Observer and @jyarow
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Peter Kafka / Recode:
Streaming service ESPN Plus launching next month at $4.99/mo; sources say it won't have ESPN cable channels' content, which still requires ESPN subscription — How much would you pay for sports you weren't watching on TV? — Want to pay for a subscription to ESPN without paying for a subscription to other cable channels?
Discussion:
The Wrap, Variety, CNBC, AppAdvice.com, CNNMoney, Engadget, Associated Press, The Verge, @spingriffey, 9to5Mac and Broadcasting & Cable, more at Techmeme »
April Simpson / Current:
NPR's Daniel Zwerdling, a veteran investigative journalist, has left the network; sources say allegations of sexual harassment were filed to HR in November — Daniel Zwerdling, a veteran investigative journalist at NPR, has left the network amid allegations of sexual harassment.
Discussion:
NPR, TVWeek.com, NewsCut, thecut, @kryssypease, @aprilehrlich and @alyssaedes
Samantha Cole / Motherboard:
Pornhub says it's banning AI-generated fake porn videos because they're “nonconsensual”, yet such “deepfake” videos are still available via site search results — The giant porn site puts deepfakes in the same category as revenge porn.
Discussion:
The Guardian, Fast Company, The Verge, Engadget, The Verge, The Next Web, Mashable, The Daily Dot and Trusted Reviews, more at Techmeme »
Robert Feder:
Three former editors of DNAinfo Chicago are starting a local news site with five reporters, funded by subscriptions with support from blockchain-based Civil — Three editors from the former DNAinfo Chicago are reuniting to start up a new neighborhood news website to be funded by reader subscriptions.
Discussion:
@emily__olsen, @lillian_ruiz, @rachelholliday, @amandarivkin, @greenfieldjohn, @byalisonbowen, @amlwhere and Stephanie Graves
Keach Hagey / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Vice Media missed its 2017 revenue target of $805M by $100M+, largely due to its Viceland TV channel; co-president Creighton unlikely to return to role — Digital media company misses revenue forecast; shareholders push company to turn a profit — Vice Media is facing uncertainty …
Discussion:
@raju, @keachhagey, @srabil and @asharma
Financial Times:
Study of 48K Facebook pages and 14K Twitter accounts from Oct. 2017 to Jan.: Trump backers share more extremist and phony posts than all other groups combined — Ultra-rightwing conservatives shared more false stories on Facebook than all other political groups combined in the three months …
Craig Silverman / BuzzFeed:
Russian trolls posed as black activists on Tumblr and generated hundreds of thousands of interactions with anti-Hillary Clinton, pro-Bernie Sanders content — Tumblrs run by Russian trolls generated hundreds of thousands of interactions with anti-Hillary Clinton, pro-Bernie Sanders content.
Discussion:
@d1gi and @profcarroll, more at Techmeme »
Alfred Lee / The Information:
Sources: in Q3 2017, Spotify made €1B in revenue, putting it on track for €4B in full year revenue, up 40% YoY, and had an operating loss between €70M and €90M — Spotify generated a billion euros ($1.2 billion) in revenue in the third quarter of 2017, according to two investors briefed on the numbers.
Discussion:
hypebot, more at Techmeme »
Sarah Frier / Bloomberg:
Snap's Q4 revenue, $285.7M vs. $252.8M est., topped analysts' estimates for first time since the firm's IPO, and average revenue per user rose 46% YoY to $1.53 — Company tops analysts' estimates for first time since 2017 IPO — In rare win, social-media underdog adds clients, runs more ads
Discussion:
Snap Inc., Business Insider, New York Times, Forbes, TechCrunch, The Drum, ZDNet, @jank0, @bloombergtv, TechCrunch, Business Insider, @kantrowitz, The Verge and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
David Uberti / Splinter:
Memo: Nancy Cooper, IBT's Managing Ed, named acting editor of Newsweek; Jonathan Davis to return as chief content officer pending investigation into current CCO — After a handful of top reporters and editors were fired in a purge of the Newsweek masthead on Monday, about 40 …
Discussion:
New York Post, @itsdavidford, Talking Biz News, Paste, The Wrap, Press Gazette, @daviduberti, The Outline, @moorehn and Mediaite
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