Top News:
Paul Mozur / New York Times:
Some Twitter users in China, of which there are 3.2M, face detention and threats in Beijing's broad and punitive new censorship push — SHANGHAI — One man spent 15 days in a detention center. The police threatened another's family. A third was chained to a chair for eight hours of interrogation.
Discussion:
Nuzzel, 9to5Mac, Business Insider, @respecthope, @davidramli and @niubi, more at Techmeme »
Matt Donnelly / Variety:
Sources: layoffs hit the Hollywood Reporter-Billboard Media Group and Valence Media, affecting about 22 people including the CMO and Billboard's managing editor — Roughly 22 people have been affected by layoffs at the Hollywood Reporter-Billboard Media Group, as well as its corporate owner Valence Media …
Discussion:
The Wrap
Reuters:
Myanmar court rejects the appeal of Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, the two Reuters journalists sentenced to seven years in jail for their reporting — Thu Thu Aung, Poppy McPherson — YANGON (Reuters) - A Myanmar court on Friday rejected the appeal of two Reuters reporters sentenced to seven years …
Discussion:
New York Times, Press Gazette, CBS News, CNN, Washington Post, Committee to Protect … and Al Jazeera
Rani Molla / Recode:
Top US ad buyers: Amazon could get 12% of total digital ad spending in 2020, up from 6% in 2018; Facebook's main platform may lose three percentage points — Top ad buyers say increased spending on Amazon is mostly coming from other digital platforms. — Amazon could double …
Discussion:
@kurtwagner8, Investor's Business Daily and Ad Age
CNN:
Some question whether National Enquirer investigated Jeff Bezos to please Trump, but sources deny that Trump's animosity toward Bezos spurred the story — (CNN)A few hours after Jeff Bezos and his wife MacKenzie announced their divorce, the National Enquirer had an announcement of its own.
Discussion:
@grynbaum, Mediaite, Observer, @ericgeller, @mfkerr, @delrey, @jaketapper, @brianbeutler, @intelligencer, @conor64, @jazzmankyle, @elise_jordan, @brianstelter, Vox, Fortune and New York Magazine
Paul Kane / Washington Post:
Washington Post Publisher Fred Ryan joins US lawmakers to memorialize Jamal Khashoggi 100 days after his death: “we can't just let Jamal's story fade away” — Dozen of lawmakers and Washington leaders paid tribute to slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi on Thursday at the Capitol …
Discussion:
The Hill, New Yorker and Politico
The Information:
Sources say Amazon is developing a game streaming service, but it isn't likely to launch until next year at the earliest — Amazon is developing a service for streaming videogames over the internet, joining Microsoft, Google and other companies that are building similar offerings …
Discussion:
@jtoonkel, @mattdrange, BGR, The Verge, Mashable, SlashGear, Gizmodo, Variety, Business Insider, TechCrunch and GeekWire, more at Techmeme »
Jason Lynch / Adweek:
Super Bowl ad inventory is “over 90% sold”, CBS ad sales chief Jo Ann Ross says; prices are $5M+ for a 30-second spot — Title sponsors secured for each pre- and postgame hour — CBS ad sales chief Jo Ann Ross and her team began selling ads for Super Bowl LIII as soon as Super Bowl LII ended last year.
Discussion:
Ad Age, Ad Age, Ad Age, Broadcasting & Cable and TVNewser
Etan Vlessing / Hollywood Reporter:
Tribune Media and Charter resolve carriage dispute, ending a blackout of 33 stations that began on January 2 — The agreement covers 33 local TV stations and WGN America, and comes ahead of the second weekend of the NFL playoffs. — Tribune Media and Charter Communications have reached …
Discussion:
Multichannel News and Radio & Television …
Edmund Lee / New York Times:
Agenda, owned by The Financial Times, removes quotes attributed to Les Moonves from a story after representatives for Moonves denied he spoke with the reporters — Agenda, a news service owned by The Financial Times, published an interview with someone claiming to be Mr. Moonves shortly after he was fired as chief executive of CBS.
Discussion:
The Wrap, @edmundlee, @levinejonathan, Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap and Talking Biz News
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Amazon's IMDb launches Freedive, an ad-supported streaming service offering movies and TV shows in the US; site now lists 130+ free movies and 29 shows — Amazon has extended its tentacles into the ad-supported VOD space — stocking IMDb with a back-catalog of dozens of movies and TV shows that are free to watch.
Discussion:
CNBC, Gizmodo, @xpangler, @digitalshields, Engadget, Ad Age, MediaPost, Hollywood Reporter and The Wrap, more at Techmeme »
Piano Blog:
Piano, which provides content monetization and paywall tech, raises $22M Series B led by Updata Partners — New York — Piano, the leading content monetization and audience intelligence technology company, today announces it raised a $22M Series B funding round, led by Updata Partners.