Top News:
Jon Levine / The Wrap:
Leaked audio: Vice news chief Josh Tyrangiel says Vice is nearing a deal with Hulu for a new show, and revenue loss after end of HBO show contributed to layoffs — “We now have paper. We now have pens. The pens are not on paper," Vice executive Josh Tyrangiel says of the deal
Discussion:
Digiday, @tomhbunting, @levinejonathan and @plbarghouty
Anjali Robins / CNBC:
Disney beats estimates with Q1 net income of $2.79B on revenue of $15.3B vs. $15.14B expected; media networks revenue increased 7% YoY to $5.9B — - Investors and analysts are looking for new details on the company's direct-to-consumer plans and an update on its pending $71.3 billion acquisition …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Variety, Multichannel News, @stevekovach, MediaPost, Reuters, The Walt Disney Company, Awful Announcing and Yahoo! Finance
RELATED:
Amanda Darrach / Columbia Journalism Review:
Amid buyouts and possible layoffs, McClatchy's board increased CEO Craig Forman's monthly stipend for travel, housing, and security from $5,000 to $35,000 — BuzzFeed, HuffPo, Gannett, Vice. This has already been a ruthless year for layoffs in digital journalism.
Joan E. Solsman / CNET:
YouTube CEO says the number of channels with 1M+ subs nearly doubled and the number of creators who earned five or six figures grew 40%+ in the last year — In a post on Tuesday about her 2019 goals, YouTube Chief Executive Susan Wojcicki touted several milestones Google's massive video site surpassed …
Discussion:
YouTube Creator Blog, TechCrunch, Variety, Business Insider, MediaPost and @susanwojcicki, more at Techmeme »
Greg Dool / Folio:
American Media, publisher of National Enquirer, Us Weekly, and Men's Journal, has acquired TEN: Publishing's 14 brands in its Adventure Sports Network — National Enquirer publisher American Media has acquired TEN: Publishing's Adventure Sports Network, a group of 14 action sports brands …
Discussion:
Forbes, MediaPost, SGB Online and Pinkbike.com
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Sources: Reddit is raising $150M to $300M in a Series D led by Tencent at a $2.7B pre-money valuation — Reddit is raising $150 million to $300 million to keep the front page of the Internet running, multiple sources tell TechCrunch. The forthcoming Series D round is said to be led …
Discussion:
@carnage4life, @dhh, @shiruken, @badlogicgames, @joshconstine and Business Insider, more at Techmeme »
Owen S. Good / Polygon:
Machinima is now officially closed, two weeks after it went offline, with layoffs of 81 people but a “select number” remaining to work at AT&T's Otter Media — Parent company confirms shutdown two weeks after everything went offline — Machinima is officially no more.
Discussion:
MediaPost, Deadline, @matthewmercer, @robgabel, @xpangler and @utxjgthedon
Jaclyn Peiser / New York Times:
Around one-third of the content published by Bloomberg News uses some form of automated technology, with more news outlets beginning to rely on AI — As reporters and editors find themselves the victims of layoffs at digital publishers and traditional newspaper chains alike, journalism generated by machine is on the rise.
Discussion:
@lisagibbs954, @ap_corpcomm, @amlwhere, @fpmarconi, @sigalsamuel and Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Thanks:@steverubel
Nick Martin / Splinter:
How Time Warner executive pay soared as staff was cut while William Barr, Trump's nominee to be attorney general, chaired the board compensation committee — When William Barr, Donald Trump's nominee to be the next attorney general, chaired the compensation committee on Time Warner's corporate board …
Discussion:
@bridgeproject21 and @patdennis
Laura Hazard Owen / Nieman Lab:
Researchers at Medill Local News Initiative analyzed 13TB of subscriber data from local papers, found high correlation between regular reading and sub retention — Hey, local newspapers: Want to try to predict which of your subscribers are going to stick with you — and keep paying — no matter what?
Discussion:
Local News Initiative, @dabeard and @janebsinger
Columbia Journalism Review:
French investigative news site Mediapart faced an attempted raid without a warrant from prosecutors who work for Emmanuel Macron — On the morning of February 4, staff members at Mediapart, the French independent investigative website, were just finishing an editorial meeting when the bell to their office rang.
Discussion:
Committee to Protect …
Washington Post:
Competing theories emerge on how National Enquirer obtained intimate texts between Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez, with its ties to Trump figuring prominently — When the National Enquirer published explicit text messages between Amazon founder Jeffrey P. Bezos and the woman he was having an affair with …
Discussion:
@blairreeves, @amyjbrittain and @connortryan