Top News:
Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge:
Snap says its TikTok competitor Spotlight had 100M MAUs in January, two months after its launch, and receives an average of 175K video submissions per day — A surprisingly successful debut — Snap says its TikTok competitor, Spotlight, had 100 million users in January 2021, just two months after it launched.
Discussion:
CNN, @karissabe, @verge, @mattrosoff, @megancgraham, Investor's Business Daily, CNBC, Business Wire and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
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Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC:
Snap beats with Q4 revenue of $911M, up 62% YoY, vs $857.4M est., DAUs were up 22% YoY to 265M; stock down 7%+ after hours on weak Q1 forecast — - Snap's stock fell in after-hours trading on Thursday after the company reported its fourth-quarter earnings despite beating Wall Street's expectations on earnings, revenue and user growth.
Discussion:
The Wrap, @ashkan, @charliebilello, @ashleyrcarman, @tgpharding, Fast Company, Ad Age, Financial Times, Axios and Variety, more at Techmeme »
New York Times:
Election tech company Smartmatic files $2.7B defamation lawsuit against the Fox Corporation, Fox News, and hosts Lou Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo, and Jeanine Pirro — Smartmatic accused Rupert Murdoch's network of promoting a false narrative about the 2020 election that damaged the company.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Variety, MediaPost, CNN, Poynter, The American Independent, NPR, Wall Street Journal, @darickr, @markszaidesq, National Review, @jonathanwpeters, @jamessurowiecki, @hassankanu, @alanhuntermtv, @zoetillman, @richsignorelli, @markruffalo, @frankpallotta, @brianstelter, @brianstelter, Media Matters for America, The Verge, Financial Times, TVNewsCheck, Bloomberg, Axios, Mediaite, The Wrap, Insider, CNBC and Boing Boing
Kate Beddoe / The Keyword:
Google rolls out an initial version of Google News Showcase in Australia, with participation by and financial support for The Canberra Times, Crikey, and others — With the news moving faster than ever, it's clear that journalism is an essential way to keep people informed.
Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:
Editor & Publisher gave permission to Internet Archive to digitize its full archives, making them easily searchable, a step that other newspapers should take — My two intellectual loves are history and journalism — alternately, history and its first draft — and I'm always happy to see the two overlap.
Discussion:
@internetarchive, @jbenton and @media2070
Tim Cross / VideoWeek:
Supply-side platform Magnite, formerly Rubicon Project, to acquire sell-side video platform SpotX for $1.17B — Supply-side platform Magnite announced this morning it has agreed a deal to acquire sell-side video platform SpotX from European media group RTL for $1.17 billion in stock and cash, subject to regulatory approval.
Discussion:
Variety, Magnite, AdExchanger, CNBC, @davemorgannyc and Beet.TV
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty:
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty names Jamie Fly as president and CEO, who will resume leadership after being dismissed by Michael Pack in June — WASHINGTON — Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's (RFE/RL) Board of Directors has named Jamie Fly as the company's President and CEO, effective February 16, 2021.
Discussion:
@jamiemfly, @davidfolkenflik, @karenkornbluh, @john_hudson and @christopherjm
News Corp:
News Corp reported Q2 net income of $261M on revenue of $2.41B; WSJ subs were up 19% YoY to 3.22M, and NY Post reported its first profit in modern times — FISCAL 2021 SECOND QUARTER KEY FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS • Revenues were $2.41 billion, a 3% decline compared to $2.48 billion in the prior year …
Discussion:
New York Post, @joepompeo, Press Gazette, @pressgazette, @pressgazette, @mirandadevine, New York Times and Talking Biz News
Josh Eidelson / Bloomberg:
In NLRB filings, WGAE says G/O Media management broke law by telling staff it fired Gizmodo's Alex Cranz to retaliate for her discussion of working conditions — Online publisher G/O Media Inc. told employees of its tech-news website Gizmodo that it fired a co-worker because of her union activism …
Discussion:
@wgaeast, @josheidelson, @mattdpearce, @josheidelson and Talking Biz News, more at Techmeme »
Chris Stokel-Walker / WIRED UK:
TikTok's launch on Android TVs in France, Germany, and the UK yesterday is part of its push to diversify its audience and bring its stars into the mainstream — The app's arrival on smart TVs is part of a plan to diversify its audience - and bring its stars further into the mainstream
Discussion:
@stokel, @psythor, @brendangahan and @evafogdk, more at Techmeme »
The Daily Beast:
Sources: NYT's Rukmini Callimachi has been re-assigned to cover higher education following the Caliphate scandal — The Pulitzer finalist who came to fame via her Middle East coverage is moving to a vastly different beat following the scandal over her largely debunked podcast.
Discussion:
@wajahatali, @johnriordangee and @cquintanadc
Lucy Fisher / Telegraph:
Source: in the past year, the UK has expelled three Chinese spies posing as journalists who purported to work for three different Chinese media agencies — The revelation comes amid concerns in Government about Chinese economic espionage and intellectual property theft from UK institutions
Discussion:
@economictimes, @shashj, @los_fisher, @shashj, @niubi, @donaldcclarke, @yatescomms and Al Jazeera
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