Mediagazer: Source: Twitter laid off ~40 ad optimization data scientists and engineers, as the company targets areas that leadership considers to be failing or unimportant (Erin Woo/The Information)

5:35 PM ET, January 5, 2023

Top News:

Leyland Cecco / The Guardian:

Apple quietly launches a catalog of books narrated by AI on its Books app, in a move that publishers, authors, and agents warn may upend the audiobook market — Exclusive: tech firm quietly launches new audiobook catalogue narrated by AI - but move expected to spark backlash

Dave Biscobing / ABC15:

The Wall Street Journal asks the Phoenix PD to conduct an internal review after an officer handcuffed and detained WSJ reporter Dion Rabouin in November 2022 — PHOENIX — The Wall Street Journal is demanding the Phoenix Police Department conduct an internal review and take action …

Wall Street Journal:

Sources: Facebook dropped plans to heavily demote content on politics and sensitive topics, after views for “high quality news publishers” fell, and more — Hitting mute button on political content recommendations brought unintended consequences

Discussion: @justinhendrix, @keachhagey, @jason_kint, @emilyglazer, @mattzeitlin, @wexler, @reaganbrad, @mattnavarra and @jeffhorwitz, more at Techmeme »

Financial Times:

The UK government confirms it will not proceed with Channel 4's privatization, instead opting for reforms to preserve the broadcaster's financial sustainability — Whitehall rejects privatisation in favour of reforms to preserve broadcaster's financial sustainability

J. Clara Chan / The Hollywood Reporter:

TikTok plans to license IMDb data to let US and UK users tag movies and TV shows and access an in-app page with information about the titles — Users will be able to tag a specific work and have access to a dedicated in-app page with relevant information about the title, such as cast, crew release date, run time and more.

Discussion: Ad Age, Engadget, Amazon, IndieWire, Adweek, TechCrunch, Tubefilter, @tiktokcomms, @discussingfilm, @manofbeskar and BGR

Ben Schoon / 9to5Google:

Google says Android TV OS, the underlying platform for Google TV and Android TV, now has 150M monthly active devices, up 36%+ YoY — At CES 2023 this week Google is sharing an update on how many devices are now using Google TV and Android TV, with 150 million devices in the hands of users.

Charlotte Klein / Vanity Fair:

NYT is yet to fill its media columnist role one year after Ben Smith left the paper; Sources: Sarah Ellison, Brian Stelter, and Dylan Byers held talks with NYT — One of the highest perches in the industry has been vacant for a year, leaving journalists inside and outside the paper puzzled about management's lack of urgency.

Discussion: @charlottetklein, @vanityfair, @nbj914 and @joshgerstein

Taylor Lorenz / Washington Post:

After FTX collapsed, “citizen journalists” like @AutismCapital, Coffeezilla, and Doomberg beat out mainstream outlets by alleging wrongdoing and adding analysis — A group of online creators has skyrocketed to fame by covering every aspect of the meltdown, but some optimize for attention over accuracy

Discussion: @robinwigg, @patrickeboyle, @robinwigg, @trengriffin, @ranjanxroy, @robinwigg, @niubi and @molly0xfff, more at Techmeme »

Erin Woo / The Information:

Source: Twitter laid off ~40 ad optimization data scientists and engineers, as the company targets areas that leadership considers to be failing or unimportant — Twitter laid off about 40 data scientists and engineers working on advertising late Wednesday night in what amounted to at least …

Discussion: Adweek, Gizmodo, The Wrap, Insider and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »

Lauren Thomas / Wall Street Journal:

Sources: Vince McMahon plans to return to WWE to pursue a sale of the business, after retiring as CEO and chairman in July 2022 amid a sexual harassment scandal — Vince McMahon, the majority owner and former chief executive of World Wrestling Entertainment Inc., WWE 2.26%increase …

Discussion: @laurenthomas, CNBC, Bloomberg, The Comeback, @therajgiri, @otd_in_wwe, @glennrubenstein, @laurenthomas, @laurenthomas and @brandolightshed

Jessica Toonkel / Wall Street Journal:

An investment group led by LionTree takes a majority stake in Transmit.Live, which develops ad technology for live streaming, valuing the company at $350M — Boutique bank leads group taking majority stake in Transmit.Live — LionTree is betting that live sports is going to continue …

Discussion: The Streamable, Radio & Television …, Transmit.Live, Front Office Sports and @ericfranchi

Hanaa' Tameez / Nieman Lab:

A profile of New Lines, an online-only magazine with a remote staff of 25 focused on local reporting from around the world, now printing quarterly editions — “Often when an editor declines or dilutes a good story, it's to say it's too in the weeds. I always joke, 'What's wrong with weeds?'"

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Ronan Shields / Digiday:
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Aisha Majid / Press Gazette:
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Jennifer Maas / Variety:
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Daniel Tilles / Notes From Poland:
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Melanie Burney / The Philadelphia Inquirer:
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Discussion: Fast Company, Politico, State of New Jersey, @tauhidchappell, @phillyinquirer and @cyn_mccrackan@mastodon.world

Agence France-Presse:
Iran warns France of an “effective and decisive response” after Charlie Hebdo published cartoons depicting Ayatollah Khamenei that were deemed to be insulting

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Dana Gerber / The Boston Globe:
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Max Tani / Semafor:
Sources detail the impact of the ransomware attack on The Guardian: the paper nearly didn't print for days, print columnist picture bylines vanished, and more

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Kris B. Mamula / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
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Denise-Marie Ordway / The Journalist's Resource:
An analysis of 5,847 political news stories from 20 media outlets in 2021: far-left and far-right outlets offer easier-to-read coverage than mainstream outlets

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Vincent Manancourt / Politico:
The Irish DPC fines Meta €390M over GDPR breaches related to its ad and data handling practices, giving the company three months to comply; Meta plans to appeal

Discussion: noyb.eu, Data Protection Commission, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, @eric_seufert, @vmanancourt, @jezcorden, NewsLab, @anewman_forward, The Privacy Whisperer, @brentnyt, @jason_kint, @tamaleaver, @alexgibneyfilm, AppleInsider, Reclaim The Net, Insider, @nytimesbusiness, MediaNama, @moreperfectus, MediaPost, @jason_kint, @maxschrems, @douglascarswell, @themusicpimp, Meta, @danrussell12000, @nicholasvinocur, @modestproposal1, @senmarkey, Music Ally, @s8mb, Digital Music News, @missig_geek, @profcarroll, @gabrielazanfir, @justinhendrix, @robertjbateman, @noybeu, @carlszabo, @johnnyryan, @glynmoody, @jesselehrich, @brianhonan, @jonathanmendez, @floorter, @thetranscript_, @montezumachavez, @robertjbateman, @dpcireland, @adrianweckler, @adrianweckler, @andymstone, @adrianweckler, @martinsfp, @maxschrems, @johnnyryan, @jason_kint, @ekmokaya, @maxschrems, @maxschrems, scargo, Quartz, AdExchanger, Variety, MarTech, The Record, Gizmodo, IAPP Daily Dashboard, Ad Age, New York Post, The Guardian, BleepingComputer, Engadget, Associated Press, The Information, The Verge, Observer, Wall Street Journal and TechCrunch

Chris Welch / The Verge:
Roku plans to launch its own TVs in spring 2023 across two brands, Roku Select and a higher-end Roku Plus, ranging from 24 inches for $119 to 75 inches for $999

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Adweek, Roku, US - The Official Roku Blog, TechCrunch, @davezatz, @mcwm, The Information, IGN, The Streamable, ScreenRant, Light Reading, Insider, Media Play News, Gizmodo and Engadget

From Techmeme:

Wall Street Journal:
Gina Raimondo says holding back China in the chips race is a “fool's errand”, and investment, more than export controls, will keep US ahead of Beijing

Esha Dey / Bloomberg:
Tesla's shares are up 73% since Election Day, as several analysts see the Trump administration easing rules for self-driving tech, benefiting Tesla's ambitions

Reuters:
Albania bans TikTok for a year from January 2025, part of a broader plan to make schools safer following the killing of a 14-year-old near a school in November

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