Top News:
Mark Stenberg / Adweek:
Pop-Up Magazine, which hosted live storytelling shows since its 2009 launch, shuts down, citing the pandemic and economic downturn and affecting 18+ staffers — The live events publisher explored a sale or investment prior to closing — The live performance publisher Pop-Up Magazine …
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 …
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:
@keachhagey, @jason_kint, @emilyglazer, @mattzeitlin, @wexler, @justinhendrix, @reaganbrad, @mattnavarra and @jeffhorwitz, more at Techmeme »
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 …
Discussion:
@phil_lewis_, @wesleylowery, @pvdork, @thestephsy, Talking Biz News, @eugene_scott, The Daily Beast, @pressfreedom, @faizsays, @devlinbarrett, @sgurman, @laurieroberts, @davebiscobing15, @davebiscobing15, @davebiscobing15, @cornellwbrooks, @nickriccardi, @freedomofpress, @davebiscobing15, @davebiscobing15, @seungminkim, Committee to Protect …, @davidgura and Mediaite
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
Discussion:
Apple Books for Authors, ScreenRant, @film_girl, BGR, The Bookseller, @jd, @victoriastrauss, @kantrowitz, @danqing_liu, Engadget, @themediaisdying, @jeffjarvis, Gizmodo, @aibreakfast, @mattdinniman, @chrisfralic, @biz, @tomabba, @bentossell, CNET, @claireshrugged, @sarahcrossan, TechCrunch, AppleInsider, The Verge, @leylandcecco, @edwinhayward and Music Ally, more at Techmeme »
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, @spj_tweets, The Present Age, @nbj914, @joshgerstein and @vanityfair
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.
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
Discussion:
GOV.UK, NME, @jake_kanter, @hrwright, Variety, @tvkev, @scottygb, @reviewwales, @scottygb, @dcms, @stewartpurvis, @jake_kanter, @krishgm, @c4press, The Guardian, Press Gazette, @manori_r, Deadline, @drchrisnewton, Broadcast, All 4, Broadband TV News, BBC, Daily Express, Sky News, Reuters, The Guardian, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Broadband TV News, The Drum, Bloomberg, Press Gazette, RXTV info, Axios, The Independent and Deadline
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 more information, like the cast and release date — Users will be able to tag a specific work and have access to a dedicated in-app page with relevant information about the title …
Discussion:
Amazon, Engadget, Adweek, TechCrunch, Tubefilter, @tiktokcomms, @discussingfilm, @manofbeskar, BGR and IndieWire
Wayne Friedman / MediaPost:
iSpot.tv: in 2022, US TV ad impressions fell 3.5% YoY to 8T and TV ad spend grew 6.1% YoY to $45.36B; CBS had the greatest share of TV ad impressions at 14.55% — Total TV advertising impressions in 2022 from linear, streaming and local programming were down 3.5% versus the year before to 8.0 trillion, according to iSpot.tv.
Discussion:
Next TV and TVNewsCheck
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, Fortune, Gizmodo, @jason_kint, @willoremus, @erinkwoo, The Wrap and Insider, more at Techmeme »
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?'"
Discussion:
@kshaheen, @hanaatameez, @bysurbhigupta, @hxhassan and @rashaalaqeedi
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