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
Discussion:
Apple Books for Authors, CNET, @victoriastrauss, @kantrowitz, @aibreakfast, @mattdinniman, @bentossell, Gizmodo, BGR, The Bookseller, @jd, AppleInsider, The Verge, Engadget, @themediaisdying, @jeffjarvis, @claireshrugged, @sarahcrossan, TechCrunch, @tomabba, @leylandcecco, @edwinhayward and Music Ally, 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, Mediaite, Talking Biz News, @pressfreedom, Committee to Protect …, @eugene_scott, The Daily Beast, @faizsays, @devlinbarrett, @sgurman, @laurieroberts, @davebiscobing15, @davebiscobing15, @davebiscobing15, @cornellwbrooks, @nickriccardi, @davidgura, @freedomofpress, @davebiscobing15, @davebiscobing15 and @seungminkim
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, @jeffhorwitz, @jason_kint, @wexler, @keachhagey, @emilyglazer, @mattzeitlin, @reaganbrad and @mattnavarra, 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
Discussion:
NME, GOV.UK, The Guardian, Variety, @jake_kanter, @hrwright, The Guardian, Daily Express, Deadline, @tvkev, @scottygb, BBC, @reviewwales, @scottygb, Broadband TV News, Broadcast, All 4, Reuters, Variety, @dcms, @stewartpurvis, The Hollywood Reporter, @jake_kanter, @krishgm, @c4press, Sky News, Press Gazette, @manori_r, Deadline, @drchrisnewton, Broadband TV News, The Drum, Bloomberg, Press Gazette, RXTV info, The Independent and Deadline
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:
@molly0xfff and @niubi, more at Techmeme »
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, Adweek, TechCrunch, Amazon, Tubefilter, @tiktokcomms, @discussingfilm, @manofbeskar and BGR
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 — Iran warned France on Wednesday of consequences after satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo published cartoons depicting …
Discussion:
Fox News, Ministry of Foreign Affairs …, The Guardian, Associated Press, Politico, The Local, New York Post, The Hill, Politico, Bloomberg and Semafor
Dana Gerber / The Boston Globe:
A look at three independent Marblehead, Massachusetts news outlets launched in 2022 to fill the void left by Gannett making the Marblehead Reporter go regional — In the wake of newspaper closures, three new outlets have sprung up in the North Shore town. — Not quite a year ago, the local news outlook in Marblehead appeared bleak.
Discussion:
@virginiabuckin1, @bostonglobe, @jrebosglobe, @jenniferlevitz, @jimdao, @deborahblum, @nytimescramer, @sarahscire, Marblehead Current and Media Nation
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, Transmit.Live, Front Office Sports and @ericfranchi
Aisha Majid / Press Gazette:
Analysis: UK's top four regional publishers control 88% of daily print market; Reach and Newsquest account for 32% and 29% of average circulation respectively — Analysis shows the UK's top four regional publishers control close to 90% of the print market.
Discussion:
@pressgazette
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