Mediagazer: Memo: HarperCollins plans to cut 5% of its employees in North America by June 30, since the sales surge from the pandemic has “slowed significantly as of late” (Jim Milliot/Publishers Weekly)

6:50 PM ET, January 31, 2023

Top News:

Jeff Gerth / Columbia Journalism Review:

Interviews with reporters, editors, and Donald Trump on how Russiagate coverage led to Pulitzer Prizes and retractions, shaped Trump's press relations, and more — Seven and a half years ago, journalism began a tortured dance with Donald Trump, the man who would be the country's forty-fifth president …

Discussion: Columbia Journalism Review, @notdumborasleep, @jamisonfoser, @kdrum, @jamisonfoser, @mtaibbi, @froomkin, @froomkin, @shellenbergermd, @cjr, @cjr, @mtaibbi, @snowden, @ggreenwald, Fox News, @ggreenwald, @snowden and @armandondk

Casey Newton / Platformer:

Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger launch a waitlist for Artifact, an app with a personalized news feed that will let users discuss articles — EXCLUSIVE: Meet Artifact, a kind of TikTok for text — Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger are back.

Hannah Murphy / Financial Times:

Sources detail Twitter's nascent moves to facilitate payments, a key to becoming a “super app”, as the company files for regulatory licenses across the US — Company has started applying for US state licences in bid for fresh revenues beyond advertising

Discussion: Mashable, The Register, Fortune, @rakeshlobster, @financialtimes, The Indian Express, @digiphile, Insider, @smtuffy, CoinBasics's Newsletter, @ian_fraser, SiliconANGLE and Social Media Today

Matt Binder / Mashable:
Twitter shuts down CoTweets, an experimental feature that let two users author and publish a tweet in tandem; in a month, CoTweets will show a single author

Discussion: Gizmodo and Social Media Today, more at Techmeme »

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Spotify has deployed Google's User Choice Billing in 140+ markets globally, to reduce Play Store commissions; how much the company is saving is confidential — In its fourth-quarter earnings, Spotify announced today its User Choice Billing program has now expanded to more than 140 markets worldwide …

Discussion: MediaNama

Anna Nicolaou / Financial Times:
Spotify reports Q4 revenue up 18% YoY to €3.2B and a €270M loss, up from €39M YoY, as operating costs rose 44% YoY, and adds 10M paying subscribers to hit 205M

Discussion: Spotify, The Hollywood Reporter, Yahoo Finance, Inside Radio, Variety, CNBC, Music Business Worldwide, @lucas_shaw, @carnage4life, The Verge, Spotify and Observer, more at Techmeme »

David Satin / The Streamable:

An NBCUniversal source confirms that Peacock has stopped offering its free tier to new subscribers, though the option is available to some existing subscribers — Peacock will no longer offer their free tier for new subscribers, The Streamable has confirmed.

Discussion: Variety, The Wrap, TechCrunch, CNET, The Hollywood Reporter and Media Play News

Tom Scocca / Popula:

The New York Times' coverage of trans kids points to a newspaper crusade, focusing resources on a tiny segment of medical care compared to other teen procedures — A question to ask. At length. — EARIER THIS MONTH, the administration of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis wrote to 12 state universities …

Discussion: Fox News, @tomscocca, @bendreyfuss, @ashleyfeinberg, @mattkbh, @annevclark, @tomlevenson, @niemanlab, @assignedmedia, @j_zimms, New York Post and The Guardian

Lesley Goldberg / The Hollywood Reporter:

Sources: Showtime pulled short-lived shows from its streaming service, like Kidding and American Gigolo, and is expected to let rights holders shop their series — ‘Kidding,’ ‘Super Pumped,’ ‘American Rust,’ ‘On Becoming a God in Central Florida,’ ‘Let the Right One In’ and 'American Gigolo …

Discussion: LostRemote, Deadline, SlashFilm, Variety, @majacobs, @benttravers, @robowentv, The Streamable, @thr, @willthelandman, @deggans, @walthickey, Next TV, @snoodit, The A.V. Club, TVLine, The Information and IndieWire

Matt Tamanini / The Streamable:
Paramount Global plans to merge its Showtime streaming service with Paramount+'s ad-free tier later in 2023 and call the new offering Paramount+ with SHOWTIME

Gerry Smith / Bloomberg:

Sources: as Apple launches MLS Season Pass, the company is shopping ad packages for up to ~$4M per season, without guaranteeing advertisers viewership numbers — Apple Inc. will launch its new streaming service for Major League Soccer this week with a lot of the traditional practices of TV advertising kicked to the sidelines.

Discussion: @larakiara, @gerryfsmith, @tvgrimreaper and Cord Cutters News, more at Techmeme »

Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg / Wall Street Journal:

Penguin Random House CEO Madeline McIntosh steps down after four years, making her the third senior executive to leave the book publisher in the past two months — Madeline McIntosh is third top executive to leave company in past two months — Madeline McIntosh said she is stepping …

Discussion: Publishers Weekly, New York Times, @sarahburnes, The Bookseller and Observer

Caitlin Huston / The Hollywood Reporter:

Peter Chernin's North Road Company studio takes a $150M investment from the Qatar Investment Authority, adding to the $800M announced at its July 2022 launch — The TV and film studio said it has more than 85 active productions in the works. … The company includes unscripted content …

Discussion: Deadline

Anna Nicolaou / Financial Times:

Sources: UMG is in talks with Tidal and others to overhaul streaming economics to pay artists more; ideas include a “bonus pool” and “superfan” subscriptions — Group looks into options such as cracking down on bots and adding ‘superfan’ subscriptions

Discussion: Billboard, Music Business Worldwide, @atasselmyer, Music Ally, @nathanchubbard, @michellemanafy@journa.host and @bora_twts

Sylvia Varnham O'Regan / The Information:

Sources: Meta executives are debating whether to relax the company's long-standing opposition to sharing ad revenue with creators, as it seeks to boost Reels — When Wall Street analysts dial into an earnings call tomorrow with Mark Zuckerberg, they're likely to pepper the Meta Platforms CEO …

Discussion: @amir and @pkafka, more at Techmeme »

Archived Page Info:

This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 6:50 PM ET, January 31, 2023.

View the current page or another snapshot:

Who's Hiring in Media?

Deputy Ed. - Gen. Assignment Desk, DC — WaPo

EU Technology Reporter, Brussels — Bloomberg

Breaking News Reporter, NY — Guardian US

Harrisburg Reporter, PA — PCBC

Senior Editor - Styles, NY — NYT

Part-time Editor, Remote — Techmeme

Home & Travel Reporter, Ireland — Newsweek

Assistant Digital Editor, MA — Boston Globe

Senior Editor - Visuals (Temporary), DC — NPR

Copy Editor, Remote US — ProPublica

Markets Reporter, NY/CA — Sherwood Media

Staff Writer, MI — Watershed Voice

Food Reporter, CA — SF Standard

Staff Writer, NV — Las Vegas Weekly

Pharma Editor, Remote — Endpoints

Higher Ed. Reporter, Remote CA — EdSource

Politics Reporter, Brussels — Politico

Investigations & Enterprise Ed., WI — Cap Times

Social Strategy Editor, NY — WSJ

Senior Narrative Editor, CA — Cloud Chamber

Editor-in-Chief, NY (flexible) — The 74

Housing Reporter, OK — The Frontier

Writer/AI Content Reviewer, CA — Outlier

Writer/Editor, Remote — Mediaite

Multi Media Reporter, NC — Cardinal & Pine

Afternoon/Night Editor, NH — Keene Sentinel

Education Lab Editor, WA — Seattle Times

Senior Editor, Remote US — PCWorld

State Worker Reporter, CA — Sacramento Bee

Executive Editor, NM — Searchlight

News Assistant, NY — Quanta Magazine

Local Editor, NJ (Remote) — Patch

News Editor/Reporter, KS — Blade-Empire

Add your company here

See Also:

Mediagazer: site main

Mediagazer River: reverse chronological Mediagazer

Mediagazer Mobile: for phones

Mediagazer Leaderboard: Mediagazer's top sources

Subscribe:

Mediagazer RSS feed

Mediagazer on X

Mediagazer on Mastodon

More News:

Matt Pearce / Los Angeles Times:
KPCC, Los Angeles' most popular FM public radio station, will change its name to LAist 89.3 as it consolidates its radio, podcast, digital, and events offerings

Discussion: Radio & Television …, The Wrap, Inside Radio, Variety, Current, RADIO ONLINE and RAIN News

Jonathan Vanian / CNBC:
Snap Q4: revenue flat YoY at $1.3B, vs. $1.31B est., DAUs up 17% YoY to 375M, vs. 375.3M est., and a $288M net loss, vs. $23M in net income YoY; stock down 13%+

Discussion: Mumbrella, New York Times, Ad Age, Variety, The Information, Deadline, Wall Street Journal, Snap Inc. and The Hollywood Reporter, more at Techmeme »

Caitlin Huston / The Hollywood Reporter:
Warner Bros. Discovery signs deals to license some content the company pulled from HBO Max, including Westworld, to Roku and Tubi's free, ad-supported channels

Kristin Robinson / Billboard:
How Rick Astley's lawsuit against Yung Gravy may affect interpolation, a technique that avoids the costly and lengthy process of getting the original recording

Discussion: Copyright Lately, @billboard, @wordsbykristin and Boing Boing

Anne Kauranen / Reuters:
Finnish, Norwegian, Danish, and Icelandic unions quit the IFJ, accusing the union of undemocratic practices, unethical finances, and other “corruptive activity”

Earlier Picks:

Cecilia D'Anastasio / Bloomberg:
A look at Spanish-language livestreaming growth on Twitch; the platform's audience for Spanish, its fastest-growing language, grew sixfold from 2019 to 2022

Discussion: @cecianasta and The Information

Wall Street Journal:
If the US wins its antitrust Google case, a spinoff is more likely than a sale, valuing the ad businesses at tens of billions and giving advertisers more choice

Discussion: @repjayapal, @davemorgannyc, @rr_edmonds, @sosayslucia, @matthewstoller and Gizmodo

Corbin Bolies / The Daily Beast:
Sources detail the collapse of Insider's Washington DC bureau, launched in March 2020: steady staff exits and its head fired days before the 2022 US midterms

Discussion: The Rebooting, @thedailybeast, @daisandconfused, Talking Biz News, @jeremymbarr and @corbinbolies

Leonard Downie Jr / Washington Post:
In interviews with 75+ journalists and media experts, a Washington Post ex-executive editor finds that newsrooms that move beyond “objectivity” can build trust

Jim Milliot / Publishers Weekly:
Memo: HarperCollins plans to cut 5% of its employees in North America by June 30, since the sales surge from the pandemic has “slowed significantly as of late”

Discussion: @veronikellymars, @sam_aye_ahm, @zlikeinzorro, The Hollywood Reporter, @publisherswkly and The Bookseller

From Techmeme:

Wall Street Journal:
The FTC bans noncompete clauses that restrict job switching, the first time in 50+ years that the FTC has issued a regulation mandating an economy-wide change

Victoria Song / The Verge:
Meta's Ray-Ban Smart Glasses get support for video calling via WhatsApp and Messenger, hands-free Apple Music controls, and a new frame style

Andrew J. Hawkins / The Verge:
Tesla teases a ridehailing function in its app and says its robotaxi will be “purpose-built”, suggesting it will be built from the ground up to be self-driving

Sister Sites:

Techmeme
Top news and commentary for technology's leaders, from all around the web

memeorandum
What US political commentators are discussing online right now

WeSmirch
The top celebrity news from all around the web on a single page