Top News:
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Memo: BDG Media suspends Gawker operations and CEO Bryan Goldberg says the company will cut 8% of its full-time staff after “a surprisingly difficult” Q1 2023 — BDG Media is suspending Gawker and will lay off 8% of full-time staff, according to an internal memo from CEO Bryan Goldberg that was obtained by Axios.
Discussion:
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Max Tani / Semafor:
The US DOJ charges former ABC News foreign correspondent James Gordon Meek over the alleged transportation of CSAM; the FBI raided Meek's home in April 2022 — The Department of Justice on Wednesday announced the arrest of an award-winning investigative reporter on charges related to child pornography.
Discussion:
Department of Justice, Variety, Washington Post, Rolling Stone, @awprokop, TVNewser, @tomaxwell, Fox News, Los Angeles Times, @awprokop, @noahshachtman, @calebjhull, New York Post, @maxwelltani, The Wrap, @mattwolking, @arlnowdotcom, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, Mediaite, @semaforben and The Daily Beast
Emma Roth / The Verge:
Netflix says US password sharing rules haven't been set yet and removes rules from its US help page saying users must connect to a “primary Wi-Fi” every 31 days — Based on info sourced from Netflix's support pages, The Streamable reported on Tuesday details about its upcoming anti-password sharing efforts.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, The Hill, @mmasnick@mastodon.social, CNBC, Screen Rant, @jewish_activist, @ericafails, @jacefrederick, @carnage4life, The Daily Beast, @jamiekaywilde, @mattxiv, @bugsmaytrix, @ow, @pt, The Streamable, ZDNet, @grantmcauley, @roywoodjr, Observer, @scottmendelson, @tinu, @andiesophia23, @imani_barbarin, @verge, @emmavigeland, @hasanthehun, The Wrap, gHacks Technology News, 9to5Mac, Gizmodo, Forbes, Mashable and Sky News, more at Techmeme »
Reeves Wiedeman / Vulture:
As documentaries boom, filmmakers, their subjects, and the bill-paying streamers wrestle with questions of ethics, money, and control, amid shrinking budgets — The boom — or glut — in streaming documentaries has sparked a reckoning among filmmakers and their subjects.
Discussion:
@saba_h, @emilynussbaum, @cengizyar, @sidhubaba, @nymag, @noah_kirsch, @lpolgreen, @charliechar, @sarahrosejenks, @chutry, @juliekosin, @sarahw, @sorayamcdonald and @grahamstarr
Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal:
Bloomberg renames its Quicktake streaming channel to Bloomberg Originals and adds more documentaries and talk shows, after seeing growth in ad-supported video — News publisher to launch climate, science and sports shows on rebranded streaming platform — Bloomberg Media is adding …
Discussion:
Talking Biz News
Bloomberg:
TikTok is limiting the number of songs that some users in Australia can post on its app, an experiment meant to assess how much they value music in their videos — TikTok is limiting the number of songs that users can post on its app, an experiment to assess how much they value music in their videos.
Discussion:
Fox News, @quicktake, Social Media Today and Newsday
Emily Bary / MarketWatch:
SEC filing: Comcast sold 5,726,385 BuzzFeed shares from January 30 to February 1 as BuzzFeed's stock surged, leaving the company with 19.97% of BuzzFeed's stock — Buzzfeed stock has rocketed in recent days amid enthusiasm over its use of AI — Comcast Corp. has sold part of its stake in Buzzfeed Inc. …
Discussion:
Crain's New York Business
Lizzie Johnson / @lizziejohnsonnn:
[Thread] After the murder of Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German, The Washington Post picked up and finished his work on an alleged $500M Ponzi scheme — Not long after Jeff German — a reporter at the @reviewjournal — was slain outside of his home last fall, my editor called me with a question. The Post had reached out, asking if we could help in some way. Jeff's editor had an idea. Maybe we could take on the last of his work.
Sahil Patel / The Information:
Sources: Netflix told advertisers that sign-ups for its ad tier doubled in January 2023 over December 2022; Netflix predicted 1.75M ad tier subscribers in Q1 — Netflix is making progress in its plunge into advertising—slowly. — The streaming firm told advertisers in the past 10 days …
Discussion:
@amir, @richlightshed, IndieWire, @sizpatel, Deadline and Cord Cutters News
Patrick Coffee / Wall Street Journal:
A look at ad industry meme accounts, often run by anonymous industry veterans to share news, create a sense of community among junior staff and CMOs, and more — Ad industry meme creators have begun breaking news, earning revenue and attracting attention from industry leaders
Discussion:
@patrickcoffee, @media_lad, @patrickcoffee and @mjbarash
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Netflix adds spatial audio to its $20 per month Premium plan, available on 700+ of its most-watched titles; Standard and Basic plans will get limited support — Listen to this: Netflix is hoping audiophiles will upgrade to the $20-per-month Premium tier to gain access to the streamer's full collection …
Discussion:
IGN, The Streamable, The Verge, 9to5Mac, Engadget, TechCrunch and LostRemote, more at Techmeme »
David Robb / Deadline:
HuffPost and its union reach an agreement on a new three-year contract, after 98% of the union's 91 members had pledged to strike if a fair deal wasn't reached — The WGA East and HuffPost have reached an agreement on a new three-year contract, averting a threatened strike.
Discussion:
@marinafang, @davecullen and @wgaeast