Mediagazer: After YouTuber MrBeast made a video about paying for 1,000 blind people's eye surgery, critics raise questions about “stunt philanthropy” and “charity porn” (Kelsey Weekman/BuzzFeed News)

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9:15 PM ET, February 3, 2023

Top News:

Erin Woo / The Information:

Source, document, and emails: PepsiCo and Anheuser-Busch committed to $3M+ and $2.4M, respectively, for Twitter takeover ads before and during the Super Bowl — After weeks of turmoil and layoffs, Twitter's sales team in recent weeks has reorganized to focus more on big advertisers and launch …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, @jbflint, Front Office Sports, The Indian Express, @shortingisfun, TechCrunch and The Drum, more at Techmeme »

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Erin Woo / The Information:

Internal messages: Twitter wants to charge brands $1,000 per month to keep their gold verification badges, plus $50 per month for each affiliated account — Twitter is likely to charge brands $1000 a month to keep their gold verification badge, plus $50 a month for each affiliated account …

Discussion: @brynnekkelly, @adamweinstein, @vogon, @whstancil and @intelwire, more at Techmeme »

Mitchell Clark / The Verge:
Elon Musk says Twitter will start sharing revenue from reply-thread ads with users who pay for Twitter Blue, starting on February 3, but doesn't give details

Discussion: Insider, The Wrap, The Information, @thoughtfulnz, Engadget, Social Media Today, Tubefilter, @morningbrew, @libshipwreck, Mashable, @sdkstl, New York Daily News and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »

Sources: Disney might license more of its films and TV series to rivals to earn more from its content library, a strategy shift from 2019 when Disney+ launched — Walt Disney Co. is exploring more licensing of its films and television series to rival media outlets as pressure grows to curb the losses in its streaming TV business.

Discussion: @lucas_shaw, @challengerst, @loudmouthjulia, @aagave and @drunk3po

Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal:

Sports Illustrated publisher Arena Group is working with AI startups Jasper and Nota to help produce articles from its own content library and pitch journalists — Arena Group uses the technology to help produce Men's Journal pieces such as workout tips — The publisher of Sports Illustrated …

Discussion: Business Wire, MediaPost, @jjvincent, @lilyraynyc, @alexweprin, Insider, The Verge, @stevekovach, @heyjasperai, @heyrosenberg and @harrymccracken, more at Techmeme »

Peter Laufer / Inside Higher Ed:

Peter Laufer, a University of Oregon journalism professor, asks Gannett to donate Eugene's newspaper The Register-Guard to the university; Gannett declines — Travel with me to my not atypical college town, Eugene, Ore., where I'm privileged to labor as a professor at our vibrant University …

Discussion: @chrispietsch, @globalprmolleda, @jordannovet, @insidehighered, @zack_demars, @uosojc, @damianradcliffe, @ericnewton1, @niemanlab and @evergreenstone

Kelsey Weekman / BuzzFeed News:

After YouTuber MrBeast made a video about paying for 1,000 blind people's eye surgery, critics raise questions about “stunt philanthropy” and “charity porn” — Is it stunt philanthropy or self-funded charity in the YouTube age? — A YouTuber just helped treat 1,000 people with blindness and low vision.

Discussion: @stillgray, @loudmouthjulia, @bendreyfuss, @sonnybunch, @ambiej, @g17esiason, @rubensteinadam, @varadmehta, Insider and Fortune

Frank Bajak / Associated Press:

Microsoft researchers say state-backed Iranian hackers hit Charlie Hebdo with a hack-and-leak campaign after Hebdo's December 2022 contest mocking Iran's leader — After the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo launched a cartoon contest to mock Iran's ruling cleric …

Discussion: Reuters, Al-Monitor, Ars Technica and @fbajak

Scott Roxborough / The Hollywood Reporter:

Q&A with Danny Fisher, CEO of FilmRise, the largest independent content provider to AVOD services, on finding undervalued shows, his business model, and more — By betting big, and early, on the potential of advertising-backed streaming, Danny Fisher has grown the firm …

Kamran Haider / Bloomberg:

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority blocks Wikipedia in the country, saying the site failed to remove “sacrilegious” content within a 48-hour deadline — Pakistan has blocked Wikipedia services in the South Asian nation after the platform failed to remove “sacrilegious” content.

Discussion: The Verge, @faseehmangi, The Register, The Indian Express and MediaNama, more at Techmeme »

Emily Leedham / PressProgress:

Canada's Overstory Media Group, which presented itself as a local news savior and set a goal of hiring 250 journalists by 2023, has 22 journalists after layoffs — Journalists question Overstory Media Group's commitment to local news after gutting flagship Capital Daily's newsroom

Discussion: Ricochet

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:

Amazon reports content spending up 28% YoY to $16.6B in 2022, of which ~$7B went to originals, live sports, and licensed third-party content included with Prime — The expenses related to video and music content were up 28 percent from 2021, when the tech giant spent $13 billion.

Discussion: Deadline and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »

Annie Palmer / CNBC:

Amazon reports Q4 advertising services revenue grew 19% YoY to $11.56B, vs. $11.38B est., and subscription services revenue grew 13% YoY to $9.19B — Follow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT — Amazon reported earnings after the bell. Here are the results. — Earnings: $1.39 per share

Discussion: Digiday, AdExchanger, TechCrunch, Fast Company, CNET, Forbes, Variety, Barron's Online, The Hollywood Reporter, Footwear News and Wall Street Journal, more at Techmeme »

Todd Spangler / Variety:

YouTube's ad revenue dropped 7.8% YoY from $8.63B to $7.96B in Q4, below analyst estimates of $8.2B — Alphabet, parent company of Google and YouTube, turned in fourth-quarter 2022 earnings that missed analyst estimates, as YouTube's ad revenue again notched a year-over-year decline.

Discussion: CNBC, @_sem, Music Ally, The Information, The Verge, Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter

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Jon Swartz / MarketWatch:
Alphabet reports Google advertising revenue down 4% YoY from $61.2B to $59B, below analyst estimates of $60.4B, and Google Search revenue down 2% YoY to $42.6B

Discussion: Alphabet, Mobile Dev Memo, Reuters, Skift, Fast Company, SiliconANGLE, TVNewsCheck, The Wrap and 9to5Google

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Jesse Whittock / Deadline:
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Earlier Picks:

Jim Friedlich / Nieman Reports:
About two dozen current and prospective journalism funders and practitioners met to work on a roadmap for US local news, encouraging more funding collaborations

Discussion: Nieman Lab, @agolis, @coreyhutchins, American Press Institute, @davidclinchnews, @coreywrites, @kdoctor, @nancygibbs, @freepress, @ckrewson, @jimfriedlich and Free Press

Matthew Keys / The Desk:
The owners of 160+ local CBS affiliates pull their signals from FuboTV after its parent company Paramount excluded them from retransmission fee negotiations

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Todd Spangler / Variety:
Apple reports Q1 revenue for its Services segment, which includes Apple TV+ and Apple Music, grew 6.4% YoY to $20.8B, a quarterly record but with slower growth

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TechCrunch:
Twitter plans to discontinue free access to its API starting on February 9, ending support for both v1.1 and v2, and launch a “paid basic tier” instead

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Bill Toulas / BleepingComputer:
Europol and 19 countries make 37 arrests and disrupt phishing-as-a-service platform LabHost in a year-long operation with help from Microsoft, Intel, and others

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