Top News:


The Online News Association appoints LaSharah S. Bunting as its CEO and Executive Director, effective March 13; she was most recently a VP at Simon & Schuster — Journalist, transformational leader, equity advocate will lead organization — The Online News Association …
Discussion:
@lasharah, @jeffjarvis, @irvwashington3, @cande313, @kelseyproud, @bylarrygraham, @iiwrites, @ashleyalvarado, @ona, @avqueenbenet, @jkealing and @carrieblazina


Getty Images sues Stability AI in the US for allegedly copying 12M+ images without permission or compensation for training data used to create Stable Diffusion — Getty Images has filed a lawsuit in the US against Stability AI, creators of open-source AI art generator Stable Diffusion, escalating its legal battle against the firm.


A360 Media sells The National Enquirer to VVIP Ventures, a joint venture by Vinco Ventures and Icon Publishing, for “a little less” than the $100M price in 2019 — The publication has come under scrutiny in recent years over its suppression of stories about Donald Trump in the 2016 campaign.
Discussion:
CNBC, The Wrap, Wall Street Journal, New York Post, Vinco Ventures, MediaPost, UPI, Deadline, @deardara, CNN, @brianstelter, Press Gazette, @katie_robertson, @trysmallbiz, @hodltheblunt, The Hollywood Reporter and Axios


After Twitter said free API access would end on February 9, Elon Musk promises “a light, write-only API for bots providing good content that is free” — Last week, Twitter said it is shutting down free access to its APIs starting February 9. Now, days before the deadline …


Twitch suspends an AI-generated version of Seinfeld for 14 days after Larry Feinberg, a Jerry Seinfeld clone, made transphobic statements during a standup bit — “Nothing, Forever,” has been banned for at least 14 days. — Jason Koebler — “Nothing, Forever,” the infinitely-generating AI version …


Ken Doctor says his local digital outlet Lookout Santa Cruz is on track to make a profit in 2023, and hopes to expand to another California city by 2024 — Over many years as a leading media analyst, Ken Doctor spoke out repeatedly about the disintegrating American newspaper business.
Discussion:
@jbenton, @raineytime, @raineytime, @david_sommers and @sammy_roth


A look at the Black women fighting for years to claim top TV meteorologists roles in the US, some of whom face waves of backlash and hate from viewers — For decades, broadcast meteorology has been dominated by White men — leaving out women, and particularly women of color.
Discussion:
@tevinwooten, @drshepherd2013, @brynnecraig, @bhensonweather and @stellakafka


A look at “de-influencers”, a rising cohort of TikTok users criticizing viral products and promoting thoughtful shopping; #deinfluencing videos passed 68M views — TikTok users are speaking critically about viral products and advocating for thoughtful shopping habits.


Disney removes an October 2022 episode of The Simpsons that referred to “forced labor camps” in China from Disney+ in Hong Kong, after a similar removal in 2021 — Missing programme on streaming platform mentions ‘camps where children make smartphones’
Discussion:
Fox News, Reuters, Forbes, Politico, Insider, @byron_wan, Fortune, @sariarhohavren, @yaling_jiang, @uyghurproject, CBR, @rachel_cheung1, @tripperhead, @therealjoshye, @therealjoshye, CNN and @thomashhchan, more at Techmeme »


Pakistan unblocks Wikipedia after three days; Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif: the ban's unintended consequences over objectionable content outweigh its benefits — Pakistan has unblocked Wikipedia in the South Asian market, just three days after the online encyclopedia was censored in the nation …
Discussion:
@marriyum_a, El País, Forbes, Wikimedia Foundation, UPI, Engadget, The Indian Express, Al Jazeera and The Verge, more at Techmeme »


A look at The Nation's refusal to retract a 2017 story saying the 2016 DNC email leak was an inside job, not a Russian hack, and its history of defending Russia — Two and a half years ago, the Columbia Journalism Review refused to publish Duncan Campbell's investigation into The Nation magazine …
Discussion:
@jonathanchait, @dcampbell_iptv, @areidross, @anthonybarnett, @marioricciard18, @info_rosalie, @casmudde, @fascinatorfun, @ronanltynan, @ronanltynan, @davidcorndc, @rvawonk, @lemieuxlgm, @projpm, @j_fassler, @j_fassler, @j_fassler, @kenny_pryde, @bylinetimes, @alanoszka, @jaspjackson, @aaronjmate, @john_sipher, @jonathanchait, @eduardosuarez, @froomkin, @jayrosen_nyu, @peterjukes, @im_pulse, @seth_hettena and @davidcorndc


After a Massachusetts newspaper spent years alleging mayoral corruption with approval by its owner, a defamation suit shows its sole journalist was a fabulist — Everett's oldest weekly newspaper, the Everett Leader Herald, spent years reporting that the city's highest-elected official …
Discussion:
@bostonmagazine and @thestoryshorey