Top News:
New York Times:
Penske Media announces a strategic investment in Vox Media; sources: Penske acquired a ~20% stake for $100M, making it the largest shareholder of Vox Media — The deal is the latest in a series of acquisitions and investments made by Penske Media, the owner of a swath of entertainment …
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Carrie Blazina / Online News Association:
The Online News Association appoints LaSharah S. Bunting as its CEO and Executive Director, effective March 13; Bunting was most recently a Simon & Schuster VP — Journalist, transformational leader, equity advocate will lead organization — The Online News Association …
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@lasharah, @ashleyalvarado, @irvwashington3, @ona, @avqueenbenet, @iiwrites, @cande313, @kelseyproud, @bylarrygraham, @jkealing, @jeffjarvis and @carrieblazina
Katie Robertson / New York Times:
Vinco Ventures and Icon Publishing acquire The National Enquirer from A360 Media for “a little less” than $100M, the price announced in a collapsed 2019 sale — The publication has come under scrutiny in recent years over its suppression of stories about Donald Trump in the 2016 campaign.
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CNBC, The Wrap, Vinco Ventures, UPI, @brianstelter, CNN, Deadline, New York Post, Wall Street Journal, @katie_robertson, @trysmallbiz, MediaPost, @hodltheblunt, @deardara, The Hollywood Reporter, Press Gazette and Axios
James Vincent / The Verge:
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.
James Rainey / Los Angeles Times:
Ken Doctor says his local digital outlet Lookout Santa Cruz is on track to make a profit in 2023 and hopes to expand, probably within California, by early 2024 — Over many years as a leading media analyst, Ken Doctor spoke out repeatedly about the disintegrating American newspaper business.
Discussion:
@raineytime, @raineytime, @david_sommers, @jbenton and @sammy_roth
Jason Koebler / VICE:
Twitch suspends an AI version of Seinfeld for 14 days after Larry Feinberg, a Jerry Seinfeld clone, made transphobic and homophobic statements in a standup bit — “Nothing, Forever,” has been banned for at least 14 days. — Jason Koebler — “Nothing, Forever,” the infinitely-generating AI version …
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Mediaite, Fox News, TechCrunch, Ars Technica, The Guardian, Insider, Mashable, @jasonschreier, @heerjeet, @craigfaycomedy, @nikostratis, New York Post, Engadget, IndieWire, The Verge, @sir_superhero, @timmarchman, Garbage Day, @merrittk, The A.V. Club, @samleecole and Screen Rant, more at Techmeme »
Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
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 …
Amudalat Ajasa / Washington Post:
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
William Turvill / Press Gazette:
GB News' CEO says the channel will be “pivoting sharply” toward profit by trimming “wasteful costs” and aims to become the UK's top news channel by 2028 — Chief executive Angelos Frangopoulos told staff GB News is entering “phase three” of its development.
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Matthew Keys / The Desk:
DirecTV says the satellite broadcaster dropped Newsmax since the channel demanded tens of millions in licensing fees, not for “political or ideological” reasons — Satellite broadcaster DirecTV said money, not politics or social ideology, was the element that provoked …
Discussion:
Next TV and The Streamable, Thanks:@matthewkeyslive
Ed Meza / Variety:
Israeli filmmakers criticize the new government's plan to reserve state funding for films that don't allegedly tarnish the reputation of Israel or its military — The Israeli government's efforts to reserve state funding only for films that uphold the regime's far-right agenda is causing growing alarm among local filmmakers.
Rana Foroohar / Financial Times:
The US DOJ seeking a jury trial over breaking up Google's ad business is risky in antitrust but a smart way to avoid a judge likely to align with a corporation — The US Department of Justice is insisting that its new Google suit be tried by a jury — Complexity is often used to obfuscate.
Discussion:
@georgedibb, @justinhendrix, @jtasioulas, @ranaforoohar, @alemannoeu, @maxvonthun and @aidanpeppin, more at Techmeme »
The Daily Beast:
Sources: ex-The Hill owner Jimmy Finkelstein plans to name former People EIC Dan Wakeford as the editor of The Messenger, a “Washington Post-Daily Mail hybrid” — This reporting is one of several scoops featured in this week's edition of Confider, the newsletter pulling back the curtain on the media.
Discussion:
@justinbaragona, @scottnover and @lachcartwright
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