Mediagazer: The UK's Reach names the launch editors and teams for its US expansion of the Mirror and Express websites and expects to hire ~100 US staff by the end of 2023 (Charlotte Tobitt/Press Gazette)

3:40 PM ET, February 6, 2023

Top News:

Carrie Blazina / Online News Association:

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

Katie Robertson / New York Times:

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, New York Post, Wall Street Journal, Vinco Ventures, UPI, MediaPost, Deadline, @deardara, @brianstelter, CNN, Press Gazette, @katie_robertson, @trysmallbiz, @hodltheblunt, The Hollywood Reporter 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.

Discussion: The Hill, MIT Technology Review, Forbes, @marie_haynes, @johnkoetsier, @dalperovitch, @jjvincent, @jjvincent, @glenngabe, @jjvincent, @rachelmetz, @rasbt, @atarkowski, @jjvincent and Wall Street Journal, more at Techmeme »

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 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

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 …

Jason Koebler / VICE:

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 …

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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

Chan Ho-him / Financial Times:

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 »

Wall Street Journal:

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.

Discussion: New York Post, @bobhutchins, @jeremarketer, @davidfromkansas, Media Voices, @devindra, @wsjmag, @loyolaquinlan, @neilretail, @itstheannmarie, @dawngilbertson, Bits of Yit, Insider, SPY, Good Good Good, TODAY.com, TIME, @wsjmag, @laneflorsheim and Fortune

Manish Singh / TechCrunch:

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 »

Gretchen Voss / Boston Magazine:

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

Matthew Keys / The Desk:

DirecTV says it dropped Newsmax because the channel demanded tens of millions in licensing fees, not because of “political or ideological” reasons — Satellite broadcaster DirecTV said money, not politics or social ideology, was the element that provoked it to drop conservative commentary network Newsmax in January.

Discussion: The Streamable, Next TV and Forbes, Thanks:@matthewkeyslive

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Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
The UK's Reach names the launch editors and teams for its US expansion of the Mirror and Express websites and expects to hire ~100 US staff by the end of 2023

Discussion: @karldholbrook, @lizhazelton and @baronessbruck

Enuma Okoro / Financial Times:
A profile of Chris Jackson, the publisher and EIC of Penguin Random House imprint One World Books, who is hiring diverse staff and publishing more POC authors

Discussion: @alecurussell, @nikadubrovsky, @enumaokoro and @raju

New York Times:
BMG signed and canceled a deal with a French rapper widely condemned in Europe for antisemitic lyrics; documents: the label's involvement was to be kept hidden

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Earlier Picks:

Elizabeth Spiers / New York Times:
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Angela Fu / Poynter:
Gannett ended online comments for most of its ~200 news sites on February 1 as “a safe, moderated” discussion is no longer feasible due to “changes in staffing”

Discussion: @film_girl, @travelinganna, @glenngabe, @dicktofel, @yourprotagonist, @tmorris504, @poynter, @carlquintanilla, @liamsadams, Springfield News-Leader and The Herald-Times

Julia Angwin / The Markup:
The Markup founder Julia Angwin says she is leaving the outlet after five years to pursue other projects; Angwin moved from EIC to editor-at-large in April 2022

Duncan Campbell / Byline Times:
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

Anthony D'Alessandro / Deadline:
Sources: Hello Sunshine is closing its kids and animation business and will collaborate with CoComelon creator Moonbug on future kids and animation projects

Discussion: @mrschimpf

Zoe Tillman / Bloomberg:
A US federal judge dismisses a 2020 Trump campaign defamation lawsuit against The Washington Post but lets the campaign revise its complaint within 30 days

Discussion: Reason, New York Post and Insider

From Techmeme:

Wall Street Journal:
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Paresh Dave / Wired:
Google says it wouldn't force its device makers, browser, and wireless carrier licensees to distribute Gemini to US users for three years, in a proposed remedy

Reuters:
Albania bans TikTok for a year from January 2025, part of a broader plan to make schools safer following the killing of a 14-year-old near a school in November

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