Top News:
New York Times:
Sources: Vice Media is preparing to file for bankruptcy; a source says more than five companies have expressed interest in acquiring it but chances are slim — The company, which was once valued at $5.7 billion, has been struggling to find a buyer this year.
Discussion:
The Guardian, The Hill, Mediaite, Wall Street Journal, The Wrap, The Information, @meghanemurphy, @nicoleperlroth, @karlbode, @picardonhealth, @bigblackjacobin, @claytravis, @ezralevant, @ashkan, @bgurley, @joohnchoe, Fortune, @filmthepolicela, @aaronbastani, Deadline, @brianstelter, @keegan_hamilton, @tvgrimreaper, @sherman4949, @b_judah, @scottmgreer, @enrique_acevedo, @_llebrun, @justinbaragona, @tomgara, @passionweiss, @jillkrajewski, @nickkristof, @jude_mugabi, @fourverts and New York Magazine
Rebecca Rubin / Variety:
The Super Mario Bros. Movie crosses $1B globally at the box office, becoming the first to do so in 2023 and the most financially successful video game movie yet — “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” is officially the first film of the year to cross the coveted $1 billion milestone.
Discussion:
New York Times, The Verge, Comic Book, @starryeyedwho, Nerdist, @epro, Insider, The Hollywood Reporter, TMZ.com, The Wrap, The Week, IGN, Associated Press, Media Play News, Forbes, Screen Rant, SlashFilm, Vanity Fair, Collider and Gizmodo, more at Techmeme »
Matt Binder / Mashable:
Automattic plans to drop its WordPress plugin JetPack's ability to automatically tweet blog posts, citing Twitter's dramatic change to its API terms and pricing — Twitter continues to lose vital support from major companies. — When users set up a brand new WordPress-powered website …
Dominic Patten / Deadline:
At the WHCD, President Biden called for the release of Evan Gershkovich and Austin Tice, offered support to their families, and said “journalism is not a crime” — “I believe in the First Amendment, and not just because my good friend Jimmy Madison wrote it,” …
Discussion:
NBC News, C-SPAN on YouTube, Fox News, C-SPAN on YouTube, The Daily Beast, Reuters, The Hollywood Reporter, Slate, @greenhousenyt, Vibe, Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone, The Wrap, The Week, The Hill, Washington Post, New York Times, New York Post, Deadline, Forbes, People.com, @brianstelter, @cspan, The White House, @misterzook, National Review, @cspan, @people, The Hill, @rollingstone, @rollingstone, @marlownyc, @rollingstone, @lebergerdavid, Washington Post, CBS News, NPR, Variety, The Guardian, C-SPAN, C-SPAN, C-SPAN, The Guardian, Breitbart, CNN, ABC13, Mediaite, New York Daily News, PoliticusUSA, TVLine, The Hollywood Reporter, Wall Street Journal, The Hill, Politico and The A.V. Club
Sarah Fielding / Engadget:
Amazon plans to make 100+ Prime Video original series and movies available on its free streaming service Freevee, formerly IMDB TV, gradually throughout 2023 — Amazon has announced it's making over 100 Prime Video original series and movies available on Freevee, its free streaming service.
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, Gizmodo, The Verge, The Streamable, The Wrap, Deadline, Variety and Tv Technology
Ben Smith / Semafor:
Sources: ABC News is scrambling to replace Nate Silver's election forecasting model, which the network rented from Silver as part of ESPN's 2013 deal with 538 — I've spent my career in digital media, so it was humbling to stand in a corner at the lavish CBS News party at the French …
Discussion:
@jbillinson, Insider and Mediaite
Davey Alba / Bloomberg:
NewsGuard finds 49 websites with generic names like “News Live 79” using generative AI and posing as news outlets; some feature falsehoods and programmatic ads — The news-rating group NewsGuard has found dozens of news websites generated by AI chatbots proliferating online …
Pete Hammond / Deadline:
The Motion Picture Academy sets new Oscar campaign rules for private events, social media use, and more after Andrea Riseborough's surprising acting nomination — The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Monday revealed its updated rules and regulations for the 96th annual Academy Awards.
Discussion:
Variety, The Wrap, The Playlist, The A.V. Club, Vanity Fair, Los Angeles Times, GoldDerby, IndieWire, The Hollywood Reporter and Rolling Stone
David Pierce / The Verge:
How free 24/7 ad-supported TV services like Tubi, Pluto TV, and The Roku Channel, with their big content libraries, became the fastest-growing streaming segment — Call it FAST, call it AVOD, call it whatever you want. Free ad-supported streaming is having a moment, and it's only going to get bigger from here.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, @hshaban, @buzzedition, Variety, Digital Content Next, MediaPost and Adweek
Pesha Magid / Columbia Journalism Review:
A profile of Jeff German, a Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter murdered in September 2022 after a career covering the city's mob violence and the men behind it — In 1978, forty-four years before Jeff German was murdered, he left Milwaukee for a job at The Las Vegas Sun.
Discussion:
Washington Post
Elon Musk / @elonmusk:
Elon Musk claims that Twitter plans to let media publishers charge users on a per-article basis, with one click, starting in May 2023 — Rolling out next month, this platform will allow media publishers to charge users on a per article basis with one click. This enables users who would not sign up for a monthly subscription to pay a higher per article price for when they want to read an occasional article.... https://twitter.com/...
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, The Verge, CNBC, The Guardian, @josephpolitano, Gizmodo, Engadget, CBS News, @panopticonomy, TechCrunch, CNN, New York Post, Observer, @sharonodea, @idvck, Variety, @jsblokland, @arctechinc, @ryanatdust2, @strobist, @ashkan, @catale7a, @icodrops, @deanrosario, @jakehaleee, @aphelelejody, @beirutspring, @apagut, @whereisdaz, @givenality, @apagut, @electroniceggs, @jt_mag_os, @hacksultan, @electionlegal, @juddlegum, @mahirzeynalov, Metro.co.uk, @stevanzetti, @mcwm, @benedictevans, @ezralevant, @prestonjbyrne, @brianmbunde, @mattnavarra, @jamesrbuk, @realtombohn, @iamasarch, @martinsfp, @choisungho, @chaddepue, @taylorlorenz, @philduan, @bmeiselas, New York Daily News, @sullycnbc, @royprice, @t0nyyates, @schmmuck, @truedevonthomps, @arrington, Rolling Stone, The Economic Times, The Wrap, Deadline, The Information, The Hill, Insider, Fortune, New York Magazine and Bloomberg
Amrita Khalid / The Verge:
Spotify's Findaway says Findaway Voices, its audiobook distributor for indie authors, is dropping its 20% distribution fee for audiobooks purchased on Spotify — Spotify-owned audiobooks seller Findaway will no longer take a 20 percent cut of royalties for titles sold on its DIY Voices platform …
Discussion:
Findaway Voices Blog and TechCrunch