Mediagazer: The News/Media Alliance organized a US lobbying blitz the week of September 25 to discuss copyright protections for the work of outlets, given the threat of AI (Sara Fischer/Axios)

Top News:

Sources: Netflix plans to raise the price of its ad-free service a few months after the SAG-AFTRA strike ends, likely starting with the US and Canada — Company to become latest streamer to lift fees; Disney weighs launching new live-sports tier abroad — plans to raise the price …

Discussion: Screen Rant, IndieWire, Variety, The Streamable, Ars Technica, The Wrap, Reuters, The Verge, ComingSoon.net, @deitaone, @mimarek@universeodon.com, @imdavidpierce@threads.net, @pogue.bsky.social, BGR, Media Play News, IGN and Cord Cutters News, more at Techmeme »

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Memo: Meta VP of Media Partnerships Campbell Brown says she's stepping down from the role in the fall but staying as a consultant, as Meta backs away from news — Campbell Brown, the veteran TV anchor who led Meta's foray into news, is leaving the company, according to an internal note obtained by Axios.

Discussion: New York Times, Variety, @nytimesbusiness, The Information, NBC 7 San Diego, @bgrueskin, @9number9, @brandonetc, @readdanwrite, @mediaevan, @emilybell and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Todd Spangler / Variety:

In honor of “Mean Girls” day, Paramount makes the movie available on TikTok for free in 23 clips — Happy “Mean Girls” day, to all who celebrate! — In observance of so-called Mean Girls Day, Paramount Pictures launched an official account for “Mean Girls” on TikTok …

Discussion: The Wrap, The Guardian, Screen Rant, IndieWire, Decider, IGN, Deadline, The Verge, The Messenger, Fox News, @flitter, @wagatwe.bsky.social and Insider

Ben Strauss / Washington Post:

A look at the scoop wars between NBA reporters Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania, Woj and Shams' impact on other beat reporters and usefulness to the league — In a battle for scoops and attention, it's ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski vs. his former protégé, the Athletic's Shams Charania.

Discussion: Awful Announcing, Defector, @leadergrev, @thelatinochild, @alexknobel and @dannyfunt

Lauren Forristal / TechCrunch:

Wattpad replaces its Paid Stories paywall with a freemium tier letting users read some chapters free and buy others; Premium+ subscribers get two stories/month — After launching its “Paid Stories” program in 2019, the social storytelling platform Wattpad is now replacing it with a new freemium model called …

Discussion: wattpad

Sophie Culpepper / Nieman Lab:

An interview with Atlanta Journal-Constitution Publisher and President Andrew Morse, on the goal of growing digital subscribers from ~60K now to 500K by 2026 — “We want to cloak ourselves in all things Atlanta. And frankly, in recent years, we haven't necessarily done that."

Sam Schechner / Wall Street Journal:

Sources: in September, Meta pitched EU regulators a plan to charge Facebook and Instagram users a subscription to avoid ads, starting at ~€10/month for desktop — European users would have option to pay fee or agree to personalized ads, according to company's pitch to regulators

Bron Maher / Press Gazette:

A profile of The Examination, a new nonprofit global health outlet with 12 employees and a partnership model to work with outlets based in areas it covers — One of The Examination's first priorities is boosting and diversifying its funding. — The executive director …

Discussion: Journalism.co.uk

Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:

The Guardian, Mirror, Reach sites, and The National take down some stories about Dan Wootton; source: the moves follow a warning by Wootton's lawyer — Publishers threatened with exemplary damages and punitive costs. — The Guardian, Mirror, various other Reach sites and Newsquest's …

Dalya Alberge / The Guardian:

A look at County Highway, a new, $8.50 print-only newspaper published six times a year with a retro 19th-century look, no advertising, and a focus on the US — The retro-look County Highway costs $8.50, is published six times a year - and will never be available online

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

UK's Independent Publishers Alliance urges members to block crawling access for OpenAI and Google, as OpenAI removes ChatGPT's September 2021 training cut-off — Independent Publishers Alliance urges members to block GPTBot and Google Bard crawler ASAP. — ChatGPT's threat …

Financial Times:

New Delhi police raid the homes of 40+ NewsClick journalists and contributors amid Indian officials' allegations the site is an outlet for Chinese propaganda — NewsClick journalists and contributors say police seized phones and laptops in early morning operation

Discussion: Agence France-Presse, The Indian Express, Scroll.in, Associated Press, Committee to Protect … and The Guardian