Top News:
Wall Street Journal:
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, The A.V. Club, IndieWire, Variety, @carnage4life@mas.to, The Streamable, Ars Technica, The Wrap, Reuters, The Verge, @deitaone, @mimarek@universeodon.com, @imdavidpierce@threads.net, @pogue.bsky.social, BGR, ComingSoon.net, 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.
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
New York Times:
Spotify says Premium subscribers will get 15 hours of audiobook streaming per month across 150K+ titles, first in the UK and Australia, and the US this winter — A year after adding à la carte sales of audiobooks, Spotify is offering paying subscribers 15 hours of books a month.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Wall Street Journal, Deadline, The Verge, Spotify and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »
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
Discussion:
CNN, MediaPost, Associated Press, CBS News, IGN, NBC 7 San Diego, Bloomberg, The Information, Fortune, @why0hy@eupolicy.social, BGR, TechCrunch, The Guardian, @jeff@honeytree.social, @mattnavarra, 24/7 Wall St., @seyitaylor, Insider, Engadget, @wolfofharcourt and @Frederik_Borgesius …, more at Techmeme »
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, The Mirror, Reach sites, and The National take down some stories about Dan Wootton; a source says 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
Discussion:
@jeffjarvis@mastodon.social
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 …