Mediagazer: The New York Times files a motion to open Google's antitrust trial to the public, backed by Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, New York Post, MLex, and Law360 (Nilay Patel/The Verge)

Tucker Carlson and Neil Patel's media company, registered under holding company name Last Country, raised a $15M seed led by “anti-woke” investor 1789 Capital — Firm co-founded by Omeed Malik invests in ‘parallel economy’ of conservative-friendly companies

Discussion: The Wrap and @asharma

Eryk Bagshaw / Sydney Morning Herald:

Australian journalist Cheng Lei was imprisoned in China for three years for breaking an embargo on a Chinese government briefing by a few minutes — Australian journalist Cheng Lei was imprisoned in a Beijing cell because she broke an embargo on a Chinese government briefing by just a few minutes …

Discussion: The Guardian, Reuters and Bloomberg

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:

NBC launches SportsEngine Play, letting people watch and upload livestreams of amateur sports for free; a $10/month tier adds on-demand content and editing — SportsEngine Play is part YouTube, part ESPN+, and part MasterClass. — Forget the NFL or NBA, NBC is betting that the next big thing …

Discussion: Sportico and Deadline

Morgan Sung / TechCrunch:

Twitch launches Stories, expiring after 48 hours, for Partners and Affiliates who have streamed at least once for 45 minutes or longer in the last 30 days — Ahead of TwitchCon Las Vegas, Twitch is launching stories for streamers to connect with their audience even when they aren't live.

Discussion: Twitch, Engadget and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Cointelegraph:

Crypto outlet Cointelegraph apologizes for falsely stating on X that the SEC approved a spot Bitcoin ETF, causing bitcoin to rise 10%+ — Cointelegraph apologizes to its readers and discusses its investigation into what led to the posting of unverified news on X about a spot Bitcoin ETF.

Discussion: @cointelegraph, @poordart, @timccopeland, @ericbalchunas, @nategeraci, @cryptoncoffeee, @zachxbt, @zachxbt, @mdudas, CoinDesk, @cointelegraph, Bloomberg and Insider

Reuters:

Italy plans to cut the compulsory license fee that helps finance public TV and radio broadcaster RAI from €90 to €70 per year in the 2024 budget — Italy will reduce the compulsory licence fee that helps finance public TV and radio broadcaster RAI from 90 to 70 euros ($73.70) …

Mikey O'Connell / The Hollywood Reporter:

Q&A with Rachel Maddow on reducing on-air time, covering Donald Trump's indictments, cord cutting, Elon Musk's X, her podcasts, the Hollywood strikes, and more — The MSNBC host on her lack of boundaries, Elon Musk's destruction of Twitter and the cultural whiplash of working in Hollywood …

Hannah Murphy / Financial Times:

Some influencers and CEOs are building their brands on LinkedIn, which is easier due to less creator competition, a committed user base, and a safer feel than X — Once purely a jobs board, users say the platform is now more valuable than rivals — Marketer Zain Kahn says he earns …

Discussion: The Verge, The Information, @nick_kapur, Econsultancy and MIT Technology Review, more at Techmeme »

CNN:

As Telegram lets Hamas use its service, CEO Pavel Durov says Telegram channels are “a unique source of first-hand information” for researchers and journalists — Hamas is barred from most social media platforms. But its following has surged on popular messaging app Telegram since its October 7 terror attack on Israel.

Discussion: @fifilamoura@eldritch.cafe, @antoniogm and @duncandee, more at Techmeme »

Stephen Council / SFGATE:

Music storefront Bandcamp lays off nearly 50% of its workforce, or 58 employees, as part of Songtradr's acquisition of the company from Epic Games in September — Bandcamp built a unique music business: profitable and good for artists with a popular editorial arm.

Sara Fischer / Axios:

The Daily Wire debuts Bentkey, a $99/year streaming app for kids, on Disney's 100th anniversary; in 2022, the outlet planned to invest $100M+ over three years — The Daily Wire, a conservative media brand known for its popular podcast “The Ben Shapiro show,” has debuted …

Discussion: Mediaite, Deadline, The Guardian and @sarafischer

Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:

Spotify launches an in-app Merch Hub that provides merch recommendations based on users' listening habits; merch is sold on artists' stores powered by Shopify — Spotify is launching a dedicated in-app Merch Hub that provides personalized merch recommendations based on your listening habits, the company announced on Monday.

Discussion: Spotify, Music Ally, CMU and The Verge