Top News:
Cheyenne Roundtree / Rolling Stone:
Filing: text messages show HBO execs used fake Twitter accounts to troll TV critics and drop comments on trade outlet stories between June 2020 and April 2021 — Casey Bloys ordered staffers to create fake accounts to fire back at critics, according to text conversations reviewed by Rolling Stone as part of a new lawsuit
Discussion:
IndieWire, Vanity Fair, Gizmodo, Winter is Coming, @moryan, @moryan.bsky.social, Screen Rant, @alexwild@mastodon.online, @paultassi, @bigmeaninternet, @nina_metz, @film_girl, @tvgrimreaper, @ddavidrenshaw, @marlownyc, @arictoler, The A.V. Club, @annevclark, @cheyenneisround, @marlownyc, @mattzeitlin, @kvanaren, @alissamarie, @pkafka, @teroterotero, @emmajanepettit, @dlberes, @kenlowery and Boing Boing
New York Times:
Condé Nast plans to cut ~5% of its workforce, or ~270 staff, citing digital ad pressures, a decline in social media traffic, and shifting audience behaviors — Roger Lynch, the chief executive, said the company was grappling with digital advertising pressures, a decline in social media traffic and shifting audience behaviors.
Discussion:
Reuters, New York Daily News, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, The Wrap, @goodbyealma, @benmullin, Variety, @katie_robertson and @pkafka
Howard Koplowitz / al.com:
Alabama's Atmore News says its publisher and one of its reporters were arrested on October 25 for allegedly revealing grand jury secrets in a COVID funds report — A press freedom group on Tuesday called for charges to be dropped against the Alabama newspaper publisher and a reporter arrested Friday …
Discussion:
@cfwij, @stjbs, Committee to Protect …, Atmore News, @sunnysouthal, WEAR-TV, The Rural Blog and @pressfreedom
Filipe Espósito / 9to5Mac:
Apple Music has quietly discontinued its $4.99/month Voice Plan, which was introduced in 2021 and let users access the Apple Music catalog exclusively via Siri — Apple this week held a special event to announce new Macs, but what the company didn't tell is that it has just quietly discontinued the …
Discussion:
The Verge and MacRumors, more at Techmeme »
Gerry Shih / Washington Post:
Apple told some Indian journalists that they had been targeted in state-backed iPhone cyberattacks, without attributing “any specific state-sponsored attacker” — NEW DELHI — Apple has warned at least 20 prominent Indians, including opposition politicians and journalists …
Discussion:
Vaishnavu C V on LinkedIn, The Wire, @priyankac19, 9to5Mac, @mkvenu1, @svaradarajan, @samirsaran, The Wire, Financial Times, BGR and TechCrunch
Financial Times:
Sources: Hunterbrook, founded by investor Nathaniel Brooks Horwitz and writer Sam Koppelman, plans a $100M fund to trade on stories unearthed by its news arm — Fund would get exclusive access to market-moving stories before they are published — A group of veteran US financial journalists …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Tech in Asia, @talkingbiznews, @semaforben, @twallack, @pressgazette, @twallack, @jfk_america, @nkulw, Columbia Journalism Review, @eamonjavers, @advisercounsel, @myurow, @benrawk, @cjgillick, @jfk_america, @gruber, @pkafka, Katherine Tarbox on LinkedIn, Omar Salem on LinkedIn, Dr Alex Connock on LinkedIn and Talking Biz News
Liam Scott / Voice of America:
A deepfake video used VOA Russian Service anchor Ksenia Turkova's likeness to pitch crypto software, after similar deepfakes of BBC, CNN, and CBS journalists — Like so many others, the video looks real at first glance. — Ksenia Turkova, a journalist with VOA's Russian Service, is seated at a desk looking directly at the camera.
Discussion:
Insider, Associated Press, Variety, Forbes, PolitiFact, Bloomberg and Ad Age
Helen Coster / Reuters:
Thomson Reuters reports Q3 revenue up 1% YoY to $1.59B, News revenue up 6% YoY to $180M, operating profit up 11% YoY to $441M, and announces a $1B share buyback — Thomson Reuters Corp (TRI.TO) on Wednesday reported higher-than-expected third-quarter profit as its biggest divisions serving legal …
Discussion:
@pressgazette and Thomson Reuters
Dade Hayes / Deadline:
Kino Lorber launches Kino Film Collection, a $6 per month streaming outlet for arthouse and specialty films, available on Prime Video Channels in the US — - Condé Nast Laying Off 5% Of Its Workforce, Citing “Volatile” Nature Of Digital Video Marketplace
Discussion:
The Wrap, IndieWire, Variety and Media Play News
Amanda Meade / The Guardian:
Australia's media authority fines The Seven Network AU$13,320 for breaching a ban on gambling ads during live sports; SBS now lets viewers block gambling ads — Media regulator cracks down while federal government considers recommendation to ban online gambling ads within three years
Discussion:
@luciedigitalni@aus.social, Mumbrella and Sydney Morning Herald
Ng Hong Siang / Channel NewsAsia:
SPH Media, Singapore's largest news publisher, plans to acquire Tech in Asia, which has ~90 employees in the Asia-Pacific, and does “not anticipate any layoffs” — Sorry, the audio is unavailable right now. Please try again later. — SINGAPORE: SPH Media has entered …
Discussion:
@bernardleong, Tech in Asia, @rafat, @kenjeyaretnam, Tech in Asia and Bloomberg
Max Goldbart / Deadline:
BBC News Arabic launches an emergency radio service for Gaza, produced out of London and Cairo; the BBC previously launched such services in Ukraine and Sudan — - Paramount Combines Pluto & My5 In UK; VR Cinema Tech Biz Launches; ‘14 Peaks’ Producer Noah Adds Development Chief; Freedom Scripted Expansion - Global Briefs
Discussion:
Mediaite, @sofiabettiza and Advanced Television