Mediagazer: Recurrent Ventures tells employees of a new round of layoffs; sources: at least 13 people at Popular Science, four at Domino, and one at The Drive were laid off (Axios)

6:00 PM ET, November 13, 2023

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Source: after a backlash on social media, Warner Bros. Discovery plans to let the filmmakers of Coyote vs. Acme shop the movie to other potential distributors — In a surprising about-face, Warner Bros. executives will allow the filmmakers of Coyote vs. Acme, a $70 million live action/CGI …

Axios:

Recurrent Ventures tells employees of a new round of layoffs; sources: at least 13 people at Popular Science, four at Domino, and one at The Drive were laid off — Recurrent Ventures, a venture equity-backed digital media rollup company, informed employees of a new round of layoffs on Monday.

Discussion: @kerrymflynn

Tara Conlan / The Guardian:

The BBC faces a listener backlash, Ofcom concerns, and potential legal action over controversial local radio cuts, including sharing programs across 39 stations — Exclusive: fallout includes anger from listeners, potential legal action and concerns from Ofcom

Discussion: @matlockhare, @mslaura_brown, @davidlloydradio and @nickfromupnorth

Tim Ingham / Music Business Worldwide:

Warner Music and Universal joined Deezer's “artist-centric” royalties model in France, which includes a “double boost” to artists who get 1,000+ streams a month — News follow's Deezer's announcement of the new model with Universal Music Group in September...

Discussion: Variety, Billboard and Digital Music News

Max Tani / Semafor:

Courier Newsroom, a network of liberal news sites, expands ahead of the 2024 election with a new slate of video series, newsletters, podcasts, and more — The Scoop — An emerging partisan news organization on the left is seriously gearing up to impact the 2024 election.

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Larisha Paul / Rolling Stone:

USA Today appoints its first Beyoncé reporter, working out of the Nashville newsroom for the Gannett-owned Tennessean, after hiring a Taylor Swift reporter — Meet journalist Caché McClay, who will work out of the Tennessean's Nashville newsroom as she delves into the inner workings …

Discussion: @ichoseviolences, @myfamny, @bylarisha, @Tergenev@mastodon.social, Deanna Fry on LinkedIn, The Hill, The Messenger and USA Today

Brooks Barnes / New York Times:

Marvel's The Marvels, which cost ~$300M to make and market, netted just $47M in US and Canada ticket sales over the weekend, the lowest ever for a Marvel movie — “The Marvels” cost about $300 million to make and market and arrived to $47 million in domestic sales.

Discussion: Variety, Collider, @nickmenakos, The Hollywood Reporter, CNN, CNBC, BBC, EW.com, @stephenking, @mattbelloni, Associated Press, The A.V. Club, The Wrap, Variety, Collider, @johndilillo, @marvel, Deadline, MediaPost, The Playlist, Bloomberg, Rolling Stone and The Messenger

Bron Maher / Press Gazette:

Reach Chief Digital Publisher David Higgerson says that “there is no plan to replace journalists with social media influencers”, after the company cut ~450 jobs — Comments given by CEO Jim Mullen to The Telegraph prompted confusion and anger among staff.

Discussion: @davidhiggerson, @mattgoodingtm, @davidhiggerson, @davidhiggerson, @jnkappers, @paulbreeden2 and @davidhiggerson

Choe Sang-Hun / New York Times:

A look at efforts by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to silence journalists in the name of fighting disinformation, including lawsuits and criminal probes — He calls fake news an enemy that threatens democracy. Critics of President Yoon Suk Yeol say he is silencing journalists in the name of fighting disinformation.

Discussion: The Kyiv Independent and Fox News

Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:

Ofcom Chair Michael Grade describes the BBC's license fee as a “regressive tax”, and calls for the BBC to strengthen its governance and complaints mechanisms — Michael Grade wants more transparency in how the UK's state broadcaster handles complaints

Discussion: @danielthomasldn, The Guardian and City A.M.

Leah Nylen / Bloomberg:

Google pays Apple 36% of the revenue the internet giant earns from search ads through Safari, per the US v. Google testimony of Alphabet's main economics expert — - Revenue sharing amount was supposed to remain confidential — Google witness disclosed number during antitrust trial in DC

Discussion: New York Post, MediaPost, Gizmodo, The Information, Beyond Search, @bigtechontrial, @jason_kint, The Verge, @pranavdixit, @leah_nylen, @schizanon@mas.to and 9to5Mac, more at Techmeme »

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Sources: DMGT is preparing its own Telegraph Media Group bid, after ending talks with a Qatari group over fears the UK would oppose investors from the region

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Lori Lewis / Inside Radio:
NPR/Edison Research: a record 48% of Americans aged 13+ listen to spoken word content daily; the content makes up 31% of daily listening time, up 55% since 2014

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From Techmeme:

Amanda Silberling / TechCrunch:
Appfigures: Signal downloads were up 45% from the daily average on March 24 in the US and up 42% in Yemen, after The Atlantic's story; global downloads grew 28%

Amanda Silberling / TechCrunch:
Nintendo unveils Virtual Game Cards to make it easier for users to port over their existing Switch games to other devices and lend out games, available in April

Nikkei Asia:
Sources: after nearly five years of building a US plant, TSMC expects new factories to take two years; TSMC plans a 3nm US plant by 2028 and a 2nm one by 2030

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