Top News:
Charlotte Klein / Vanity Fair:
A deep dive into The New York Times' big bet on Games, whose team grew from ~15 people in 2015 to ~100 today, about the same size as the paper's Business desk — Wordle. Connections. Spelling Bee. Ye olde Crossword. The Times is home to beloved brainteasers that are helping boost the paper's bottom line.
Mark Stenberg / Adweek:
NowThis hires Sharon Mussalli as its first CEO since spinning off from Vox Media in April 2023; the outlet is now owned by nonprofit Accelerate Change — The publisher is now owned by the nonprofit Accelerate Change — The social publisher NowThis, whose trending news and entertainment videos often …
Discussion:
Sharon Mussalli on LinkedIn
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
An interview with the Guardian's Deputy Editor Owen Gibson on the paper's voluntary contributions model, global ambitions, relationship with its audience, more — Deputy editor Owen Gibson on the title's global ambitions and relationship with its audience.
Discussion:
@pressgazette
MacArthur Foundation:
The MacArthur Foundation announces $48M in grants to support Press Forward; $32.5M goes to a national pooled fund for local news, housed at The Miami Foundation — - Strengthening local newsrooms that have the trust of local communities; — Improving infrastructure for local news production and dissemination;
Discussion:
Charlottesville Tomorrow, Outlier Media, URL Media, @than@mozilla.social, TVNewsCheck and Free Press
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Apple says The NYT's The Athletic is now available to Apple News+ subscribers, and all Apple News users will be able to read Wirecutter for free in early 2024 — NYT's Wirecutter reviews will be available free in Apple News app in 2024 — The New York Times Co. inked a deal with Apple …
Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Microsoft Copilot can now compose songs, including lyrics, instruments, and voices, from a sentence, due to a new integration with generative AI music app Suno — Microsoft Copilot, Microsoft's AI-powered chatbot, can now compose songs thanks to an integration with gen AI music app Suno.
Discussion:
The Verge, Neowin, Bing Blogs, Thurrott, @riedernews and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
Axios:
Washington Post interim CEO Patty Stonesifer tells staff that the newspaper has met its headcount reduction goal of eliminating 240 jobs via voluntary buyouts — The Washington Post has met its headcount reduction goal through voluntary buyouts, interim CEO Patty Stonesifer said in a note to staff on Tuesday.
Discussion:
@postguild, @postguild, Pastebin, @benmullin and @benmullin
Liz Bowie / The Baltimore Banner:
The Baltimore Banner names Bob Cohn as its CEO, following Imtiaz Patel's departure in July 2023; Cohn was the president of The Atlantic and now The Economist — The Montgomery County resident has helped drive digital transformation and revenue growth at The Atlantic and The Economist
Julia Kollewe / The Guardian:
Hipgnosis delays its half-year results, saying the valuation by its independent valuer was “materially higher” than that implied by recent transactions — Company says songs have been assessed as worth more by independent valuer than recent transactions in the sector
Discussion:
Hipgnosis Song Management Limited, City A.M., CMU, Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited, Billboard, London Evening Standard, Investment Week, Reuters, @bondhack, Proactiveinvestors NA, Sharecast, Digital Music News, @dominicoc, @rhomboid1mf, Financial Times, Variety, Dow Jones Newswires and The Times
Mikhail Klimentov / ReaderGrev:
A postmortem of The Washington Post's Launcher gaming vertical: 20 staff laid off, a lack of resources, executives' under appreciation of gaming media, and more — Why did The Washington Post kill its video game vertical? … November would have marked my four-year anniversary at Launcher …
Discussion:
@leadergrev, @leadergrev, @leadergrev, @leadergrev, @rcmacleod, @jacobwolf, @leadergrev, @alykkat and @paytherow
Reuters:
The Foreign Press Association in Jerusalem files a petition with the Israeli Supreme Court to give international media immediate access to the Gaza Strip — The Foreign Press Association in Jerusalem filed a petition on Tuesday with the Israeli Supreme Court requesting immediate access for international media to the Gaza Strip.
Discussion:
FPA
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
MailOnline announces a UK subscription, offering 10 to 15 paid articles per day from the end of January; MailOnline will remain free in the rest of the world — The Mail said it will also invest in podcasts and video. — Mail Online has confirmed it will make up to 15 articles per day paid …
Discussion:
The Times and @j_a_warrington
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