Mediagazer: The earliest versions of Mickey and Minnie Mouse enter the public domain on January 1, as Disney's copyright suits have slowed to a trickle in recent years (Gene Maddaus/Variety)

8:10 AM ET, December 26, 2023

Top News:

Jennifer Jenkins / Duke University School of Law:

Books, movies, and music from 1928 and sound recordings from 1923 enter the US public domain on January 1; works include D.H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover — Director, Duke Center for the Study of the Public Domain — Please note that this site is only about US law; the copyright terms in other countries may be different.

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, @doctorow, @doctorow, @dukecspd, @internetarchive, @JMarkOckerbloom … and @biz

Gene Maddaus / Variety:

The earliest versions of Mickey and Minnie Mouse enter the public domain on January 1, as Disney's copyright suits have slowed to a trickle in recent years — Dan O'Neill was 53 years ahead of his time. … In his underground comic book, “Air Pirates Funnies,” the lovable mouse …

New York Times:

Skyhorse Publishing, known for releasing books other houses consider too controversial to publish, signs a deal to buy conservative press Regnery Publishing — An independent publishing company known for releasing books with opposing political viewpoints is buying Regnery, a well-known conservative press.

Discussion: Publishers Lunch and Publishers Weekly

Helen Davidson / The Guardian:

An interview with Sebastien Lai about his father and media tycoon Jimmy Lai's sham trial, how Hong Kong “weaponized the law” to shut down Apple Daily, and more — Sebastien Lai hasn't spoken to his father in three years, but says he supports the stance the veteran pro-democracy activist has taken

Discussion: @heguisen

The Economic Times:

Sources: Disney and Reliance signed a non-binding term sheet last week to merge their media operations in India, with Reliance paying for a majority 51% stake — Kevin Mayer, a former Disney executive brought back in July by chief executive Bob Iger as an adviser to help him navigate …

Discussion: @ishanagarwal24, Reuters, @xshenoy, BizzBuzz, @datta_arvind, SwarajyaMag, Times of India, @indiansportsott, @nycknp, India Today, @stufflistings, Arijit Barman on LinkedIn, Business Today and Hindustan Times

@apnewsguild:

The AP News Guild reaches an agreement on a three-year deal after 19+ months of bargaining, securing raises and protection against “riskier aspects” of AI — After more than 19 months of bargaining, the @APNewsGuild has reached an agreement with @AP on a three-year deal. [image]

Discussion: @mikesisak, @wandrme, @kkruesi, @mikesisak, @kkruesi and The Hill

Ethan Zuckerman:

A study estimates that there are 13.3B+ videos on YouTube, of which 4B+ were posted to the platform in 2023, and the median YouTube video has 39 views — I got interested in this question a few years ago, when I started writing about the “denominator problem”.

Stephanie Sugars / U.S. Press Freedom Tracker:

A look at instances of the US criminalizing routine journalism in 2023, from arrests or detainments to courts demanding that journalists identify their sources — Stephanie Sugars from Freedom of the Press Foundation — Charges criminalized routine newsgathering, from seeking comment to protecting sources

Discussion: Reuters Institute, @uspresstracker, @uspresstracker and @robert_gerhardt

Current:

An excerpt from the book What Works in Community News on the digital nonprofit NJ Spotlight News, which launched in May 2010 and was acquired by NJ PBS in 2019 — Amid the crisis in local news, there are signs of hope as new media outlets arise to address community concerns and deliver vital information.