Top News:
Brooks Barnes / New York Times:
Box office trends in 2023: audiences sought comfort, flocking to see Barbie, Taylor Swift, and The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and mostly skipped superhero movies — Movie audiences flocked to Taylor Swift, “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” but were cooler toward returning superheroes like the Flash, Captain Marvel and Aquaman.
Discussion:
ThePrint and ScreenRant
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 …
Discussion:
Associated Press, @trungtphan, US News, Mashable, @sethjacob, @aliaaaloha, @okidokidev, JoBlo, @victoriaannmeyers@threads.net, @austinplanet, @thequestbro, @lessig, TMZ.com, @martinsfp@threads.net, @douggernaut_2, @daveleebbg@threads.net, @oliverjia1014, @rhnintendo, Axios, Gizmodo, Cord Cutters News, @evankindley, @finsvol, @wayne_crews, @trailersfromhel and The Blast
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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, @dukecspd, @doctorow, @internetarchive, @JMarkOckerbloom … and @biz
Chris Welch / The Verge:
Amazon Prime Video will start showing ads starting January 29, with an option for customers to pay an additional $2.99 per month to avoid the ads — Earlier this year, Amazon announced plans to start incorporating ads into movies and TV shows streamed from its Prime Video service …
Discussion:
Business Insider, Gizmodo, GeekWire, @tvgrimreaper, @driskal, @tomwarren, @petersterne, @brianstorms@mastodon.social, @janerationx@mas.to and 9to5Google
Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch:
Filing: Paramount Global parent company National Amusements experienced a data breach in December 2022, in which hackers stole information on 82,128 people — National Amusements, the cinema chain and corporate parent giant of media giants Paramount and CBS, has confirmed it experienced …
Discussion:
The Wrap, @zackwhittaker@mastodon.social and Cord Cutters News
Erin Nolan / New York Times:
Major outlets sign a letter complaining about NYC's plan to move police reporters out of NYPD HQ; NYC says the move would allow more outlets to cover the police — Mayor Eric Adams said that the move would allow more outlets to cover the police, but critics said it was another blow to transparency.
Discussion:
@mediaevan, @mikesisak and @mikesisak
Jessica Toonkel / Wall Street Journal:
Nielsen: YouTube's share of US viewership by 2- to 11-year-olds jumped from 29.4% in September 2021 to 33% in September 2023, while Netflix fell from 25% to 21% — Major streaming services test releasing children's content on YouTube and cut back on fare for kids
Maris Kreizman / New York Times:
Goodreads' current combative culture is antithetical to the spirit in which the service began, and fixing that requires more human moderation to monitor users — If you have not kept up with the latest scandal in the world of young adult publishing, it is a doozy.
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 …
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, RADIO ONLINE and Publishers Weekly
The Information:
Sources: Reddit expects 2023 ad revenue to grow 20%+ YoY to slightly over $800M; a source says Reddit was not profitable through the first nine months of 2023 — If the market for initial public offerings recovers in the new year, one company that aims to go public early on is Reddit.
Chartbeat Blog:
A list of 2023's most engaging stories: CNN had the most entries on the list, and most prominent themes were “catastrophe”, “memorial”, and “human connection” — Our 2023 edition of The Most Engaging Stories of the year reflects a year in which catastrophes …
Discussion:
@noahshachtman, @gaydos_ and @kevinroose
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:
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