Top News:
Jaspreet Singh / Reuters:
Filing: BuzzFeed President Marcela Martin intends to resign on January 12 to pursue other opportunities; the CEO and others plan to absorb her responsibilities — BuzzFeed's (BZFD.O) Marcela Martin has announced her intention to resign as president effective Jan. 12 to pursue other opportunities, the digital media firm said on Friday.
Discussion:
The Information, US Securities …, Jaspreet Singh on LinkedIn and @zerohedge
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Martin Peers / The Information:
BuzzFeed, a 2016 media star with a current market cap around $36M, needs another $100M after its sale of Complex Networks to pay down debt due at 2024's end — Let's hope all those wannabe digital media entrepreneurs are paying attention to the slow disintegration of BuzzFeed, the media star of 2016.
The Information:
Sources: BuzzFeed is close to selling most of Complex Networks to livestream shopping startup Ntwrk for a little above $100M, far below Jonah Peretti's target — After months of discussions, BuzzFeed is close to an agreement to sell most of its Complex Networks business to Ntwrk …
Discussion:
@theinformation and @tomaxwell, more at Techmeme »
Alex Griffing / Mediaite:
Fox News was 2023's most watched US network, followed by MSNBC, the only one to grow viewers YoY; MSNBC's average viewer was 70, Fox's was 69, and CNN's was 67 — The cable news industry had an undeniably rough 2023, ending the tumultuous year with fewer eyeballs as cord-cutting continues …
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The Hollywood Reporter:
Netflix stock ended 2023 up 65% YoY, and Spotify jumped 139% YoY; Roku, Lionsgate, Sony Group, and NBCUniversal owner Comcast were also media sector winners — Renewed sector deal chatter helped boost some stocks late in the year despite questions about the advertising and streaming outlook.
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Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
Sources: for months, OpenAI has held talks with major news publishers including Gannett, News Corp, and IAC about the price and terms of licensing their content — Several major publishers have been in talks to license content to the creator of ChatGPT, but agreement on the price and terms has been elusive.
A.O. Scott / New York Times:
How some authors are embracing ChatGPT and other chatbots as the latest iteration of an ancient literary conceit, a writer's “muse” — What happens to literature when writers embrace A.I. as their muse? — The robots of literature and movies usually present either an existential danger or an erotic frisson.
Discussion:
@nytimesbooks, @lalatellsastory@threads.net and @stephenmarche, more at Techmeme »
Gary Marcus / Marcus on AI:
OpenAI and others will likely face more copyright lawsuits as systems like DALL-E produce copyright-infringing materials without attribution or informing users — At around the same time as news of the New York Times lawsuit vs OpenAI broke, Reid Southen, the film industry concept artist …
Discussion:
@artofangles, @ylecun, @venturetwins, @tuxdevices@fosstodon.org, Frith Tweedie on LinkedIn, Daniel on LinkedIn, @ceciliazin, Rafael Brown on LinkedIn, @andrewl@mastodon.me.uk, @yoda, @burkov, @ceciliazin, @emollick, @benlandautaylor, @baldur@toot.cafe, @carnage4life@mas.to, Gary Marcus on LinkedIn, Jon Lam on LinkedIn, @bobehayes, @nelkmarge and @peterhense, more at Techmeme »
Georg Szalai / The Hollywood Reporter:
WBD acquires BluTV, a streamer launched in Turkey in 2016, to focus on Turkish- and Arabic-speaking audiences globally — The streamer offers premium originals, Turkish TV series and movies, as well as Hollywood and international series and films. … Financial terms weren't disclosed.
CNBC:
Altice USA sells Cheddar News to media company Archetype, which is owned by private equity firm Regent; source: the terms are structured as an “earn out” deal — - Cheddar News-owner Altice USA announced Thursday it has sold the financial news streaming service to the media company Archetype …
Discussion:
@tomgara, The Desk, @rafat, @sherman4949, @sherman4949, Cord Cutters News, The Information, Cheddar News, The Wrap, Wall Street Journal, Talking Biz News and KNSD-TV
Angela Fu / Poynter:
Research: the US news industry cut 2,681 jobs from January to November 2023, not including buyouts, more than in all of 2022 or 2021, and 130+ newspapers closed — It's a sharp reversal from the last two years, when layoffs fell and some news outlets even expanded.
Discussion:
@joelmathis.bsky.social and Joel Marino on LinkedIn
Leyla Latypova / The Moscow Times:
How Russia's independent media fared in 2023: imprisoned media workers grew from 11 to 28 as wartime censorship laws forced some outlets to cease all operations — The past year has been another troubling one for the Russian free press. — Russian officials branded scores of independent news outlets …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Reporters Without Borders, Talking Biz News, The Hill and @sambreazeale2
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