Top News:
Om Malik / On my Om:
The decline of Wired, once a magazine that inspired hope in technology's future, illustrates a broader loss of necessary optimism among tech writing communities — On January 2nd, 1993, Wired burst onto the scene, and let me tell you, it transformed the way many of us looked at technology and its impact on our future.
Anthony Crupi / Sportico:
Nielsen: NFL made up 93 of 2023's 100 most-watched TV broadcasts, up from 82 in 2022; SOTU and Macy's Parade were the only non-football broadcasts in the top 50 — The actor's glum endorsement of the generic—he looked like a referee who'd been going through a bad divorce …
Jessica Toonkel / Wall Street Journal:
Netflix is considering ways to make money from video games, including via IAPs and ads; Apptopia: as of October 2023, <1% of subscribers played its games daily — Ideas include charging extra for some games and incorporating ads, in-game purchases — Netflix has said it plans to be in gaming for years to come.
Discussion:
The Streamable, Chris Heatherly on LinkedIn, Gizmodo and @davemorgannyc, more at Techmeme »
Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal:
Puck names ex-Twitter executive Sarah Personette as its new CEO; source: the two-year-old publication has 40K paying subscribers and $10M+ in revenue in 2023 — Sarah Personette will be tasked with helping company expand into new coverage areas and markets
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
The SEC rules that Disney must have a vote on a proposal for a transparency report on Disney's use of AI at its next shareholder meeting — The AFL-CIO is pushing for Disney and Apple to explain how they use artificial intelligence. — The Walt Disney Co. won't just have a potential proxy fight …
Andrew Kersley / Press Gazette:
Analysis: the percentage of fully granted FOI requests in the UK fell from 55% in 2013 to 29% in 2022; in Q2 2023, public bodies granted 34% of FOI requests — Journalists are increasingly frustrated by failures in government compliance with the Freedom of Information Act.
Discussion:
@rosenbaum6 and @georgegreenwood
Casey Newton / Platformer:
Substack wants to be seen as a pure infrastructure provider, akin to Cloudflare, but a platform can't claim to be simple software when it recommends content — Some thoughts on platforms and Nazis — Most days, this column looks at controversies unfolding on other tech platforms.
Discussion:
@edmundlee@threads.net, @seldo@alpaca.gold, @fivetonsflax@tilde.zone, @anildash.com, @PlinyTheOlder@sfba.social, @cooperlund.bsky.social, @cooperlund.bsky.social, @lissaharris.bsky.social, @anildash.com, @crumbler@threads.net, @ben.werdmuller@threads.net, @jonlipeny@threads.net, @bretcarmichael@mastodon …, @ernie@writing.exchange, @marisakabas.bsky.social, @dangillmor@mastodon.social and @ben@werd.social, more at Techmeme »
Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
Sources: The Messenger made ~$3M in revenue in 2023 and told potential investors it had $1.8M in cash on hand at the end of December after losing ~$38M in 2023 — The company, which debuted last year with big plans to disrupt journalism, generated only $3 million in revenue by the end of December.
Discussion:
The Wrap, @ckrewson, @emilybell, @tvgrimreaper, @royprice, @benmullin, @emilybell, @simondowens@threads.net, Julie Westfall on LinkedIn, Defector, @ernie.tedium.co and Axios
RELATED:
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Sources: conservative media and business execs met with Jimmy Finkelstein at Mar-a-Lago on January 3 to discuss acquiring a 51% stake in The Messenger for $30M
Discussion:
New York Post, The Wrap, @jbenton, @willsommer, @aysrick, @justinbaragona, @peterschorschfl, @jbenton, @jbenton, @jbenton, @jbenton, @taraemcg, @drewsav, @amandabecker, @cmseeberger, @seangriffey, @bencjacobs, @bgrueskin, Andy Barr on LinkedIn, Sara Fischer on LinkedIn, @johnbattelle@threads.net and The Daily Beast
Jules Roscoe / VICE:
After WHYY fired a reporter in 2023 for jokes he made as a stand-up comedian, an arbitrator ruled he must be reinstated but delete his jokes from social media — Jad Sleiman was a reporter in Philadelphia before he was fired over his budding comedy career. Now, his employer has been ordered to reinstate him.
Discussion:
@jendiagammon@threads.net, @dathinkyparts@threads.net and @daveleebbg@threads.net
Ben Mullin / @benmullin:
Sources: Axios names Holly Moore as Axios Local executive editor, replacing Jamie Stockwell; staff were told local ad revenue rose 40% in 2023 — Scoop: Holly Moore — formerly of USA Today and currently head of local innovation Hub for Axios —named exec ed for local. Jamie Stockwell, current exec editor, leaving for a new gig. Staff told eight cities now have 100,000 (unpaid) subs. Local ad revenue was up 40% last year.
Discussion:
@jmhaigh
RELATED:
Naman Ramachandran / Variety:
Comscore: UK and Ireland box office revenue rose 8.3% YoY to £1.06B in 2023, the first time it crossed £1B since 2019; box office from 2015-2019 was £1.3B+/year — The U.K. and Ireland box office revenue improved 8.3% from £980.5 million ($1.25 billion) …
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter
Press Gazette:
Analysis: in 2023, media outlets in the UK, the US, and Canada cut at least 7,900 jobs and only made 361 announcements for new positions — Biggest headcount losses proposed at BCE Inc and CBC in Canada, as well as News Corp and Reach. — More than 7,900 journalism industry job cuts throughout 2023 …
Nancy Tartaglione / Deadline:
Gower Street estimates the global box office reached $33.9B in 2023, up 30.5% on 2022 but 15% below the 2017-2019 average; China rose 83% YoY to ~$7.7B in 2023 — Global box office is estimated to have reached $33.9B for 2023, a 30.5% gain on 2022, according to Gower Street Analytics.
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter
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