Top News:
OpenAI:
OpenAI responds to the NYT lawsuit, says training is fair use and there is an opt-out, “regurgitation” is a rare bug, and NYT “manipulated” its models — We support journalism, partner with news organizations, and believe The New York Times lawsuit is without merit.
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TechCrunch, CNN, CNBC, Financial Times, The Verge, Bloomberg, @isaiahporitz, Futurism, @jeremymbarr, @verge, @giordanorogers, @minimaxir, @saurabhsachan, @ndiakopoulos, @froomkin, @jamesrbuk, The Hollywood Reporter, @karlauerbach@sfba.social, @carnage4life, @martin@openedtech.social, @fifilamoura@eldritch.cafe, @quasarfortress, @nomadsvagabonds, @themacrosift, @selmarsmit, @drcolinwplewis, @obscure_jazz, @aimee_maree, @maxkannen, @acidflask, @rohanposts, @sai_prasanna, @nicky_bonez, @gdb, @garymarcus, @jacquesthibs, @techau, @altryne, @willoremus@mastodon.social, Stratechery and CMU, more at Techmeme »
Mark Sweney / The Guardian:
Internal memo: Channel 4 CEO Alex Mahon says the broadcaster needs to “accelerate” its digital shift and confirms “an impact on jobs”, citing an ad slump — Exclusive: Broadcaster looks to hasten shake-up amid TV advertising slump with most job losses likely to affect London-based workers
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Mark Kleinman / Sky News:
Sources: SoundCloud owners Raine Group and Temasek Holdings are preparing for a sale of the music streaming service that could fetch $1B+ — Backed by Raine Group and Temasek Holdings, SoundCloud is to be put up for sale later this year as its owners anticipate a substantial payday, Sky News learns.
Discussion:
RAIN News, CMU, @pivic@kolektiva.social, Cory Brown on LinkedIn and Music Ally
Alan Blinder / New York Times:
How US News & World Report licenses “badges” that US colleges use to promote their rankings, as critics say the payments incentivize a harmful ranking system — U.S. News sells “badges” to colleges, so they can promote their rankings — whether they are 1st, 10th or much, much lower.
Discussion:
Jonathan Henry on LinkedIn, @halsinger and @jselingo
Mia Sato / The Verge:
YouTube updates its cyberbullying policy to ban AI-generated content that “realistically simulates” deceased children or victims of crimes or deadly events — YouTube is updating its cyberbullying and harassment policies and will no longer allow content that “realistically simulates” …
Steven J. Horowitz / Variety:
Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour becomes the highest-grossing concert film of all time, earning $261.6M+ globally, surpassing Michael Jackson's This Is It from 2009 — Taylor Swift is starting off 2024 with yet another historic milestone under her belt. — Following the release of “Taylor Swift …
Discussion:
Forbes, The Hollywood Reporter, Rolling Stone, Billboard and ScreenRant
Max Tani / Semafor:
Sources: Will and Jada Smith's Westbrook struggled to land deals after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock and its 2023 revenue dropped to $100M, forcing steep cuts — The Scoop — The fall of 2021 was the perfect time for Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith to sell their media company, Westbrook.
Discussion:
Poynter and David Adeleke on LinkedIn
Jon Lafayette / Next TV:
Roxi, a voice-activated video music service backed by Simon Cowell and others, plans to expand from UK to the US in Q1 on most streaming devices and smart TVs — Backed by Simon Cowell, Kylie Minogue and Sheryl Crow, streaming service looks to supplant smart speakers
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, Music Ally, Billboard and Advanced Television
Kateryna Kadabashy / Bloomberg:
MBC Group, the Middle East's biggest broadcaster, rises 20% on its first day of trading on the Saudi exchange, after raising $222M by selling a 10% stake — - MBC has raised $222 million selling a 10% stake in IPO — Company was founded by Waleed Al Ibrahim in London in 1991
Erik Gruenwedel / Media Play News:
Netflix, Max, and Hulu won a combined 12 awards at the 81st Golden Globes; HBO's final Succession season won four awards and Netflix's Beef won three awards — Netflix, Max and Hulu led all streamers with 12 combined key category trophies at the 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards held Jan. 7 in Los Angeles.
Discussion:
The Streamable, SlashFilm, The Verge, @appleinsider, @ayotristan, Engadget, Awardsdaily, People, Deadline, NBC News, AppleInsider, Deadline, Next TV and The Hollywood Reporter
Max Tani / Semafor:
Axel Springer launches a review of the editorial processes at BI, after a BI story claimed many instances of plagiarism by MIT's Neri Oxman, Bill Ackman's wife — The Scoop — Business Insider's parent company is divided over the publication's recent article about plagiarism allegations …
Discussion:
Mediaite, Washington Post, New York Post, @benmullin, @mjnblack, @niallstanage, @hshaban, @billackman, @carnage4life, @billackman, Why Evolution Is True, @jamesrbuk, @benmullin, @maxwelltani, @lorakolodny@threads.net, @lpolgreen@threads.net, @chancerydaily@threads.net, @esqueer_@threads.net, @alexheath@threads.net, @alex.stamos@threads.net, @karaswisher@threads.net, @karaswisher@threads.net, @karaswisher@threads.net, Talking Biz News, The Wrap, CNN and The Daily Beast
Etan Vlessing / The Hollywood Reporter:
New York Post's Page Six launches a new studio in New York City to shoot its expanding array of celebrity-driven content, with media personality Astra as anchor — The tabloid's fabled gossip column has hired media personality Astra as anchor for the New York City facility in the headquarters of News Corp.
Emilia David / The Verge:
Getty Images and Nvidia launch Generative AI by iStock, a text-to-image service that generates stock photos and is aimed at SMBs — Getty Images and Nvidia are deepening their AI partnership with the launch of Generative AI by iStock, a text-to-image platform specifically designed to make stock photos.
Discussion:
NVIDIA, more at Techmeme »
Nate Raymond / Reuters:
SCOTUS declines to hear a case filed by Twitter in 2014, in which Twitter argued that disclosing data requests in national security probes was protected by 1A — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a request by Elon Musk's X Corp to consider whether the social media company …
Discussion:
MediaPost, The Daily Caller, The Verge, The Hill and @nothingsmonstrd.bsky.social, more at Techmeme »
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