Top News:
Meg James / Los Angeles Times:
In a memo to staff, Los Angeles Times Executive Editor Kevin Merida announces he is stepping down on January 12, two-and-a-half years after joining the newsroom — Los Angeles Times Executive Editor Kevin Merida announced Tuesday that he was stepping down 2½ years after joining …
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Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
Sources: Kevin Merida and the Soon-Shiong family clashed over his decision to ban journalists who condemned Israel's bombing of Gaza, 2024 budgeting, and more — Kevin Merida, who took over the job in 2021, said in an internal note that his last day would be on Friday.
Discussion:
@benmullin
Peter Kafka / Business Insider:
Source: the Los Angeles Times is looking at another round of cost-cutting this year, aiming to cut more than $10M from its budget — - Another billionaire is having a hard time with his newspaper. — Jeff Bezos's Washington Post made big cuts — and Warren Buffett has given up on papers altogether.
Discussion:
MediaPost, @pkafka, @tomaxwell, Axios and Bloomberg
Paul Linford / HoldtheFrontPage:
Chartbeat: in 2023, aggregate traffic to news and media sites from Facebook fell 48% YoY, traffic from X fell 27%, and traffic from Instagram fell 10% — A new report has revealed that traffic to news sites from Facebook plummeted by nearly half in 2023 with publishers fearing further falls in the next 12 months.
Discussion:
Advanced Television and Fast Company
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Nic Newman / Reuters Institute:
Survey of 314 news leaders from 56 countries: just 47% say they are confident about journalism's 2024 prospects; 63% worry about declining social media traffic
Discussion:
@risj_oxford, Press Gazette, Mitali Mukherjee on LinkedIn, @nicnewman, @charliebeckett and BuzzMachine
Thomas Germain / Gizmodo:
X suspended several podcasters and journalists, including The Intercept's Ken Klippenstein and Texas Observer's Steven Monacelli, with little to no explanation — Elon Musk's “free speech” social media platform banned a number of accounts recently critical of Israel.
Discussion:
VICE, Fast Company, Bloomberg, Mediaite, @skippyosint, @esqueer_, @marionumber4, @brendelbored.bsky.social, @32mbit.bsky.social, New Republic, @esqueer_@threads.net, @erininthemorn, @thelincoln, @markamesexiled, @kenklippenstein, @stevanzetti, The Daily Beast, @lucas_shaw, @wolfiesmiffed.bsky.social, @tvscarlkinsella, Futurism, @elizabethbrossa, @whstancil, @themaxburns, @texasobserver.org and @stevanzetti.bsky.social, more at Techmeme »
Dylan Smith / Digital Music News:
ERA: UK music sales grew 9.6% YoY to £2.22B in 2023, the highest since 2001, with £1.87B from streaming; CD sales grew for the first time in two decades, up 2% — Following the across-the-board implementation of music streaming price increases, UK subscription revenue rose nearly 10 percent year …
Discussion:
Billboard, @drewhill, Music Ally, ERA Ltd, @eraltd, @musicweek and CMU
Josh Kosman / New York Post:
Source: MLB rejected a ~$150M investment by Amazon to bail out bankrupt Diamond Sports because Amazon wanted a streaming deal for more than one year — Major League Baseball rejected a proposed roughly $150 million lifeline extended by Amazon to the nation's largest regional sports network …
Cecilia D'Anastasio / Bloomberg:
Sources: Twitch could cut 500 employees, or about 35% of its staff, as soon as Wednesday amid concerns over losses at Twitch and after several top execs left — Move is designed to stem losses after two rounds of layoffs last year. — Amazon.com Inc.'s livestreaming site Twitch is poised …
New York Times:
Elections and disinfo are colliding like never before in 2024, as social networks reduce protections and state influence campaigns and AI-fueled disinfo ramp up — A wave of elections coincides with state influence operations, a surge of extremism, A.I. advances and a pullback in social media protections.
Discussion:
Katie Harbath on LinkedIn, @recordedfuture and @brennancenter, more at Techmeme »
Sara Fischer / Axios:
On Wednesday, CNBC plans to launch a $99 paid course on job interviewing, its first, part of a new educational venture developed by its “Make It” franchise — CNBC on Wednesday will debut its first paid course as part of a new educational venture developed by the editorial team behind CNBC's …
Discussion:
Talking Biz News
@hou_landing:
Houston Landing, a nonprofit, digital-only news outlet, is parting ways with its EIC Mizanur Rahman; Rahman says he was fired and was not given a clear reason — We have come a long way since we launched last year. With growth comes change. Today we part ways with our editor-in-chief Mizanur Rahman. We are thankful to Mizanur for putting his talent and heart into this organization and ensuring we have everything we need to serve Houston. [image]
Discussion:
@alexdstuckey, @jbenton, @teddyschleifer, @monicarhor, @jbenton, @mizanur_tx, @mizanur_tx, @mizanur_tx, @mizanur_tx, @tracidonatto, @lomikriel, @jbenton and @dtohl
Kashish Tandon / Reuters:
India's Zee Entertainment remains committed to its $10B Sony India merger, calling media reports of the deal falling through “baseless and factually incorrect” — India's Zee Entertainment (ZEE.NS) on Tuesday said it was committed to its merger with Sony's (6758.T) local arm …
Discussion:
Advanced Television, Financial Times, Anto Antony on LinkedIn and Bloomberg
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Gene Maddaus / Variety:
SAG-AFTRA signs a deal with AI voiceover company Replica Studios, requiring consent to create voice replicas for use in video games and safe storage of assets — The union announced the deal with Replica Studios on Tuesday at CES in Las Vegas. Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the union's executive director …
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, SAG-AFTRA, @GreenFire@mstdn.social, Bloomberg, The Wrap and The Hollywood Reporter
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