Mediagazer: ValueAct says its investment plan for Disney is centered on the company's parks being high-return assets and the expectation that the streaming wars are ending (Michael Flaherty/Axios)

Katie Strang / The Athletic:

Emmy organizer NATAS says ESPN won 30+ Emmys using fake names in its “College GameDay” entries; ESPN blames “a misguided attempt” and returns the awards — In March 2023, Shelley Smith, who worked 26 years as an on-air reporter for ESPN, received a call from Stephanie Druley …

Michael Hardy / Texas Monthly:

Houston Landing journalists write to the board to reverse CEO Peter Bhatia firing EIC Mizanur Rahman and an investigative reporter; Bhatia cited a “reset” — Seven months after its official debut, a billionaire-funded media start-up just fired its editor and top investigative reporter.

Discussion: Nieman Lab, Nieman Lab, @mattdpearce, @jlbuch, @robertdownen_, @brizzyc, @gusbova, @amandabecker, @mkerrhardy, @michaelgreshko, @juliaguilbeau, @jbenton, @brookekushwaha, Poynter and @hou_landing

Charisma Madarang / Rolling Stone:

Dudesy, an AI-driven podcast curated by humans, releases an hour-long comedy special featuring an AI-generated recreation of George Carlin, who died in 2008 — The hour-long special arrived from Dudesy, a podcast run by artificial intelligence … Following the special's release …

Discussion: Variety, Mediaite, @kelly_carlin, The Guardian, Mashable, @elementnumber46, @whittersrichard, @iwriteok, The Hollywood Reporter, USA Today, @carnage4life@mas.to, Forbes, @uwebollocks, @danjac@masto.ai, @kelly_carlin and Dudesy on YouTube, more at Techmeme »

Los Angeles Times:

California public radio station KCRW cuts about 16 jobs by offering buyouts and ends its Greater LA podcast, in a bid to reduce a projected $3M budget deficit — Santa Monica public radio station KCRW will part ways with more than a dozen staffers and end the popular podcast “Greater LA.”

Discussion: @radiochio, Inside Radio, Radio Ink, @bigdanimals, @radiochio, Digital Music News and The Wrap

Moneycontrol:

ByteDance plans to shut down music streaming service Resso in India on January 31, after removing the App Store and Google Play apps in mid-December 2023 — ByteDance said all existing users of Resso in India will be offered a full refund for the remainder of their subscription fees

Discussion: @tsuvik, Music Ally, TechCrunch and AppleInsider, more at Techmeme »

Michael Flaherty / Axios:

ValueAct says its investment plan for Disney is centered on the company's parks being high-return assets and the expectation that the streaming wars are ending — ValueAct's investment plan for Disney is centered on strong cash flows from its parks and consumer products …

Naman Ramachandran / Variety:

Netflix removes an Indian film depicting a Hindu character eating meat after backlash from Hindu groups; producer Zee apologizes and plans to edit the film — Tamil-language film “Annapoorani: The Goddess of Food,” headlined by “Jawan” actor Nayanthara, has been pulled from Netflix …

Discussion: Semafor, Reuters, India Today and @gauravsabnis, more at Techmeme »

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:

Amazon Prime Video's move to make the ad tier its default could unravel how advertisers deal with TV broadcasters and scare off rivals with its massive scale — On Jan. 29, Prime Video will make its ad tier the default for its tens of millions of subscribers, a move that could unravel …

Discussion: Adweek, Media Play News, @willleitch, @thr, John A. Gomez on LinkedIn, Observer and MediaPost

Valerie Complex / Deadline:

Brat TV, a Gen Z studio that distributes on YouTube, Tubi, Roku, and other platforms, acquires Crypt TV, a studio that produces horror films and TV — EXCLUSIVE: Brat TV, the Gen Z studio behind digital series like Chicken Girls, has acquired Crypt TV, a similar company in the horror space.

Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:

Slate acquires the Death, Sex & Money podcast from New York public radio station WNYC; the terms of the deal weren't disclosed — The former WNYC-produced show will offer new episodes this year — Slate, the online magazine and podcast publisher owned by Graham Holdings Co. …

Discussion: @alexjrlewis, @ashleyrcarman, @katie_rayford, @megganje and Slate

Allison Quinn / The Daily Beast:

Russia hit a Kharkiv hotel known to house foreign journalists and injured two reporters on January 10, part of a pattern of targeting reporter gathering spots — A Turkish reporter covering the Kremlin's indiscriminate assaults on Ukraine and an elderly woman were among those injured.

Discussion: Committee to Protect …

Glossy:

Digiday Media appoints COO David Amrani as its new CEO, replacing Nick Friese, who has served has CEO since the company's founding in 2008 — Digiday Media, the global media company behind Digiday, Glossy, Modern Retail and Worklife, today announced the appointment of its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Discussion: Talking Biz News and Digiday