Mediagazer: Ned Luke, who voiced Michael De Santa in GTA 5, calls out WAME over using his voice in an AI chatbot, saying there is “nothing cool about ripping people off” (Will Nelson/PCGamesN)

5:15 AM ET, January 17, 2024

Top News:

David Folkenflik / @davidfolkenflik:

[Thread] In a meeting with staffers, The Baltimore Sun's new owner claims he paid nine figures, had read the paper just four times, and the Sun was profitable — The Baltimore Sun's new owner, David D. Smith, met with staffers today for more than two hours. Many left on edge. He claimed he had read the paper just four times. He grew up here; his family's local TV empire - Sinclair - is based in Baltimore Co. Other highlights:

Discussion: The Baltimore Banner, The Wrap, @kyoshino, @pdavis_llc, @skamidi, @karaswisher@threads.net, @tysonbrody, @jamesebriggs, @davidfolkenflik, @clarajeffery, @bgrueskin, @bencjacobs, @jayrosen_nyu, @davidfolkenflik, @travismayfield@threads.net and Axios

Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:

David Smith's purchase of The Baltimore Sun raises concerns about the paper's future, considering Sinclair's political influence and controversial actions — Its new owner, Sinclair executive chairman David D. Smith, has pushed local TV news hard to the right.

Jill Goldsmith / Deadline:

Disney does not endorse the nominations of Nelson Peltz and James Rasulo put forth by Peltz's Trian Fund, nor does it endorse the nominations made by Blackwells — Disney CEO Bob Iger's compensation totaled about $31.6 million for the company fiscal year ended Sept. 30. It includes most of the year.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Financial Times, @alexweprin, @laurenshirsch, The Walt Disney Company and The Hollywood Reporter

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Filing: Disney CEO Bob Iger's compensation was $31.6M in 2023, down from $45.9M in 2021, his last prior full year of employment at the company — Disney CEO Bob Iger saw his compensation hit $31.6 million in 2023 — down from $45.9 million in 2021, his last prior full year of employment at the company.

Discussion: CNN, Los Angeles Times, @joerussotweets, The Wrap and US Securities and Exchange Commission

Will Nelson / PCGamesN:

Ned Luke, who voiced Michael De Santa in GTA 5, calls out WAME over using his voice in an AI chatbot, saying there is “nothing cool about ripping people off” — GTA 5 star Ned Luke has called out the use of his voice as part of an unofficial and now-removed Grand Theft Auto 5 AI chatbot from WAME.

Discussion: @mickmellamphy, @ned_luke, @ned_luke, IGN, Video Games Chronicle and Eurogamer.net

Louis Menand / New Yorker:

Generative AI is just the latest innovation to put pressure on the copyright system but might be the one that brings the whole legal structure of copyright down — Generative A.I. is the latest in a long line of innovations to put pressure on our already dysfunctional copyright system.

Discussion: @artsjournalnews and @newyorker

Shelby Talcott / Semafor:

ABC News and WMUR-TV cancel their scheduled Republican presidential primary debate in New Hampshire after Nikki Haley and Donald Trump refused an invitation — The News — That appears to be it for the Republican primary debates. ABC News and WMUR-TV announced on Tuesday they were canceling …

Discussion: Adweek, Washington Post, ABC News, New York Times, CNBC, New Hampshire Bulletin, New York Post, @benjysarlin, @shelbytalcott, Newser, Axios, Deadline, Mediaite, Associated Press, Reuters, ABC News, @lizchar, The Desk, @gartenberg, TVLine, The Hill, Rolling Stone, Fox News, Politico and The Messenger

Rick Porter / The Hollywood Reporter:

Nielsen: the Emmy Awards drew their smallest audience ever with 4.3M viewers, down 27% YoY, hitting a low in viewers for the fifth time in the past six years — Airing opposite an NFL playoff game and Iowa caucus coverage, the delayed ceremony tumbles again.

Discussion: Variety, @theinsneider, Adweek, The A.V. Club, @jbflint, @lucas_shaw, @lucas_shaw, @tvmojoe, @tzmorsy, @tvmojoe, @dylanbyers, Los Angeles Times, IndieWire, Deadline, New York Times and The Wrap

The Wrap:

Sources: the LAT suffers from its owner meddling in editorial decisions and from a lack of vision without a CEO; a former editor estimates it's losing $50M/year — Respected editor Kevin Merida abruptly resigned last week after getting fed up with owner interference in the newsroom

Discussion: @paulimeth, @sharonwaxman, Simon Owens's Media Newsletter, @sharonwaxman, @dabeard, @ckrewson, @dicktofel, @jayrosen_nyu, @zpleat and The Objective

Winston Cho / Hollywood Reporter:

FilmLA: Los Angeles film and TV production fell 36.4% YoY to 5,520 shoot days in Q4 amid the Hollywood strikes, marking the fourth consecutive quarterly drop — The actors and writers strikes, combined with runaway production, led to some of the lowest production levels in the city's recorded history.

Discussion: The Wrap, Deadline, Variety, Los Angeles Times, FilmLA and Bloomberg

Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:

News outlets calling Trump as the winner of the Iowa caucuses early infuriates his Republican rivals and prompts new hand-wringing about the media and elections — No votes had been cast at some locations when The Associated Press and TV networks projected Donald Trump as the winner, half an hour after the caucuses began.

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

TelevisaUnivision plans to launch an ad-supported tier of its Spanish-language streamer, ViX, later in 2024 “at a lower price point with a moderate ad load” — TelevisaUnivision plans to launch an ad-supported version of its Spanish-language streamer, ViX, later in 2024 …

Discussion: TelevisaUnivision, Next TV and The Hollywood Reporter

Archived Page Info:

This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 5:15 AM ET, January 17, 2024.

View the current page or another snapshot:

Who's Hiring in Media?

Commissioning Editor - Practical Law — Reuters

Energy Markets Reporter, London — WSJ

Asia Credit Reporter, Seoul — Bloomberg

Senior Social Media Specialist, NC — espnW

Courthouse Researcher, CA — Courthouse News

Associate Editor - Aviation, TN — Firecrown

Newsperson - State Govt. & Politics, CA — AP

Video Producer - YouTube, NY — Morning Brew

Climate Crisis Columnist — Prospect UK

Multimedia Journalist, CA — Paramount

Community Engagement Mgr., DC — Freedom Forum

Editor, MA — Nieman Reports

Team Editor - Breaking News, ON — Toronto Star

Senior Reporter & Event Host, NY/CA — Newcomer

Climate & Weather Reporter, MN — Star Tribune

Managing Ed. - Berks County, PA — Spotlight PA

News Editor - UK, Remote — The Verge

News Reporter, MA — Berkshire Eagle

Multimedia Journalist, PA — Observer-Reporter

Private Credit Reporter, NY — Debtwire

Service Journalism Editor, CA — Sacramento Bee

Reporter, PA — Tribune-Review

Los Angeles Issues Reporter, CA — CalMatters

Reporter - Middle East — Rest of World

Executive Editor, OR — Lookout Local

California Playbook Writer, CA — Politico

Senior Media Editor — Digiday

National Investigative Reporter, NY — HuffPost

Coastal Climate Reporter, SC — Island Packet

General Assignment Reporter, FL — County Record

Staff Reporter, CA — Daily Kos

Data Editor, NY — ProPublica

Add your company here

See Also:

Mediagazer: site main

Mediagazer River: reverse chronological Mediagazer

Mediagazer Mobile: for phones

Mediagazer Leaderboard: Mediagazer's top sources

Subscribe:

Mediagazer RSS feed

Mediagazer on X

Mediagazer on Mastodon

More News:

Winston Cho / The Hollywood Reporter:
Disney and 20th Century settle a lawsuit from TSG, which accused them of withholding profits and self-dealing to boost sub numbers for their streaming services

Discussion: The Wrap

Emma Roth / The Verge:
Google is cutting “a few hundred roles globally” on its advertising sales team, mainly affecting a unit that sells ads to large businesses

Discussion: Business Insider, @carnage4life, @lauren@mastodon …, Mumbrella, The Hill, MediaPost, New York Post, The Messenger and Reuters

Sara Fischer / Axios:
Sources: Red Ventures has approached buyers about selling CNET for at least $250M, after acquiring the outlet and other sites for $500M in 2020

Discussion: @tim_stevens, @weareyourfek, @thezedwards, @saschasegan, @mediaevan, The Overspill, @afillari, @samantharmeller, @ashleyesqueda, @alex, @bmorrissey, @andrewkrok, @thekenyeung@threads.net, @ernie@writing.exchange, @ernie.tedium.co, Sara Fischer on LinkedIn and Talking Biz News, more at Techmeme »

Kenneth Li / Reuters:
Thomson Reuters acquires World Business Media, a subscription-based, 25-person outlet providing news and analysis on the insurance market

Discussion: Thomson Reuters and Talking Biz News

Colin Salao / TheStreet:
Barstool Sports CEO Erika Ayers Badan says she is stepping down after joining in 2016 and overseeing massive growth at the outlet

Discussion: @stoolpresidente, New York Post, @feitsbarstool, @barstoolnate, @olegriersy, @stoolsalesguy, @barstoolbigcat, @joepompliano, @erika_, Variety, Daily Mail, New York Post, Bloomberg, Barrett Media, The Messenger, The Wrap and Awful Announcing

Rebecca Sun / The Hollywood Reporter:
Adobe and the Adobe Foundation commit $6M to launch The Adobe Film & TV Fund to support the work of existing nonprofits that help underrepresented creators

Discussion: Adobe Press Releases, @adobe, @adobe, Deadline, IndieWire, The Wrap, The Adobe Blog and Variety

Earlier Picks:

Samuel Agini / Financial Times:
Sources: UK-based TV producer Box to Box raised ~£30M from NY-based Bruin Capital to help fund its expansion; Bruin is taking a minority stake in Box to Box

Discussion: Adam Hodgson on LinkedIn, Barrett Media, Jon Stubbings on LinkedIn, George Pyne on LinkedIn, Deadline, Sportico and The Hollywood Reporter

Joe Rossignol / MacRumors:
Apple details select streaming and sports apps available on Vision Pro at launch, including Disney+, ESPN, MLB, PGA, Max, and TikTok; some will have 3D movies

Benoit Berthelot / Bloomberg:
Netflix tests a joint subscription plan with French retailer Carrefour in a pilot project in Bordeaux and Rouen, to win more customers to its cheapest ad tier

Discussion: Media Voices, Seeking Alpha, ESM Magazine, Broadband TV News and Ad Age

Beatrice Nolan / Business Insider:
MrBeast uploads his first X video to test its ad revenue system; in December 2023, MrBeast said a billion views on X “wouldn't fund a fraction of” of his videos

Dan Kennedy / Media Nation:
Worcester, MA-based The 016 says the news-oriented social network with no algorithmic feed had 17M email opens and 13M click-throughs over the past five years

Discussion: @henderson_mark, The 016 and @dankennedy_nu@journa.host

From Techmeme:

Forbes:
AI startup founders and VCs hope that a Trump administration will lead to lighter regulations and the return of real acquisitions, not “contorted” ones

Igor Bonifacic / Engadget:
Pocketpair says Nintendo and Pokémon Company are seeking ~$65K in damages in their lawsuit and lists the three patents the studio is accused of infringing

Financial Times:
Sources: TSMC told Chinese customers it would no longer manufacture AI chips at advanced process nodes of 7nm or smaller as of this coming Monday

Sister Sites:

Techmeme
Top news and commentary for technology's leaders, from all around the web

memeorandum
What US political commentators are discussing online right now

WeSmirch
The top celebrity news from all around the web on a single page