Mediagazer: TikTok is testing AI Song, a tool powered by the LLM Bloom that generates songs from text prompts and allows users to toggle the song's genre (Emilia David/The Verge)

7:25 PM ET, January 18, 2024

Top News:

The LA Times Guild calls for a one-day walkout on January 19 to protest planned cuts; sources: layoffs may affect at least 100 people, or ~20% of the newsroom — Los Angeles Times newsroom guild leaders called for a one-day walkout Friday to protest planned cuts to offset steep financial losses …

Discussion: @cmonstah, @eedugdale, @nafeesasyeed, @jessicamartinez, @gerrickkennedy and @benmullin

Natalie Korach / The Wrap:

The LA Times Guild calls an emergency meeting after being told that the newspaper intends to “imminently execute another major round of layoffs” — The newspaper intends to “imminently execute another major round of layoffs,” according to the bargaining committee

Discussion: @craigwelch@threads.net, @davidfolkenflik, @benmullin, @pkafka, @parismarx, @oliverdarcy@threads.net, @aritbenie, The Hollywood Reporter, @gabemschneider, @bcmerchant, @evanrodge@threads.net, The Daily Beast and @awprokop

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Filing: Apple details new US App Store rules letting devs link to external payments, says apps in its Video Partner and News Partner program are not eligible — Apple this week updated its App Store rules to comply with a court order after the Supreme Court declined to hear …

Discussion: Variety, @timsweeneyepic, @mgsiegler@threads.net, @dhh, @carnage4life, @neilcybart, @timsweeneyepic, Wired, United States District Court Northern District of California, @snazzylabs, Gizmodo, Wall Street Journal, Computerworld, The Messenger, CMU and MediaNama, more at Techmeme »

Joseph Cox / 404 Media:

Google News is boosting sites that use AI to rip off other outlets and churn out content; Google says News doesn't focus on whether articles are by humans or AI — Google News is boosting sites that rip-off other outlets by using AI to rapidly churn out content, 404 Media has found.

Bloomberg:

YouTube and, according to a source, Spotify are not planning to launch a native Apple Vision Pro app or to allow their iPad app to run on the platform — - Users of those services will be steered toward the web — Searches indicate apps from Meta may also be unavailable

Discussion: The Verge, AppleInsider, @the.gay.nautie.autie …, MacRumors, @tylerm, @gergelyorosz_@threads.net, @leguilloux, @zacbowden, @markgurman and @viticci@mastodon …, more at Techmeme »

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Netflix is not planning to launch a native Apple Vision Pro app or support its iPad app on the AR/VR platform, and says users can watch Netflix in the browser

New York Times:

A look at the struggles of billionaire-owned Time, The Washington Post, and The Los Angeles Times, all of which, sources say, lost millions of dollars in 2023 — Time magazine, The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times — owned by Marc Benioff, Jeff Bezos, and Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong — are still losing money.

Discussion: @hshaban, @emilybellnyc@threads.net, @kenli729@threads.net, @mattrosoff, @alexpsbj, @dastdn, @skamidi, @froomkin, @jasoncolavito, @aidanfitzryan, @froomkin, @edmundlee@threads.net, @benmullin, Axios and @tvgrimreaper

Emilia David / The Verge:

TikTok is testing AI Song, a tool powered by the LLM Bloom that generates songs from text prompts and allows users to toggle the song's genre — TikTok has launched many songs that have gone viral over the years, but now it's testing a feature that lets more people exercise their songwriting skills... with some help from AI.

Discussion: MediaPost

Gillian Brassil / Sacramento Bee:

The US House of Representatives passes the PRESS Act, protecting reporters from being compelled by the government to disclose their sources and information — The House of Representatives passed a bill Thursday to strengthen journalists' protection of confidential sources from federal investigation.

Discussion: Freedom of the Press …, @digiphile, @repkiley, @freedomofpress and The US Congress

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:

Warner Bros. Discovery rebrands its US Sports division as TNT Sports, which has rights to the NBA, NHL, MLB, and March Madness basketball — Warner Bros. Discovery has rebranded its U.S. sports division, which has rights to the NBA, NHL, and MLB, as well as March Madness basketball.

Discussion: Awful Announcing, The Desk, Sports Business Journal, @jeffgreco.com, @wiretaup, Barrett Media, Cord Cutters News and The Streamable

Reuters:

Sources: Reddit has drawn up plans for an IPO in March 2024, with a public filing in late February, the first major social media IPO since Pinterest's in 2019 — Social media platform Reddit has drawn up detailed plans to launch its initial public offering (IPO) in March …

Discussion: Mumbrella, TechCrunch, Deadline, The Information, New York Post, Quartz, TechStartups, Cointelegraph, The Messenger, The Wrap, Anirban Sen on LinkedIn, CoinGape and CityAM, more at Techmeme »

Cynthia Littleton / Variety:

Luminate: US program premieres dropped 21% YoY to 1,784 in 2023, the lowest level since at least 2018; US theatrical-wide film releases were up 41% YoY — Premieres of new and returning TV shows fell sharply last year while the number of movies getting a theatrical wide release went way up.

K.J. Yossman / Variety:

Email: Amazon Prime Video is restructuring its European teams to focus on regional content, and cuts local content and staff in Africa and the Middle East — Amazon Prime Video is restructuring its international business to focus on European originals. The re-org includes cutting content and staff in Africa and the Middle East.

Discussion: TechCrunch, Techpoint Africa, Tech Labari, @joeyakan, @i_am_gwingy, TechCabal and @eboigbeanita

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More News:

Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
Some video podcasts are using AI-generated product placements from a company called Rembrand to supplement their typical host-read ads

Discussion: @ashleycarman@threads.net and @ashleycarman@threads.net

Mark Stenberg / Adweek:
Sources: Twitch didn't renew partnerships with Rolling Stone, Complex, and Vice in 2023; the publishers were paid between $1M and $5M for exclusive content

Discussion: Mark Stenberg on LinkedIn, @zachbussey and @zachbussey

Kristin Robinson / Billboard:
The Mechanic Licensing Collective issues notices of intent to audit all digital services operating under its blanket license, including Spotify and Pandora

Discussion: Radio & Television … and Dmitri Vietze on LinkedIn

Karissa Bell / Engadget:
TikTok details its plans for the 2024 US elections, including a ban on political ads, work with fact-checking organizations, and reports on influence campaigns

Discussion: The Information, TikTok and The Wrap, more at Techmeme »

Naomi Zeveloff / Committee to Protect Journalists:
Israel is now the sixth largest jailer of journalists, imprisoning 17 Palestinians as of December 2023; many are held without charge in administrative detention

Discussion: The Messenger, Voice of America and The Guardian

Trevor Pyle / Nieman Storyboard:
Q&A with The Washington Post's reporter Drew Harwell on how to approach a story about sex-content influencers, creators' privacy concerns, and more

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Earlier Picks:

Wendy Kaur / Elle:
A profile of, and interview with, Kaitlan Collins on becoming a CNN anchor at age 31, having no regrets about her May 2023 Trump town hall, and more

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Miranda Green / The Guardian:
Floodlight investigation: Alabama Power and its foundation fund local news outlets to control narrative around high electric bills and utility-related pollution

Discussion: @mirandacgreen, @sammy_roth, @mirandacgreen, @floodlightnews, @mirandacgreen, @mirandacgreen and @byrontau

Abigail Summerville / Reuters:
LiveRamp, which matches up customer datasets for brands, advertisers, and retailers, plans to acquire marketing data startup Habu for $200M in cash and stock

Discussion: AdExchanger, Jayesh Easwaramony on LinkedIn, MarTech, Rich Ashton on LinkedIn, @tkawaja, @ericfranchi, @aripap, @crumbler@threads.net, Business Insider and Business Wire

Ellen Huet / Bloomberg:
Fairly Trained, a nonprofit founded by ex-Stability AI VP Ed Newton-Rex, will give certification labels to AI companies that get consent for their training data

Discussion: CMU, Shelly Palmer, Music Ally, @neilturkewitz, @ednewtonrex, Fairly Trained, Antony Demekhin on LinkedIn, Vibhav Mithal on LinkedIn, Mansoor Rahimat Khan on LinkedIn, Wired, Publishing Perspectives, The Verge and Publishers Weekly, more at Techmeme »

Lauren Forristal / TechCrunch:
Amazon now lets US users create AI-generated backgrounds using Alexa prompts on the second-gen Fire TV Stick 4K Max and the Fire TV Omni QLED Series

Discussion: Mashable India, Joshua Danovitz on LinkedIn, 9to5Google, Cord Cutters News and The Verge

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
In a note to staff, Condé Nast announces it is bringing Pitchfork into the GQ organization, and lays off Pitchfork EIC Puja Patel and some Pitchfork employees

Discussion: @jillian_mapes, @ryanpitchfork, The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, @amyhphillips, @oneunderscore__@threads.net, BBC, @fridahalo, @ssodomsky, @passionweiss, @dddrewdaniel, CMU, @tedkessler1, @dorianlynskey, @ezraklein@threads.net, @nikostratis, @wifexofxagony, @aaronrosspowell@threads.net, @edmundlee@threads.net, The Guardian, @coldhealing, @jeremypgordon, @matthunzi, @guitar_yaz, @franziamom, @airbagged, @en_cohen, @danlesac, @annkpowers, @michaelbd, @nyguild, @lindsayzoladz, @annkpowers, @ashleyrgold, @broderick, Digital Journal, @jbenton, @jakeswearingen, @maxwelltani, @ericrennerbrown, @catzhang1, @lfitzmaurice, @rawiya, @mikeisaac, @ericrennerbrown, @nomizeichner, @elite_gz, @reallygordon, @grantsharpies, @adhocemilie, @bcmerchant, @genepark, @kevincollier, @_alialkhatib, @alex, @ohgooditsalex, @maxwelltani, @davidgross_man, @jeremypgordon, @mikeisaac, Washington Post, HuffPost, Consequence, Boing Boing, The Verge, New York Daily News, New York Times, Billboard, The Daily Beast, Variety, UPROXX, The Wrap, @crumbler@threads.net, Digital Music News and @maxwelltani

From Techmeme:

Wall Street Journal:
Gina Raimondo says holding back China in the chips race is a “fool's errand”, and investment, more than export controls, will keep US ahead of Beijing

Paresh Dave / Wired:
Google says it wouldn't force its device makers, browser, and wireless carrier licensees to distribute Gemini to US users for three years, in a proposed remedy

Reuters:
Albania bans TikTok for a year from January 2025, part of a broader plan to make schools safer following the killing of a 14-year-old near a school in November

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