Top News:
A.J. Perez / Front Office Sports:
The Arena Group tells Sports Illustrated staff that it will be “laying off staff that work on the SI brand” since Authentic Brands revoked the SI license — Staffers at Sports Illustrated were notified on Friday of massive layoffs—some immediately, others in short time.
Discussion:
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Todd Spangler / Variety:
Filing: the Arena Group “failed to make a quarterly payment” of ~$3.75M on January 2 to Authentic Brands, the license holder of Sports Illustrated — Sports Illustrated has been hit with mass layoffs — which will potentially eliminate the entire editorial team of the nearly 70-year-old sports media brand.
Hollywood Reporter:
Authentic Brands says it will ensure that Sports Illustrated and its editorial arm “continues to thrive”; Arena Group says it is still in talks with Authentic — The cuts are arriving after Arena Group Holdings failed to make a licensing payment to Authentic Brands Group, according to a securities filing.
Discussion:
Awful Announcing, Business Insider, New York Post, Bloomberg, @xpangler and Associated Press
Axios:
Simplify Inventions' deal to buy a ~65% stake in Sports Illustrated owner Arena Group in August 2023 didn't close as expected by the end of 2023 — Sports Illustrated editorial staffers were warned on Friday that layoffs were coming that could affect the entire staff, according …
Discussion:
Awful Announcing, Sportico, @sarafischer and @sarafischer
Joe Lucia / Awful Announcing:
Ex-Arena Group CEO Ross Levinsohn resigns from the company's board, calling “the destruction of Sports Illustrated's storied brand and newsroom” the final straw — Ross Levinsohn during his time at Yahoo. — Former Arena Group CEO Ross Levinsohn has resigned his seat on the company's board …
Discussion:
Ross Levinsohn on LinkedIn, Barrett Media, @howardbeck, @rohannadkarni, @jerrybeach73, @cujorulesdtown9, @blakeruane and @rj_cfb
Julia Jacobs / New York Times:
A grand jury in New Mexico indicts Alec Baldwin on a charge of involuntary manslaughter in the shooting of a cinematographer on the set of “Rust” in 2021 — A grand jury in New Mexico indicted the actor in the shooting death of the cinematographer on the film “Rust,” …
Discussion:
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Meg James / Los Angeles Times:
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:
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Todd Spangler / Variety:
Ampere: the number scripted series in the US dropped 24% YoY to 481 in 2023; subscription streamers released 77 fewer seasons and broadcast TV 55 fewer seasons — Scripted TV output in the U.S. dropped sharply in 2023, thanks to a combination of twin Hollywood strikes and a pullback on content spending …
Joanne Wallenstein / Scarsdale:
Scarsdale Inquirer, a community newspaper based in Scarsdale, New York, announces that it has suspended publication after publishing weekly for 123 years — The digital edition of the January 12, 2024 issue of the Scarsdale Inquirer — (Updated January 29, 2024) The Scarsdale Inquirer …
Rick Reger / Local News Initiative:
The bipartisan Illinois Local Journalism Task Force recommends tax credits, exemptions, and more to boost local media; the state lost 232 newspapers since 2005 — Illinois task force suggests tax credits, incentives, other steps to boost local journalism — The bipartisan Illinois Local …
Discussion:
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Chicago Tribune, MyStateline.com and ISDC
Barry Schwartz / Search Engine Roundtable:
Google says it is not “boosting” AI-written articles as the 404 reporter sorted news by date rather than relevance, and there is no “free pass” to AI content — In short, Sullivan said that the way they filtered Google News was by date and not relevancy …
Bloomberg:
Sources: Apollo Global is considering making an offer for National Amusements, the Redstone family company that controls Paramount Global — Apollo is one of a number investors, both wealthy individuals and professional money managers, that have reached out in recent weeks to BDT & MSD Partners …
Discussion:
@richlightshed, @lucas_shaw, Deadline, @lucas_shaw and @mattbelloni
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