Top News:
Reuters:
Sony sent a termination notice to Zee Entertainment to call off a $10B merger between its Indian media unit and Zee, cites unmet conditions as the reason — Japan's Sony Group (6758.T) said on Monday it has sent a termination notice to Zee Entertainment (ZEE.NS) to call off a $10 billion merger …
Discussion:
Bloomberg and Financial Times
RELATED:
Financial Times:
A look at Sony India's troubled merger with Zee Entertainment, which has still not closed despite being approved by Indian regulators last summer — The Japanese conglomerate sought to save Zee deal but has failed to complete the merger — In 2021, Sony secured a deal that seemed …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal and Variety
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:
@si_union, New York Daily News, Trisha Blackmar on LinkedIn, @vtuss, Awful Announcing, @anthony, Business Wire, Axios, @morgan_sung, @trengriffin, @mattdpearce, @benmullin, @mitchgoldich, @pkafka@threads.net, @paularzooman@threads.net, @thepatriciaclark@threads.net, Dan Kahn on LinkedIn, @henderson_mark, @adamduerson, @jemelehill, @lindseyadler, @lindseyadler, Louanne Welgoss on LinkedIn, @broderick, Washington Post, @bgrueskin, @greg_price11, @centraloregonng, @sherman4949, @ashleyrgold, @ethangach, @sarahspain, @chrisvannini, @kyle_feldscher, @originalspinstr, @bostonjerry, @rwesthead, @kysportsradio, @mediaevan, @byajperez, @justinbaragona, @danprimack, @leanderalphabet, @adamschefter, @ben_alterman, @joepompliano, @benaxelrod, @jjones9, @barry, @scottnover, @lppny, @davidfolkenflik, Aaron Eisman on LinkedIn, CNN, Mike Fazioli on LinkedIn, @mbrauchli@threads.net, @reckless1280@threads.net, Cory R. Cox on LinkedIn, UPROXX, Rodrigo Brancatelli on LinkedIn, HuffPost, New York Post, @lukethomasnews@threads.net, Josh Spiegelman on LinkedIn, Newser, Page Six, Los Angeles Times, @obrien_kat@mastodon.world, @tomjackman111@threads.net, @mattlombardonfl@threads.net, @oneunderscore__@threads.net, Wall Street Journal, NPR, Defector, Vibe, New Jersey Online, @miasato.2@threads.net, @JosephMenn@infosec.exchange, Benzinga, New York Times, The Hill, CTV News, ABC News, The Athletic, New York Post, @david_ingram@threads.net, @seth_w_emerson@threads.net, Mediaite, The Messenger, @edmundlee@threads.net, Barrett Media, nyguild.org, CBS News, KNSD-TV, Media Nation and 6abc
RELATED:
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
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
Discussion:
@xpangler, New York Post, The Information, Awful Announcing, Chicago Sun Times, Sportico, Bloomberg and Mediaite
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
Discussion:
@howardbeck, @rohannadkarni, @jerrybeach73, @cujorulesdtown9, @blakeruane, @rj_cfb, Ross Levinsohn on LinkedIn and Barrett Media
Yair Rosenberg / The Atlantic:
How a cascade of media failures led to misleadingly truncated quotes from Israeli officials about Gaza being cited in the BBC, NPR, The New York Times, and more — Journalists and jurists point to damning quotes from Israel's war cabinet as evidence of genocidal intent. But the citations are not what they seem.
Discussion:
@yair_rosenberg1@threads.net, @mlevram, @raywert, The Wrap, @dgisserious, @bgrueskin, @yair_rosenberg, @seamus_malek, @kcjohnson9 and @hz_pali48
Carl Franzen / VentureBeat:
Nightshade, a free tool that lets artists “poison” AI models being trained on their artwork without permission, is now available to download for Mac and PC — It's here: months after it was first announced, Nightshade, a new, free software tool allowing artists to “poison” …
Discussion:
@sini4ka111, @theglazeproject, @kellyannerodak, Emil Protalinski on LinkedIn, @theglazeproject, @jadel4w, @theglazeproject, @signbeetle, Natalie Edwards on LinkedIn, @theglazeproject, @theglazeproject, @theglazeproject, Jackie Barbieri on LinkedIn, @theglazeproject, @rahll, @theglazeproject, @alexjc, @indianshrekt, @the_row_house, @palomamcclain, @eballai, @theglazeproject, @kat_loveland, Nightshade, IGN, Glaze, The Decoder, AI Agenda, @seanb@mstdn.ca, @grammargirl@zirk.us and The Register, more at Techmeme »
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Some indie producers say raising money via Sundance exposure no longer works; Comscore: 13 indie movies made $20M+ at the US box office in 2023 vs. 21 in 2019 — The number of hit indie movies is in decline. Some blame the Sundance Film Festival, but the problems run much deeper.
Discussion:
@lucas_shaw, Variety, @lucas_shaw and Los Angeles Times
Liam Scott / Voice of America:
CPJ: China leads the world in imprisoned media workers; of the 44 journalists imprisoned in the country in 2023, 19 are Uyghurs — Nearly half of the 44 journalists imprisoned in China in 2023 were Uyghurs, according to a report released Thursday. — Data from the Committee to Protect Journalists …
Discussion:
@cuyghurs and LatAm Journalism Review
Ted Johnson / Deadline:
Donald Trump's campaign refused to let NBC News correspondent Vaughn Hillyard travel as a pool reporter, leading to NBC News' access being cut off for the day — Donald Trump's campaign refused to agree to let an NBC News correspondent travel with him on New Hampshire campaign stops today …
Michael Schaffer / Politico:
Reuters' worldwide deletion of an article due to an Indian court order raises the issue of “forum shopping” by libel plaintiffs in a globalized news environment — Free speech on the internet took a huge hit when the news agency Reuters took down an important hacking investigation …
Harry McCracken / Technologizer:
In an unpublished manuscript, David Bunnell, who co-founded PC Magazine, PC World, and Macworld, details the origins of the enduring media brands from the 1980s — Introduction by Harry: David Bunnell (1947-2016) didn't create the idea of computer magazines. But he may have done more than anyone to turn them into a big business.
Discussion:
Harry McCracken on LinkedIn, @estherschindler@hachyderm.io and @harrymccracken
Sarah Scire / Nieman Lab:
An interview with The Guardian US director of consumer revenue about how the publisher raised a record $2.2M in its 2023 year-end fundraiser — Roughly one-third of all digital reader revenue at The Guardian now comes from the United States. — Earlier this month, The Guardian U.S. announced …
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
How Business Insider UK became one of the country's biggest business news brands by audience, growing its newsroom from 7 in 2014 to 70 journalists now — Business Insider UK bureau chief and deputy executive editor say brand has got more creative and mature.
Discussion:
@pressgazette, @charlottetobitt, @pcsltd1, James Cape on LinkedIn and Media Voices
Sam Potter / Bloomberg:
An interview with crypto skeptic James Block, whose damning critique of Signature Bank on his newsletter, Dirty Bubble Media, became the best short call of 2023 — - Doctor whose hobby is debunking crypto made top bearish call — Report on Signature Bank appeared two months before collapse
Discussion:
@davidgerard and @mcelarier
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