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:
CNN, Bloomberg, Financial Times, Variety, TechCrunch, Wall Street Journal, Deadline, Financial Times and The Hollywood Reporter
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
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 …
Joe Flint / Wall Street Journal:
A profile of David Ellison, who built Skydance Media into a powerful and profitable maker of big-budget movies and TV shows, as he explores a deal for Paramount — Skydance Media's David Ellison produced and financed movies and shows. Now he has his eyes on Paramount.
Discussion:
@jbflint
Aylin Woodward / Wall Street Journal:
Many archaeologists and anthropologists say two recent popular Netflix documentaries circulate unverified science and shouldn't be labeled as documentaries — ‘Ancient Apocalypse’ and ‘Unknown: Cave of Bones’ circulate unverified science, many archaeologists say. Filmmakers defend their storytelling.
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:
@ianbetteridge@writing …, Emil Protalinski on LinkedIn, Natalie Edwards on LinkedIn, Jackie Barbieri on LinkedIn, @jadel4w, @theglazeproject, @kellyannerodak, @theglazeproject, @theglazeproject, @theglazeproject, @theglazeproject, @theglazeproject, @signbeetle, @sini4ka111, @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
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:
@estherschindler@hachyderm.io, Harry McCracken on LinkedIn and @harrymccracken
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 …
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.
RELATED:
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
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
Discussion:
@si_union, Trisha Blackmar on LinkedIn, New York Daily News, @vtuss, @anthony, Awful Announcing, Business Wire, @morgan_sung, Axios, @trengriffin, @mattdpearce, @benmullin, @mitchgoldich, @henderson_mark, @pkafka@threads.net, @paularzooman@threads.net, @thepatriciaclark@threads.net, @adamduerson, @jemelehill, @lindseyadler, @lindseyadler, @broderick, @bgrueskin, Dan Kahn on LinkedIn, @greg_price11, @centraloregonng, Louanne Welgoss on LinkedIn, @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, Washington Post, Aaron Eisman on LinkedIn, Mike Fazioli on LinkedIn, @mbrauchli@threads.net, @reckless1280@threads.net, CNN, Cory R. Cox on LinkedIn, UPROXX, Rodrigo Brancatelli on LinkedIn, The Ringer, Axios, Barrett Media, 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, Vibe, Defector, New Jersey Online, Benzinga, @miasato.2@threads.net, @JosephMenn@infosec.exchange, New York Times, The Hill, CTV News, ABC News, The Athletic, The Messenger, New York Post, @david_ingram@threads.net, @seth_w_emerson@threads.net, Mediaite, @edmundlee@threads.net, nyguild.org, CBS News, KNSD-TV, Media Nation and 6abc
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
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, Awful Announcing, New York Post, The Information, Chicago Sun Times, Bloomberg, Sportico, Mediaite and Barrett Media
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, @pcsltd1, @charlottetobitt, James Cape on LinkedIn and Media Voices