Top News:
Khadeeja Safdar / Wall Street Journal:
Janel Grant, an ex-WWE staffer who received a payout from Vince McMahon and signed an NDA in 2022, files a lawsuit accusing WWE and McMahon of sex trafficking — Janel Grant files lawsuit saying McMahon pressured her into sex with him and other men at WWE, raising questions about 2022 board probe into CEO's payouts
Discussion:
Mediaite, Awful Announcing, Bloomberg, Los Angeles Times, The Wrap, Variety, Defector, TMZ.com, Courthouse News Service, @xpangler, @xpangler, Rolling Stone, @danprimack, The Messenger, Deadline, Irish News, UPROXX, FOX8 WGHP, Metro, The Verge, WFLA, ComingSoon.net, New York Post, CBS News, CNBC, USA Today, The Sun, @justinbaragona, Media Play News, @henereyg, Hollywood Reporter, @siddhantadlakha, @theinsneider, @wsj, @wsj and Boing Boing
Sara Salinas / CNBC:
In a memo, Paramount CEO Bob Bakish announces layoffs, citing a need to “operate as a leaner company and spend less”; he did not disclose the size of the cuts — - Paramount CEO Bob Bakish announced layoffs at the media company. — He did not disclose how many jobs the company would cut.
Discussion:
Variety, Reuters, The Wrap, Bloomberg, Deadline, @weareyourfek, @madisonmills22, The Messenger, Deadline and @tracytran
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Georg Szalai / The Hollywood Reporter:
In a memo, Paramount CEO outlines growth strategies for 2024, including “driving to streaming profitability” and “maximizing content with the biggest impact” — As speculation kicks up about a sale, Bob Bakish wrote a memo outlining strategies such as …
Discussion:
Reuters, Next TV and @tvgrimreaper
Josh Eidelson / Bloomberg:
Unionized Forbes editorial employees plan to start a work stoppage today that will last through Monday, in response to protracted contract negotiations — - First-ever walkout at business magazine to begin on Thursday — ‘They are dragging their feet and slow-walking’ process
Discussion:
Reuters, Axios, @iamkylemullins, @alexrkonrad, @forbesunion, @deefreemank, The Wrap and nyguild.org
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Sara Fischer / @sarafischer:
Forbes CEO Mike Federle announces layoffs affecting less than 3% of staff, saying Forbes “must remain vigilant in our current economic environment” — NEW: @forbes layoffs announced today, the same day its union announced a 3-day walkout. — Unclear how many impacted yet — CEO Mike Federer said in a note to staff that Forbes “must remain vigilant in our current economic environment.”
Discussion:
@forbesunion, @nyguild, @redsteeze, @ethangach, @bill_shea19, @iamkylemullins, @alexrkonrad and @sarafischer
Bloomberg:
Sources: Disney's India assets are being valued at ~$4.5B in merger negotiations with Reliance, less than the $10B Disney initially pursued — - Unit valued at about $4.5 billion from $10 billion previously — Losses incurred from cricket rights weigh on its valuation
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Barbara Peng / Business Insider:
In a memo, Business Insider CEO Barbara Peng says the outlet is laying off 8% of its staff, part of plans to focus on covering business, tech, and innovation — At the end of 2023, we announced our way ahead: We're Business Insider, our center of gravity is business, tech, and innovation …
Discussion:
New York Times, New York Post, CNN, @lincodega, Financial Times, Bloomberg, @nyguild, @megynkelly, @corbinbolies, @sarafischer, Talking Biz News, @stephentotilo, Press Gazette, @bcmerchant, @phil_lewis_, @annaknicolaou, @ethangach, @maxwelltani, The Hill, @maxwelltani, Variety, @emilybell, The Daily Beast, @billackman, The Messenger, The Wrap and Reuters
Georg Szalai / The Hollywood Reporter:
Comcast reports Peacock revenue rose 57% YoY to $1B in Q4, a $825M loss in Q4 and $2.75B in 2023 for the unit, and 31M paying subscribers, a net gain of 3M — NBCUniversal parent Comcast, led by chairman and CEO Brian Roberts, reported earnings on Thursday.
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Nate Raymond / Reuters:
A US appeals court rules 9-7 that Texas-based citizen journalist Priscilla Villarreal cannot sue officials over her arrest for asking a police source questions — A citizen journalist in Texas cannot sue officials over her arrest for asking a police source questions, a divided federal appeals court …
Discussion:
The Texas Observer and Fox News
Sara Fischer / Axios:
CUNY's Craig Newmark School of Journalism plans to cover tuition for 50% of students in 2025 and raise money to expand free tuition to all students by 2026 — The Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY is going tuition-free, its namesake Craig Newmark and the school's dean, Graciela Mochkofsky, told Axios.
Katie Kilkenny / The Hollywood Reporter:
The Directors Guild of America says it has secured the same streaming residuals and access to streaming platform viewing data that the WGA won — The union informed members on Thursday that it had also improved employer contribution rates to its pension and health plans in the second and third years of its contract.
Discussion:
Variety, IndieWire, The Wrap, Deadline, @tvgrimreaper, @joerussotweets and @katiekilkenny7
Amy Hawkins / The Guardian:
Documents reveal that several eligible sci-fi works were excluded from the 2023 Hugo Awards, held for the first time in China, raising censorship concerns — Concerns raised about interference or censorship after documents showed writers were barred despite receiving enough nominations
Meg James / Los Angeles Times:
The Los Angeles Times appoints Terry Tang as the paper's interim executive editor; Tang has been LA Times's editorial page editor since February 2022 — Los Angeles Times owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong has appointed Terry Tang, editor of the editorial page, as the paper's executive editor on an interim basis.
Discussion:
The Objective, @ryfons, @alexbruell, The Hollywood Reporter, @megjameslat and @megjameslat
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: BuzzFeed is looking to sell its food sites, Tasty and First We Feast; Fortress Investment Group, which took over Vice, is in talks to sell Refinery29 — Latest sale discussions signal further struggles of once-hot digital media companies — BuzzFeed and Vice Media …
Discussion:
The Wrap
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