Top News:
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, The Wrap, Axios and nyguild.org
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Katie Robertson / New York Times:
NY Daily News journalists begin a one-day work stoppage to protest layoffs and a new overtime policy; a third of union members have left since 2022, leaving 54 — Newsroom workers at The Daily News Union, which formed in 2021, are in negotiations for their first contract.
Discussion:
The Wrap, New York Post and nyguild.org
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.
Discussion:
Adweek, Deadline, Variety, The Desk, The Streamable, @sherman4949, @modestproposal1, @ballmatthew, Media Play News, Broadband TV News and Cord Cutters News
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Alex Sherman / CNBC:
Comcast reports NBCU revenue rose 3.1% YoY to $6.98B and adjusted EBITDA dropped 50% YoY to $108M due to rising sports and Peacock programming costs
Discussion:
The Wrap, WORLD SCREEN, NBC 7 San Diego and Bloomberg
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:
Variety, CNBC, USA Today, The Sun, Boing Boing, @justinbaragona, @henereyg, @wsj, @wsj, @siddhantadlakha and @theinsneider
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 Post, CNN, The Hill, Bloomberg, Talking Biz News, Variety, Semafor, Press Gazette, Financial Times, The Wrap, @bcmerchant, @maxwelltani, @corbinbolies, @annaknicolaou, @megynkelly, @stephentotilo, @ethangach, @phil_lewis_, @billackman, The Messenger, Reuters, The Daily Beast, @sarafischer, @maxwelltani and @emilybell
Aditya Kalra / Reuters:
Sources: Zee Entertainment tells Disney that the company does not plan to move forward with a deal to pay ~$1.4B for cricket TV rights, announced in August 2023 — India's Zee Entertainment (ZEE.NS) has told Walt Disney (DIS.N) it does not intend to move forward with a deal to pay around $1.4 billion …
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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.
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:
@alexbruell, @megjameslat, @megjameslat and NBC News
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
Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
Paris-based ad and marketing group Publicis plans to invest €300M in AI, including €100M in 2024, to help improve media planning, buying, and optimization — Decision comes as advertising industry faces existential threats from generative artificial intelligence
Discussion:
Digiday, MediaPost, Bloomberg, Publicis Groupe, TechStartups, Reuters and Ad Age
Thomas Buckley / Bloomberg:
How the rising prices of streaming services are driving users to pirate websites with a ~90% profit margin that bring in ~$2B per year in ads and subscriptions — Illegal subscription services that steal films or TV shows bring in $2 billion a year in ads and subscriber fees.
Discussion:
The Wrap and Bill Nelson on LinkedIn, more at Techmeme »
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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