Mediagazer: How disagreements between the Los Angeles Times and the LA Times Guild over seniority protections resulted in more than 60 journalists of color being laid off (Hanaa' Tameez/Nieman Lab)

8:35 AM ET, January 26, 2024

Top News:

Mark Sweney / The Guardian:

Telegraph Media Group CEO Nick Hugh steps down as the UK prepares to launch a second probe into plans to transfer control of the titles to a UAE-backed group — Nick Hugh's exit comes amid concern over Barclay family's deal to transfer control of titles — The chief executive of the Telegraph …

Discussion: Press Gazette and Reuters

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: CNN, Talking Biz News, @nyguild, @forbesunion, @ethangach, @bill_shea19, @iamkylemullins, @alexrkonrad, @taradublinrocks, @redsteeze, @jayrosen_nyc@threads.net, @dankennedy_nu@threads.net, @sarafischer, @crumbler@threads.net and The Wrap

Josh Eidelson / Bloomberg:
Unionized Forbes editorial employees started a work stoppage Thursday that will last through Monday, in response to protracted contract negotiations

Discussion: The NewsGuild, @iamkylemullins, @alexrkonrad, @deefreemank, @forbesunion, Talking Biz News, Axios and nyguild.org

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, NBC 7 San Diego, NME, The Wrap, @madisonmills22, @weareyourfek, Benzinga, @tracytran, Adweek, Deadline, Reuters, Deadline, Bloomberg and The Messenger, more at Techmeme »

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”

Discussion: @paulvrea, @tvgrimreaper, Reuters and Next TV

Joseph Hudak / Rolling Stone:

A group of investors including country singer Morgan Wallen buy Field & Stream, with plans to relaunch it as a brand and biannual print magazine — The country stars will relaunch the hunting, fishing, and outdoors brand digitally, in print, and through a live music festival

Discussion: Variety and Billboard

Winston Cho / Hollywood Reporter:

The George Carlin estate sues Dudesy, which released a comedy special featuring an AI-generated recreation of George Carlin, alleging copyright infringement — “We have to draw a line in the sand,” says daughter Kelly Carlin, who sued creators of an hourlong special titled 'George Carlin: I'm Glad I'm Dead.'

Hanaa' Tameez / Nieman Lab:

How disagreements between the Los Angeles Times and the LA Times Guild over seniority protections resulted in more than 60 journalists of color being laid off — Disagreements between the LA Times and its Guild over seniority protections ended in more than 60 journalists of color being laid off.

Discussion: @sarahscire and Jeff Bercovici on LinkedIn

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 wrestling business, raising questions about 2022 board probe into CEO's payouts

Deadline:

Marie Donoghue, former vice president of global sports video at Amazon's Prime Video, joins DraftKings as its chief business & growth officer — UPDATE: Marie Donoghue is the new Chief Business & Growth Officer at gaming company DraftKings. — In her new role, Donoghue will work closely …

Discussion: @austinkarp, @draftkingsnews, DraftKings, Sportico and New York Post

Reuters:

A Moscow сourt extends the custody of WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich to March 30, 2024 as he awaits trial; Gershkovich can appeal within three days — A Moscow сourt extended the custody of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich by two months on Friday as he awaits trial on spying charges that he denies.

Discussion: Fox News, Voice of America, The Times of Israel and Irish News

Ben Thompson / Stratechery:

An interview with Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters on the lack of a Netflix app on the Apple Vision Pro, the WWE deal, content strategy, ads, competition, and more — I am pleased to welcome Netflix Co-CEO Greg Peters for a Stratechery Interview. Peters was named the co-CEO of Netflix …

Discussion: @markgurman, @loudmouthjulia, @mostly.borrowed.ideas …, @markgurman, @stevemoser, @mostly.borrowed.ideas …, @loudmouthjulia, @markgurman, 9to5Mac, Benzinga, Gizmodo and AppleInsider, more at Techmeme »

Katie Kilkenny / The Hollywood Reporter:

The WGA East files an unfair labor practice charge against G/O Media, alleging that G/O Media has been “bargaining in bad faith” in ongoing negotiations — The union represents creative staffers at The Onion, The A.V. Club and Deadspin who have threatened to strike if a new deal isn't reached by Jan. 31.

Discussion: The Information

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: @joerussotweets, @katiekilkenny7, @tvgrimreaper, Variety, The Wrap and Deadline

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More 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

Discussion: @amyhawk_, @wang_maya, Chris Cottorone on LinkedIn, @cstross@wandering.shop, Ad Astra Science Fiction …, The Bookseller and @tess@mastodon.social

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

Discussion: @olgakhazan, @georgia_geen, @mitrakalita, @ryfons, @alexbruell, @megjameslat, @megjameslat, Talking Biz News, The Objective and The Hollywood Reporter

Bloomberg:
Sources: Disney's India assets are being valued at ~$4.5B in merger negotiations with Reliance, less than the $10B Disney initially pursued

Discussion: Reuters

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

Discussion: @mediaevan, The Information and The Wrap

Luke Bouma / Cord Cutters News:
Fubo TV launches Instant Headlines Beta, which uses AI to generate headlines from live news programs on Fox News, MSNBC, CNN, and other networks

Earlier Picks:

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

Discussion: The Texas Observer

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

Discussion: YouTube, @otraletra, @gmochkofsky, @mathewi, @gmochkofsky, @gabemschneider, @gmochkofsky, Maggie Farley on LinkedIn, @lpolgreen@threads.net, @kalihays1@threads.net, @brizzyc, Observer, Nieman Lab, Dimas Sanfiorenzo on LinkedIn, Newmark J-School and Anita Zielina on LinkedIn

Barbara Peng / Business Insider:
Business Insider CEO Barbara Peng says the outlet is laying off 8% of its staff, as part of its plan to focus on covering business, tech, and innovation

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

Discussion: Columbia Journalism Review, @nydnunion, MediaPost, The City, The Guardian, The NewsGuild of New York and The Wrap

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

Discussion: Awful Announcing, Comcast, @sherman4949, @modestproposal1, @ballmatthew, Observer, Adweek, Media Play News, The Desk, The Streamable, Deadline, CNBC and Variety

From Techmeme:

Dan Mangan / CNBC:
Trump announces a 90-day tariff pause for some countries and a “lowered Reciprocal Tariff during this period, of 10%”, but raises tariffs on China to 125%

Alexey Shabanov / TestingCatalog:
Google announces Agent2Agent, an open interoperability protocol to enable seamless collaboration between AI agents across diverse frameworks and vendors

NPR:
Sources: after Jensen Huang went to Mar-a-Lago last week, the White House reversed course on Nvidia H20 export restrictions to China, in the works for months

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