Top News:
The Information:
Sources: TikTok plans to open studios in several cities, including LA, where creators can livestream and sell products, a strategy that worked for Douyin — When TikTok creators start a livestream to chat about their new favorite hairbrush, dog toy or cleaning product, they're usually doing so from a setup in their own home.
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Alex Barinka / Bloomberg:
TikTok is testing a feature that could make all posts shoppable, by identifying objects in videos and prompting users to “find similar items on TikTok Shop”
Discussion:
MediaPost, TechCrunch, Business Insider, Insider Intelligence, The Verge, MIT Technology Review, @carnage4life, The Information, The Messenger and Ad Age
Mark Stenberg / Adweek:
Memo: TechCrunch plans to wind down TC+, its paid subscription product launched in 2019 as ExtraCrunch, and lays off ~8 employees, amid media industry-wide cuts — The Yahoo-owned publisher first launched TC+ in 2019 — Technology publisher TechCrunch laid off around eight staff members Monday …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Ken Y. on LinkedIn, @etherington, @rafat, @harriblogs, @panzer, @bayareawriter, @mjburnsy, @lorenzofb, @thekenyeung@threads.net, @markstenberg3@threads.net, @martinsfp@threads.net, Talking Biz News, @mjburnsy, @zackwhittaker@mastodon.social, @fredericl@threads.net, @morgan_sung, @zackwhittaker@mastodon.social, @catherineshu, @zackwhittaker@mastodon.social, @patrickcmiller@infosec … and @zackwhittaker@mastodon.social, more at Techmeme »
Emilia David / The Verge:
The NYT starts hiring for a team that will explore the use of generative AI in the newsroom “to help with reporting and how the Times is presented to readers” — The New York Times will begin building a team to explore the use of generative AI in its newsroom.
Discussion:
@palewire, @palewire, @chris@threads.net, The Messenger and @zseward@threads.net
Todd Spangler / Variety:
YouTube Q4 2023 ad revenue rose 15.5% YoY to $9.2B, roughly in line with expectations; in Q4 2022, YouTube's ad sales fell almost 8% — Q4 ad revenue for YouTube came in at $9.20 billion, roughly in line with Wall Street expectations, continuing the momentum from the third quarter of last year.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Alphabet, The Hollywood Reporter and Cord Cutters News, more at Techmeme »
Sara Fischer / Axios:
The Ankler hires David Lidsky as executive editor and signs a deal to bring Ankler reporting to LAist's radio station, website, and social media accounts — The Ankler, the entertainment media startup from veteran Hollywood editor Janice Min and insider columnist Richard Rushfield …
Discussion:
The Ankler, Janice Min on LinkedIn and David Lidsky on LinkedIn
Hanaa' Tameez / Nieman Lab:
The Daily Iowan, the University of Iowa's independent student newspaper, purchases two weekly local newspapers, the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun and Solon Economist — Student journalists in Iowa will now have more chances to hone their reporting skills while strengthening local news.
Discussion:
The Daily Iowan, @tommylang1630, @mauricechammah, @lylemuller, @erinfjordan, @jem2998, @aidanfitzryan and MediaPost
Matthew Kish / Oregonian:
The Oregonian plans to appeal a court order to not publish info from docs that a lawyer accidentally sent it, saying prior restraint goes against 1A — A federal judge on Friday ordered The Oregonian/OregonLive not to publish information from documents it obtained last week from an attorney …
Nicole Sperling / New York Times:
Talent agency WME partners with tech startup Vermillio to protect WME clients from thefts of their likeness and IP by using AI technology to track images — WME said the partnership would help its clients get fake images of themselves removed or receive compensation for use of their likenesses.
Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
WPP plans to spend £250M on AI development in 2024 and make similar investments in the future, as part of an overhaul of its operations to meet client demands — New technology ‘will enhance, not replace, human creativity’, says chief executive Mark Read
Bloomberg:
Sources: Nelson Peltz's Trian plans to publish its recommendations for Disney, including bundling ESPN+ with a larger player interested in sports, like Netflix — Peltz's Trian Fund Management LP will publish a so-called white paper detailing its investment thesis and recommendations …
Discussion:
The Streamable, The Messenger, @tim_bays, @aagave, Cord Cutters News and Observer
Meg James / Los Angeles Times:
The Los Angeles Times Interim Executive Editor Terry Tang names Hector Becerra as the paper's managing editor; Becerra joined The Times in 1999 — Veteran Los Angeles Times journalist Hector Becerra has been named managing editor of the newspaper. — Interim Executive Editor Terry Tang announced …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Los Angeles Times, Talking Biz News, @teresawatanabe, @longdrivesouth, @stevepadilla2 and @shelbygrad
David Shepardson / Reuters:
The US Chamber of Commerce sues the FCC to overturn rules that prevent digital discrimination in access to broadband services, saying that they are overly broad — The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and two Texas business groups sued the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday seeking …
Discussion:
Cord Cutters News and Fox News
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