Top News:
Christopher Palmeri / Bloomberg:
Byron Allen makes a ~$30B offer, including debt and equity, to buy all of Paramount; sources: Allen plans to sell the Paramount film studio and keep Paramount+ — - The media mogul offers to pay a 50% premium for voting stock — Allen already has interest from investors for assets
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Universal Music Group plans to cease licensing content to TikTok after their agreement expires on January 31, saying they failed to reach new licensing terms — UMG said that its agreement with TikTok is set to expire on Jan. 31. “The companies have not agreed to terms for a new agreement …
Discussion:
UMG, CNN, Axios, TikTok, CMU, The Sun, UPROXX, TechCrunch, Agence France-Presse, Engadget, inews.co.uk, Music Ally, @broderick, @mikeisaac, @lucas_shaw, @tiktokcomms, @umg, The Hollywood Reporter, @jamesrbuk, @runciedan, Mumbrella, Music Technology Policy, Business Insider, The Register, Bloomberg, @annaknicolaou, @xpangler, @mikeisaac, Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, @broderick, @russdiemon, The Daily Beast, Rolling Stone, The Information, Los Angeles Times, Financial Times, Billboard, The Music Network, The Messenger, Reuters, PR Newswire, 9to5Mac, CityAM, The Wrap, Second Hand Songs … and Digital Music News, more at Techmeme »
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Reuters:
Alphabet reports Q4 Google advertising revenue up 11% YoY to $65.5B, vs. $66.1B estimated, and Google Search & Other revenue up 13% YoY to $48B — Alphabet (GOOGL.O) disappointed Wall Street on Tuesday as holiday season advertising sales came in below expectations and overshadowed …
Discussion:
@thetranscript_, MediaPost, MarketWatch and Reuters
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Todd Spangler / Variety:
Alphabet CEO says its digital subscription services, including YouTube Premium and YouTube TV, are on a $15B annual revenue run rate, up fivefold since 2019
Discussion:
TechCrunch, @xpangler and The Desk, more at Techmeme »
The New York Times Company:
The New York Times introduces a new format to its byline pages, called enhanced bios, highlighting journalists' expertise and ethics, how they operate, and more — The New York Times is introducing a new format to its byline pages. — Our journalists are what set The New York Times apart.
RELATED:
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”
Discussion:
The Messenger, @palewire, @palewire, @technicallymims@threads.net, @chris@threads.net and @zseward@threads.net
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Sources: The Wall Street Journal plans to restructure its Washington bureau this week, including making a small number of layoffs and adding some new roles — The Wall Street Journal is planning to restructure its Washington bureau this week, sources told Axios.
Discussion:
Adweek and Talking Biz News
Georg Szalai / Hollywood Reporter:
Paramount+ removes some international original content and will not debut some planned programming sourced outside the US as part of its goal to manage costs — Paramount Global's streamer will also not debut some planned programming, such as German anthology series 'Zeit Verbrechen …
Elizabeth A. Harris / New York Times:
A profile of Penguin Random House CEO Nihar Malaviya, who was tasked to lead PRH after the US DOJ won its fight to stop the $2B+ Simon & Schuster acquisition — As chief executive of Penguin Random House, Nihar Malaviya runs a global company and the largest book publisher in the United States …
Mark Caro / Local News Initiative:
Q&A with Ellen Clegg and Dan Kennedy, the authors of the new book What Works in Community News, on local news, nonprofit outlets putting up paywalls, and more — Veteran journalists Clegg, Kennedy spotlight local news outlets that chart path forward — Ellen Clegg and Dan Kennedy brought …
Discussion:
@localnewsini, @dankennedy_nu and Media Nation
Reuters:
Mexican authorities confirm that government computers were hacked on January 22 and the personal data on 263+ journalists was illegally accessed and released — The theft of the personal data of hundreds of journalists in Mexico, including addresses and copies of voter ID cards and passports …
Discussion:
@murderousredcap.bsky.social
Ben Sisario / New York Times:
USC: in 2023, 35% of Billboard's Hot 100 singles in the US were performed by women and 56% of the most popular songs had at least one female songwriter — The Annenberg Inclusion Initiative's latest report finds that women's involvement in the biggest hits of 2023 was greatly improved over previous years.
Discussion:
Variety
Sam Nagarajan / Bloomberg:
UK Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer blocks any changes to the ownership or control of the Telegraph Media Group pending an investigation into the UAE-backed bid — - Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer issues order in latest move — UAE-backed consortium RedBirdIMI wants to buy the media group
Discussion:
Reuters, Telegraph, parliament.uk and The Guardian
Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:
An interview with Ethan Brown, founder and EIC of The Garrison Project, which partners with other outlets to publish its reporting on US criminal justice issues — “The story is less at [the U.S. Department of Justice] than with sheriffs and prosecutors at the local level, mostly the county level.”
Discussion:
@niemanlab and @pamelacolloff
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