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.
Discussion:
@mattnavarra@threads.net, @dennishegstad, @aerocles, Kaya Yurieff on LinkedIn and @wagatwe.bsky.social
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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:
MIT Technology Review, The Verge, @carnage4life, The Information, The Messenger and Ad Age, more at Techmeme »
Andrew Goudsward / Reuters:
The US sentences IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn to five years in prison for leaking the tax returns of Donald Trump and other Americans to media outlets — A former U.S. Internal Revenue Service contractor was sentenced on Monday to five years in prison for leaking the tax records …
Discussion:
Associated Press, @dnlbrns, @dnlbrns, @michaelmechanic, @dnlbrns, @mattbruenig, @alex_sammon, @joshgerstein, @jeffhauser, @jeffhauser, @maxkennerly, @politicalmath, CBS News, HuffPost, New York Times, Politico, The Daily Beast, Courthouse News Service, The Messenger, Washington Post, The Hill, Wall Street Journal and Fox News
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
Theo Francis / Wall Street Journal:
Reed Hastings donates $1.1B worth of his Netflix shares, or ~40% of his stake, to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, a popular charity among tech founders — Reed Hastings donates to foundation with $10 billion in assets after gifts from Mark Zuckerberg and other tech founders
Discussion:
Business Insider, Variety, CNBC, Variety, The Information, Deadline and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »
Michael Hardy / Texas Monthly:
A look at the decline of Austin American-Statesman, as Gannett steadily slashes staffing and budgets despite the paper winning a Pulitzer for Uvalde reporting — Since taking over the American-Statesman in 2019, Gannett has steadily slashed staffing and budgets.
Discussion:
@trevoremetcalfe, @jayrosen_nyu, @plscamardo2, @juanlozano70, @rosecahalan, @nelson_aj, @mkerrhardy, @verano305, @jackshafer, @mattlargey and @friedmanadam5
New York Times:
A look at the extreme challenges of reporting as a local journalist from Gaza, where at least 76 Palestinian journalists have been killed since October 7 — From outside Gaza, the scale of death and destruction is impossible to grasp, shrouded by communications blackouts …
Discussion:
@cpjmena, @barrasreport, The Messenger and CBS News
Nathan Wilk / OPB:
The Eugene Weekly plans to return to print on February 8, rehiring essential staff after $150K in donations, following an alleged embezzlement in December 2023 — The Eugene Weekly is planning to return to print Feb. 8, as it continues its recovery following an alleged embezzlement.
Discussion:
Media Nation, The Desk, @seangraf, @katunews, @clairearush, @bodrell, @binthenl, New York Times, MediaPost and Associated Press
Bloomberg:
Sirius XM acquires rights to SmartLess, a podcast by Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, and Sean Hayes, sources say for $100M+; Amazon previously paid $60M-$80M — - The popular interview program has spent three years at Amazon — Actors Will Arnett, Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes host the show
Discussion:
Simon Owens on LinkedIn, Sirius XM Holdings Inc., The Desk, Podnews, @frankyarriola, @johnjedwards3, @shaun_obanion, @variety, @lucas_shaw, @lucas_shaw, The Verge, Deadline, Inside Radio, Radio Ink, CNN, @pkafka@threads.net, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Digital Trends, The Wrap and Cord Cutters News
Haroon Siddique / The Guardian:
The Daily Mirror faces a claim for ~£2M in legal costs after Prince Harry won substantial damages last month in his phone-hacking case against the publisher — Judge ruled that Mirror Group Newspapers' titles all used ‘extensive’ unlawful information gathering
Discussion:
Byline Times, Telegraph, The i Paper, Sky News, Courthouse News Service, Press Gazette and Reuters
Christopher Kuo / New York Times:
Ukraine's foreign ministry criticizes HBO for casting Milos Bikovic in The White Lotus' season three, saying without evidence the Serbian actor supports Russia — On social media, Ukraine's foreign ministry posted clips of the Serbian actor Milos Bikovic receiving a medal for cultural achievement from Vladimir Putin in 2018.
Discussion:
@mfa_ukraine, Deadline, The Messenger, New York Post, Variety, Deadline, Agence France-Presse, UPROXX, Vanity Fair, Balkan Insight, The Daily Beast and Politico
Chris Roush / Talking Biz News:
Bloomberg starts providing AI-generated summaries of companies' earnings calls on its terminal; the company has more than 310,000 subscribers to its terminal — Bloomberg is now providing artificial intelligence summaries of company's earnings calls on its terminal.
Discussion:
9to5Mac, The Verge, Engadget, Institutional Investor, @fxfinancefeeds, @sserve, @vanrijmenam and Bloomberg L.P.
Georg Szalai / The Hollywood Reporter:
Channel 4 plans to lay off 18% of its staff, impacting ~200 jobs and closing ~40 unfilled roles, to become a “digital-first public service streamer by 2030” — “Channel 4 was designed to be ahead of the curve and has never stood still,” says CEO Alex Mahon.
Discussion:
Media Voices, @scottygb, @joshoewaa, WORLD SCREEN, CampaignUK, Broadband TV News and Variety
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Max Goldbart / Deadline:
Memo: Channel 4 plans to merge commissioning departments, including TV drama and film, leave a London premises, and more, part of a five-year Fast Forward plan
Discussion:
The Desk, @halalltakeaway, @bectu, @scottygb, @jake_kanter, Mediaite, The Guardian, BBC, Broadband TV News and The Guardian
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Plex raised new funding, larger than the $50M funding it raised in 2021, and expects to be profitable by the end of 2024 — Media streamer Plex has raised new capital. The company, which began as a media organization startup, has morphed over the years to become a one-stop shop for all your media …
Discussion:
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