Check out Mini-Mediagazer for simple mobiles or Mediagazer Mobile for modern smartphones.
2:55 AM ET, January 31, 2024

Mediagazer

 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 offering to pay a 50% premium for voting stock  — Allen already has interest from investors for assets
RELATED:
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 …
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.
Alexandra Alter / New York Times:
Bookstat: the US audiobook market grew 14% YoY in Q4 2023, excluding Spotify; with Spotify, it grew 28% YoY; Spotify had an 11% market share, behind Audible  —  There are early signs that Spotify's addition of audiobooks to its streaming service is helping drive audiobook consumption — already a growing market.
Elizabeth A. Harris / New York Times:
Profile of Penguin Random House CEO Nihar Malaviya, who was tasked to lead the company after the 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 …
John Seabrook / New Yorker:
A profile of UMG CEO Lucian Grainge, who helped record labels rake in billions of dollars from streaming and now hopes to do the same with generative AI  —  Lucian Grainge, the chairman of UMG, has helped record labels rake in billions of dollars from streaming.  Can he do the same with generative artificial intelligence?
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.
 
 Archived Page Info: 
This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 2:55 AM ET, January 31, 2024.

View the current page or another snapshot:


 
 See Also: 
Mediagazer: site main
Mediagazer River: reverse chronological Mediagazer
Mediagazer Mobile: for phones
Mediagazer Leaderboard: Mediagazer's top sources
 
 Subscribe: 
Mediagazer RSS feed
Mediagazer on X
Mediagazer on Mastodon
 
 
 More News: 
Bloomberg:
French media conglomerate Vivendi formally proposes splitting into four separately traded companies, including one for the film and TV studio Canal+
Discussion: Reuters
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
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
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
 Earlier Picks: 
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
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
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
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
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
 

 
From Techmeme:

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is working on a smart doorbell system with advanced facial recognition that can wirelessly connect and unlock third-party smart locks

Wall Street Journal:
Gina Raimondo says holding back China in the chips race is a “fool's errand”, and investment, more than export controls, will keep US ahead of Beijing

Reuters:
Albania bans TikTok for a year from January 2025, part of a broader plan to make schools safer following the killing of a 14-year-old near a school in November
 
Sister Sites:

Techmeme
 Top news and commentary for technology's leaders, from all around the web
memeorandum
 What US political commentators are discussing online right now
WeSmirch
 The top celebrity news from all around the web on a single page