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, Rolling Stone, The Information, The Daily Beast, Los Angeles Times, Financial Times, Billboard, The Music Network, The Messenger, Reuters, PR Newswire, 9to5Mac, CityAM, The Wrap 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.
Discussion:
Poynter, @ben@werd.social, @jayrosen_nyu, @nytimespr, @mattwelch, @mjnblack, @glenngabe, @froomkin, @froomkin, @edmundlee, @andrew_marshall, @jayrosen_nyu and @talmonsmith
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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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