Top News:
Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
Memo: The Messenger shuts down, effective immediately, citing economic headwinds; Jimmy Finkelstein launched the outlet in May 2023 and hired about 300 people — By closing less than a year after it launched, The Messenger is now one of the biggest busts in the annals of online news.
Discussion:
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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
Discussion:
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Laura Wagner / Washington Post:
Journalists from Tribune publications, including the Chicago Tribune, plan a one-day strike on February 1 to protest cost-cutting by Alden Global Capital — To protest the cuts made by new owner Alden Global Capital, staffs plan walkouts Thursday at the Chicago Tribune …
Discussion:
The Wrap, WAVY-TV, Chicago Sun Times, Axios, @ctguild, @ctguild, @byjuliapoe, @greenhousenyt, @chloehilles, @chitribkane, @royalpratt, @corbinbolies and @ctguild
Dan Mangan / CNBC:
A US judge dismisses Disney's suit against Gov. Ron DeSantis claiming retaliation after Disney criticized Florida's “Don't Say Gay” bill; Disney plans to appeal — - A judge dismissed a lawsuit Disney filed against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that alleged he retaliated against the company …
Discussion:
Variety, CNN, Mediaite, Wall Street Journal, The Wrap, New York Times, CBS News, The Hill, Courthouse News Service, CNN, Reason, Politico, Financial Times, NPR, Kotaku, The A.V. Club, Forbes, Washington Post, Semafor, Reuters, Los Angeles Times, NBC News, Bloomberg, Deadline, @tedstew, @tedstew, The Daily Beast, @tedstew, @eriqgardner, United States District Court, @tedstew and Hollywood Reporter
Todd Spangler / Variety:
UMG plans to stop licensing content to TikTok after their deal expires on January 31, saying they didn't reach terms over issues like artist compensation and AI — 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, Associated Press, NBC News, Forbes, TikTok, @tiktokcomms, Us Weekly, NPR, Observer, Wired, Polygon, UPROXX, Axios, New York Post, TMZ.com, The Drum, WHDH-TV, Ars Technica, Drew Thurlow on LinkedIn, The A.V. Club, CNN, CMU, Vibe, The Sun, New York Daily News, @russdiemon, @mikeisaac, @mikeisaac, RAIN News, @lucas_shaw, Financial Times, Engadget, Agence France-Presse, Consequence, @annaknicolaou, @jamesrbuk, @broderick, @broderick, @umg, @runciedan, @xpangler, The i Paper, Music Ally, The Guardian, Business Insider, TechCrunch, The Daily Beast, The Register, City A.M., The Hollywood Reporter, Bloomberg, Music Technology Policy, The Messenger, Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone, The Information, Los Angeles Times, 9to5Mac, Digital Music News, Billboard, The Music Network, Second Hand Songs …, Reuters, PR Newswire and The Wrap, more at Techmeme »
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Jordan Moreau / Variety:
VFX workers at a Disney subsidiary vote to unionize with the IATSE, becoming the first group of “vendor-side” artists to unionize via an official NLRB vote — A group of visual effects artists who work on Disney's CGI-heavy “Avatar” films have voted to unionize with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees.
Discussion:
@iatse, The Wrap, @awesomington, @gkwillis6, @matthewloeb, @iatse and Hollywood Reporter
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Alex Cooper releases her hit Call Her Daddy interview podcast on all major audio platforms, after its three year, $60M deal with Spotify ended — Daddy Gang, rejoice! … Full episodes of “Call Her Daddy” have been available only on Spotify since July 2021, under a three-year deal worth more than $60 million.
Discussion:
Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
Audacy plans to cut a number of positions in its Pineapple Street podcast division; a source says the layoff will affect 12 positions, or ~25% of the staff — Audacy Inc., a radio broadcaster reorganizing in US bankruptcy court, announced plans to cut a number of positions in its Pineapple Street podcast division.
Mark Stenberg / Adweek:
LA Times, WSJ, and others are cutting their DC bureaus in an election year, as they focus on their core competencies that are likely better sources of return — An emphasis on subscriptions and changing coverage landscapes help explain — Both the Los Angeles Times and The Wall Street Journal …
Discussion:
@brittany_geneva, Media Nation and @markstenberg3
RELATED:
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
In an email to subscribers, Hulu says the company changed its subscriber agreement to bar sharing of accounts outside the user's household — The Disney-owned streaming service changed its subscriber agreement to ban sharing of accounts outside of individual households.
Discussion:
TVLine, The Wrap and Cord Cutters News
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 …
Discussion:
@MissingThePt@mastodon.social, @glecharles@zirk.us and @cfiesler@hci.social
Committee to Protect Journalists:
A Minsk court sentences photojournalist Aliaksandr Ziankou to three years on extremism charges; Belarus was the world's third-worst jailer of reporters in 2023 — New York, January 30, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Belarusian authorities to stop using extremism laws …
Discussion:
Fox News
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
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