Mediagazer: Memo: The Wall Street Journal EIC Emma Tucker restructures its DC bureau, shutters the DC-based Business and US-China teams, and lays off “a number” of staffers (Max Tani/@maxwelltani)

12:05 AM ET, February 2, 2024

Top News:

Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:

The Messenger's flop was the result of Jimmy Finkelstein's blindness to bad ideas, like its traffic-chasing strategy, not a consequence of economic headwinds — The flaws in the site's strategy were highly predictable (and repeatedly predicted). But Jimmy Finkelstein's muddled nostalgia …

Discussion: Axios, @snigdhasur, @froomkin, Newser, @jayrosen_nyu, @jordannovet, @jragazzo, @scottnover, @ryangrim, @nohodge, @theakglassman, The Daily Beast, Variety, The Wrap and Deadline

The Daily Beast:

Ex-employees of The Messenger file a class-action lawsuit against the shuttered outlet, alleging that it failed to give them proper notice ahead of their firing — The class-action lawsuit comes just a day after The Messenger closed up shop for good, firing its hundreds of staff without offering them severance.

Discussion: The Hill, The Wrap, Axios, Politico, Deadline, @benmullin, Hollywood Reporter, @juliareinstein, @willsommer, @ellefs0n and @juliareinstein

Jordan Hoffman / New York Magazine:

A Messenger journalist describes his time working for the outlet, where the expensive offices were empty and reporters were instructed to chase trending topics — A text time-stamped 1:19 a.m. early Wednesday read, “I think it's over, man.” It was a Los Angeles-based colleague at The Messenger.

Discussion: Observer, @ishaantharoor, @carolynmichelle, @bgrueskin, @asilbwrites, @jakeswearingen, @mattzeitlin, Defector, Slate, @caroletarrant, @zzzzaaaacccchhh, Semafor, The Wrap, New York Post and Columbia Journalism Review

Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:

UMG begins pulling its artists' music from TikTok after negotiations failed; videos featuring UMG-owned songs will be muted, and users can pick a new soundtrack — - Publisher behind Drake and Taylor Swift pushes for better pay — Videos featuring Universal Music-owned songs will be muted

Kevin T. Dugan / New York Magazine:

Interviews with shareholders and current and ex-employees suggest that SI's publisher Arena missed the licensing payment by choice, not because it lacked money — At about 4 p.m. on Thursday, January 25, the board of the media conglomerate the Arena Group met after the company had blown up its license to publish Sports Illustrated.

Discussion: @jayshams and @leomschwartz

Ben Strauss / Washington Post:
Sources: an Arena executive ordered SI to remove a transgender boxing story from a print issue; SI says the story was no longer newsy and will be posted online

Discussion: @davidgross_man, @cityreads, Awful Announcing, @benjstrauss, @jmkliegman and MediaPost

Salvador Rodriguez / Wall Street Journal:

Meta reports Q4 revenue up 25% YoY to $40.1B, with ad revenue of $38.7B, ad impressions delivered across its Family of Apps up 21%, and average ad price up 2% — Company posts biggest quarterly revenue gains in two years — Facebook parent Meta Platforms posted its fourth consecutive quarter …

Discussion: Meta Investor Relations, The Information, TVNewsCheck, @alexeheath, @alexeheath, @kantrowitz, MacStories, Variety, @alexeheath, @alecmacgillis, Search Engine Land, The Wrap and Music Ally, more at Techmeme »

Chris Willman / Variety:

Chuck Philips, a Pulitzer Prize-winning Los Angeles Times journalist known for his investigative reporting on the music industry, died in January at age 71 — Chuck Philips, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist renowned for his reporting on dark corners of the music industry, died in January at age 71.

Discussion: The Wrap, @hearinladotcom, @khal, The Daily Beast and Media Moves

Lesley Goldberg / The Hollywood Reporter:

Highlights from Netflix's press event: a push for live programming, no planned theatrical releases, licensing content from others won't impact originals, more — A greater push for live programming, no theatrical releases and much more from content chief Bela Bajaria.

Discussion: @tsoh_investing, @reecekelleyg, @thr, @ryansatin, @meltzersaidwhat, Deadline, Deadline, Variety, The Playlist and POST Wrestling

Jim Edwards / Press Gazette:

Google plans to limit news publishers to tracking users across five of their own websites under its Privacy Sandbox, which is set to replace third-party cookies — Details have emerged of how Google's Privacy Sandbox could strengthen its online monopoly. — Google plans to limit the sharing …

Discussion: The Drum, @pressgazette, Paweł Nowacki on LinkedIn, Poynter and The Register, more at Techmeme »

Max Tani / @maxwelltani:

Memo: The Wall Street Journal EIC Emma Tucker restructures its DC bureau, shutters the DC-based Business and US-China teams, and lays off “a number” of staffers — Note from WSJ EIC Emma Tucker to Journal staff about today's layoffs changes to the paper's DC bureau. The business team and Washington-based China team are both shuttering. [image]

Discussion: Washington Post, The Daily Beast, @jhweissmann, @rhcm123, Talking Biz News, @katie_robertson, @bgrueskin, @corbinbolies, @azambelich, @samro, @theamarareport, @theamarareport, @katie_robertson, @katie_robertson, @kaivanshroff, @feliciasonmez and @bgrueskin

Richard Nieva / Forbes:

YouTube says YouTube Premium and Music have a combined 100M subscribers; CEO Neal Mohan says subscriptions have become a “meaningful part” of YouTube's business — YouTube CEO Neal Mohan told Forbes the subscription services are now a “meaningful part” of the business.

Discussion: YouTube Official Blog, The Verge, @sarthakgh, Variety, Tubefilter, Music Business Worldwide, Rob Bolton on LinkedIn, @petergyang, 9to5Google, Engadget, @joshuaogundu, The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, Music Ally and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »

Annie Palmer / CNBC:

Amazon Q4: ad revenue up 27% YoY to $14.7B, vs. $14.2B est., subscription revenue up 14% YoY to $10.5B, and North America segment sales up 13% YoY to $105.5B — - Amazon reported fourth-quarter earnings and revenue on Thursday that sailed past analysts' estimates.

Discussion: GeekWire, NBC 7 San Diego, Search Engine Land, @ericjhonsa, @lucas_shaw, CNN and The Hollywood Reporter, more at Techmeme »

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