Top News:
Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
Email: 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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Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Disney has reached a preliminary agreement to sell 60% of its Indian media business to Reliance-backed Viacom18 at a $3.9B valuation — Viacom18's purchase of 60% of Disney's India business reunites the company with two executives who built it — Disney has reached a preliminary agreement …
Discussion:
The Wrap, MediaNama, Reuters, Livemint, @adityakalra and TechCrunch
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
UMG begins pulling its artists' music from TikTok after contract talks failed; videos featuring UMG artists 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
RELATED:
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
Discussion:
UMG, Music Ally, @carnage4life@mas.to, TechNode, Forbes, @tiktokcomms, Us Weekly, Drew Thurlow on LinkedIn, NPR, The Drum, RAIN News, TikTok, New York Post, WHDH-TV, New York Daily News, @russdiemon, @mikeisaac, @mikeisaac, Vibe, @lucas_shaw, Consequence, CNN, @annaknicolaou, Axios, @jamesrbuk, @broderick, @broderick, @umg, @runciedan, @xpangler, The Sun, Engadget, The i Paper, Financial Times, City A.M., The Register, The Hollywood Reporter, Bloomberg, Second Hand Songs …, The Messenger, Music Technology Policy, Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone, The Information, 9to5Mac, Reuters, PR Newswire, The Music Network, The Wrap and New Yorker, more at Techmeme »
Bron Maher / Press Gazette:
Politico redesigns its Europe, German, and French websites to have simpler homepages than the UK and US versions, to improve readability for AI web crawlers — Politico has given its Europe, German and French websites a redesign which improves readability for the web crawlers that feed into generative AI large language models (LLMs).
Jon Allsop / Columbia Journalism Review:
A look at press freedoms in Guatemala, as pro-press freedom and anti-corruption activist Bernardo Arévalo becomes the country's new president — In the summer of 2022, a unit of armed police officers in Guatemala raided the home of José Rubén Zamora …
Discussion:
@normajtorres, @jon_allsop and @sheilacoronel
Christina Couch / Nieman Lab:
How some small media outlets are trying to prevent reporter burnout by adopting work models that reduce workloads and prioritize time outside the office — Keeping reporters healthy over the long term often requires both systemic and behavioral changes, and getting buy-in often isn't easy.
Katie Campione / Deadline:
The Onion Union reaches a tentative agreement with G/O Media, with the negotiating committee making “important gains in wages and workplace protections” — The Onion Union employees have narrowly avoided a strike, reaching a tentative agreement with G/O Media just hours …
Discussion:
@wgaeast, Hollywood Reporter and @onionincunion
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.
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:
@ctguild, WAVY-TV, @byjuliapoe, @chitribkane, @corbinbolies, @ctguild, @ctguild, @greenhousenyt, @tvjedi, @chloehilles, @royalpratt, Chicago Sun Times, The Wrap and Axios
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, @gkwillis6, @matthewloeb, @awesomington, @iatse, The Wrap and Hollywood Reporter
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, Politico, NBC Bay Area, @tedstew, CBS News, @tedstew, @tedstew, @eriqgardner, Courthouse News Service, @tedstew, Reason, Kotaku, The A.V. Club, Financial Times, NPR, CNN, The Daily Beast, Mediaite, Forbes, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Semafor, New York Times, The Hill, Los Angeles Times, NBC News, Bloomberg, United States District Court, Deadline, Reuters, Hollywood Reporter, CNN and The Wrap, more at Techmeme »
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Email to subscribers: Hulu changed its agreement to ban sharing accounts outside of the user's household “unless otherwise permitted by your Service Tier” — The Disney-owned streaming service changed its subscriber agreement to ban sharing of accounts outside of individual households.
Discussion:
The Verge, The Wrap, TVLine, UPROXX, @jbillinson@threads.net, Cord Cutters News and Deadline, more at Techmeme »
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