Top News:
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
CBS News confirms that President Biden will not do a pre-game Super Bowl interview with CBS, the second year in a row that he has turned down the opportunity — An interview with the U.S. President in the hours before the Super Bowl has become a tradition in recent decades.
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, The Hill, @bobpagesports, Mediaite, New York Post, @bristei, @claireatki, Politico, Sportico, New York Times, Fox News, Awful Announcing, The Wrap and Deadline
Anne Steele / Wall Street Journal:
Spotify and Joe Rogan sign a new multiyear deal, estimated to be worth $250M; Rogan's show will be available across podcast platforms and as videos on YouTube — Hit show to be distributed broadly, including on YouTube, rather than exclusively on audio-streaming service
Discussion:
Spotify, Semafor, @dansaffer@threads.net, WBIR-TV, Bloomberg, The Verge, Variety, @dada_drummer, @dada_drummer, @spotify, @brianstelter, @dada_drummer, @scottnover, NBC News, Variety, Billboard, Rolling Stone, Simon Owens's Media Newsletter, @carnage4life@mas.to, The Information, @pearlmania500@threads.net, New York Daily News, New York Times, Newser, Inside Radio, NBC Bay Area, Business Insider, Axios, Gizmodo, Reuters, CBS News, Brandon Bauman on LinkedIn, @profgalloway@threads.net, TechCrunch, @charlesbarbour@threads.net, Los Angeles Times, KARK-TV, The Hollywood Reporter, @hagen@mastodon.social, The Wrap, @simondowens@threads.net and @dangillmor@mastodon.social
Wall Street Journal:
A look at Charter's rise to become the biggest US cable TV provider, with 14.12M subscribers, topping Comcast and highlighting the dire state of cable TV — Charter tops Comcast as No. 1 pay-TV provider by subscribers, months after hinting it may exit the business
Discussion:
@tvgrimreaper, @patiencehaggin, @patiencehaggin, @david_marcelis, @patiencehaggin, The Desk and Media Play News
Committee to Protect Journalists:
A look at the deteriorating situation for media in Guinea, where the government has been blocking or suspending outlets and arresting journalists — Guinean authorities should immediately reverse the suspension of Dépêche Guinée and the privately owned news website's publishing director …
Danny Crichton / Securities:
TechCrunch+'s founding editor about its launch to complement TechCrunch's ads and events revenue and its failure due to issues with finding business reporters — January was a brutal month for journalists, globally from death and locally from layoffs. The latter hit home this week …
Discussion:
@rezendi, @dannycrichton, @kevinsxu, @logtecheric, @wolfejosh, @jryedinak, @jasonlk and @logtecheric, more at Techmeme »
Rebecca Jennings / Vox:
How the creator economy is forcing writers and artists to build personal brands and become influencers, making many artists uncomfortable and feel like sellouts — So you want to be an artist. Do you have to start a TikTok? — When Rachael Kay Albers was shopping around her book proposal …
Discussion:
@rebexxxxa, @ibrahim_m_, @taimanzano, @caerickson, @greenlitcrit, @bigmeaninternet, @ramzeerawkz, @nmamatas, @molenasreddin, @chaykak, @98migrocha, @iamlouislaroche, @_zeets, @pronounced_ing, @jonathangarelick@threads.net, @joanwestenberg@threads.net, Broadside and The Information, more at Techmeme »
David Pegg / The Guardian:
Azerbaijan is accused of cracking down on independent media in the run-up to snap elections; 13 journalists, including from Abzas Media, have been detained — Sevinc Vaqifgizi is one of 13 independent journalists detained since snap presidential vote announced
Harry McCracken / Fast Company:
Interviews with Disney executives about Apple Vision Pro, how the device is changing the studio's production pipelines, future plans for the device, and more — Years in the works, the new Disney+ app has an immersive new twist. But the company sees it as one small step into a new entertainment medium with rich possibilities.
Andy Greenberg / Wired:
How the EFF, Techdirt, MuckRock, and DDoSecrets are pushing back against legal threats aimed at censoring their reports on Appin's alleged hacker-for-hire past — A loose coalition of anti-censorship voices is working to highlight reports of one Indian company's hacker-for-hire past …
Discussion:
Techdirt, @Doug_Bostrom@scicomm.xyz, @freedomofpress, @nsnadeemsarwar, @amys_here, @taylorbuley, @a_greenberg, @a_greenberg, @jkdbchr, @jsrailton, @a_greenberg, @robchapman@ohai.social, MuckRock, @jeff@honeytree.social, @mmasnick@mastodon.social, @DaveMWilburn@infosec.exchange, @evacide@hachyderm.io and Hacker News
Selome Hailu / Variety:
HBO cuts Miloš Biković from The White Lotus cast, after Ukraine accused him of supporting Russia since its war; Biković calls the move a “disturbing precedent” — HBO has cut Miloš Biković from the cast of “The White Lotus” Season 3 following a callout …
Discussion:
TV Insider, Politico, @twmcltd, @variety, CBR, Business Insider, New York Times, EW.com, New York Post, The Independent, The Daily Beast, TVLine, IndieWire, The Wrap, The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline
Tom Jones / Poynter:
While reporting on a woman who sought assisted suicide, a Boston Globe columnist signed a form helping her to proceed, raising questions about journalism ethics — While reporting on a woman who sought assisted suicide, Kevin Cullen got personally involved, putting the Globe in an ethical dilemma.
Discussion:
Washington Post, @bostonglobe, @kirkmin, Media Nation, @poynter, @farhip and The Boston Globe
Will Sommer / Washington Post:
The WSJ lays off ~30 staffers as it restructures its DC bureau and shutters the US-China news team; laid-off staffers will be allowed to apply for some new jobs — The Wall Street Journal took a hatchet to its Washington bureau on Thursday, laying off roughly 20 staffers in a restructuring …
Discussion:
@katie_robertson, @alejandrolazo, Marc Rotenberg on LinkedIn, @protecttruth_, @dlippman, @baoyuan, @steventdennis, Talking Biz News, Columbia Journalism Review, @byrontau, @bgrueskin, @bgrueskin, @dnvolz, @rubinations, @compliancememe, HuffPost, Politico, @katie_robertson, @jhweissmann, @katie_robertson, @katie_robertson, @kaivanshroff, @bgrueskin, @corbinbolies, @azambelich, @feliciasonmez, @samro, @theamarareport, @rhcm123, @theamarareport, @bgrueskin, The Wrap, The Daily Beast, Talking Biz News and @maxwelltani
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