Mediagazer: Court filings show that Soros Fund Management could become the biggest shareholder of Audacy when the radio and podcast company emerges from bankruptcy (Bloomberg)

7:10 PM ET, February 14, 2024

Top News:

Court filings show that Soros Fund Management could become the biggest shareholder of Audacy when the radio and podcast company emerges from bankruptcy — - Fund owns more than $400 million of Audacy's first-lien debt — Radio company's restructuring would hand ownership to lenders

Discussion: The Desk, Barrett News Media, Boston Herald, New York Post, @ashleyrcarman, @ashleycarman@threads.net and @buythecryptodip

BBC R&D:

The BBC plans to continue its Mastodon trial for at least six months and publish its work using ActivityPub, after gaining 60K followers on six trial accounts — In July 2023 we announced our plan to establish a BBC presence in the distributed collection of social networks known as the Fediverse …

Discussion: @peterbutler@mas.to, @developerjustin …, @liaizon@social.wake.st, @andypiper@macaw.social, @paul@oldfriends.live, @derek@social.coop and @BBCRD@social.bbc

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Flipboard has launched more than 1,000 of its social magazines in the fediverse, allowing users to find the magazines via federated social apps like Mastodon

Discussion: @J12t@social.coop, @michellemanafy@journa.host and Flipboard

Wall Street Journal:

Sources: Walmart is in talks to buy smart TV manufacturer Vizio for $2B+, as the company looks to bolster its advertising business in its battle with Amazon — Retail giant discussing a more than $2 billion deal that would boost its advertising business in battle with Amazon

Charlotte Klein / Vanity Fair:

David Leonhardt's views shaped NYT newsletter The Morning, which has 5M+ daily readers, leading to newsroom tension; others will share its lead column in 2024 — The New York Times' flagship newsletter is hugely popular with readers, a source of tension among some reporters, and …

Discussion: @mlcalderone and @charlottetklein

Angela Fu / Poynter:

Utah's Deseret News says The Digest, a free monthly print compendium of its best journalism launched in September 2023, has been profitable since October — The Deseret News launched a free monthly compendium of its best journalism in September. It's been profitable since October.

Discussion: Burke Olsen on LinkedIn and American Press Institute

Roger Cheng / Cord Cutters News:

Altice USA's Optimum lost 114,000 internet subscribers and 266,700 cable TV subscribers in 2023, including 62,200 cable subscribers in Q4 — Cable and internet provider Optimum continues to bleed customers at an alarming rate even as it lost money. — The company reported fourth-quarter results …

Discussion: Altice USA, Inc. and Next TV

Sara Fischer / Axios:

An interview with Jimmy Finkelstein, who says The Messenger's model was working and the outlet would have been profitable by August 2024 if it had raised $20M — The Messenger CEO Jimmy Finkelstein told Axios he did not mislead a New York Times reporter about the company's revenue …

Discussion: Poynter, @pressgazette, Awful Announcing, @jakewilkns, @mradamtaylor, @jimlaporta, @sarafischer, @coreypein.bsky.social and @tomgara

Committee to Protect Journalists:

Iranian authorities raided the newsroom of economic news site FardayeEghtesad on February 5, initially detaining 30 staff; four journalists are still detained — Washington, D.C., February 13, 2024—Iranian authorities must immediately release four journalists from the FardayeEghtesad news site …

Discussion: Trusting News and Nieman Lab

The Information:

Sources: Meta is reducing payments to news orgs that fact-check potential WhatsApp misinformation, including on elections, and has cut funding for CrowdTangle — Meta Platforms is reducing payments to news organizations that fact-check potential misinformation on WhatsApp, including around elections …

Discussion: @mattnavarra@threads.net, @kalleyhuang, @aginnt and @brooklynmarie

Oliver Darcy / CNN:

In a letter to the WHCA, the White House expresses concern over media coverage of the Special Counsel's report on Joe Biden's handling of classified material — Editor's Note: A version of this article first appeared in the “Reliable Sources” newsletter. Sign up for the daily digest chronicling the evolving media landscape here.

Discussion: Fox News, New York Times, GB News, The Hill, New York Post and Axios

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

Disney merges ABC News and local station operations under Debra OConnell; ABC News President Kim Godwin and Stations President Chad Matthews will report to her — Another major media company is merging its news division and its local stations in hopes of wringing new profits from two businesses …

Discussion: The Wrap, Los Angeles Times, Radio & Television …, The Walt Disney Company, Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

Geraldo Rivera joins Nexstar Media's NewsNation as a correspondent at large; Rivera left Fox News in 2023 due to tensions with Greg Gutfeld — Geraldo Rivera, a longtime news correspondent and talk-show host with a knack for the theatrical, is taking up roots at a new outlet.

Discussion: TVLine, The Hill, Mediaite, The Desk, The Daily Beast, Adweek, @geraldorivera, Barrett News Media, @davidfolkenflik, @ainemacdermot.bsky.social, Radio & Television …, The Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap and Deadline

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Earlier Picks:

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Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica:
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Discussion: Techdirt, @Lazarou@mastodon.social and @arstechnica@mastodon.social

Alexandra Steigrad / New York Post:
Sources: CBS News was hit with job cuts affecting 20 people, including Catherine Herridge, who is in a legal battle to protect sources of a 2017 Fox News story

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From Techmeme:

Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority:
Source: Google has canceled the development of a second-generation Pixel Tablet, planned for release in 2025, due to concerns that it wouldn't sell very well

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Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
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