Top News:
Bloomberg:
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 …
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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
Discussion:
Observer, @hiebertpaul, Victor Elmann on LinkedIn, David J. Katz on LinkedIn, Next in Media, Christine Grammier on LinkedIn, Oliver Pangborn on LinkedIn, Media Play News, @anshelsag, Timothy Edwards on LinkedIn, Jeff Rauseo on LinkedIn, Variety, Engadget, The Streamable, MediaPost, Digiday, Bloomberg, The Desk, The Information, LightShed Partners, The Verge, 9to5Google, Reuters and Ad Age
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.
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