Top News:
Sara Fischer / Axios:
BuzzFeed sells Complex, acquired for $300M in 2021, to livestream shopping platform Ntwrk for $108.6M; BuzzFeed plans to lay off 16% of its workforce — - The Wall Street Journal reported that BuzzFeed is also looking to possibly sell its social media food brand Tasty.
Discussion:
The Guardian, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, CNN, Music Ally, Digital Music News, @iramadisonthree, @natjarv, Newser, CMU, @benmullin, @nicholasadeleon, @jaycodon, @sarafischer, @milkman__dead, @runciedan, @almighty_red, The Desk, New York Post, The Hill, Deadline, Adweek, Music Business Worldwide, New York Times, Semafor, @jalefkowit@octodon.social, The Information, Business Wire, The Wrap and Billboard, more at Techmeme »
Corbin Bolies / The Daily Beast:
Newsmax joins the New York Post's editorial board and other right-leaning outlets criticizing a pair of Florida bills making it easier to sue for defamation — The cable channel joins a growing list of right-wing outlets bashing Florida GOP legislation that takes square aim at the news media.
Discussion:
Raw Story, @aaron.rupar@threads.net, New York Post and Fox News
Lucas Manfredi / The Wrap:
Amazon says there are “no changes” coming to Freevee, following reports that the company plans to shutter its FAST service in the coming weeks — The statement comes after AdWeek reported that the free, ad-supported streamer was shutting down — Amazon is pushing back against reports …
Discussion:
Broadband TV News, Fast Company, MediaPost, Media Play News, The Streamable, The A.V. Club, Variety, UPROXX and Cord Cutters News
RELATED:
Mark Stenberg / Adweek:
Sources: Amazon plans to shut its FAST service Freevee in the coming weeks, as part of a broader effort to focus its ad and product efforts on Prime Video
Discussion:
The Sun, CarterMatt, @seriestalks, @jackgen0vese, @imperfecttl, @webbarr, @takeshikitano3, Dan Rayburn on LinkedIn, The Desk, The Streamable, 9to5Google, Deadline, UPROXX, TechHive, Geoff Clark on LinkedIn, Metro, The Information, TVLine, @markstenberg3@threads.net, Media Play News, Consequence and Appleosophy
Dr Richard Fletcher / Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism:
Analysis: at 2023's end, 48% of the top news websites in the US, the UK, and eight others had blocked OpenAI's crawler and 24% had blocked Google's AI crawler — In this factsheet we describe the proportion of top news websites in ten countries that block AI (artificial intelligence) crawlers.
Discussion:
@risj_oxford, @risj_oxford, @risj_oxford, @risj_oxford, @risj_oxford and @risj_oxford, more at Techmeme »
Michael McCarthy / Front Office Sports:
Sources: Amazon paid $120M for exclusive rights to show a 2025 NFL playoff game on Prime Video; NBCU paid $110M for the January 2024 NFL payoff game on Peacock — Out of the Big Four tech giants, Amazon is the most ambitious about invading live sports. The giant streamer is opening …
Discussion:
The Streamable, The Desk and Awful Announcing, more at Techmeme »
Reuters:
Sources: Reddit has inked a deal with Google to make its content available for training the search giant's AI models; source: the contract is worth ~$60M a year — Social media platform Reddit has struck a deal with Google (GOOGL.O) to make its content available for training …
Discussion:
The Wrap, One Man & His Blog, New York Post, Search Engine Land, @annatonger, @reuters, @chirag_mehta, @reuters, @reuters, @toddlombardo, The Verge, @mrjnowlin, @basedtorba, @brij and Gizmodo, more at Techmeme »
Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
Instagram debuts its marketplace tool to connect brands and creators for partnerships or ads in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Japan, India, and Brazil — Instagram said today that it is expanding its marketplace tool to connect brands with creators for paid partnerships or ads in eight new countries.
Discussion:
Music Ally, B&T and Meta, more at Techmeme »
Josh Peck / TPR:
Journalists at Hearst's San Antonio Express-News and MySA.com say they intend to unionize, becoming the fourth Texas newsroom to announce a union effort in 2024 — Journalists at the San Antonio Express-News and MySA.com announced their intent to unionize on Wednesday …
Discussion:
@mediaguildwest, @susanrinkunas.com, San Antonio Express-News, The NewsGuild and MediaPost
Miranda Bryant / The Guardian:
In a Danish court, prosecutors allege a man fraudulently made ~£502K in royalties from music streamers and breached copyright law — Aarhus court hears he may have profited from artificially generated playbacks, in case thought to be first of its kind
Discussion:
The Kyiv Independent, CMU, Digital Music News and Music Ally
Stanley Widianto / Reuters:
Meta says “we understand Meta will not be required to pay for news content that publishers voluntarily post to our platforms” in Indonesia under a new law — Facebook parent Meta Platforms (META.O) on Thursday said it believes that a new Indonesia law does not require …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »
Meg James / Los Angeles Times:
The first trial in the death of a cinematographer on the set of Rust begins; weapons handler Hannah Gutierrez pleads not guilty to involuntary manslaughter — More than two years after Alec Baldwin fired the deadly shot, questions persist about who was responsible for the accidental death …
Discussion:
KTAR.com, @megjameslat, @megjameslat, NewsNation, UPI, KGW-TV, Rolling Stone, Raw Story, Reuters, Associated Press and Deadline
Lachlan Cartwright / The Hollywood Reporter:
A look at Dana Walden's reorganization of ABC News, which is an effort to stabilize the unit and showcase her mettle as a top decision-maker at Disney — Dana Walden undertakes a major shake-up at ABC News with hopes to stabilize the unit and showcase her mettle as a top decision-maker in Bob Iger's empire.
International Economics Reporter, DC — 
Consumer Brands Reporter, GA — 
Deputy Editor - Playbook, VA — 
Product Editor, CA — 
Indigenous Affairs Editor, Sydney — 
China Autos Correspondent, Beijing — 
Bangor Reporter, ME — 
Commerce Editor - Health, Remote US — 
Sports Editor, MI — 
Managing Editor, Remote US — 
Public Policy Editor, London — 
Stock Picks Writer, NY — 
Part-Time Reporter, AZ — 
Executive Editor, CA — 
Political Correspondent, NV — 
Sr. Reporter, Singapore — 
Evening Dep. Breaking News Ed., CA — 
Commercial Real Estate Reporter, NY — 
Kansas Statehouse Reporter, KS — 
Senior Science & Health Writer, NY — 
Data Journalist, MN — 
DeFi Correspondent, Remote — 
City Government Reporter, OR — 
Healthcare Business Reporter, MA — 
Senior Consumer Tech Reporter, NY — 
Washington Correspondent, DC — 
Editorial Director - Audio & Video, NY — 
Local Editor - Morris County, Remote NJ — 
AI Columnist - Weekend, CA/NY — 
Washington Correspondent, DC — 
Deputy Managing Editor, IA — 
Senior Editor - News, NC — 
Breaking News Editor - Weekend, HK — 
Reporter - National, Remote NY — 
