Top News:
Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
Reliance and Disney merge their media businesses in India, creating the country's largest media conglomerate; Reliance values it at $8.5B and will invest $1.4B — Reliance, its portfolio Viacom18 and Disney are merging their media businesses in India, creating the largest media entity in the South Asian market.
Discussion:
Observer, Reuters, Los Angeles Times, Financial Times, New York Times, Bloomberg, WORLD SCREEN, @pti_news, @menakadoshi, @edmundlee, @chandrarsrikant, @karthikravivarm, @stufflistings, Media Play News, The Wrap, CNN, @sardesairajdeep, @yashjain88, @edmundlee, @kdcloudy, @karthikravivarm, Variety, @kathyfgibson, Deadline, @arindam___paul, Tech Startups and @proficienttroll, more at Techmeme »
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Jeremy Barr / Washington Post:
Mehdi Hasan raises $4M to launch Zeteo, a digital media company on Substack, offering a weekly streaming show he hosts, contributor pieces, a podcast, and more — Hasan, whose MSNBC cancellation triggered an outpouring from fans, follows other political pundits who have struck out on their own
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, The Hill, The Daily Caller, Deadline, @jeremymbarr, @pressgazette, @mehdirhasan, @mehdirhasan, Mediaite and The Wrap
Jake Kanter / Deadline:
A group of top journalists, including from CNN, BBC, and CBS, sign an open letter asking Israel and Egypt to provide foreign media “unfettered access” to Gaza — A group of top international journalists have joined forces to demand that Israel and Egypt provide foreign media with “unfettered access” to Gaza.
Discussion:
Sky News, Tim Gaynor on LinkedIn, @alexcrawfordsky, The Hill, Lucy Carrigan on LinkedIn, @clarissaward and Press Gazette
Thania Garcia / Variety:
Universal Music plans $270M+ in annual run-rate savings by 2026, through headcount reduction and efficiencies, and reports 9% YoY revenue growth in Q4 to $3.5B — In its latest earnings report, Universal Music Group touted top-selling acts including Taylor Swift, the Rolling Stones, Drake …
Discussion:
Billboard, Billboard, Reuters, Music Business Worldwide, UMG and The Hollywood Reporter
Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Adobe unveils Project Music GenAI Control, a platform that can generate audio from text descriptions or a reference melody and let users customize the results — There's plenty of GenAI-powered music editing and creation tools out there, but Adobe wants to put its own spin on the concept.
Discussion:
The Verge and @ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org, more at Techmeme »
Angelique Jackson / Variety:
Study: 77 of the top 100 top-grossing domestic films in the US in 2023 featured more male characters than female characters in speaking roles — The latest 'It's a Man's (Celluloid) World' report shows 77% of movies had more male than female characters — A new study indicates that the tenets …
Discussion:
Screen Rant, IndieWire and Deadline
Los Angeles Times:
Netflix names Dan Lin, the producer of the Lego movies and the live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender, as head of film, replacing Scott Stuber — Netflix announced Wednesday that film producer Dan Lin has been tapped as chairman of the streaming company's film division, replacing longtime movie chief Scott Stuber.
Lachlan Cartwright / The Hollywood Reporter:
Source: Disney held talks in 2015 and 2016 about buying Vice for $3.4B; Shane Smith is believed to be paid millions in a 2019 deal finishing at the end of 2024 — How did a Brooklyn media giant valued at $5.7 billion just a few years ago wind up going bankrupt and folding its newsroom?
Discussion:
@matthewkeyslive, @hunterduesing, @lachcartwright, @misterjohndoyle and @davelafontaine
Dara Kerr / NPR:
Time owner Marc Benioff tells a reporter, who is looking into his Hawaii land acquisition, that he knows where she is staying and her family's personal details — WAIMEA, Hawaii — A life-size bronze statue of a cowboy sits at the center of Waimea. The cowboy is riding a horse, lasso in hand, pursuing a wild bull.
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Magazine and newspaper subscription app Readly had 464K full-paying subscribers at the end of 2023, up 2.7% YoY, and a £9.10 ARPU, up from £7.80 in 2022 — Readly CEO Philip Lindqvist says there is still “ample” room to grow in UK and Europe. — The chief executive of …
Discussion:
Philip Lindqvist on LinkedIn
Max Tani / Semafor:
In an email to some staff, ABC News president Kimberly Godwin said Trump's recent comments about Black Americans were “as racist as they come” — The Scoop — Kimberly Godwin, the president of ABC News, said privately that recent comments by President Donald Trump about Black people were “as racist as they come.”
Discussion:
Fox News, New York Post, The Hill, @maxwelltani, Reuters and Boing Boing
Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
Sources: The Center for Public Integrity is considering merging with a competitor or shutting down, after falling ~$2.5M short of its $6M budget goal for 2023 — The nonprofit had a budget shortfall of roughly $2.5 million last year amid a difficult market for fund-raising.
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