Top News:
Bloomberg:
Meta plans to deprecate the Facebook News tab in the US and Australia in early April 2024 and stop signing deals for traditional news content in those countries — Meta Platforms Inc. is winding down its news feature in the US and Australia, part of a broader shift away from the category for the social media giant.
Discussion:
Meta, The Guardian, The Verge, The Hill, Quartz, New York Post, UPI, @markdistef, @jason_kint, Alan Soon on LinkedIn, @joshbutler, William Easton on LinkedIn, @bloodiedwombat, New York Times, The Guardian, @brianstelter, @realdrbrendan, Alexandra Wake on LinkedIn, Gizmodo, The Desk, @cameronwilson, @jeffjarvis, Fast Company, Engadget, @cameronwilson, TechCrunch, @snurb@aoir.social, @parismarx@threads.net, Al Jazeera, NBC 7 San Diego, Reuters, Mumbrella, @alansoon73@threads.net, @camwilsonreporter@threads.net and The Wrap, more at Techmeme »
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Nic Fildes / Financial Times:
Australia's PM threatens action against Meta after it said it would stop paying media companies; News Corp says it threatens the viability of small media groups — Prime minister pledges to respond to move that News Corp says threatens viability of some media groups
Associated Press:
A US district judge holds Catherine Herridge in civil contempt for refusing to divulge her source for Fox News stories about a scientist investigated by the FBI — A federal judge held veteran investigative reporter Catherine Herridge in civil contempt on Thursday for refusing to divulge …
Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
Threads says it will make its API broadly available to developers by June and is currently testing it with some partners, including Techmeme and Hootsuite — Meta-owned social network Threads said today that it will make its API broadly available to developers by June.
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Spotify launches the Audiobooks Access Tier, which gives free users in the US access to 15 hours of audiobooks per month for $9.99 per month — After adding 15 hours of free audiobooks listening to its subscription plan late last year, Spotify today is introducing a $9.99 per month option …
Discussion:
Spotify, Publishers Weekly, Engadget, The Verge, @ashleycarman@threads.net and 9to5Mac, more at Techmeme »
The Intercept:
A controversial NYT report claiming Hamas weaponized sexual violence on Oct. 7 relied heavily on an ex-Israeli intelligence officer with no reporting experience — American Media Keep Citing Zaka — Though Its October 7 Atrocity Stories Are Discredited in Israel
Discussion:
The Wrap, Defector, @anatschwartz, CNN, @jeremyscahill, @arnorosenfeld, @joshmeyerdc, @somervilleny, @speechboy71, Amal Ghandour on LinkedIn, Paul Biggar on LinkedIn, Ish Aderonmu on LinkedIn, @denny@boing.world, @sababausa.bsky.social, @elizabethviolet.bsky.social, @dangillmor@mastodon.social, @Migueldeicaza@mastodon.social, Don Juan in Hell, @Sherifazuhur@sfba.social, @gwensnyder.bsky.social, @gwensnyder.bsky.social, @elizabethviolet.bsky.social, @chargrille@progressives … and @peter@thepit.social
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Charlotte Klein / Vanity Fair:
Sources: NYT managers launched a leak probe after The Intercept revealed internal debate over a yet-to-air episode of The Daily about Hamas and sexual violence
Discussion:
New York Post, The Nation, @snmrrw, @nickrmanes, @keithdorejel, @mbullobullo, @bondhack, @dceiver, @gregmitch, @joshua_eaton, @ethanscorey, @bgrueskin, @nkulw, @wireracing, @ericdharvey, @nicolefroio, @mollytaft, @adrianmorrow, @crashandmemes, @markamesexiled, @scottnover, @jwsthomson, @hanaatameez, @assuss, @willmenaker, @jeffbercovici, @charlottetklein, @niubi, @ryangrim, The Wrap, Jacobin, @jeffgreco.com and Eli Erlick
Government of Canada:
Canada's heritage minister announces CA$58.8M to extend the Local Journalism Initiative for three years; the program funded 400+ journalism jobs in 2023-2024 — News release — Local journalism reflects our day-to-day realities, informs us about issues that might affect us and …
Discussion:
@caj, @michelle_gamage, @jenstden and Broadcast Dialogue
Laura Hazard Owen / Nieman Lab:
An interview with Chris Moran, the Guardian's head of editorial innovation, about its new “Deeply Read” list, which uses an “active time spent” ranking metric — The No. 1 most-clicked story on The Guardian's U.S. site right now: “Alabama IVF ruling leaves Republicans stuck between …
Discussion:
@chrismoranuk, @davidclinchnews, MediaPost, Media Voices and @chrismoranuk
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
Amid a market correction in podcasting, the biggest stars still get eight- and nine-figure contracts, while rank-and-file employees push for union protections — While mega-deals come roaring back, rank-and-file podcasters are seeking basic labor protections — Welcome back to Soundbite.
Discussion:
Podnews, @fionasturges, @lucyj_ford and The Information
Will Oremus / Washington Post:
To stem the tide of AI-generated work, Amazon starts limiting the publication of “summaries” and “workbooks” that claim to be companions to human-authored books — Authors decry an “explosion” of knockoff books on Amazon as the company struggles to keep up.
Discussion:
The Decoder, @karaswisher and @willoremus@mastodon.social, more at Techmeme »
Etan Vlessing / The Hollywood Reporter:
FuboTV reports a $71M Q4 net loss, down 26% YoY, global revenue up 28% YoY to $410.2M, $370M from subscriptions, 1.61M subscribers in North America, up 12% YoY — David Gandler called out the upcoming Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery venture as his sports streamer hit 1.61 million subscribers and shrank its fourth-quarter loss.
Discussion:
The Streamable, MediaPost, The Wrap, Sportico.com, The Desk, Deadline and Advanced Television
Arpan Chaturvedi / Reuters:
The Disney-Reliance merger would create a TV player that dominates cricket in India: Disney has IPL TV broadcast rights and Reliance has IPL streaming rights — A proposed merger of Walt Disney's and Reliance's media assets in India could spark intense antitrust scrutiny over their market power …
Discussion:
Variety, Digital Journal, CNN and TechCrunch
Naman Ramachandran / Variety:
BBC Studios buys British broadcaster ITV's 50% stake in streamer BritBox International for £255M, as ITV focuses on its ad-funded streaming service ITVX — The streamer was founded in 2017 as a joint venture between BBC Studios, which is the commercial arm of the British broadcaster, and ITV.
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