Top News:
New York Times:
A survey finds US states have distributed over $25B to film incentive programs since 2002, but independent experts find the programs are break-even at best — Dozens of states have lured film and TV production with financial incentives. Years after gutting its program during a budget crisis, Michigan wants to rejoin the arms race.
Discussion:
@joegalarn, @mariadoulis, Axel W. Caballero on LinkedIn, @tonyromm, @chriskuo17, @fgiroldini, Variety and Simon Pulman on LinkedIn
Bloomberg:
Reddit closes up 48%, at $50.44 per share, in its New York Stock Exchange debut, valuing the company at about $9.5B on a fully diluted basis — - Social media company, holders raised $748 Million in IPO … The San Francisco-based company's stock closed at $50.44 each on Thursday in New York …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, @mikeisaac, @yuris, @coryweinberg, @ghadjia, @sorayadarabi, @mwseibel, @edwinarbus, @snowmaker, Tech Startups, @nyse, @mikeisaac, @amberillig, @alexisohanian, @tranhelen, @alexisohanian, @alexisohanian, @borrowed_ideas, @tomaxwell, @alexia, @mwseibel, @serenawilliams, @lethain, The Drum, @can, Reuters, @teroterotero, The Wrap, Mashable, Deadline, Variety, New York Times, @katie_roof, @akhenosiris, Mashable, Tech Startups, CCN.com, Proactive, Coinspeaker, San Francisco Business Times, CNBC, TechCrunch, Bloomberg, The Information, Reddit, New York Times, Axios, Barron's Online, Reuters, Shacknews, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The Guardian, Bloomberg, Axios, TechCrunch, @waxmonkey.bsky.social, @josh.uno, @lorakolodny@threads.net, Fortune, CNBC and r/investimentos, more at Techmeme »
Janko Roettgers / Lowpass:
A look at Redbox's decline, as it faces several lawsuits after it stopped paying many bills around the time it sold to Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment — Chicken Soup in the hole … “We still exist. Thanks for asking.” … These days, however, the word “still” is doing a lot of work.
David Ingram / NBC News:
Changing policy, X bans the posting of real names of people behind anonymous accounts, after it suspended accounts that unmasked a suspected neo-Nazi cartoonist — Some X users said the move was another example of Musk going out of his way to defend neo-Nazis, antisemites and white supremacists.
Discussion:
@leftcoastist, @apocalypticanow.bsky.social, @network_synth, @tomcoates, @msymchuk, @evan_r_mclaren, @tweetbynatasha, @romanvalentinus, @pavldozer, @shnozzmoana, @raderje, @rontech777, @safety, @gschifanelli, @beneluxtesla, @pan_dejo_, @aridrennen, @ernie@writing.exchange, @hawksgirl80, @esqueer_@threads.net, @stealthmedical1, Advocate, @ellamae_content, @ttecclesbrown, @eyesontheright, @tomodell, @againstgrmrs, @martinimaas, @sikataraeda, @drmistercody, @taliaotg, @blakmaclives, X, @AnarchoNinaAnalyzes … and Wired, more at Techmeme »
Buster Benson / The Medium Blog:
Medium says it will revoke Partner Program enrollment from writers who publish AI-generated stories, even with disclosure, and other low-quality content — Protecting Medium's mission and authentic writers means doing more to protect quality — We know you've seen it: spammy comments that say nothing of value.
Discussion:
@ruialves_rnh, @ltm and @burkr_
Kanishka Singh / Reuters:
Tennessee passes the Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security (ELVIS) Act, aiming to protect musicians and other artists from unauthorized use involving AI — Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed a bill into law on Thursday that aimed to protect artists including musicians from unauthorized use by artificial intelligence.
Jon Lafayette / Next TV:
The FCC fines Nexstar and Mission Broadcasting $1.8M+, alleging violation of US ownership rules in operating New York TV station WPIX; Nexstar plans to appeal — Regulator rules that Nexstar committed ‘willful and repeated’ violations of ownership rules, also fines Mission Broadcasting $612,395
Discussion:
Variety, Nexstar Media Group, Inc., FCC, Deadline, The Desk, The Wrap, Radio & Television … and Cord Cutters News
Karissa Bell / Engadget:
The Mozilla Foundation and 90+ research and advocacy groups urge Meta to support CrowdTangle through January 2025 to track election misinformation globally — The letter, also signed by CrowdTangle's former CEO, claims shutting it down is a “direct threat” to researchers' work
Discussion:
@brandonsilverm, Mozilla Foundation, @mozilla and @andymstone, more at Techmeme »
Aftermath:
Kotaku EIC Jen Glennon, who joined in October 2023, resigns, citing in a letter the management team's recent decision to deprioritize news in favor of guides — Jen Glennon, who took over as editor in chief of Kotaku in October, resigned Thursday. In a resignation letter seen by Aftermath …
Discussion:
@davidgross_man, @jeremypgordon, @leadergrev, @zwiezenz, @joeljohnson, @alyssa_merc, @momozuch, @iamasarch, @jeremysmiles, @transgamerthink, @xoxogossipgita, @damagecontrolblog …, @tamoorh, @carolynmichelle, @shepardcdr, @hellojenglen, @lainnafader, @robaeprice@threads.net, @benjamin_goggin_@threads.net, @mhoye@mastodon.social, The Daily Beast and @jasonkoebler@mastodon.social
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
Spotify's TikTok-like redesign reveals the follower numbers for top podcasters: The Joe Rogan Experience has 14.5M, followed by TED Talks Daily with 5M — A new TikTok-like redesign from the streaming giant unveils actual audience data for top podcasters — Welcome back to Soundbite.
Neel Dhanesha / Nieman Lab:
Julia Angwin says Proof News aims to use “the scientific method” for investigative journalism, and expand beyond tech to cover corporate accountability, more — The cofounder of The Markup wants to expand beyond tech with her new publication. — At the end of February …
Discussion:
@sarahscire and @juliaangwin
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
How companies like iSpot and VideoAmp are trying to challenge Nielsen's ratings dominance, as the industry grapples with changing audience measurement protocols — The day after the Super Bowl typically brings with it another kind of celebration: Nielsen's annual announcement of the size of the audience for the NFL extravaganza.
Discussion:
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