Top News:


The MPA announces plans to work with US Congress to enact a SOPA-like anti-piracy law; SOPA was fiercely opposed by the tech industry and failed to pass in 2012 — The Motion Picture Association said it will work with Congress to enact an anti-piracy law similar to legislation that failed …


Reporters Without Borders says Hong Kong authorities detained and deported a Taiwan-based RSF advocacy officer who had planned to cover the Jimmy Lai trial — A media watchdog said Wednesday that Hong Kong authorities expelled one of its officials who had arrived to cover the trial of pro-democracy publisher Jimmy Lai.
Discussion:
Reporters Without Borders, Reuters, Al Jazeera, @jessicajerreat and Bloomberg


Excerpts from an analysis of the California Journalism Preservation Act, which has yet to pass the state Senate, including its many weaknesses and alternatives — “If there are resources to be put to work, we must ask where those resources should come from, who should receive them, and on what basis they should be distributed."


Sources: The WSJ lays off at least 11, primarily on its visuals desk and in video roles; some laid off were in the “Journalists as Creators” YouTube partnership — CHOPPING BLOCK — The layoffs, which came after months of cuts, impacted the social media and video desks.
Discussion:
MediaPost, Talking Biz News, @maxwelltani and @ianjsilvera


Memo: NPR Chief Content Officer Edith Chapin defends NPR's journalism and commitment to reflecting a diverse array of views, rejecting Uri Berliner's assessment — NPR's top news executive defended its journalism and its commitment to reflecting a diverse array of views on Tuesday …
Discussion:
@benmullin, MediaPost, Mediaite, @katzish@threads.net, @clarajeffery@threads.net, New York Post, Inside Radio, @craigdelancey, Newser, @mherskovitz, @lpolgreen@threads.net, @deggans, @shawnmccreesh, @deggans, @radiofreetom@threads.net, @farhip, @localnewstrash, The Daily Caller, @davidfolkenflik, @lynncomella@threads.net, The Guardian, Eric Deggans on LinkedIn, Why Evolution Is True, The Wrap, The Hill, Fox News, JONATHAN TURLEY, Media Nation, Washington Examiner, Daily Mail, The Daily Beast, @benjaminmullin@threads.net and The Free Press


As streamers cut spending globally, sources say Netflix remains the only major US platform still commissioning across Southeast Asia, albeit on a smaller scale — Producers in Southeast Asia are facing a very different, much quieter landscape to the one in front of them just 12 months ago …
Discussion:
Quark Henares on LinkedIn and Christian Grece on LinkedIn


Rest of World receives a $200K grant from Luminate to support its coverage of elections worldwide, including AI's effects and social media platforms' roles — Rest of World, an award-winning global nonprofit publication, has received a $200,000 sponsorship from Luminate to support its coverage …
Discussion:
@restofworld and Anup Kaphle on LinkedIn


The New York Times hires Matthew Rose, who has held multiple senior editing posts at The Wall Street Journal, as editorial director for its Opinion section — Matthew takes on the role of editorial director, overseeing the guest essay, international and video teams.
Discussion:
@tunkuv and Matthew Rose on LinkedIn


The UK parliament's CMS Committee urges the government to address “pitiful returns” for songwriters from music streaming, including changing the revenue split — The Culture, Media and Sport Committee is pushing for a package of reforms that would include changing the revenue split between recording and publishing.


FCCC survey: reporting conditions in China have improved since the pandemic, but foreign journalists still face visa problems, surveillance, and harassment — Reporting conditions in China have improved since the global pandemic but foreign journalists still face obstacles including visa problems …


Unions representing animation and VFX workers plan to demand rules for how studios deploy AI, as most entertainment executives see AI displacing workers — What's the context? — Entertainment bosses see AI as a way to cut costs, but animators and visual effects workers are fighting back
Discussion:
@aaschapiro, @aaschapiro, @enriqueanarte, @contextnewsroom, @aaschapiro, @tnewmstweet, @datasociety, @matthewchattle, @contextnewsroom and @aaschapiro


ESPN and Peyton Manning's Omaha Productions strike a nine-year media rights deal, which includes Monday Night Football's ManningCast and other programming — The deal, which runs into 2034, will include the ‘Manningcast’ for Monday Night Football and other programming.
Discussion:
Awful Announcing, ESPN Press Room U.S., Sports Media Watch, Barrett Media, Bleacher Report, Variety, The Wrap and Deadline