Mediagazer: Journalists and experts explain why 2024 has been dangerous for press in Pakistan, with at least six journalists killed over direct or suspected work ties (Committee to Protect Journalists)

4:15 AM ET, October 31, 2024

Top News:

Steven Waldman / Columbia Journalism Review:

Jeff Bezos should donate The Washington Post to a public charity that maintains its quality and independence, as he is too financially compromised to own it — His conflicts of interests are insurmountable. He can take a heroic path to strengthen journalism.

Sarah Scire / Nieman Lab:

A broad group of news outlets attracted new subscribers after WaPo's lack of an endorsement for president; The Philadelphia Inquirer gained 4,200+ subscribers — The Philadelphia Inquirer had its best week for new subscriptions ever and The Guardian U.S. broke its single-day fundraising record — twice.

Discussion: Just Security, Digiday, The Lenfest Institute …, @davidakin@mstdn.ca, Evan Benn on LinkedIn, The Free Press, CNN and Press Gazette

David Folkenflik / NPR:
The LA Times has lost 10,000 to 18,000 subscriptions, or up to 4.5% of its subscribers, since owner Patrick Soon-Shiong axed the paper's Harris endorsement

Discussion: Washington Post, 404 Media, Digiday, Associated Press, HuffPost, @Barredo@mastodon.social, New York Post, @GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social, CNN, American Press Institute, Axios, The Wrap and Fox News

Edward Helmore / The Guardian:
Source: WaPo subscription cancellations hit 250,000 on Tuesday, or 10% of subscribers, since October 25, based on the number of cancellation emails sent out

New Jersey Digest:

The Star-Ledger, New Jersey's largest newspaper, plans to end its print edition on January 30, 2025, citing growing costs and a shrinking demand for print — The Star-Ledger, New Jersey's largest newspaper, will stop publishing its print edition on January 30, 2025, transitioning fully to a digital format.

Alexandra Canal / Yahoo Finance:

Roku reports Q3 revenue up 16% YoY to $1.06B, vs. $1.02B est., 85.5M streaming households, up 2M QoQ, and Q4 guidance below est.; ROKU drops 11%+ — Roku (ROKU) stock fell more than 10% in after-hours trading on Wednesday after the company's Q4 guidance disappointed, despite the media player reporting …

Discussion: Media Play News

Caitlin Huston / The Hollywood Reporter:

Roku will stop giving quarterly updates on the number of streaming households and average revenue per user, starting Q1 2025, following Netflix's footsteps — “Our business has also grown and evolved, and we are now primarily focused on growing Platform revenue and profitability," the company said in the Q3 shareholder letter.

Discussion: MediaPost, The Wrap, YourStory.com, Barron's Online, Cord Cutters News, Benzinga, Deadline, Reuters, Streaming Better, Motley Fool, Roku Inc., Variety and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »

John O'Nolan:

John O'Nolan, CEO of open-source CMS Ghost, outlines the organization's governance structure and says the platform generates around $7.5M in annual revenue — Ghost is a distributed non-profit foundation which gives away all of its intellectual property under a permissive MIT license.

Discussion: @dangillmor@mastodon.social, @ianb@mastodon.well.com, @quillmatiq@threads.net, @dvdwinden@threads.net, @prschulz@threads.net, Erik Enge on LinkedIn, @johnonolan, @markjaquith, @duanestorey, @drdevroy and @ben@werd.social

Upmanyu Trivedi / Bloomberg:

Google faces increasing legal challenges from Russia and fines in non-US courts, after YouTube blocked three Russian channels following the invasion of Ukraine — Law experts raise concerns about nationalism rearing its head in courts around the world — When YouTube blocked three Russian channels …

Discussion: The Moscow Times, Responsible Statecraft, Edson Porto on LinkedIn, Francis Bond on LinkedIn, Broadband TV News, Business Insider, Digital Trends, Gizmodo and Semafor

Kali Hays / Fortune:

Internal memo: Block CEO Jack Dorsey says Tidal is in for another mass layoff; insiders say as many as 100 people could be laid off, or ~25% of Tidal's staff — Jack Dorsey told staff at music streaming app Tidal that they're in for another mass layoff. — The CEO of Block …

Discussion: @kalihays1@threads.net, Digital Music News and San Francisco Chronicle, more at Techmeme »

Committee to Protect Journalists:

Journalists and experts explain why 2024 has been dangerous for press in Pakistan, with at least six journalists killed over direct or suspected work ties — Hope for justice in journalist murders is dim across the world, but especially in Pakistan, which has appeared on CPJ's Global Impunity …

Discussion: @sonalidhawan_, Voice of America, Al Jazeera, Reuters and Civil Georgia

Kyle Orland / Ars Technica:

How The New York Times used LLMs to help reporters sort through hundreds of hours of audio to report on the Republican-affiliated Election Integrity Project — But a recent New York Times story highlights the other side of that coin, where AI models simply become a powerful tool aiding …

Discussion: New York Times, LinkedIn, Matthew S Smith on LinkedIn, @mttaggart@infosec.exchange and @arstechnica@mastodon.social

Corbin Bolies / The Daily Beast:

Dozens of NYT Tech Guild members picketed on Wednesday, protesting drawn-out contract negotiations and raising the possibility of an Election Day strike — ALRIGHT ON THE NIGHT? — The Times Tech Guild, the union backing the New York Times' tech workers, says it is ready to imperil …

Discussion: @zohrankmamdani, @nytguildtech and @brndngrffth

Peter White / Deadline:

The Grammys, which have aired on CBS for over 50 years, will air on ABC, Hulu, and Disney+ starting from 2027, as part of a 10-year deal — The Grammy Awards ceremony, which has aired on CBS for over 50 years, has a new home. — Disney has snatched the rights to the annual music awards show …

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Washington Post:
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Discussion: Reuters, The Washington Post on LinkedIn, @willoremus, @brendelbored.bsky.social, @willoremus, Associated Press, Engadget, Blaze Media, @deanbaker13.bsky.social, @ma_franks and @krassenstein, more at Techmeme »

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
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Mike Allen / Axios:
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Variety:
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Amanda Meade / The Guardian:
Australia's ABC Chair Kim Williams says pursuing “digital titans for a fair cut of the revenues drained from mainstream journalism” is a “democratic imperative”

Discussion: ABC, Sydney Morning Herald, Mumbrella and Crikey

Earlier Picks:

Neel Dhanesha / Nieman Lab:
A decade after the Serial podcast launched, public radio executives say they think true crime podcasts can bolster interest and support for their organizations

Discussion: @jeffjarvis@mastodon.social, Nieman Lab and Nieman Lab

Chris Roush / Talking Biz News:
Consumer Reports gets a $5M investment from Craig Newmark Philanthropies to conduct new investigations into cyber harms, AI systems, privacy concerns, and more

Discussion: @consumerreports and Innovation at Consumer Reports

Jeff Jarvis / Columbia Journalism Review:
Journalists and liberal critics blast the NYT and other US news outlets for “sanewashing”, false equivalence, and more, and call for sharper political reporting

Discussion: Breaking the News, Balloon Juice, @jeffjarvis, @jayrosen_nyu, @newsjennifer, @stevekettmann, @jamesfallows, @flo_a, @MissConstrue@mefi.social, Jeff Jarvis on LinkedIn, @rationaldoge@hachyderm.io and Newsbusters

Jeremy Fuster / The Wrap:
SAG-AFTRA announces a deal with Ethovox, an AI company building a “foundational voice model” based on voices of members, who would get an ongoing revenue share

Discussion: Radio & Television …, The Verge and SAG-AFTRA

Todd Spangler / Variety:
An amended FCC filing shows that Skydance CEO David Ellison will hold 100% of the Ellison family's voting interests in the combined Paramount-Skydance company

Discussion: New York Post, TVNewsCheck, Adweek, @femme_mal@mstdn.social, TVNewsCheck, The Wrap, Bloomberg, Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter

From Techmeme:

Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:
Google rolls out a new Gmail encryption model for enterprises in beta that doesn't require senders or recipients to use custom software or exchange certificates

Financial Times:
Sources: a16z is in talks to join the Oracle-led frontrunner bid for TikTok's US arm, after being approached along with Blackstone Group and others

Wall Street Journal:
Sources: in recent weeks, Meta executives including Mark Zuckerberg have pressed US trade officials to oppose an impending EU fine and cease-and-desist order

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