Mediagazer: Amazon unveils X-Ray Recaps on Prime Video, an AI feature that generates “spoiler-free and concise summaries” of TV shows, in beta to Fire TV users in the US (Todd Spangler/Variety)

5:30 PM ET, November 4, 2024

Top News:

Katie Robertson / New York Times:

The Times Tech Guild, representing 600+ NYT devs, data analysts, and more, goes on strike ahead of the US election; management offered a 2.5% annual wage rise — The Times Tech Guild represents more than 600 software developers and others who run the back-end systems behind The Times's digital operation.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, TechCrunch, Washington Post, @nytguildtech, The Verge, Business Insider, HuffPost, NBC News, @_alastair, RedState, @lmoses, The Hill, David Wheeler on LinkedIn, @mikeisaac, The Guardian, @anastasiakeeley, TVNewsCheck, @brianstelter, Benzinga, Poynter, Gizmodo, NewsGuild of New York, Axios, @nytimesguild, Mediaite, @chrisg@fosstodon.org, @maxeddy@infosec.exchange, @NYTGuildTech@union.place, @lmoses, Washington Examiner, @teroterotero, New York Post, Semafor, @jeffgreco.com, Fox News, @robertvinluan, ZeroHedge News, The Wrap, @lydiadepillis, @nytguildtech, @w7voa@journa.host, @sauthoff.bsky.social, Semafor, @austin_rief, @hamiltonnolan, @soniasodha, @phire@phire.place, @amandahess, @davidfolkenflik, One America News Network, @hamiltonnolan, Variety, Shaka C on LinkedIn, Barron's Online and Mother Jones, more at Techmeme »

Max Tani / @maxwelltani:
In email to staff, AG Sulzberger says the NYT Tech Guild strike will likely continue through the election and accuses the Guild of blocking essential journalism

Discussion: TechCrunch, 404 Media, @kantrowitz, @ericnewcomer, @rebekahentralgo, @maraleia.bsky.social, @mikeisaac, @ericnewcomer, @lee__drake, @hamiltonnolan, @bllorenz, @justinkloczko, @tkaaaaaaaaaay and The Gateway Pundit

Katie Robertson / New York Times:

The NYT reports adding 260K digital subscribers in Q3, for 11.9M in total, with digital ad revenue up 8.8% YoY to $81.6M, and The Athletic had its first profit — The Times reported steady growth in digital subscriptions in the third quarter and a profit for The Athletic for the first time since it acquired the sports site in 2022.

Discussion: AdExchanger, Awful Announcing, @jhweissmann, Press Gazette, @tvgrimreaper, @benmullin, Aki Mandhar on LinkedIn, @benjstrauss, Claudio E. Cabrera on LinkedIn, The Wrap and CNBC

The New York Times Company:

The NYT reports Q3 revenue up 7% YoY to $640.2M, subscription revenue up 14.2% YoY to $322.2M, and operating profit up 20.7% YoY to $76.7M — NEW YORK, November 4, 2024 - The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT) announced today third- quarter 2024 results. Key Highlights

Discussion: Bloomberg and @aulia@mementomori.social

Max Tani / Semafor:

At an internal meeting, NYT editors shared what they thought of internal and external feedback, “explicit threats from Trump about us in the media”, and more — The Scoop — With the 2024 presidential election a few weeks away, one question was top of mind for staff at The New York Times …

Discussion: Fox News, RedState, @froomkin, @froomkin, @emptywheel, @elienyc, @semaforben, @maxwelltani, @brizzyc, @drvolts, @clarajeffery, @petersterne, @jalexa1218, @joshschwerin, @reedgalen, @rickperlstein, @dangillmor@mastodon.social and Mediaite

Washington Post:
Pointing at media personnel during a rally, Trump says “someone would have to shoot through the fake news” to hit the bulletproof glass and “I don't mind that”

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:

Source: NBC gave the Trump campaign free commercial time in response to Harris' SNL appearance, including an unusual ad during Sunday's NASCAR coverage — Trump appeared in spots that aired during Sunday's coverage of both sporting events on NBC, speaking directly to the camera.

Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:

Around 75% of the largest US newspapers aren't endorsing anyone for president this year, as publishers try not to annoy any sliver of their remaining customers — Led by risk-averse corporate owners, dozens of the biggest U.S. newspapers have decided their editorials should express opinions …

Discussion: @frasermatthew, @farhip and @jbenton

Hanna Rosin / The Atlantic:
An interview with The Atlantic EIC Jeffrey Goldberg on presidential endorsements, WaPo and Jeff Bezos, concerns about a possible second Trump term, and more

Discussion: Techdirt, New York Post and @nickbaumann

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Amazon unveils X-Ray Recaps on Prime Video, an AI feature that generates “spoiler-free and concise summaries” of TV shows, in beta to Fire TV users in the US — On Monday, Amazon announced X-Ray Recaps on Prime Video, touting the generative-AI-based feature as …

Discussion: About Amazon, TechCrunch, The Verge, Android Authority, Cord Cutters News, TVNewsCheck and Media Play News, more at Techmeme »

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Meta informs ad partners that it will extend its ban on new election ads for the week leading up to the election until several days after the polls close — - It later adjusted its policies to temporarily stop all social issue, electoral, or political ads from running after the polls closed on November 3rd.

The Information:

Sources: ByteDance's international revenue grew 60%+ YoY to about $17B in H1 2024, and overall revenue grew 35% to about $73B, after growing 40% in H1 2023 — TikTok parent ByteDance increased its international revenue more than 60% to about $17 billion in the first half of 2024 …

Discussion: @jessicalessin

Ross Raihala / Twin Cities:

Q&A with Aaron Rupar on leaving Vox to start Public Notice on Substack, watching ~400 Trump rallies to share clips with his 989K followers on X, and more — He now has nearly a million followers on X and a successful Substack newsletter — If you follow presidential politics online …

Discussion: @aaron.rupar@threads.net and @aaron.rupar@threads.net

Etan Vlessing / The Hollywood Reporter:

Altice USA's Optimum lost 77K subscribers in Q3, bringing total subs to 2.1M; revenue fell 4% YoY to $2.2B, with a loss of $43M, down from a $66.8M profit YoY — The cable operator, led by Dennis Mathew, has introduced new digital TV packages to target cord-cutters and consumers shifting online.

Discussion: Altice USA

Fox:

Fox Corp reports Q1 revenue up 11% YoY to $3.6B, affiliate revenue up 6% YoY to $1.8B, ad revenue up 11% YoY to $1.3B due to political ads, and $832M net income — NEW YORK, NY, November 4, 2024 - Fox Corporation (Nasdaq: FOXA, FOX; “FOX” or the “Company") today reported financial results for the three months ended September 30, 2024.

Discussion: Reuters, MediaPost, Barrett Media, @matthewkeyslive, DNyuz, The Wrap, @jbflint, The Hollywood Reporter, @jbflint, @tvgrimreaper, Bloomberg, Variety, @pkafka, @jbflint, @jbflint, @pkafka, TVNewsCheck, @jbflint, The Desk, Adweek and Deadline

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More News:

Ted Johnson / Deadline:
Politico names Annie Allen as its first Executive Producer of Events in North America, and plans to hire an executive producer for the DC Playbook franchise

Discussion: @politicopress

Sean Burch / The Wrap:
Report: Garrett Ventry, who will join NBC News' Election Night coverage as a Republican pundit on election day, registered as an agent of Qatar in September

Discussion: @posselist and TVNewsCheck

Brian Steinberg / Variety:
A look at MSNBC's “Avengers” format of bringing together top anchors for big moments, which Rashida Jones says elevates “the seriousness of the news”

Discussion: @bristei

Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
BBC Chair Samir Shah calls for UK's “outdated” regulatory regime to be improved to let public service broadcasters compete with US streaming giants for viewers

Discussion: The Guardian, @knittedkittie, Deadline, @alexandergardin and CMU

Julian Borger / The Guardian:
A look at ultranationalist Israeli broadcaster Channel 14, which counts Netanyahu as a supporter and is fast becoming the country's most-watched news source

Discussion: @kaedotcom and @ayoub@spore.social

Rob Davies / The Guardian:
Earlier in 2024, Sky found it had accidentally underpaid its ad partners, including Paramount and WBD, and now faces a bill for hundreds of millions of pounds

Discussion: Telegraph

Earlier Picks:

Sarah Kessler / New York Times:
Q&A with Kay Koplovitz on her transition to becoming a VC with Springboard after selling USA Networks, why women-led startups are underestimated, DEI, and more

Discussion: - Helena Torras on LinkedIn

Porter Anderson / Publishing Perspectives:
PEN America: 10,046 school books bans across 29 states were recorded from July 2023 to June 2024, up ~200% YoY; Florida had 4,500+ bans and Iowa had 3,600+ bans

Discussion: Maryland Matters and PEN America

Andrew Higgins / New York Times:
Polish radio station Off Radio Krakow used AI to create an interview with Nobel laureate Wislawa Szymborska, who died in 2012, leading to a barrage of criticism

Discussion: Newser, DNyuz, @dannygroner and Business Standard

Jon Gambrell / Associated Press:
The US says it believes Iranian-American journalist Reza Valizadeh, who once worked for US-funded broadcaster Radio Farda, has been detained for months by Iran

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Axios, New York Times, Firstpost, Bloomberg, Fox News, New York Daily News, DNyuz, Voice of America and Reuters

Katie Robertson / New York Times:
How Joanna Coles and Ben Sherwood are trying to revive The Daily Beast, amid conflicts with the staff, tech problems, and skepticism towards their vision

Discussion: Michael Clinton on LinkedIn, @pressgazette, @katie_robertson, @bencjacobs, @jakelahut@threads.net and @jeffjarvis@mastodon.social

Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
In the streaming era, compilation albums have become novelty items for superfans, as labels promote them as collectibles alongside books, biopics, and tours

Discussion: @ashleycarman@threads.net and @ashleycarman@threads.net

From Techmeme:

Bloomberg:
Sources: Canadian authorities arrested Alexander “Connor” Moucka, who is allegedly behind hacks in June and July of up to 165 Snowflake customers including AT&T

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is exploring a push into smart glasses by conducting an internal study, codenamed Atlas, to gather employee feedback on products on the market

Bloomberg:
Sources: OpenAI is in early talks with the California AG's office to become a for-profit company; letter: it also has discussed the shift with the Delaware AG

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